Also Within this year in history

World War II ended in 1945, after Germany surrendered in May and Japan capitulated in August, days after powerful new atomic bombs exploded over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Two months later, 29 nations ratified a charter to form the United Nations. Writer George Orwell coined the term “cold war,” predicting icy relations between the U.S. and U.S.S.R., while popular songs like “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" and “Sentimental Journey” reflected the stateside mood as some 4 million G.I.s returned home.

Apr

25

U.S. Presidents

President Truman is briefed on Manhattan Project

On April 25, 1945, President Harry S. Truman learns the full details of the Manhattan Project, in which scientists are attempting to create the first atomic bomb. The information thrust upon Truman a momentous decision: whether or not to use the world’s first weapon of mass destruction.

Glowing bright yellow dome-shaped cloud in a dark sky

Trinity was the code name of the first detonation of a nuclear device, conducted by the U.S. Army on July 16, 1945, in the Jornada New Mexico desert. Trinity used an implosion-design plutonium device, informally nicknamed ‘The Gadget.’

Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Apr

28

World War II

Benito Mussolini executed

On April 28, 1945, “Il Duce,” Benito Mussolini, and his mistress, Clara Petacci, are shot by Italian partisans who had captured the couple as they attempted to flee to Switzerland.

Benito Mussolini dies, World Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali dodges the draft, Russian space program launches the first rocket, and the mutiny on the Bounty captained by Captain Bligh occurs in This Day in History video. The date is April 28th. The former Cassius Clay refuses to fight in the Vietnam War.

Apr

30

World War II

Adolf Hitler commits suicide in his underground bunker

On April 30, 1945, holed up in a bunker under his headquarters in Berlin, Adolf Hitler commits suicide by swallowing a cyanide capsule and shooting himself in the head. Soon after, Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allied forces, ending Hitler’s dreams of a “1,000-year” Reich.

Soviet Soldiers In The Ruins Of Hitler'S Bunker

GERMANY - APRIL 30: April 30, 1945. Soviet soldiers showing the gas cans in the ruins of HITLER's bunker which were used to burn the bodies of Adolf HITLER and Eva BRAUN. As Berlin was being invaded by the Russian army, the German chancellor Adolf HITLER and his wife Eva BRAUN committed suicide in their room and then, according to instructions from the Führer, the two bodies were burned. HITLER did not want the Soviets to be able to take his body and exhibit it. (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)

Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images

Nov

20

World War II

Nuremberg trials begin

Twenty-four high-ranking Nazis go on trial in Nuremberg, Germany, for atrocities committed during World War II beginning on November 20, 1945.

Defendants At Nuremberg Trials

The defendants at the Nuremberg Nazi trials. Pictured in the front row are: Hermann Goering, Rudolf Hess, Joachim Von Ribbentrop, Wilhelm Keitel and Ernst Kaltenbrunner. In the back row are: Karl Doenitz, Erich Raeder, Baldur von Schirach, and Fritz Sauckel.

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