Great Depression Tensions In Europe

1117 Words5 Pages
Nick Sevin Mr. Roso English III 28 March 2012 During the Great Depression tensions in Europe were still tight from the treaty that ended World War I. The Germans were still upset because they felt as though they were unfairly punished in the treaty. Adolf Hitler, the leader of Germany, began World War II when he instructed his army to invade Poland. Soon after this action, Britain and France declared war on Germany. This led Italy to declare war on France and Britain. It seemed as though every European country was picking a side in this massive war. Japan began seizing islands in the Pacific Ocean and eventually attacked the American Pacific Fleet in hopes to control the ocean. Because of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States…show more content…
In 1941 President Roosevelt began the Manhattan Project. Its purpose and goal was to create nuclear weapons that would help win the war. The Americans rushed to try and complete their atomic bombs before Germany and Japan. Another goal of the Manhattan project was to destroy the plants the Germans were developing their bombs in. Following the death of President Roosevelt, his vice president Harry Truman finished his term. On Truman’s first day as president, he was briefed on the Manhattan Project. This was the first time he has heard of the atomic bombs due to the strict secrecy of the project. On July 16, 1945, the Trinity Test was the first successful atomic bomb. Truman was at the Potsdam Conference when he heard the news of the Trinity Test. He warned that if Japan refused the terms of the Potsdam Declaration he would be using a newly developed weapon on them. In early August the Empire of Japan rejected the Potsdam Declaration; therefore, Truman kept to his word. On August 6, 1945, the Enola Gay, an American B-29 bomber, left an airstrip in Tinian with Little Boy in its bomb bay. Little Boy was a uranium fueled atomic bomb intended to be dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. At 8:15 that morning Little Boy detonated over the city, destroying 69% of the city and 70,000 thousand lives. The Japanese still refused to surrender, so the…show more content…
In the opening stages of the war, it seemed as though Hitler and the Third Reich could not be stopped. They invaded France and quickly gained control of the country. Hitler then set his sights on the United Kingdom. Luckily, for Britain this is the point that the United States entered the war. Britain and America coordinate a joint attack on Nazi occupied France. On D-Day thousands of Allied troops land on the French beaches in Normandy and attempt to make their way past the Nazi fortifications and into the heart of France. The attack is a success and British and American forces fight their way through France towards Germany. The Russian forces were fighting the Germans in the east, which positioned Hitler in the middle of two large armies. Germany could not sustain a two front war, and the defeat of the Nazis was soon to come. In the Pacific Theater, Japanese army and naval units were trying to push the American Marines away from Japan but were having immense trouble. American troops were chasing the Japanese from island to island until they were close enough to make their final attacks on the island of Japan. With American bombers just outside of Japan, President Truman decided to take at advantage of the United States’ newest weapon, the atomic bomb. On June 6, 1945, an American B-29 dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, on June

More about Great Depression Tensions In Europe

Open Document