2.  The final battles of the European Theatre of World War II as well as the German surrender to the Western Allies and the Soviet Union took place in late April and early May 1945.

4.  Fat Man – Nagasaki August 9, 1945  Little Boy- Hiroshima August 6, 1945

5.  Japanese surrendered on August 15 and formally signed the papers of surrender on September 2, 1945.

7.  Meetings between leaders of the Allies during World War II Tehran Conference (at the Soviet Embassy in Tehran, Iran) Yalta Conference (in Crimea) Potsdam Conference (in Potsdam, Germany)

8.  November 28 to December 1, 1943  “Big-Three” (Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt)  Issues discussed Decide the direction of World War Two in Europe (including opening a second front against Axis) Entry of the Soviet Union into the war against Japan The possible creation of an international organization after the war

9.  February 4-11, 1945  “Big-Three” (Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt)  Defeat of Nazi Germany was imminent  Churchill saw a democratic Europe headed by Britain  Stalin wanted an increase in Soviet power and safeguards against further attacks  Roosevelt saw a world democracy headed by the U.S.

10. .

11.  Germany would be divided into zones of occupation  “Free elections” in liberated countries  The Soviet frontier would advance westward  USSR agreed to enter the war against Japan  Trials would be set for leading war criminals  A meeting would be held to establish the United Nations

12.  July 17-August 2, 1945  Stalin (USSR), Truman (US) and Churchill and Clement Attlee (Great Britain) Attlee replaced Churchill as Britain’s Prime Minister on July 26 th  Met to decide how to administer punishment to Germany  The goals of the conference also included the establishment of post-war order, peace treaties issues, and countering the effects of the war.

14.  Truman said that America had a weapon of awesome power  Stalin wanted a buffer zone of friendly countries to prevent attacks  Britain was concerned about a Soviet presence in Eastern Europe Britain was bankrupt Many colonies were claiming independence

15.  USSR would begin collecting reparations from its zone of occupation  Allies agreed to divide Berlin into four sectors  Germany was to be “de-Nazified”  Created Council of Foreign Ministers to deal with peace settlements  Poland was ruled by the USSR

16.  Human costs WWII deaths were much higher than WWI  Territorial changes Larger Soviet state Migration of millions of people  Economic changes East v. West  Social Changes Women and racial minorities  International Relations Start of the Cold War

17. CountryMilitary Deaths Total Civilian and Military Deaths Soviet Union8,800,000-10,700,00024,000,000 China3-4,000,00020,000,000 Germany5,533,0006,600,000-8,800,000 Poland240,0005,600,000 Japan2,120,0002,600,000-3,100,000 France217,600567,600 Italy301,400457,000 Austria261,000384,700 United Kingdom383,600450,700 United States416,800418,500

18.  USSR increased its borders (taking Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and part of Poland)  Germany’s borders decreased and divided into East and West Germany  Poland’s borders shifted to the West  Japan lost its territorial gains  Korea gained its independence (although divided into North and South)

19. Europe after WWI

20. Europe after WWII

21.  US spent $341 billion (including $50 billion in the Lend-Lease program)  Germany spent $272 billion  USSR spent $192 billion  Great Britain spent $120 billion  Italy spent $94 billion  Japan spent $56 billion

22.  Damage to Europe and war zones of Asia greater than WWI  More damage caused by more mobility and greater air power  Nearly all major cities in Europe suffered damage

23.  After 1945, intense suffering in Europe  US remained involved in Europe and became a major player in helping Western Europe recover financially  By 1948, Western European economies began to revive and by the early 1950s, Europe was twice as productive as they were in 1938

24.  Women More women worked during WWII than ever before Women were more financially independent Wartime work experience led to post-war feminist movements and campaigns for equal pay and rights  Challenge to Tradition Class changes were significant – in Europe the middle class rose and the aristocracy declined Monarchy was ousted in Italy

25.  Family Life Family life was disrupted by war and roles of mothers & fathers changed Homes were destroyed and people migrated to new areas or new countries Perhaps the scale of the changes to the family can never been known

26.  Racism and Minority Rights Holocaust did not end ethnic conflicts Working women and soldiers had a larger experience with the world which led to the growth of civil rights War experience of black Americans led directly to Executive Order 9981 which desegregated the U.S. Military

27.  Cold War origins started in with ideological differences and disagreements during the war and in the war conferences  U.S. adopted a policy of “containment” in the Truman Doctrine (which opposed the spread of communism)

28.  The development of atomic weapons had the most profound effect on the post-war world  Between 1945 and 2000, the USSR built 55,000 nuclear warheads and the US built 70,000  Atomic weapons stopped another world war because it was too dangerous to start

29.  War accelerated the end of the empires India given independence by Britain in 1947 which led to the creation of Pakistan Britain also withdrew from Palestine in 1948 and a state of Israel was created France refused to give up its territories in Vietnam and in Algeria, but eventually lost those colonies

30.  Creation of the United Nations  U.S. decided not to take reparations from the Allies  Creation of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) a political and military alliance  Warsaw Pact (Treaty of Friendship, Co- operation, and Mutual Assistance between 8 communist states