no chance, but we accept the challenge!
Beginning in 1931, the Japanese expanded their conquests at the expense of China. And they got stuck in China. They began to look for a way out, surrounding China from the south in an attempt to isolate it from the outside world. After the defeat of France, the Japanese forced her to agree to the occupation of French Indochina. They put pressure on England to cut off supplies to China through Burma, and Churchill relented.
In response, Roosevelt on July 24, 1941, demanded the withdrawal of Japanese troops from Indochina. On July 26, all Japanese assets in US banks were frozen and an embargo was imposed on the export of oil to Japan. England took the same steps. It was followed by the Dutch government in London.
Churchill said: "Japan was deprived of the most important sources of oil supply at one blow."
Everyone was sure that such a paralyzing blow would force Japan either to go to war, which was the only way out of the situation, or to abandon its policy. If you start a war, then with whom? Oil was also in the Dutch Indies (Indonesia).
Japan tried to negotiate the lifting of the oil embargo. The United States agreed to the cancellation on the condition that Japan withdraws its troops not only from Indochina, but also from China in general, for which the Japanese have been fighting for ten years! "No government, let alone the Japanese, could accept such humiliating demands and an absolute loss of prestige," wrote the British historian Liddell Hart.
In September 1941, a special commission of the Japanese concluded that the United States produces twenty times more steel than Japan, extracts several hundred times more oil, produces five times more aircraft, has five times the workforce, Japan's mobilized military potential will be only ten percent. American. That is, there are no chances for a successful end to the war! And yet at the imperial conference
On December 1, 1941, which took place in an atmosphere of extreme secrecy, it was decided to start a war with America without a formal declaration of war and preliminary declarations. Japanese Prime Minister Prince Konoe, talking after the conference with the commander of the fleet, Admiral Yamamoto, hears from the admiral the phrase: "If we receive such an order, then I guarantee heavy battles (according to another version, Yamamoto promised a" chain of victories ") within the first six months , but I'm absolutely not sure what will happen if everything drags on for two or three years." Everything dragged on. Yamamoto died clutching a samurai sword to the last in a burning plane over New Guinea. The Americans did not forgive him the chain of victories.
Allies and opponents of Japan considered different variants possible actions of the Japanese. Except maybe what happened. This is an example of different mentalities!
USA:
let the Japanese
sit on the fence
and await developments!
In the United States (1941) there was a modest rearmament. Helped England by supplying weapons. The consequences of the Great Depression and the economic crisis of the late 1930s made themselves felt in the economy. A full-scale war could provide all Americans with work, on the one hand, and on the other hand, ensure dominance throughout the world. However, public opinion was largely against entry into the war. The Americans considered the war to be a purely European affair and did not consider it possible to shed their blood in the interests of Britain. Roosevelt, as the president elected by the people, was forced to reckon with this opinion. He understood that sooner or later the US would face Hitler. And, apparently, he was ready to allow even the death of the fleet in the Pacific Ocean, in order to change the opinion of society in favor of intervening in the war. Of course, he never spoke about it officially. Big politics is very far from morality and ethics. We add that this applies to any country.
On July 1, 1941, Roosevelt opined: The Japanese are fighting a desperate struggle among themselves, trying to decide where they need to jump - attack Russia, attack the southern seas (thus casting lots definitely in favor of an alliance with Germany) or sit on the fence and wait for development events, treating us more friendly. No one knows what the chosen direction will be, but it is terribly important for us to control the Atlantic to maintain peace in the Pacific. I simply do not have enough naval power to operate on both fronts - and every small episode in the Pacific means a decrease in the number of ships in the Atlantic.
Roosevelt was cunning or did not understand the Japanese character? And the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are retribution for what was expected, but did not happen. Most likely he was cunning, understood and believed that they would not stand it and attack. Thus, the US will be unwittingly drawn into the war.
On November 26, 1941, Washington presented Japan with a ten-point document in the form of an ultimatum. In particular, Japan was required to withdraw all troops from China and Indochina. It's like demanding surrender without a war.
Japan responded on December 7 with aircraft carrier strikes on the US naval base in Hawaii. The Japanese attack took the American fleet by surprise! Didn't they really think that the Japanese would decide on this, after everything that was demanded of them ?! The losses were heavy. Churchill contacted Roosevelt. "Now we're all in the same boat," he said. american president. Public opinion in the United States was stirred up and demanded revenge for the shameless, predatory attack!
