The End of World War II

1
The End of World War II

• The Atom Bomb and the New World Order

2
OVERVIEW

• In this lesson you will examine
• Context of the major conferences
• The end of war in Europe
• Justifications for using atomic weapons
• Foundations of a new world order

3
The Big Three

• Although the Allies declared support for
  democracy and self-determination, they also had
  other priorities
• Casablanca Britain and the US began to draw up
  post-war occupation plans
• Tehran The Big Three begin to discuss spheres
  of influence
• Yalta Formal divisions of Germany and
  disagreements over reparations and Polish
  governance

4
The End of the Third Reich

• After the Battle of Kursk and the Battle of the
  Bulge, Germany was forced into a full retreat to
  its own borders
• Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945
• German military forces surrendered in May 1945
• Allied forces scrambled for technology and
  resources in occupation zones
• De-Nazification sent Nazi leaders to trial for
  crimes against humanity

5
The Manhattan Project

• In 1942, the US began secret development of
  atomic weapons. The Manhattan Project
• Included many top refugee scientists from the
  Nazi and Fascist regimes
• Produced 4 fission devices, each equivalent to
  15,000-20,000 tons of TNT
• Cost 2 billion USD (modern cost 23 billion USD)

6
Reasons

• American leaders decided to use the atomic bomb
  for several reasons
• Projected casualties and resistance
• Failure of firebombing campaign
• Fear of Soviet domination in Asia
• Scientific and experimental knowledge

7
Consequences

• On Aug 6, 1945, the US bomber, Enola Gay
  dropped Little Boy upon the city of Hiroshima
• 140,000 people were killed or wounded and another
  200,000 would suffer long-term effects
• Japanese military leaders debated surrender
• Fat Man was dropped onto Nagasaki on Aug 9,
  1945 another 80,000 people were killed or
  injured
• Japan surrendered on August 14, 1945

8
A new world order

• The total cost and outcome of the war had
  changed realities in many ways
• Total war the USSR had lost over 17,000 cities
  and 70,000 villages total war dead was
  projected at over 20 million
• Europe bottoms out Germany was only at 14 of
  its 1936 industrial output by 1947, the British
  government was close to bankruptcy
• The superpower the US emerged unscathed with a
  monopoly on atomic weapons

9
SUMMARY QUESTIONS

• In what ways were the Allies hypocritical about
  portraying themselves as the defenders of
  democracy?
• What were the major reasons for dropping the
  atomic bomb on Japan?
• What early signs of the future conflict between
  the US and the USSR became obvious by the end of
  WWII?