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WWII Research and Symposium Assignment OKRP

__Unconditional Surrender Facts__ 1. Roosevelt and Churchill beleived that the only way for peace was that Germany and Japan's militaries were eliminated through unconditional surrender. It was decided that unconditional surrender would be be the only way the allies won the war in January of 1943.

2. At first, the Soviet Union's Joseph Stalin was angered by these terms. With already huge loses in lives and money, the Soviet Union pushing into Germany from the East was necessary for the unconditional surrender of Germany. Now, The Soviet Union would have to launch a huge offensive towards Germany, and lose millions of lives and spend millions of dollars.

3. German people did not recieve much information on the war. This opened the door for propoganda. Goebbels sought out to tell the public that the allies were out to utterly destroy Germany. This sparked German citzens' support to fight until the very end. Unfotunately, millions of deaths of both sides were caused due to this continued fighting.

4. On April 30 1945, as the Soviets circled Berlin, and as the allied forces bombed it, Adolf Hitler commited suicide in a small bunker below the city. On May 7th and 8th, German officials unconditionally surrendered to the allied Eastern front and the Western front.

5. With Victory in Europe, the allies could now turn their attention to the Western Hemishpere. Their next task was to defeat the Japanese Empire. An all out invasion was not what the allies wanted to do, for millions of deaths would occur. Scientists began Operation Manhatten, which was the creation and testing of a weapon of mass destruction, the attomic bomb.

6. The test occured in New Mexico, and a mushroom cloud from the explosion rose 8 miles in the sky. It could be seen from over 200 miles away.

7. The United States warned Japan to surrender, or face "Prompt and utter destruction." The Japanese refused, and the go for the attack was given.

8. On August 6, 1945, a United States plane named "Enola Gay" flew high over Hiroshima, Japans 8th largest city. It dropped the first atomic bomb on the middle of the city, destroying most of it and killing and injuring civilians. Over 50,000 deaths occurred in a second. Japan did not give up, despite more warnings from the U.S.

9. A second bomb was dropped by a U.S. B-29 plane on the city of Nagasaki. The same outcome occurred for that city, as it was crumbled.

10. Japan Unconditionally surrendered, fearing a third strike from the United States. The bombs saved an all out invasion of Japan, which saved millions of lives. Otherwise, Japan was crumbled by destruction, civilian deaths, and nuclear raditation for years to come. Japan officially surrendered on September 2, 1945.

__Primary Documents__ ‍‍‍‍‍‍**__‍__**‍‍‍‍__‍‍‍1.__ From Harry S. Truman: ACT OF MILITARY SURRENDER 1. We the undersigned, acting by authority of the German High Command, hereby surrender unconditionally to the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force and simultaneously to the Soviet High Command all forces on land, sea, and in the air who are at this date under German control.

2. The German High Command will at once issue orders to all German military, naval and air authorities and to all forces under German control to cease active operations at 2301 hours Central European time on 8 May and to remain in the positions occupied at that time. No ship, vessel, or aircraft is to be scuttled, or any damage done to their hull, machinery or equipment ‍‍‍‍‍‍.

This primary document relates to my topic because it was the time that Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allies. On May 7th, 1945, Harry S. Truman wrote this stating that German has been unconditionally defeated. There will no longer be any fighting, and Germany will be controlled by the allies with no allowance of armed forces. Though the war could have ended weeks to months earlier, saving many lives, the allies believed a German unconditional surrender was necessary. With this speach, am unconditional surrender finally took place.

__2.__ Yalta Congressional Address: Franklin D. Roosevelt

There were two main purposes in this (at the) Crimea(n) Conference. The first was to bring defeat to German y with the greatest possible speed, and (with) the smallest possible loss of Allied men. That purpose is now being carried out in great force. The German Army, and the German people, are feeling the ever-increasing might of our fighting men and of the Allied Armies. And every hour gives us added pride in the heroic evidence of--the heroic advance of our troops in German y--on (over) German soil--toward a meeting with the gallant Red Army. (applause) The second purpose was to continue to build the foundation for an international accord that (which) would bring order and security after the chaos of the war, (and) that (which) would give some assurance of lasting peace among the nations of the world.

This was spoken to the congress after Roosevelt returned from the Crimea Conference in Europe. The "Big Three"; The United States, Britain, and The Soviet Union all agreed to keep their terms of an unconditional surrender. In the first statement, it says that the allies want to defeat Germany as fast as possible and in the least deadly way. In reality, forcing unconditional surrender prolonged the war and caused much more deaths. The second purpose was to insure world peace when the surrender occured.

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This photo is when Germany signed officially to the allies their unconditional surrender. After years of warring, Germany admitted defeat to the allies as they marched through Berlin on May 8, 1945. The man signing the treaty isChief of staff of the German armed forces, Wilhelm Keitel. V-E day (Victory in Europe), was finally here, and the allied countries went crazy. There was a toll though, of millions of lives, money, and land. Now the allies look to the West where they had to defeat the Japanese Empire.