Photo: The End of the War

Photographer: Mike Wintermantel
Taken: May 14, 2014
Caption: The End of the War
Additional Description: Hitler's suicide freed Germany from his fanatical determination to continue the war and led to its May 7, 1945 surrender to the Allies. In July, Japan was given an ultimatum to surrender unconditionally. When it refused, atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing 75,000 just on the days the bombs fell. The strikes led to Japan's declaration of surrender on August 15, 1945.

German and Japanese leaders were tried before international tribunals for their wartime conduct. Those found guilty were executed or sentenced to prison. American-led programs helped rebuild infrastructure and restore economies across Europe and Asia - including those of its principal foes. Russia's role in defeating Germany markedly altered postwar events by gaining domination of the Eastern and Central European countries its forces occupied at war's end. Soon, even Germany was partitioned by an "Iron Curtain" that divided the entire continent. And Russian was now a superpower engaged in a "Cold War" with the United States.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy affirmed the principles for which he and so many others had bravely fought. He declared that America would again "pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend and oppose any foe to assure the survival of liberty."
Submitted: May 15, 2014, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Database Locator Identification Number: p273370
File Size: 2.017 Megabytes

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