Why VE and VJ Brought Hope

The Battle of the Bulge• By the end of 1914, Hitler

knew he was losing badly. The Germans launched one last offensive which became known as the Battle of the Bulge. • Initially, Germany broke

through the Allied Lines (creating a small “bulge” hence the battle’s name), the Allies came back for a win and drove the Germans back.

Members of the NC National GuardAt the Battle of the Bulge!

VE Day

• Soviets from the East and Americans/British to the West entered Germany. • Germany surrendered

on May 7, 1945. • By this point, Hitler

was dead…..or was he?

Back East….

• The US continued Island Hopping closer and closer to Japan. • The last two major battles were Iwo Jima and

Okinawa.

The Decision• The Japanese had

trained their people to fight to the death. • Americans knew this. • To stop a potentially

costly invasion of the mainland, President Truman dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 and bombed Nagasaki three days later.

VJ Day• Shortly after the

bombings, Japan announced it would surrender. • Officially, this took place

on September 2, 1945. • The war officially ended

then, though some Japanese would continue fighting for a while afterwards.

The Worst Was Just Coming Out

• Throughout the war, the Holocaust had been carried out by the German Nazis, claiming the lives of more than six million Jews and numerous others. • It is the worst genocide (mass killing) in modern

times. Unfortunately, it was not the last.