World War II ended in Europe with Germany's unconditional surrender on May 7, 1945. German and Allied leaders met in Reims, France, for the official signing of the surrender documents. In this photo, U.S. general Dwight D. Eisenhower stands third from the right, among other Allied leaders at the signing. Military operations were officially ended the next day, although some German units continued fighting for another week. May 8 was celebrated by all Allied nations as Victory in Europe, or V-E, Day. This was taken in Reims, France and there are seven men in the photo. The man standing third from the right is president Eisenhower and the rest are German Allied leaders. They all are wearing uniforms with badges and ties. One of the men is holding his cap to the side to show respect. Since this was in 1945, the photo is black and white. The reaction to this photo is that they look like strong leaders by the uniforms with honorary badges that they are wearing. They look powerful and the president is especially powerful.
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Before he became president in 1952, Dwight David Eisenhower commanded the Allied forces during World War II. After the war, he served for a short time as president of Columbia University, then as the supreme commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces. He resigned the NATO post when Republican leaders urged him to run for president. Without Eisenhower, the Republicans worried their party nomination would go to the isolationist senator from Ohio, Robert Taft. Eisenhower agreed to run, believing strongly in the importance of a U.S. role in world affairs. Eisenhower is wearing a suit and tie. He is putting his hand on some kind of object and he is smiling. It is black and white, making the background look dark. The reaction to the photo is that he looks confident because he is smiling and seems comfortable.
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Harry Truman took office (1945–1953) after Franklin D. Roosevelt's death in April, 1945. He is now the 33rd president. He gave the order to drop the world's first atomic bomb on Japan at the close of World War II. The first cold war president, one of Truman's principal concerns was the "containment" of communism in Europe and Asia. He established anti-Soviet policies such as the Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine, both put into gear in 1947. In the photo, Truman is wearing glasses and a suit. He is on a podium and there are a lot of microphones in front of him so his citizens can hear what he is saying. My reaction to this photo is that he looks very serious and very angry about the war and the situation. He looks very focused and determined.
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The leaders of the Allied forces met at Yalta from February 4–11, 1945 to discuss strategies for the final defeat of Hitler, as well as ideas about a post-war settlement with Germany. The conference produced the Yalta agreement, in which the Allies agreed that Germany must surrender unconditionally, and must be divided into four occupied divisions; the leaders also agreed on some provisions concerning the Soviet Union's actions after the German surrender. Pictured here are the three participants in the conference, British prime minister Winston Churchill (left), U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt (center), and Soviet premier Joseph Stalin (right). In the photo, the three men look older, but look very happy and full of dignity. The are wearing coats and sitting down. Stalin on the right is wearing a uniform with a cap. My reaction to this photo is that they look more beaten down and not as powerful as in the photos that you see in museums.
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Dictator of Germany from 1933 to 1945, Adolf Hitler was responsible for the rise of the nazi party and the genocide of more than 6 million Jews. His desire for the military conquest and racial domination of Europe led to the outbreak of World War II (1939– 1945). He committed suicide in 1945 after Russian troops entered Berlin, signaling the defeat of Germany. The photo is of Hitler holding out his hand, which was a gesture to greet one another in Nazi Germany. It meant obeying to their leader, Hitler. He is wearing a uniform with badges and a giant belt. He is in front of what looks like a church. He is looking out into the crowd and it looks like many people are there to see him. My reaction to this photo is that he looks very serious and very powerful, standing tall with the uniform. The reaction is also being afraid because the reaction is that why would he do something like this or you this religious prejudice when you see him.
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Fighting in the Pacific Theater entailed some of the most fierce and bloody battles of World War II. The United States and Japan fought battles ranging over a series of heavily defended islands, as this 1943 photograph of U.S. Marines landing on a beach in the Gilbert Islands shows. Each invasion of a Japanese-held island resulted in more casualties for both sides than the last. In this photo, there are U.S Marines on the ground with their guns up waiting to shoot the enemy it looks like. They are wearing helmets and uniforms that have certain prints on it that way they look camouflaged that way their enemy can't spot them out. My reaction to this is that when I look at this photo it reminds me of all the men and woman who fought in the war and the majority of lives that were taken. It makes me proud of my country and the citizens who are fighting for it.
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Both World War I and World War II opened up new industrial opportunities for women, who were expected to replace the men drafted into military service. Black women and white women responded to the demand by leaving their homes and domestic jobs, creating a solidarity among women regardless of race. Here, a black woman and a white woman work side by side at the North American Aviation Company Plant during World War II. The reaction to this photo is that women are finally having more rights by working like everyone else and that racism is fading during the war, allowing blacks and white to work together.
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Although the American military remained segregated, women from all races were
needed by the expanding domestic workforce during World War II. The railroad work performed by these African-American women helped keep trains running and supplies flowing at home during the war. In the photo, there are five African American women standing on a railroad, holding giant shovels. They all look like they are wearing winter clothes, like hats and gloves. The reaction to this photo is that African Americans, especially who are female are actually being able to help out and get jobs like white people which shows changes in America's equality and justice.
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needed by the expanding domestic workforce during World War II. The railroad work performed by these African-American women helped keep trains running and supplies flowing at home during the war. In the photo, there are five African American women standing on a railroad, holding giant shovels. They all look like they are wearing winter clothes, like hats and gloves. The reaction to this photo is that African Americans, especially who are female are actually being able to help out and get jobs like white people which shows changes in America's equality and justice.
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To cut down on the demand and transport for fruits and vegetables, Americans were urged to maintain what became known as "victory gardens." Theses gardens' purposes was to increase food production during World War II. In the photo shows a lady in overalls with a military cap on, holding a garden hoe. She is also holding a basket of vegetables and it says War Gardens For Victory above her and at the bottom says grow vitamins at your kitchen door. My reaction to this photo is that when I think of vitamins, I think of curing so the vitamins represent the victory gardens and they are curing the war.
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During World War II six million women worked in defense plants and in offices to aid the war effort. This 1942 photograph shows women making generators for wartime use at the General Motors plant in Rochester, New York. In the photo, there are a bunch of women in rows and it looks like they are sewing clothes. My reaction to this photo is that I could've been one of those women working in the plants and how today I can just buy clothes but back then people had to make their own.
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