On December 8, Great Britain declared war on Japan.
England:
madness - for the sake of surprise
Churchill, in his memoirs, assesses the most dangerous option for England: statesmen The Americans, who surrounded the President and enjoyed his confidence, were no less keenly aware than I was of the formidable danger that Japan would attack the British or Dutch possessions in the Far East and carefully bypass the United States and that, as a result, Congress would not give sanction to America's declaration of war. . Regarding Japan's declaration of war by the United States, Churchill says: “It was impossible for a reasonable person to imagine that Japan would agree to declare war. I was sure that such a reckless move on her part would ruin the life of a whole generation of the Japanese people, and my opinion was fully confirmed. However, madness is such a disease that in war gives the advantage of surprise.
The Japanese chose surprise.
Germany:
Hitler and his staff were amazed
Hitler, as if guessing Churchill's opinion, continued through diplomatic channels to persuade the Japanese to strike without further delay on Malaya and Singapore, that is, on the most important bases of Britain, without worrying about the United States. These demarches with persuasion began in February and March (1941), that is, before the American oil embargo. Most of all, Hitler wanted Japan to attack England and in no case get involved in a war with the United States. The Germans assured Tokyo that if Japan acted vigorously against Malaya and the Dutch Indies, the Americans would not dare to move. When the Japanese chose to attack the United States and bombed the American fleet in Hawaii, Hitler was extremely impressed. Churchill writes that "Hitler and his staff were amazed." Hitler ordered the submarine fleet to attack American ships even before the official declaration of war by the United States. This was followed by the Japanese offensive in the Pacific. The world split into two opposing coalitions, the war took on a worldwide character.
Indeed, why Japan
attacked the US?
The samurai did not find another way out. The mentality did not allow to wipe oneself and "sit on the fence" when there is a global redistribution of the world. Could the Mikado government accept the US ultimatum and allow massive samurai hara-kiri as a protest against surrender without a fight - this expression public opinion in Japanese. In 1945, such protests took place, apparently on a smaller scale, given the many defeats when the Japanese were herded to their islands, and it was clear that the war was lost. They also had their own ideas about the "crazy", from the European-American point of view, the beginning of the war. Probably, they hoped for an early victory of Germany over the USSR, and then England. Indirectly, Japan, attacking the United States, diverted forces from the help of England and the USSR, which helped Germany. The Japanese chose an indirect and directly paradoxical way out of a hopeless situation, that is, they did what was least expected of them. They attacked the strongest opponent. And they lost. Without too much pathos, we note that this happened because our people did not break down either in 1941 or in 1942 - the most difficult years of the war. Happy Victory Day!
Potsdam Conference (1945).
This is the name of the last meeting of the leaders of the "Big Three" (Great Britain, USSR, USA). It was attended by Stalin, Churchill, Truman. The main issue at the meeting was the joint management of the defeated Germany, the ways of its division.
Just during the conference, American President Truman received a detailed report on the successful tests of the atomic bomb. He immediately cheered up.
The tone in which the Anglo-American allies negotiated became harsher and more aggressive. A compromise in the spirit of Yalta was not foreseen. The Truman-Churchill tandem was concerned with how to let Stalin know that the partners had a trump card in their hands that could ruin the Soviet party. A week after the conference began, Truman made up his mind. After the end of the next session, he stopped Stalin on the steps of the Zitzilienhof Palace and casually threw a few words about the presence of weapons of unheard-of destructive power in the United States. Stalin silently listened, nodded and went on without reacting to the notice. “I didn’t understand,” Truman and Churchill decided, they would have to scare more thoroughly, more rudely, more visible. In those minutes, the fate of two Japanese cities was decided.
A container of plutonium is delivered to Titian Island. However, it is likely that the determination of this fate happened earlier. On the roadstead of San Francisco was the USS Iidianapolis. In one of his cabins there were two taciturn passengers in civilian clothes, from their luggage there was a voluminous metal suitcase. It contained the "plutonium heart" of Manhattan Item No. 2, a heavy lead ball that was to be the payload of the bomb called "The Kid." A few hours after the successful explosion at Alamogordo, the cruiser Indianapolis was ordered to sail to Tinian Island at the northern tip of the Marianas. For half a year, the US strategic aviation base was located on Tiiyan, from where systematic bombing attacks were carried out on the Japanese islands. In the summer of 1945, by decision of the American aviation command, the 509th air regiment was based on the island.
