Click to add text Turning Points of WWII

Midway By June of 1942 the U.S. broke the Japanese message code making it so we could read their messages to each other The U.S. learned that Japan was going to attack the island of Midway and the U.S. set a trap When Japan attacked, the U.S. sprung the trap and sank 4 Japanese Aircraft carriers The Battle of Midway is the turning point in the pacific war

El Alamein In August of 1942 the British will gain their first victory over Germany in Africa British troops will defeat German troops at the battle of El Alamein The Battle of El Alamein will be the turning point in Africa that will eventually lead to the defeat of Germany in Africa

Stalingrad In September of 1942 the Germans had taken much of the western Soviet Union and had surrounded Leningrad, Stalingrad, and the capital Moscow From August to February the Germans and Soviets will fight over Stalingrad In January and February 1943 the Soviets will surround the Germans and force them to surrender their entire army making it the greatest German defeat in the war The Battle of Stalingrad will be the turning point in the eastern front

Operation Torch American invasion of North Africa Led by General George S Patton Notable for the American defeat at Kasserine Pass The Germans will be caught between the British and the Americans and forced to surrender

Operation Torch

1943 In 1943 the Allies will invade and defeat Italy getting rid of Mussolini The U.S. will begin to retake the Pacific ocean using a plan known as Island Hopping where they skip islands the U.S. think are not as important Also in 1943 the allies will decide that Germany and Japan will have to surrender unconditionally The Allies also plan to open a western front in Europe in 1944, this will be known as operation Overlord

“Island-Hopping”: US Troops on Kwajalien Island

Casablanca Tehran

Operation Overlord In1944 Stalin was asking for a second front to be opened in Western Europe to take pressure off of Russia On June the U.S., British, and Canadians will invade Normandy France This will be known as Operation Overlord or D-Day The effort will be led by the supreme commander of the allied forces Dwight D. Eisenhower The invasion will be a complete success taking the Germans by surprise

Battle of the Bulge After Normandy the Allies quickly took France and were preparing to invade Germany At this point Hitler designed a bold plan, he would launch a surprise assault against the Allies to retake France It nearly worked but the Americans held the French city of Bastogne preventing the Germans from advancing And General George S. Patton pushed the Germans back It was the longest battle of the war, also hastens the end of Hitler’s Germany

Plans made for post- war United Nations Stalin promises to attack Japan- after Germany is defeated Stalin promises that Poland (with a new boundary that favored the USSR), Romania, and Bulgaria will have free elections

- Yalta was the first moment where it became clear that the US and USSR had drastically different post-wartime goals, and were going to be drastically different peacetime powers. The differences were vast …

Potsdam Conference Last conference of the war, Roosevelt had died so Truman represented America in the big 3 During the conference he is informed of the success of the Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project is the development of the atomic bomb Truman tells Churchill, but not Stalin, this will create tension later An ultimatum is issued to Japan for unconditional surrender, except they could keep their emperor The powers agreed to divide Germany after the war into four zones

V-E Day The Russians take Berlin, since they had suffered most through the war V-E day (victory in Europe) occurs on May 8 th, after Hitler’s suicide As promised the Soviet Union was preparing to attack Japan after the defeat of Germany Although the Japanese Navy had been completely defeated, they still had an army and the people were being trained to fight to the death, surrender was unacceptable

Hitler Commits Suicide April 30, 1945 The Fuehrer's Bunker Cyanide & Pistols Mr. & Mrs. Hitler

V-E Day (May 8, 1945) General Keitel

V-J Day As the American’s approached Japan, Americans for the first time invaded traditionally Japanese territory; the islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa The Americans suffered enormous casualties over very small territory, this will factor in the decision to drop the atomic bomb On August , the Enola Gay will drop the 1 st atomic bomb on Hiroshima - On August 9 th, after the Japanese refused to surrender, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki Japan After the 2 nd bomb, on September 2 nd the Japanese will surrender, ending WWII

US Marines on Mt. Surbachi, Iwo Jima [Feb. 19, 1945]

The Manhattan Project: Los Alamos, NM Dr. Robert Oppenheimer I am become death, the shatterer of worlds! Major General Lesley R. Groves

Tinian Island, 1945 Little Boy Fat Man Enola Gay Crew

Hiroshima – August 6, 1945 ©70,000 killed immediately. ©48,000 buildings. destroyed. ©100,000s died of radiation poisoning & cancer later.

