The End of WWII in Europe and the Aftermath

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The End of WWII in Europe and the Aftermath

• 10.8 Discuss the human costs of the war, with
  particular attention to the civilian and military
  losses in Russia, Germany, Britain, the United
  States, China and Japan.

http//www.mrsthayer.com/War_Crimes_and_the_Death_
Toll.ppt
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Review

• After D-Day, the Allied forces continued to push
  toward Germany.
• The Germans launched a massive counter-attack at
  the Ardennes Forest which proved a disastrous
  failure for the Germans and a turning point for
  the Allied forces.
• In April of 1945, the Red Army reached Berlin.
• The end of the war in Europe was only one month
  away.

Above, the Germans sign the surrender document in
Berlin. Below, the Germans sign the
Unconditional Surrender document in France
officially ending the war.
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Hitlers Suicide and Germanys Surrender
In April of 1945, the Red Army reached Berlin,
Germanys capital. On April 30th, ten days after
his birthday, Hitler and his wife Eva Braun
committed suicide. Many Nazi officials escaped
out of Germany before the Red Army came. Those
that stayed were captured by the Russians. The
city surrendered on May 2nd, 1945 to the
Russians. On May 7th, 1945 the war in Europe was
officially over.
Hitlers official death picture, his wife Eva
Braun and his dog Blondi.
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The Death Toll
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Making Sense of the Numbers

• The Soviet Union had the highest military and
  civilian casualties, followed by China and then
  Germany.
• The Nazis killed over 14 million people in their
  labor and death camps.
• They murdered six million Jews.
• London, Berlin, Dresden, and Tokyo were heavily
  bombed with high civilian casualties.
• Millions of Chinese civilians were murdered by
  the Japanese.
• The Atomic bomb killed over 250,000 civilians in
  Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
• Total estimated deaths during WWII range between
  40 and 50 million.

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Europe after WWII
Dresden, Germany
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The Bombing of London
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The Bombing of Hamburg
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War CrimesBringing Justice and Order Back to the
World.

• After WWII, the Allied leaders agreed to hold
  trials in Germany, Japan, and Italy for those
  that committed crimes against humanity.
• The Nuremberg Trials sought justice for the Jews
  and eight million Poles, Slavs, and Gypsies that
  were murdered in the Nazi Death Camps.

Nuremberg, Germany
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Hermann Goering, on the left was sentenced to
execution. He committed suicide in prison.
Rudolf Hess, above, was sentenced to 40 years
life imprisonment. He committed suicide at age
93!
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Justice Served?

• Of the 22 accused of crimes against humanity
• 11 were sentenced to execution.
• 3 were acquitted.
• 3 were given life imprisonment.
• 4 were given prison terms of 10 to 20 years.
• Execution sentences were carried out on October
  6th, 1946.

Spandau Prison, Germany