Lesson+13+-+Winning+the+War+in+Europe

__**Objectives**__: Students will
 * explain the goal and purpose of the Yalta Conference
 * explain how the war in Europe ended

__**Do Now: Think/Write/Pair/Share**__ Students will look at the picture in their textbook on p. 802. How were Americans treated when they liberated camps towards the end of the war?

__**Lesson**__: 1) As a class we will read the section titled "The Yalta Conference" together.
 * Students will work in groups to take notes on the key goals of the Yalta Conference and its purpose.
 * At the end of their notes, students will make predictions on how the Yalta Conference will affect relations in Europe in the future.

** The Yalta Conference ** In January 1945 Franklin D. Roosevelt took the presidential oath of office for the fourth time. He had run in 1944 believing that he needed to see the nation through to victory. A majority of the American voters had agreed. Shortly after Roosevelt’s inauguration, the president left for a conference of the Allied leaders. The meeting was held in the resort town of Yalta, in the Soviet Union. The so-called Big Three—Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin—met to make plans for the end of the war and the peace that was to follow. A key goal of the **Yalta Conference** was to reach an agreement on what to do with the soon-to-be-conquered Germany. The three leaders agreed to divide the country into four **sectors**. The Americans, Soviets, British, and French would each occupy one of these sectors. To **occupy** means to take control of a place by placing troops in it. The Soviet Union, which had the largest army, was given the largest zone. It covered most of the eastern half of Germany.

The American, British, and French zones covered the western half. The capital city of Berlin, which lay in the Soviet zone, was similarly divided into four sectors. Another agreement at Yalta had to do with the fate of Poland and other Eastern European countries now occupied by the Soviets. Stalin agreed to hold elections in these countries following the war. As you will read, this was a promise Stalin would not keep. Stalin also committed to a third major decision. He said that the Soviet Union would declare war on Japan three months after Germany was defeated. Though all the participants at Yalta had been allies in the fight to defeat the Axis, the conference had been tense. Friction between the Soviet Union and the other Allies was growing. Nevertheless, Roosevelt cheerfully reported the success of the meeting to the Congress.

HISTORY’S VOICES “Of course we know that it was Hitler’s hope…that we would not agree, that some slight crack might appear in the solid wall of Allied unity…But Hitler has failed. Never before have the major Allies been more closely united – not only in their war aims but also in their peace aims.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt, March 1, 1945

2) Next, students will read the other two sections titled "Crossing the Rhine" and "The question of Berlin" on p. 803. Students will take outline notes on their own as they read these two sections.

** Crossing the Rhine ** As the Big Three were meeting in Yalta, Allied forces to the west of Germany were preparing to cross the Rhine River. This represented a key barrier to the center of Germany—at least in the minds of the German people. For this reason, Hitler ordered his forces to make a stand there. He refused to allow them to fall back to a better defensive position. This turned out to be another of Hitler’s military mistakes. German troops began blowing up bridges over the Rhine in order to slow the Allies. On March 7, 1945, however, American forces managed to capture a bridge at Remagen. They did this while the Germans were still moving their own forces to the eastern side. The Germans fought desperately to destroy the bridge and keep it out of American hands. They used every weapon in their arsenal against it, including the powerful V-2 rocket. Yet the bridge stood even under this vicious bombardment. Meanwhile, Allied troops and tanks rumbled steadily across. Once the Allies crossed the Rhine, the foolishness of Hitler’s order to defend the river became clear. The Allies were able to surround and capture a quarter million German soldiers. Tens of thousands more were killed.

** The question of Berlin ** With the Rhine crossed, German resistance weakened. Allied planes roamed the skies freely, raining bombs down on German targets. Allied troops began moving speedily across Germany. Now some Allied leaders, knowing that the Soviets would claim any German land they captured, hoped to claim the prize of Berlin before the Soviets did so. The possibility of beating the Soviets to Berlin had once seemed unlikely. Just days before, the western lines were 200 miles away from the German capital, while the Soviets rested just 30 miles outside the city. Since the Rhine crossing, however, the situation had changed. It was no sure thing the Soviets would get there first. In spite of these facts, General Eisenhower decided not to make a drive toward Berlin itself. Although German defenses were crumbling, he believed the battle for the city would be a bloody one. He also knew that Allied leaders had already reached an agreement with the Soviets about how to divide Berlin. This meant that some of the territory American soldiers might fight and die for would be turned over to the Soviets anyway. In addition, Eisenhower knew that the war in the Pacific was still raging. He felt it was most important to preserve American forces and supplies and make it as easy as possible to send them to the Pacific when the fighting in Europe was done. With the decision to leave Berlin to the Soviets made, Eisenhower’s forces moved rapidly through Germany. They did receive a blow on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died. Although the president had not been in good health, his death was unexpected. Many American soldiers had known no other president during their adult lives. Roosevelt’s death saddened the troops. It did not, however, slow the drive to victory.

__**Summary/Assessment:**__ Students will summarize the role of the US in ending the war in Europe in one paragraph consisting of 4-6 sentences.