V-J Day (September 2, 1945)

The Holocaust From Nazi Germany was committed to a policy of genocide toward all Jews, gypsies, homosexuals and anyone else Hitler considered an “undesirable” Millions were rounded up into camps, forced to do slave labor, starved, and murdered either by gas, or being shot. In the end around 12 million people were killed, half of them Jews As the Americans and Russians find the camps they are sure to take many pictures, and show the horrors of them as often as possible to demonstrate the horror of Nazi Germany

CountryEstimated Pre-War Jewish populationEstimated Jewish population annihilatedPercent killed Poland3,300,0003,000,00090 Baltic countries253,000228,00090 Germany & Austria240,000210,00090 BohemiaBohemia & MoraviaMoravia90,00080,00089 Slovakia90,00075,00083 Greece70,00054,00077 Netherlands140,000105,00075 Hungary650,000450,00070 Byelorussian SSR375,000245,00065 Ukrainian SSR1,500,000900,00060 Belgium65,00040,00060 Yugoslavia43,00026,00060 Romania600,000300,00050 Norway2, France350,00090,00026 Bulgaria64,00014,00022 Italy40,0008,00020 Luxembourg5,0001,00020 Russian SFSR975,000107,00011 Finland2, Denmark8,00052<1 Total8,861,8005,933,90067

Horrors of the Holocaust Exposed

Crematoria at Majdanek Entrance to Auschwitz: Work Makes You Free Horrors of the Holocaust Exposed

Slave Labor at Buchenwald Eli Wiesel

Horrors of the Holocaust Exposed Mass Graves at Bergen-Belsen

Click to add text The Aftermath of the War

The U.S. & the U.S.S.R. Emerged as the Two Superpowers of the later 20 c

WW II Casualties Country Men in war Battle deaths Total Killed Australia1,000,00026,97640,500 Austria800,000180,000120,000 Belgium625,0008,46088,000 Brazil 2 40, ,000 Bulgaria339,7606,67125,000 Canada 1,086, , ,400 China 3 17,250,5213-4,000, ,000,000 Czechoslovakia— 6, ,000 Finland500,00079,04797,000 France—217,568576,600 Germany20,000,000 3,250, ,680,000 Greece—35,024805,290 Hungary—300,000580,000 India2,393,89187, ,000,000 Italy3,100, , ,000 Japan9,700,0002,120,0003,120,000 Netherlands280,00017,500301,160 New Zealand 194,000 11, ,625 Norway75,0003,0009,500 Poland—664,0005,820,000 Romania 650, , ,000 U.S.S.R.— 10,700, ,600,000 United Kingdom 5,896, , ,900 United States 16,112,566416,800418,800 Total 1,995,537, ,487,50079,184,700 Yugoslavia3,741,000305,0001,025,000 1.Civilians only. 2.Army and navy figures. 3.Figures cover period July 7, 1937 to Sept. 2, 1945, and concern only Chinese regular troops. They do not include casualties suffered by guerrillas and local military corps. 4.Deaths from all causes. 5.Against Soviet Russia; 385,847 against Nazi Germany. 6.Against Soviet Russia; 169,822 against Nazi Germany. 7.National Defense Ctr., Canadian Forces Hq., Director of History.

The Division of Germany:

The Creation of the U. N.

The Nuremberg War Trials: Crimes Against Humanity Nazi leaders are tried for Crimes Against Humanity People are responsible for their actions even during war, you cannot hide behind orders

7 Future American Presidents Served in World War II

GI Bill GI is another term for soldier The GI Bill of Rights was a promise to the soldiers to help support them when they returned home It offered money for college, cheap home loans, and medical insurance to all returning veterans It is still in place