Other
Dirksen Congressional Center: Everett M. Dirksen Abroad, 1945: The Trip
The Dirksen Congressional Center created a website focused on Everett Dirksen's travels for the House Committee on Appropriations in 1945. Details the extent of this trip with a list of places traveled, people he met with, and pictures....
University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma Law Center: The Japanese Surrender
The source documents of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, September 12, 1945, are provided at this site from the University of Oklahoma.
Yale University
Avalon Project: Yalta Conference
Read the document that presented the protocal adopted at the Yalta Conference which addressed many world issues, primarily what would happen with Germany and Japan at the end of World War II.
Other
Old Time Radio: Radio News: Victory in Japan Day
Original radio broadcast announcing the end of World War II after the surrender of Japan, and the jubilation that followed as crowds in cities across the United States celebrated in the streets.
University of Virginia
Miller Center at Uva: u.s. Presidents: Fdr: Fireside Chat 27: On the Tehran and Cairo Conferences
After Franklin Roosevelt's meeting with other Allied leaders in Tehran and Cairo in December, 1943, he gave a fireside chat on December 24 to inform the American public what transpired and how the Allies planned on ending the war.
Google Cultural Institute
Google Cultural Institute: Ve Day Celebrations
On May 7, 1945, the formal act of military surrender was signed by Germany, ending World War II in Europe. This pictorial essay highlights the celebrations that took place in London the next day marking VE Day.
New York Times
New York Times: The Bitter Legacy of Yalta
[Free Registration/Login Required] New York Times correspondent Jason DeParle reflects on the controversial legacy of the Yalta Conference. (November 26, 1989)
American Presidency Project
American Presidency Project: The President's News Conference on v E Day
Here is the transcript of the news conference President Harry S. Truman had on May 8, 1945, just before the release of his proclamation declaring the end of hostilities in Europe. Read why he released this early to journalists, and enjoy...
PBS
Pbs: Wwii Behind Closed Doors: Prelude to Cold War
This article discusses the uneasy alliance maintained by Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, and Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II and the implications of this alliance on the development of the Cold War.
BBC
Bbc News: On This Day: 7 February 1945: Black Sea Talks Plan Defeat of Germany
Read about the meeting in Yalta in February, 1945, between President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Marshal Joseph Stalin. Find the statement released on February 7 that discusses the purpose of the meeting, and read a...
Library of Congress
Loc: War's End Ve Day
A collection of letters and interviews of soldiers as the relate and recall their feelings on VE day.
Digital History
Digital History: The Aftermath of the Decision [Pdf]
A touching and horrifying description of the devastation caused by the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which brought about the surrender of Japan in World War II. Suggested student exercises accompany the information....
Digital History
Digital History: From Wartime Allies to Cold War Enemies [Pdf]
This timeline traces the devolution of the relationship between the United States and Soviet Union from the end of World War II, where these two countries were allies, albeit suspicious of each other, and almost a year after the end of...
Ibis Communications
Eyewitness to History: London Celebrates Ve Day, 1945
Read the description of the celebrations in London on V-E Day in May, 1945. In addition, listen to the radio broadcast of the surrender of Germay.
Museum of Modern Art
Mo Ma: Henri Cartier Bresson: After the War, End of an Era
French photographer Cartier-Bresson, known as the father of photojournalism, documents scenes in Europe at the end of the Second World War and in India and China at the start of the postwar period in world history.
PBS
Pbs: American Experience: Adolf Hitler (1889 1945)
PBS publishes this biographical essay of Adolf Hitler, exploring his life as the fourth son of a customs official through his role as dictator of Germany.
National Cable Satellite Corporation
C Span Classroom: World War Ii the Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb
This video provides Lt. Col. Grant Weller, who describes the decision of the United States to use the atomic bomb on Japan to end World War II. Student questions are provided to assess their understanding of the information.
US National Archives
Nara: Japan Surrenders
Find a reproduction of the official instrument of surrender signed aboard the USS Missouri on September 2, 1945.
BBC
Bbc History: British Bombing Strategy in World War Two
Read about the bombing strategy of the RAF during World War II, but primarily at the end of the war and the bombing of Dresden.
Other
Desa: September 2, 1945
The Destroyer Escort Sailors Association lists destroyer escorts present with the battleship USS Missouri in Toyko Bay and pictures at the time of the surrender.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: 1945 1980: Start of the Cold War the Yalta Conference
Learn how the end of World War II contributed to the rise of the Cold War.
Other
National Wwii Museum: Remembering v E Day [Pdf]
See a copy of the front page of a Minneapolis newspaper proclaiming V-E Day and read about celebrations all through Europe on the day World War II ended in Europe, May 8, 1945. [pdf]