I reached the place "Iidianapolis" without incident. American dominance in the Pacific was almost complete, and both passengers disembarked on July 27. Seeing off the mysterious guests, the cruiser commander, who almost guessed the purpose of the cargo, supposedly grumbled after them: "I never thought that we would come to bacteriological warfare." Charles Maccabee was wrong, but not too wrong. A day later, a container with plutonium took a structurally allotted place in the womb of the "Baby". The bomb was ready for combat use.
Meanwhile, on the way home, Iidianapolis was attacked by the Japanese submarine 1-58 Lieutenant Hashimoto. The submariner did not miss. The cruiser, which received two torpedoes, sank. Subsequently, Hashimoto more than once cursed fate for not sending him a meeting with the enemy three days earlier.
The announcement of the readiness of the 509th Regiment and a special bombardment was received with satisfaction by Truman. He was in a hurry again. This time, the reason for the haste was the fact that the USSR intended, having fulfilled its allied duty, to enter the war against Japan. This decision was made back in Tehran, where Roosevelt and Churchill begged Stalin to agree to this step in order to hasten the overall victory. In Potsdam, the final date for the Soviet attack on the Kwantung Army was set as August 10, 1945. But the situation changed, in the summer of the last year of the war, the Americans no longer needed the Russians.
State of Japan.
The Japanese empire was on the verge of death. Her death was a matter of weeks or even days. On the other hand, entry into the Pacific conflict inevitably gave the Soviet Union the right to secure its interests in the region. Naturally, Truman did not want to share the fruits of the already won victory, and was in a hurry to finish off the Japanese before the scheduled time came up. The fact that it was about finishing off is beyond doubt today. Short description recent months of World War II completely devalues the justificatory mythology invented by American historians. The assertion that the atomic bomb saved hundreds of thousands of lives of American soldiers who could have died during the landing on the Japanese islands is refuted by an elementary assessment of the situation.
Before the war, Japan had a merchant fleet, which included transport ships with a total displacement of about 6 million tons. This was extremely small, given that the island metropolis was completely dependent on overseas supplies of industrial raw materials and food. The Japanese had long communications, but there was nothing to protect them. Japan did not build warships adapted to export convoys. It was believed that export aircraft carriers and anti-submarine ships would not be needed. All forces were thrown into the construction of the "fleet of the general battle."
The Americans destroy the Japanese transport fleet. The Americans took advantage of this. During 1943-1944. their submarines launched 9/10 of the Japanese transport fleet to the bottom. The Mikado industry was left without raw materials of all kinds, including oil. The Japanese aviation was left without gasoline. I had to refuel planes for a one-way flight. So there were "kamikaze". Let's take into account that their efficiency is no higher than that of a conventional aircraft, even lower, since suicide pilots were taught only to take off, and then theoretically. The use of combat suicides did not justify itself, there was simply no other way out. By the way, not only planes, but entire squadrons were sent one way.
The Americans seize the Japanese islands in the Pacific. Under such conditions, the Americans, having built aircraft carriers, quickly melted the main part of the main forces of the Japanese fleet. Then another round began. Taking advantage of the fact that the Japanese fleet was either sunk or standing in ports without fuel, the Americans conducted a series of landing operations on the Pacific islands. Landing objects were chosen wisely. So that from there strategic bombers could fly to Japan with a full load and could return back. Since the autumn of 1944, the Americans had bases on Saipan and Tinian. Then they got closer, capturing Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The Japanese understood why the Yankees needed these islands, and defended them with the desperation of the doomed, but courage and fanaticism did not help. The Americans were slowly grinding through isolated enemy garrisons. Having completed this process, they began to build excellent airfields. They built better than they fought, and soon all the Japanese islands were within range of American strategic bombers.
Raids on Japanese cities.
Massive raids of "super-fortresses" on Japanese cities began. Everything was like in Germany, only worse, the air defense of the islands did not have the means to deal with raids at all. Another distinguishing feature that mattered was the type of building in Japanese cities, where the main construction material- plywood. It has several properties that distinguish wood fiber from stone, in particular, it burns well and is not as strong under the influence of a shock wave. The pilots of the "fortresses" did not need to carry super-heavy "fugas" with them, there were enough small-caliber incendiary bombs. Fortunately, a novelty arrived, napalm, which gives temperatures that allow you to burn not only plywood, but also soil, and stones, and everything else.
