9.3.3: The end of WW2 - Q facts -

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• Leerjaar 3

AGE 9. The Time of World Wars

9.3.3 The end of World War 2

Q

FACTS

What is this lesson about?

From 1943, the tide turned. In this lesson we will look at three different theaters of war: the eastern front, the western front and the Pacific.

After the German defeat at Stalingrad, the German army was retreating. 

In the west a huge Allied army was gathering in England. On D-Day this army would cross the Channel to invade France and liberate western Europe from Nazi occupation.

In the Pacific the tide also turned. The USA had recovered from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and was now pushing the Japanese army back towards Japan, island by island.

The war would not end however, until a terrible new weapon forced the Japanese to surrender: the atomic bomb.

people in this lesson

Roosevelt

president

USA

Hitler

Führer

Germany

Eisenhower

general

USA

Stalin

Leader

USSR

Truman

president

USA

Word Duty

Words that are in bold print must be learned for a test. 

Words that are printed cursive in the texts, you just need to be able to understand & translate!

D-Day: Decision Day, June 6th 1944. The day on which Allied forces invaded Northern France by means of beach landings in Normandy. The official name for this operation was Operation Overlord

VE-Day: Victory-in-Europe Day

KEY WORDS

Important dates in this lesson:

1943:    Germans surrender at Stalingrad (Jan 31st)

             Allied invasion of Italy (Sept. 3rd)

1944:    D-Day (June 6th)

             Liberation Southern Netherlands (Sept.)

1945:    Hitler commits suicide (April 30th)

             Germany surrenders  / VE-Day (May 8th)

             Atomic bombs on Hiroshima & Nagasaki (August 6th + 9th)

            Japan surrenders, end WW2 (Sept 2nd)

Allies

Axis Powers

It’s 1943. Make sure you know who fought against who...

Read "The Eastern Front" .
1a. Why could Germany not increase its arms production in 1943?

1b. What did Stalin mean with a "second front"?

1. an allied attack on German territory in western Europe
2. a German attack on Russian territory in eastern Europe
3. a Russian attack on German territory in eastern Europe
4. an allied attack on German territory in eastern Europe

1c. Why did Stalin want the western allies to open
a "second front"?

1d. Stalin believed that the western allied leaders were deliberately slow in opening a second front.
What could be a possible reason for that?

Read "The Western Front"
2a. Look at the map in the previous slide.
Which three countries sent troops to the Normandy beaches?

If you need to mention an ‘element’ from the source you need to describe something that you can SEE in the source. 

2b. Why was Operation Overlord called D-Day?

If you need to mention an ‘element’ from the source you need to describe something that you can SEE in the source. 

2c. Hitler did not expect the Allied invasion
to take place in Normandy.
What would be a more logical location? Explain.

If you need to mention an ‘element’ from the source you need to describe something that you can SEE in the source. 

Read "From D-Day to VE-Day"
3a. Churchill and Roosevelt were now in a rush to liberate western Europe when they saw how fast Stalin was pushing the Germans back in the east.
Can you imagine why Churchill ad Roosevelt were worried about Stalin's successes?

If you need to mention an ‘element’ from the source you need to describe something that you can SEE in the source. 

3b The Germans introduced the first rocket missiles,
which they called V-1
Look up what the letter V stood for.

If you need to mention an ‘element’ from the source you need to describe something that you can SEE in the source. 

Read "War in the Pacific"
4a. Why were the Americans able to send more troops to the Pacific after May 1945?

Read "War in the Pacific"
4b. Give two reasons why the USA decided to use their atomic bombs against Japan.

4c. The Allies only accepted Japan's surrender if Japan surrendered "unconditionally". What does that mean?

Read the source below.

‘GUAM, Aug. 9 – Gen. Carl A. Spaatz announced today that a second atomic bomb had been dropped, this time on the city of Nagasaki, and that crew members reported “good results”. The second use of the new and terrifying secret weapon which wiped out more than 60 per cent of the city of Hiroshima and, according to the Japanese radio, killed nearly every resident of that town, occurred at noon today, Japanese time. The target today was an important industrial and shipping area with a population of about 253,000.

The great bomb, which harnesses the power of the universe to destroy the enemy by concussion, blast and fire, was dropped on the second enemy city about seven hours after the Japanese had received a political “roundhouse punch” in the form of a declaration of war by the Soviet Union.’

Fragment from an article by W.H. Lawrence, nicknamed ‘Atomic Bill’ in The New York Times, 10th August 1945.

5a. Read the source in the previous slide.
What did the crew members mean with ‘good results’?

5b. Use the source to explain why the USA chose
to drop their atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki.
Mention two reasons.

6. Do you think president Truman was right when he decided to drop an atomic bomb? Explain your answer.

(Here you practise to write arguments!)

7. The Soviet Union and the USA were allies in World War II after the Americans declared war on Japan.
Did their relationship change after Germany surrendered?
Explain your answer.

Write down one question about something in this lesson that you still don't fully understand.

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