the home front

The Home Front&

The Aftermath of the War

USSR• Leningrad – under siege for 900 days

• Battle of Machines – entire factories were moved to the interior and produced war munitions.

• Soviet women worked in industries, mines, railroads, some served in the military as snipers and aircrew.

U.S.• American economy mobilization for war

• Turmoil

– Housing & schools shortage

– Racial tensions & race riots

– Segregation in U.S. military

• Japanese Americans– 110,000 moved to internment

camps

Germany• To maintain morale Hitler refused to cut

consumer goods production or to increase the production of armaments

• 1942 order massive increase in armaments, Albert Speer was put in charge (too late)

• 1944 Schools, theaters, and cafes were closed

• Women were encouraged to enter the work force, few did

Japan• Wartime Japan was

highly mobilized

• Young Japanese men were encouraged to volunteer in suicide mission against the U.S. (kamikaze)

• Female employment increased in farming and the textile industry– Chinese and Korean labors

were brought in to meet the labor shortage

Kamikaze attack on the LST534

Bombing of Cities• Most thought that bombing civilian populations

would be an effective way to force governments to make peace.

• Battle of Britain – proved this theory wrong!• British began bombing German cities

– Destruction of Dresden

• Incendiary bomb create firestorms• 500,000 civilians die in bombing – survivors

were not more determined to fight to the death• Bombing did not slow down production of war

goods

Bombing of Cities cont.

• The bombing of civilians reached a new level with the first atomic bomb.

U.S. B-29 Superfortress

Harry Truman• Harry Truman – U.S. Pres after FDR dies

– Has to decide if U.S. should use atomic bomb

Atomic Bomb

• Use of Atomic Bomb– Allow U.S. to avoid invasion of Japan

• Estimated 90% casualty rate to invade JAP – Aug 6 – 1st bomb dropped on Hiroshima– Aug 9 – 2nd bomb dropped on Nagasaki

• Both cities leveled• Hiroshima: 71,379 instantly killed, 70,000 die

later from radiation poisoning.• Nagasaki: 25,000 instantly killed, 45,000 die

by end of year from radiation poisoning

Atomic Bomb cont.

• Almost everything within a one-mile radius of the explosion’s center spontaneously combusted.

• Granite stone melted

• People vaporized left ghostly images imprinted on stone walls & sidewalks.

*Information from Everything World War II

Peace & a New War

• WWII was followed by a period of political tensions known as the Cold War

• Tehran Conference

• Yalta Conference

• Potsdam Conference

End of the War

• Aug 14 – Emperor Hirohito surrendered– 17 million dead in battle– 20 million dead civilians– Some estimate total dead 50 million

– Immediately after the war, Russia and the U.S. went their separate ways

– This rivalry between east & west was known as the Cold War

End of the War in Europe• Allies pushed inland & broke Ger defenses•August 1944 –Allies liberated Paris•Russians defeated Germans at Battle of Kursk•Soviets move on to occupy Warsaw–Jan 1945•March 1945 – crossed Rhine River into Germany•End April 1945 – Allies in N. Germany moved toward Elbe R & linked w/Soviets•Allies entered Berlin April 23, 1945

•Hitler committed suicide April 30, 1945-2 days later Mussolini is killed•May 7, 1945-Germans surrendered -VE Day

• Nuremberg Trials– Dachau Trials –

Prosecutor Colonel Denson (Bham, AL)

– Alleged former Nazi deported to Austria from U.S.

Nuremberg Trials

• West thought Soviets were pushing Communism world-wide

• Soviets viewed the West especially America pushed global capitalism

• March 1946 “Iron curtain” divided EU into two hostile camps