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Yalta Conference
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt of the United States, Prime Minister Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom, and Premier Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union (sometimes called the USSR, or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) met to discuss the future of Europe after World War II. The wartime leaders discussed the future of Eastern European countries under Soviet occupation. While Stalin ostensibly agreed to allow democratic elections, he indefinitely postponed them and installed Communist -
US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt Dies
Franklin Delano Roosevelt died from a stroke. Subsequently, his Vice President Harry Truman became President -
Hitler Commits Suicide
Adolf Hitler, leader of Nazi Germany since 1933, committed suicide. His suicide occurred in his underground bunker in Berlin as Soviet forces continued their advance through the city. Soon thereafter, Berlin fell to the Soviets; what remained of the German government prepared to surrender. -
VE Day
On May 7, the remnants of the Nazi German state surrendered to the Allies. On May 8 (May 9 in the USSR and Eastern Europe), it was announced that Germany had surrendered. The war in Europe, which had been fought since September 1939, was finally over -
Trinity Test
The United States successfully tested the first atomic weapon in New Mexico -
Postdam Conference
Stalin, President Truman, and Prime Minister Churchill (and later, his successor Clement Attlee) met in occupied Germany to discuss post-war plans for Germany and how to end the war in the Pacific. The leaders agreed to split up Germany, Austria, Berlin, and Vienna into zones of occupations -
Hiroshima bombed
The United States used the atomic bomb “Little Boy” against the Japanese city of Hiroshima. About 140,000 people died from the immediate attack and subsequent fallout -
Nagasaki bombed
The United States used the atomic bomb “Fat Man” against the Japanese city of Nagasaki. About 70,000 people died from the immediate attack and subsequent fallout -
Japan announced it would surrender
Japan announced it would surrender on the date september 2 -
Japan surrenders to US
On August 15, Japan announced it would surrender. On September 2, Japan officially surrendered to the United States, ending World War II.