Napalm bombing of Tokyo.
By the summer of 1945, almost all major Japanese cities had survived the raids. What came out of this becomes clear on the example of Tokyo, which experienced a massive blow on March 9, 1945. On that day, 300 "fortresses" filled to capacity with napalm entered the city. The huge area of the city ruled out the possibility of misses. The carpet of "lighters" was spread precisely, despite the night hours. The Sumida that flowed through the city was silvery in the moonlight, and visibility was excellent. The Americans were flying low, only two kilometers above the ground, and the pilots could distinguish every house. If the Japanese had gasoline for fighters or shells for anti-aircraft guns, they would have to pay for such impudence. But the defenders of the Tokyo sky had neither one nor the other.
Houses in the city were packed tightly, napalm burned hot. That is why the fiery channels left by bomb flows quickly merged into a single sea of fire. Air turbulence spurred on the elements, creating a huge fiery tornado. Those who were lucky said that the water in Sumida boiled, and the steel bridge thrown over it melted, dropping drops of metal into the water. The Americans, embarrassed, estimate the loss of that night at 100,000 people. Japanese sources, without showing exact figures, believe that the value of 300,000 burnt will be closer to the truth. Another one and a half million were left without a roof and a head. American losses did not exceed 4% of the vehicles participating in the raid, and their main reason was the inability of the pilots of the terminal machines to cope with the air currents that arose over the dying city.
The raid on Tokyo was the first in a series of others that finally destroyed Japan. People fled the cities, leaving jobs for those who still had them. Although work became a rarity, by April 1945 some 650 industrial sites had been destroyed. Only 7 aircraft manufacturing enterprises operated, hidden in advance in deep adits and tunnels. Rather, they were inactive, lacking components. Useless aircraft bodies, stripped of their filling, were piled up in factory warehouses with no hope of breathing life into their engines. There was absolutely no gasoline, or rather it was, but several thousand liters were saved for the "kamikaze" that were to fall on the American invasion fleet, if it appeared Off the Japanese coast. This strategic reserve could be enough for a hundred or two sorties, no more. Japanese scientists were definitely not up to nuclear research. Scientific luminaries switched to the extraction of combustible materials from pine roots, which supposedly contained alcohol suitable for combustion in engine cylinders. He was not there, of course, but the Japanese were looking to distract from bad thoughts about tomorrow.
Then it was the turn of the US Navy. Aircraft carriers snooped around the very coast of Japan. The pilots of their air groups complained to their superiors about the lack of targets. Everything that kept afloat was already sunk. Training ships that remembered Tsushima, the skeletons of giant aircraft carriers unfinished due to lack of iron, coastal boats, railway ferries - all this rested at the bottom. Communication between the islands of the Japanese archipelago was destroyed. Squadrons of American torpedo bombers chased fishing boats, and bombers bombed villages of 10 houses. It was agony. The imperial government announced a total mobilization, calling under the banner of all men and some of the women. The army turned out to be large, but useless; there were no firearms, let alone scarce ammunition for most of the fighters. They were given bamboo lances without iron tips, with which they were supposed to throw themselves at the American marines.
The question arises, perhaps the Americans did not know about bamboo peaks? It is unlikely that they flew low, and they saw a lot of the cockpits of their aircraft. And the US strategic services had data on the stocks of Japanese gasoline as early as 1940. So it is better not to remember the danger of huge casualties during the landing for the historians of the country that managed to knock the Nazis off the coast of Normandy. And then it turns out some kind of racism. Like, a Japanese with a pike is stronger than an American at the helm of an attack aircraft. Is it possible to imagine that the American guys who passed through the fires and waters of Omaha and Iwo Jima were afraid of Japanese girls with bamboo sticks. They weren't afraid. In paying tribute to the US Army and Navy, it must be remembered that the responsible commanders of the Pacific theater were against the atomic bombing. Among those who objected were serious people: the chief of staff of the commander-in-chief, Admiral Georges Legy, Chester Nimitz, the hero of Midway, Halsey, and dozens of other decent or simply smart military leaders. They all believed that Japan would surrender before the fall from the effects of a naval blockade and air strikes by conventional means. Scientists joined them. Dozens of creators of the "Manhattan offspring" signed an appeal to the US President with a request to abandon the nuclear demonstration. These unfortunates did not understand that Truman needed to report on the spending of state funds so that "the mosquito would not undermine the nose"; yes, in addition, exclude Stalin's participation in the Far Eastern "settlement".
pacificaNew Campsaresearch institutes 1941-45, hostilities between the armed forces of Japan and the United States and their allies in the Pacific, as well as in Indochina, Burma and China.
