In mid, Allied naval forces began an aggressive counterattack against Japan, involving a series of amphibious assaults on key Japanese-held islands in the Pacific. The approach of winter, along with dwindling food and medical supplies, spelled the end for German troops there, and the last of them surrendered on January 31, Soviet troops soon advanced into Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Romania, while Hitler gathered his forces to drive the Americans and British back from Germany in the Battle of the Bulge December January , the last major German offensive of the war.
An intensive aerial bombardment in February preceded the Allied land invasion of Germany, and by the time Germany formally surrendered on May 8, Soviet forces had occupied much of the country.
Hitler was already dead, having died by suicide on April 30 in his Berlin bunker. President Harry S. Post-war Germany would be divided into four occupation zones, to be controlled by the Soviet Union, Britain, the United States and France. Heavy casualties sustained in the campaigns at Iwo Jima February and Okinawa April-June , and fears of the even costlier land invasion of Japan led Truman to authorize the use of a new and devastating weapon.
Developed during a top secret operation code-named The Manhattan Project, the atomic bomb was unleashed on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in early August.
On August 15, the Japanese government issued a statement declaring they would accept the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, and on September 2, U. Although more than 1 million African Americans served in the war to defeat Nazism and fascism, they did so in segregated units.
The same discriminatory Jim Crow policies that were rampant in American society were reinforced by the U. Black servicemen rarely saw combat and were largely relegated to labor and supply units that were commanded by white officers. There were several African American units that proved essential in helping to win World War II, with the Tuskegee Airmen being among the most celebrated. But the Red Ball Express, the truck convoy of mostly Black drivers were responsible for delivering essential goods to General George S.
Yet, despite their role in defeating fascism, the fight for equality continued for African American soldiers after the World War II ended. They remained in segregated units and lower-ranking positions, well into the Korean War , a few years after President Truman signed an executive order to desegregate the U. World War II proved to be the deadliest international conflict in history, taking the lives of 60 to 80 million people, including 6 million Jews who died at the hands of the Nazis during the Holocaust.
Civilians made up an estimated million deaths from the war, while military comprised 21 to 25 million of those lost during the war. This aim is to connect the unseen dots from around the globe that influenced the big turning points we think we know well but have really only a superficial understanding of and in so doing shed new light on the scope and influence of the war.
This is an opportune moment to bring together a group of major international experts who will offer a series of new interpretations of the key aspects of the origins of the Second World War. Each chapter is based on original archival research and written by scholars who are all leading experts in their fields. This is a truly international collection of articles, with wide breadth and scope, which includes contributions from historians, and also political scientists, gender theorists, and international relations experts.
This is an important contribution to scholarly debate on one of the most important events of the 20th century and a subject of major interest to the general reader, historians, students and researchers, policy makers and conflict prevention experts. A People's History of the Second World War unearths the fascinating history of the war as fought 'from below.
Donny Gluckstein shows that an important part of the fighting involved people's militias struggling against not just fascism, but also colonialism, imperialism, and capitalism itself. Gluckstein argues that despite this radical element, which was fighting on the ground, the allied governments were more interested in creating a new order to suit their interests.
He shows how various anti-fascist resistance movements in Poland, Greece, Italy, and elsewhere were betrayed by the Allies despite playing a decisive part in defeating the Nazis.
This book will fundamentally challenge our understanding of the Second World War — both about the people who fought it and the reasons for which it was fought. A major new account of the Soviet Union at war which charts the development, successes and failures of the Red Army.
The Second World War is omnipresent in contemporary memory debates. As the war fades from living memory, this study is the first to systematically analyze how Second World War museums allow prototypical visitors to comprehend and experience the past. This includes a discussion of representations of events such as the Holocaust and air warfare. In relation to narrative, memory, and experience, the study develops the concept of experientiality on a sliding scale between mimetic and structural forms , which provides a new textual-spatial method for reading exhibitions and understanding the experiences of historical individuals and collectives.
It is supplemented by concepts like transnational memory, empathy, and encouraging critical thinking through difficult knowledge. Remembering the Second World War brings together an international and interdisciplinary cast of leading scholars to explore the remembrance of this conflict on a global scale.
Conceptually, it is premised on the need to challenge nation-centric approaches in memory studies, drawing strength from recent transcultural, affective and multidirectional turns. I was heart broken, mind numb over the vile attitudes Nazis had for Jews. If someone told me they doubted the Holocaust I would give them this book to read. Thank you and I thank God for Sir Gilbert's heart and talent as a writer.
Physical scars, from the severest disfigurement to disfiguring wounds, and mental scars, accompanied these millions for the rest of their lives. View 2 comments. Jul 08, Anders rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: Everyone. Shelves: What a terrible, horrific, bloody, incomprehensible, period of world history. It really re-defines what human beings are possible of, from the extremes of unthinkable brutality, and lack of conscience and respect for human life, to the amazing perseverance of people of many races, and from many countries, facing unthinkable pain, l Wow!
