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The end of WWII. Creation of Offices . Roosevelt created the Office of Scientific Research Development (OSRD) Improvements on sonar DDT Penicillin production Manhattan Project. Battle of Stalingrad (Europe). Germans had attacked the Soviets
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Creation of Offices • Roosevelt created the Office of Scientific Research Development (OSRD) • Improvements on sonar • DDT • Penicillin production • Manhattan Project
Battle of Stalingrad (Europe) • Germans had attacked the Soviets • August 1942, Germans approached Stalingrad (Soviet Union) • Named after Stalin • Luftwaffe (German Air force) bombed the city • Germans advanced at first • Used hand to hand combat • By September, the Germans controlled 9/10 of Stalingrad
Battle of Stalingrad • Winter Sets in • Soviets use the cold as opportunity • Counter Attack • Soviets closed around Stalingrad, trapped the Germans • cut off their supplies • Hitler’s orders: stay and fight
Casualties of the Cold • *The German commander surrendered on January 31, 1943 • *Two days later, his troops also surrendered • In defending Stalingrad, Soviets lost 1,100,000 soldiers • Considered a turning point in war • Soviets in to Germany
Allied Invasion of North Africa • Roosevelt argued for an invasion to divert troops from the Soviet front • Wanted to invade Europe • Operation Torch • Invasion of Axis controlled North Africa • Dwight D Eisenhower - Commanding American General in North Africa • Success
Allied Invasion of Italy • Allies invaded Italy in summer of 1943 • Italian Government forced Mussolini to Resign • Eventually shot and hung his body • Germans moved into Italy to fight off Allies • Italy was not freed until Germany collapsed in 1945
Allied Invasion of Europe • Eisenhower gathered 3 million American, British and Canadian troops. • Code-named Operation Overlord, they invaded the beaches of Northern France on June 6, 1944 • Heavy casualties on both sides • Known as D-Day
D-Day and the Allies • Despite Heavy casualties on both sides, the Allies advance • Begin liberating France from German occupation • By September 1944, Allies had freed France, Belgium and Luxembourg • The victory helped Roosevelt be elected to his fourth term as president. • Unfortunately he died in office of a stroke
The End in WWII in Europe • Soviets began pressing west across Poland and into Berlin • Liberated Nazi death camps • SS tried to burn evidence of crimes, it was too late • April 25, 1945 Soviet Army stormed Berlin • Hitler married Eva Braun in underground bunker • Shot himself, she took poison On May 8th 1945, V-E Day
Atomic Bomb • Japan: large army to defend mainland • Truman saw only way to avoid an invasion of Japan and massive loss of American life was nuclear weapon • Manhattan Project directed by J. Robert Oppenheimer • Truman warned Japan • August 6, 1945 the Enola Gay dropped the first bomb on Hiroshima and second on Nagasaki
Atomic Bomb • By the end of the year, over 200,000 people had died as a result of injuries and radiation • Emperor Hirohito: Couldn’t see innocent people suffer anymore • Told Japan’s leaders to draw up papers to end the war
End to war in the Pacific • On September 2, 1945: Formal Surrender took place in Tokyo Bay on the battleship Missouri
Yalta Conference • The Big Three: Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin • February 1945, met in Yalta, Soviet Union. Were celebrating what now seemed to be the almost certain defeat of Germany • Talks turned to how to punish Germany • Stalin: Harsh punishment. Wanted to keep Germany divided into occupation zones (areas controlled by the Allies) so Germany would never again threaten the Soviet Union
Yalta Conference • Churchill strongly disagreed with Stalin. However, Roosevelt acted as a mediator between the two men and was prepared to appease Stalin for two reasons: • 1) He hoped the Soviet Union would stand by its commitments to join the war against Japan • 2) Wanted Stalin’s support for a new world peace organization (The United Nations)
Yalta Outcome • Roosevelt convinced Churchill to agree to temporary division of Germany into four zones: American, British, Soviet and French. • Roosevelt and Churchill believed that in time, all zones would reunite • Stalin promised “free elections” in Poland and other Soviet-occupied Eastern European countries • Also agreed to help out in Pacific • Also agreed to participate in a conference in San Francisco about a United Nations
Nuremberg War Trials • The discovery of Hitler’s death camps led the Allies to put 24 surviving Nazi leaders on trials for crimes against humanity, crimes against peace and war crimes. • 12 of the 24 were sentenced to death, most others were sent to prison • Important because it established the idea that individuals are responsible for their own actions, even in times of war • (Could not use “I was following orders” as a defense”) • This principle is firmly entrenched in international law