In 1941, Japan decided to resolve the conflicts with the United States and Great Britain by force and achieve a dominant position in TO.
The 1941-42 campaign began on December 7, 1941 with sudden Japanese air strikes against the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, against American military installations in the Philippines, and the invasion of Japanese troops into Thailand and Malaya. As a result, the US Pacific Fleet suffered heavy losses and was disabled.
The Southern Army Group was created for operations in the Western Pacific and in the South Seas.
December 8, 1941 The 15th Japanese army, concentrated in Indochina, crossed the border of Thailand. On December 21, the Thai government entered into an alliance with Japan and in January 1942 declared war on the United States and Great Britain. December 8, 1941 - February 15, 1942 The 25th Japanese Army, in cooperation with the Malayan Fleet Task Force, conducted the Malay (Singapore) operation.
On December 10, Japanese aircraft sank an English battleship, which provided the Japanese fleet with dominance in the spare parts of the TO, the army on December 8 on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula, occupied it by the end of January 1942 and launched an attack on Singapore. the Japanese army, together with the Philippine fleet formation, carried out the Philippine operation (December 8, 1941 - May 6, 1942).
The army landed on the island of Luzon in December and occupied Manila on January 2. On May 6, 1942, the American-Filipino troops blocked on the Bataan Peninsula capitulated. During the Burma operation (January 20 - May 20, 1942), Japanese troops occupied Rangoon on March 8,
and then threw back the Anglo-Indian and Chinese troops behind the Burmese-Indian and Burmese-Chinese borders.
Javanese operation (February 18 - March 10, 1942) 1942 the Japanese occupied the islands of Borneo Bali. On March 1, Japanese troops landed on the island of Java and occupied it by March 10.
In the naval battle in the Coral Sea (May 7-8), American carrier aircraft forced the Japanese landing force to withdraw. The Japanese command decided to shift efforts in the central and northern parts of the Pacific Ocean and capture the US base and the Aleutian Islands.
The massive losses of the Japanese navy during 1941-42 resulted in the loss of naval and air superiority, while the United States began to build up its forces.
Campaign 1942-43.
In the second half of 1942, neither side had the necessary forces for a major offensive, and only partial operations were carried out to improve the front line.
The Japanese offensive in the southeastern part of New Guinea at Port Morebi in August - October 1942 ended in failure.
Allied military establishment from August 1942 they fought stubborn battles for (the Solomon Islands), which ended in February 1943 with the capture of the island, and conducted an offensive with limited forces in the southeastern part of New Guinea.
in June 1943 and by the end of the year, Allied forces occupied the Solomon Islands after fierce fighting. In the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, American troops returned the Aleutian Islands (Attu and Kyska) in May-August 1943.
In 1943 there was a turning point in the course of the Pacific War. The United States and Great Britain seized the strategic initiative. The defeats of fascist Germany on the Soviet-German front and the capitulation of fascist Italy contributed to a change in the situation in the Pacific theater as well.
Campaign 1944-45.
From February 1-23, 1944, American troops captured the Marshall Islands, June 15 - August 10 - the Marianas, and September 15 - October 12 - the western part of the Caroline Islands. The struggle for the northern part of New Guinea lasted from January to September 1944.
In Burma, in March 1944, Japanese troops launched an offensive against Assam, which ended in failure, and the Allied forces, having launched a counteroffensive, occupied most of northern Burma by the end of the year.
in general, the strategic situation by the end of 1944 changed dramatically in favor of the allies. The troops of the Japanese armies were blocked on the islands in the central and southwestern parts of the Pacific Ocean.
