WESTERN FRONT

AFTER THE D-DAY INVASION, ALLIED FORCES BATTLE THEIR WAY TO GERMANY FROM THE WEST.

EASTERN FRONT

SOVIET FORCES BATTLE THEIR WAY TO GERMANY FROM THE EAST.

CAPTURE OF BERLIN-MAY 1945

ALLIED FORCES TAKE OVER BERLIN (FROM BOTH SIDES) & HITLER COMMITTS SUICIDE IN HIS UNDERGROUND BUNKER.

THE GERMANS SURRENDER! THIS IS KNOWN AS “V.E. DAY” (VICTORY IN EUROPE).

GERMANY GETS DIVED INTO EAST & WEST.

THE SOVET UNION CONTROLS THE EAST & THE WEST IN CONTRIOLLED BY BRITAIN, AMERICA & FRANCE.

THE CAPITAL OF BERLIN IS ALSO DIVIDED AMONG THE ALLIES.

THE SOVIET UNION TAKES OVER MUCH OF EASTERN EUROPE & PLACES COMMUNIST GOVERNMENTS IN THE COUNTRIES; THE BORDER BETWEEN THE FREE WESTERN COUNTRIES & THE COMMUNIST EASTERN COUNTRIES BECOMES KNOWN AS THE “IRON CURTAIN”.

IRON

CURTAIN

IN AN EFFORT TO END THE WAR, THE U.S. DROPS 2

ATOMIC BOMBS ON JAPAN

• HIROSHIMA – AUG. 6, 1945• NAGASAKI – AUG.9, 1945

• THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE DIE• THE CITIES ARE DESTROYED

• AUG. 14, 1945 - JAPAN SURRENDERS TO THE UNITED STATES, OFFICIALLY ENDING WWII.

• THE “NUCLEAR AGE “ HAS BEGUN.

ALBERT EINSTEINEinstein denounced World War I and after the war became an outspoken pacifist. But the rise of Nazism and the horrifying events of World War II forced him to reconsider his anti-war position. Concerned the Nazis were building an atomic bomb, he urged the United States to build one first. Six years later, when the bomb was dropped on civilians, Einstein openly regretted his action and became a champion of nuclear disarmament for the rest of his life.

LETTER FROM

EINSTEIN TO

PRESIDENT

ROOSEVELT

President Truman

• REPLACED FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT AS PRESIDENT AFTER FDR’S DEATH (April12, 1945)

• MADE THE DECISION TO DROP THE ATOMIC BOMBS OVER JAPAN

“Little Boy” Atomic Bomb

dropped over Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945

dropped over Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 1945

“Fat Man” Atomic Bomb

Hiroshima Was Burnt To Ashes

Disaster Near The Hypocenter

This photograph shows the dark portion of the pattern of the clothing imprinted on the skin by the powerful heat rays. This is also called secondary burns, ins which the skin under the clothing received burns through the clothes scorched by the heat rays.

The date of this photograph is unknown, but there are records indicating that it was taken in October 1945, and the patient was 17 years old then. Although the portion covered by the shoulder strap of a bag was left unburned, traces of burns on the patient's back can be seen since the patient had light clothes on at that time.

This boy, who was burned to death with his hands placed on his chest, leaving an impression of agony, is believed to have been a mobilized student exposed to the A-bomb in Iwakana township, which is about 700 meters from the hypocenter

This photograph shows an eyeball of an A-bomb victim who got an atomic bomb cataract. There is opacity near the center of the eyeball. It has been known for some time, through that radiation causes cataracts in animals.

JAPAN SURRENDERSAugust 15, 1945

THE COLD WAR BEGINS

• USA – SOVIET UNION

• SOVIET UNION TAKES OVER MUCH OF EASTERN EUROPE

• GERMANY (& BERLIN) ARE DIVIDED– EAST (SOVIET UNION – COMMUNIST)– WEST (FREE – DEMOCRACY)

• 1962-CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS (SOVIET UNION PLACES NUCLEAR MISSLES IN CUBA AIMED AT THE UNITED STATES)

THE KOREAN WAR (early 1950s):

FORCES IN NORTH KOREAN (BACKED BY SOVIET UNION & CHINA) WANTS TO TAKE OVER THE COUNTRY. FORCES IN SOUTH KOREA (SUPPORTED BY U.S.) DEFEND.

COUNTRY GETS DIVIDED IN TO NORTH & SOUTH (51st parallel)

1962-CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS (SOVIET UNION PLACES NUCLEAR MISSLES IN CUBA AIMED AT THE UNITED STATES)

THE VIETNAM WAR

(196Os – early 70s):

FORCES IN NORTH VIETNAM(BACKED BY SOVIET UNION & CHINA) WANTS TO TAKE OVER THE COUNTRY.

FORCES IN SOUTH VIETNAM (SUPPORTED BY U.S.) DEFEND.

MANY PROTESTS IN THE U.S.A. RESULT FROM THE WAR

FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL (NOV. 1989)