WWII+Research+and+Symposium+MMIL

__Unconditional surrender prolonged WWII and caused more casualties__
 * WWII Symposium**


 * 1) The reason why World War II was so prolonged was because the Axis Powers, mainly Germany and Japan, didn’t want to surrender and risk losing all of their land and the power they had fought to gain throughout the course of the war.
 * 2) At the Casablanca meeting between President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, the Allies declared to demand unconditional surrender of the Axis Powers. They believed that the time was not right to launch into an invasion through France and instead used the assault of Sicily to try to drive Italy out of the war and break apart the Axis Powers one at a time.
 * 3) During World War II, there was a strong demand that the Axis powers yield to the Allies without allowances or any type of negotiations. This policy was first announced by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt after the Casablanca Conference with Woodrow Wilson in January 1943. By not arming or associating with the Axis powers, Roosevelt hoped this would help weaken them until the Allies were fully ready to physically attack.
 * 4) In the months leading up to the surrenders, the Allies began to have great accomplishments. On December 16, 1944, they held off the Germans’ last great counterattack, leaving the Allies feeling stronger than ever.
 * 5) By January 17, 1945, the Red Army, which was the Soviet Union’s revolutionary communist combat group, had entered the Warsaw. On January 27 of the same year, they liberated //Auschwitz//: an infamous Nazi camp where nearly 6 million Jews were killed.
 * 6) On April 11, 1945 U.S. troops liberated the concentration camp of Buchenwald. The next day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt died and Harry S. Truman became president. He took over where Roosevelt left off and continued to follow through with his unconditional surrender plan.
 * 7) Germany didn’t surrender until May of 1945, which was around one week after the suicide of Adolf Hitler. Being their strongest leader and the nearly unstoppable force behind the Nazis, the death of Hitler was basically the surrender of Germany. Without Germany in Hitler’s hands, most Germans knew their fate and that they would easily be defeated.
 * 8) With the United States waiting for Germany's surrender before physically stepping in, millions more Jews and other victims in the concentration camps were brutally killed as a final attempt to destroy not only all Jews, but also all evidence of Germany's crimes committed. Hitler had made a final decision to rid of all Jews using genocide, and most concentration camps had been turned into death camps for mass murder.
 * 9) Japan, whose comrades and troops were taught to never back down, refused to surrender until August of 1945. America had even tried to threaten them with dire consequences, trying not to prolong the war anymore. Finally, after unconditional surrender from Japan, the U.S. attacked the city of Hiroshima using atomic bombs.
 * 10) Because of the prolonged war, millions more lives were lost than necessary. The death toll rose as soldiers, Allied troops, Axis troops, Jews, and all those in the concentration camps were killed. If America or any of the other Allied Power had stepped in sooner, the probability of living victims in the concentration camps could have been much higher.

__Primary Sources__ "We hereby proclaim the unconditional surrender to the Allied Powers of the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters and of all Japanese armed forces and all armed forces under Japanese control wherever situated."
 * 1. Unconditional Surrender of Japan**
 * September 2, 1945**

In this document, Japan surrenders unconditionally, giving up all forces under their control to the Allied Powers. Although it was many months after the surrender of the main Axis Power of Germany, Japan had finally given in. With their first refusal, the United States forced a threat among them of dire consequences if they did not give up. Using new strategies and advancements, the U.S. attacked one of the largest city's in Japan with atomic bombs. Americans celebrated on Victory over Japan Day, also called V-Day, in which President Harry S. Truman announced that Japan had officially surrendered after the attack. This relates to unconditional surrender because Japan had attempted to do anything possible to prolong World War II, only causing them to lose more lives, especially when the atomic bomb was dropped. Their surrender completely ended World War II altogether, and nations began to try and restore the disrupted peace.

"We the undersigned, act ing 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. Germany's Surrender in World War II**
 * Act of Military Surrender**

In this document, German had finally surrendered on May 7, 1945. With the death of their main leader, Adolf Hitler, Germany was weak and could not sustain in World War II any longer. Relating to unconditional surrender, Germany had not wanted to give up due to the consequences they would be faced with and the loss of their land. Although the war possibly could have been stopped weeks to months in prior to when it had, both President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill had decided that unconditional surrender was necessary. Germany was now under the control of the Allies and if they had failed to comply to all demands, both the Allied Expeditionary Force, along with the Soviet High Command, could take punitive actions that they deemed appropriate.

"The United Kingdom, the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics shall possess supreme authority with respect to Germany. In the exercise of such authority they will take such steps, including the complete dismemberment of Germany as they deem requisite for future peace and security."
 * 3. The Yalta Conference**
 * Creation of the United Nations**

This excerpt from the Yalta Conference, held between Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin, shows just one of the precautions countries decided to take after the unconditional surrender of Germany. Just as World War I had led to World War II, many nations were worried that World War II could possibly lead to a third world war if serious matters were overlooked. Therefore, the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union had come to conclusion of forbidding the allowance of arms to Germany and its complete dismemberment. All that was really wanted from this was a peaceful surrender and continued peace throughout all nations. This relates to the topic of unconditional surrender because if these matters hadn't finally been taken, the war could have prolonged and perhaps led to the outburst of a third world war.