1945
Axis powers fell
1945 is the year World War II ended, with Germany surrendering in May and Japan in August after atomic bombs fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The year serves as a historical watershed—references to before 1945 or the postwar era use it as shorthand for the divide between the world wars and the nuclear age.
First nuclear-struck city
- NagasakiSecond city bombed atomically
- bombExplosive device or disaster
- nuclearOf atomic energy
- fissionNuclear breakup releasing energy
Oppenheimer · uranium · plutonium · radiation · fallout · radioactivity · isotopes · surrender
Release from constraint
- surrenderCease resistance, yield
- celebrationFestive event marking occasion
- triumphResounding, celebrated victory
- jubilationIntense, expressive happiness
parade · kiss · rejoicing · cheering · flags · homecoming · armistice · euphoria
Combat engagement area
- combatArmed hostile engagement
- infantryGround combat troops
- artilleryLarge-caliber battlefield weapons
- bombingAttack with explosives
occupation · resistance · Okinawa · Berlin · Dresden · firebombing · kamikaze · blitzkrieg
Cold War-era president
- ChurchillManitoba's northern port
- StalinSoviet autocrat, mid-century
- RooseveltFamous presidential surname
- HitlerNazi Germany's totalitarian leader
Mussolini · Hirohito · Eisenhower · MacArthur · Attlee · Tojo · Patton · Montgomery
Rebuilding after destruction
- YaltaCrimean diplomatic meeting site
- PotsdamBrandenburg state capital
- occupationOne's regular paid work
- decolonizationEnding imperial control
partition · refugees · rationing · demobilization · superpower · containment · rebuilding
Hiroshima
First nuclear-struck city
Oppenheimer · fission · uranium · plutonium · radiation · fallout · radioactivity · isotopes · surrender
liberation
Release from constraint
- surrenderCease resistance, yield
- celebrationFestive event marking occasion
- triumphResounding, celebrated victory
jubilation · parade · kiss · rejoicing · cheering · flags · homecoming · armistice · euphoria
battlefield
Combat engagement area
- combatArmed hostile engagement
- infantryGround combat troops
- artilleryLarge-caliber battlefield weapons
bombing · occupation · resistance · Okinawa · Berlin · Dresden · firebombing · kamikaze · blitzkrieg · siege
Truman
Cold War-era president
- ChurchillManitoba's northern port
- StalinSoviet autocrat, mid-century
- RooseveltFamous presidential surname
Hitler · Mussolini · Hirohito · Eisenhower · MacArthur · Attlee · Tojo · Patton · Montgomery · Gandhi
reconstruction
Rebuilding after destruction
- YaltaCrimean diplomatic meeting site
- PotsdamBrandenburg state capital
- occupationOne's regular paid work
decolonization · partition · refugees · rationing · demobilization · superpower · containment · rebuilding
- UN foundingUnited Nations, UN Charter, United Nations Charter, founding members, original members
- Indonesian IndependenceSukarno, Independence Day, nationalists, freedom fighters
- IndonesiaIndonesia, Java, Sumatra, Indonesian, Borneo
19451939
Year preceding global conflict
1941 · September 1939 · 1940 · 1914 · 1937
- August 1945Final month of WWII