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merehughes Teacher
High School - 12th GradeeNotes Editor
Posted by merehughes on Friday April 11, 2008 at 1:13 AMThis would depend on whether or not you are talking about the European war or the war in the Pacific. For the European war we use the date of the 8th of May 1945 which is when the Germans formally surrendered in Berlin - although German troops in Italy surrendered on the 2nd of May.
On the 14th of August in 1945 the Japanese formally surrendered in Tokyo unconditionally and thus ended the war in the Pacific.
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enotechris Teacher
VocationaleNotes Editor
Posted by enotechris on Monday April 14, 2008 at 11:52 AMBest answer as selected by question asker.
September 2, 1945 is considered to be the end of World War II for the United States, when the Japanese formally ceased hostilities and signed a surrender aboard the USS Missouri anchored in Tokyo Bay. However, on September 8, 1951, forty-nine nations signed the Treaty of San Francisco, otherwise known as the Treaty of Peace with Japan, where Japan was welcomed back into the world and diplomatic relations were reestablished. The terms of this agreement didn't become in force until April 28, 1952. The Soviet Union did not sign this agreement; it declared war on Japan on August 8, 1945, the day before the United States dropped the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki. In October 1956, Japan and the Soviet Union signed a joint declaration which ended the state of war between the two and reestablished diplomatic relations. Surprisingly, these two countries have NEVER SIGNED A PEACE TREATY, and there are still conflicts between them over several islands the Soviet Union invaded in August 1945. Has World War II really ended?
Sources:
Rise of The American Nation, 3rd ed., Todd & Curti, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1972, pg. 746.
Wikipedia, "Treaty of San Francisco"
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