It really re-defines what human beings are possible of, from the extremes of unthinkable brutality, and lack of conscience and respect for human life, to the amazing perseverance of people of many races, and from many countries, facing unthinkable pain, loss, and odds. An amazing overview of the whole conflict, I would recommend this book to everyone, to bring to light what this huge part of our recent history was about, the sacrifices and trials involved, and to gain from it, knowledge that might help inform our opinions and about right and wrong, what is morally acceptable, both in life, and in current conflicts, and issues that we have a say in.
There were many times during Hitler's rise to power, where situations could have been turned, and years of strife, been avoided. Hitler preyed upon people's fears, promoted hate, and justified morally unthinkable acts in the name of a political and racial ideology. It's sad to see people today, promoting causes in the same ways. Why can't we learn? It works the same in any country.
View 1 comment. Sep 15, Tim rated it liked it. Gilbert's a very able historian of WWII and his choice to follow a strict, day by day, chronological approach was obviously very conscious, but it's also a serious flaw. I think he chose it primarily to bring out details and maintain focus on Nazi atrocities large and small, and those of the German army generally, as well as those of Imperial Japan.
Maybe more impor Gilbert's a very able historian of WWII and his choice to follow a strict, day by day, chronological approach was obviously very conscious, but it's also a serious flaw. The battles for Stalingrad and St. To be fair, Gilbert certainly knew the weaknesses inherent in his approach and he surely chose it knowingly. He probably succeeded, but that precluded producing a good history of the war. The book has its place, and a valuable one, but it misrepresents itself.
Gilbert does a great job with an extremely difficult subject. He is factual but not graphic. And yet the horrors of this war are practically endless. Millions upon millions of lives. Ironically we finished on the 71st anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. July 6, This was an excellent if sobering listening choice for dear husband and myself this past July 4th weekend. It was good to recall and give thanks for the debt owed to so many for our sacred freedom.
It left both of us overwhelme Gilbert does a great job with an extremely difficult subject. It left both of us overwhelmed, certainly not for the first time, at the horrors which we human beings are capable of against each other. Lest we ever forget It brings the reader up to November with Operation Torch, the Allied landing in Tunisia, the largest amphibious landing ever to date and the failure of the German Army to take Stalingrad which gave the Allied peoples everywhere so much hope.
Hearing of the loss of so much life, the inhuman brutality perpetrated in the name of who-knows-what becomes a bit mind numbing. Listening to it, one begins to wonder-if it happened before, what, or who is to stop it from happening again? He smoothly transitions from the thousands killed to the individual nightmare atrocity to the political machinations from country to country keeping our interest throughout.
Continuing on May 6, Martin Gilbert was the official biographer of Winston Churchill. Having lived in the UK for four years I confess to being partial to British history.
Dear husband and I are listening to this when we have the time. So much better than the telie. More than 70 years after the most devastating conflict in the history of humankind, with the macabre procession of 40 million dead, it continues to be the object of study and analysis, in which rationalize such a carnage, which should not forget. In this memorialist and rationalizing effort, Martin Gilbert, famous for Winston Churchill's monumental biography, takes a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to that conflict.
The book, impeccably written, contains essential documentation - maps, More than 70 years after the most devastating conflict in the history of humankind, with the macabre procession of 40 million dead, it continues to be the object of study and analysis, in which rationalize such a carnage, which should not forget.
The book, impeccably written, contains essential documentation - maps, diagrams and photographs - to see the evolution of war.
May 17, R. Gammon added it Shelves: ww2 , for-school. Somehow, I read this entire book in about two months. It was a lot. When I first started, I didn't think I was going to be able to make it. I knew I couldn't quit, because this was a school book Not with the weight of human depravity being thrown at me with every page and paragraph and line.
The Second World War was, throughout, less a war of battles and more one of mass destruction everyw Somehow, I read this entire book in about two months. The Second World War was, throughout, less a war of battles and more one of mass destruction everywhere and largely that of innocent civilians. Millions and millions of these died, and the stories of their ends is heartrending to read but impossible to look away from. This is not an easy book, either in reading level or brutality level.
It is a brilliantly written book, one that gives insight into all the leaders on all sides of the war. As a history of the brutality that was the Second World War I'd recommend it in a heartbeat. If you're just looking for an interesting history lesson, however, this would not be the place to start. This was a war of pain. So much pain. Never again Learn of the Holocaust. Learn of the occupation of Poland, of the destruction of Russia, of the torture of prisoners of war.
It's brutal and violent and heartrending. It makes us question humanity. But it is needed. This was a bit of a brain-dump If you stuck around, thank you. This isn't exactly a review like I normally do, but it's my honest thoughts.
Aug 13, S. The greatest unfinished business of the Second World War is human pain. Martin Gilbert does an excellent job explaining the horrors of one of the most devastating events in history, and how it changed, and ended, the lives of many people. Gilbert covers nearly everything, from the very first victim of the war, to the effect the war has on people nearly 50 years later. I wish he delved into certain topics a bit more, and some a little less, but it was a very haunting and terrifying view on what hatred can lead to.
Jun 05, Shawn Deal rated it really liked it Shelves: history. This is a good, and informative book. Well researched. This book may not be for everyone as it is peppered with a lot of the atrocities done during the war.
Some of them will pull you away from the rest of this book and this telling of history.
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