How did the U.S.

help end
World War II?

Victory over Japan Day

(August 15, 1945)
 In 1943, the U.S. and the Allies
invaded Italy and forced its surrender.

Benito Mussolini
executed (1945)
Allies invade Sicily (Operation Husky) (1943)
 In 1944, the U.S. and the Allies freed
France from Germany’s control,
invaded Germany, and forced its
surrender by 1945.

Battle of the Bulge (1944–45) Hitler commits suicide (1945)

 Despite the surrender of Germany
and Italy, Japan continued to fight
WWII, having already cost the U.S.
thousands of American lives.

Battle of Iwo Jima (1945)

 After entering WWII, the U.S. began
the Manhattan Project, which led to
the development of an atomic bomb.
April 12, 1945
 President Harry S. Truman decided to
use atomic bombs against Japan in
order to end WWII and limit the loss
of American lives.

President Harry S. Truman

Socorro, New Mexico (July 16, 1945) (1945–1953)
 In 1945, the U.S. dropped atomic
bombs on the Japanese cities of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
 “Little boy”; dropped on
Hiroshima (August 6, 1945)

“Fat man”; dropped on

Nagasaki (August 9, 1945)
 Hiroshima,
 before and
after
Radius of destruction was 1 mile; fires existed across 2–4 miles of each city
 This was the first (and only) use of
nuclear weapons in warfare, which
led to Japan’s surrender in 1945 and
the end of WWII.

Japan surrenders (August 14, 1945)

What was the aftermath
of World War II for the
U.S.? Notes #54
 The Holocaust
(1941–1945);
over 11 million
total deaths and
over 6 million
Jewish deaths
(2/3rds of
Europe’s Jewish
population)
orchestrated by
Adolf Hitler and
the Nazi Party
 U.S. aerial shot of
the Auschwitz
MS St. Louis (1939); 937 Jewish refugees aboard, extermination camp
denied entry into the U.S., during World War II
and sent back to Europe
Bataan Death
March (1942);
over 10,000
American and
Filipino
deaths,
orchestrated
by Japanese
military
officials
 After WWII, war crimes trials
involving German and Japanese
military officials took place.

Nuremberg and Tokyo

war crimes trials
 These trials established that
individuals can be held responsible
for wartime actions.

War crimes trials of Saddam Hussein and Slobodan Milošević

  In 1944, the GI Bill was passed to
provide economic aid to U.S. war
veterans.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the GI Bill or

Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944
 In 1948, President Harry S. Truman
advanced the cause of civil rights for
African Americans by ordering the
desegregation of the U.S. Armed
Forces.

Executive Order 9981 (1948)

 The 22nd Amendment was ratified in
1951 to prevent presidents from
running for a third term.
 The U.S. became committed to a
policy of global cooperation when it
joined the United Nations, which was
an international peace organization
created after WWII.

United Nations members in 1945

 WWII helped end the Great Depression
by stimulating the U.S. economy.
 WWII resulted in the emergence of
two superpowers (the U.S. and
Soviet Union).