- Russia
- Moving in from the east
- Last major German offensive had been in July 1943 - failed
- Within a year the Russians had recaptured the Ukraine, the Crimea, White Russia, Poland and most of Lithuania, Rumania, Blugaria and the Baltic States
- *** The Russians destroyed over 500 German aircraft by ramming them in mid-air (they also sometimes cleared minefields by marching over them). "It takes a brave man not to be a hero in the Red Army." - Joseph Stalin
- October 1944 - Finland surrendered to Russia and declared war on Germany
- Russian forces swept into eastern Hungary - joined with Tito in Yugoslavia
- Swung north to capture Vienna and eastern Austria
- January 1945 took Warsaw and Krakow
- Red Army - Drove toward Berlin - entered German territory in December 1944 - committed horrible atrocities ( *** I talked to a German who stood and watched as the Russians lined up to rape his mother)...revenge for German actions
From all directions Allied armies closed on Germany
April 29, 1945 - Mussolini executed - shot
German forces in Italy surrendered May 2, 1945
April 30.1945 - Hitler committed suicide
- He married Eva Braun (his mistress) in the evening then they both committed suicide
- She took poison
- He shot himself because he was afraid the poison would hurt
- he ordered that the bodies be burned because he didn't want his body treated like Mussolini's
- his body had to be identified by dental records
Goebbles Hitler's propaganda minister also committed suicide. He poisoned his 6 children with a lethal injection administered by an army doctor and then he and his wife were shot by an aide. Their bodies were burned.
Berlin fell May 2, 1945
May 7 - the Germans signed an unconditional surrender - V-E Day (Victory in Europe)
May 9 - Ceremony in Berlin ratified the surrender
The war lasted 5 years, 8 months, and 7 days.
Potsdam Conference
- July 1945
- The "Big 3" met in the ruins of the suburbs of defeated Berlin
- FDR had died in April 1945...replaced by Harry Truman
- Churchill arrived for the start of the conference, but during the meeting Churchill's Conservative Party lost the elections in Britain and he was replaced by Clemet Attlee
- The loss of these 2 men allowed Stalin to dominate the conference claiming things had been decided previously that could not be refuted by the new members. This would allow Stalin a great deal of leeway.
- The meeting was hostile from the start because of growing disagreement about Soviet action in eastern Europe
- * in the middle of the meeting the U.S. successfully detonated a nuclear bomb at Alamagordo, New Mexico
- Truman attempted to get Stalin to agree not to join the war against Japan - he feared the spread of communism into Asia
- Stalin refused...created a race to get Japan to surrender before the Soviets entered the war
Comments