On October 17, 1944, the Allied forces launched the Philippine landing operation. On October 20, an amphibious landing began on the island of Leyte. During the battles for Leyte on October 23-25, naval battles took place in the Philippine region, in which the Japanese fleet suffered heavy losses. On January 9, 1945, American troops landed on the island of Luzon and occupied Manila. By mid-May, the fighting in the Philippines was effectively over.
Possessing great superiority in forces, the American armed forces broke the resistance of the Japanese troops and captured the islands of Iwo Jima (February 19 - March 16) and Okinawa (April 1 - June 21).
In the first half of 1945, the Allied forces were successfully advancing in Burma. The entry of the USSR into the war against Japan on August 9, 1945, put her in a hopeless situation and made it impossible to continue the war.
On August 6 and 9, American aircraft dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
During the Manchurian operation of 1945, Soviet troops defeated the Japanese Kwantung Army in a short time. Japan surrendered on September 2, 1945. The act of surrender is on board the battleship Missouri. (Japan shall be subject to the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, give such orders and take such actions as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers or any other representative appointed by the Allied Powers, for the purpose of implementing this declaration, requires. The authority of the Emperor and the Japanese Government to govern the state will be subordinate to the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, who will take such steps as he deems necessary to carry out these terms of surrender.
question 34.
1. The first and main result of the Second World War is the world-historic victory over fascism. Germany, Italy, Japan were defeated by their policies, their ideology suffered a complete collapse.
2.Second World War was the most cruel and bloody in the history of mankind. The war devastated entire countries, turned many cities into ruins.
3. The war showed the ability of the democratic forces of the Earth to unite in the face of a common mortal danger. During the war, an anti-Hitler coalition was created, which at the beginning of 1942 included 25 states, and at the end of the war - 56.
5. During the Second World War, the collapse of the colonial system began. Many colonial countries - Syria, Lebanon, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Burma, Philippines, Korea - declared themselves independent, we strongly demanded the independence of the patriots of India and Malaysia. 4. The Second World War was one of the turning points in history modern world. The political map of the world has changed, an international organization has appeared - the UN, which proclaimed that its main goal is to maintain international peace and security.
In total, during the war of 1939-1945. 64 states were involved. More than 50 million people died, and if we take into account the constantly updated data on the losses of the USSR (they range from 21.78 million to about 30 million),
1. the third world war should not happen, since there will be no winners in it, only the ruins of human civilization will remain
2. the politics of Munich, i.e. \"appeasement \" of the aggressor, misunderstanding of the difference between democracy and fascism does not lead to anything good. On the contrary, it creates the conditions for the outbreak of war.
3. The presence of totalitarian regimes with their ideology and practice and militarism, the formation of aggressive military blocs can lead to a big world fire, as happened in 1939-1945.
territories:
According to the 1947 peace treaty with Finland, the Soviet Union retained the Petsamo (Pechenga) region, which the USSR acquired after the Soviet-Finnish war of 1940, the Vyborg region was ceded to Russia.
The territory of the former German East Prussia was divided between Poland and the USSR. Koenigsberg with (the current city of Kaliningrad and the Kaliningrad region) and the city of Memel with the surrounding areas (the Klaipeda region) went to the Soviet Union. The western part of East Prussia, the city of Danzig (present Gdansk) entered Poland. These changes have not been formalized.
The Soviet-Polish border was pushed back: Western Belarus and Western Ukraine with Lvov remained behind the USSR. Also remained in the USSR (the city of Vilnius), included in the Lithuanian SSR.
Pomerania became part of Poland.
Cieszyn Silesia remained part of Czechoslovakia.
Czechoslovakia got back the Sudetenland. Czechoslovakia transferred the Transcarpathian Ukraine to the USSR,
The peace treaty of 1947 with Romania confirmed the rights of the USSR to the possession of Northern Bukovina (Chernivtsi), as well as Bessarabia. Northern Bukovina became part of the Ukrainian SSR, Bessarabia became a separate union republic - the Moldavian SSR (modern Republic of Moldova),
Hungary obtained from Romania the transfer of Northern Transylvania to it. Romania retained all of Transylvania and Eastern Banat
Yugoslavia received the Istrian peninsula from Italy
Serbia secured the transfer of Kosovo to it. Yugoslavia united the lands of Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina into a single Yugoslav state.
The French border with Germany was restored to its pre-war form. France separated the Saarland from Germany, which she began to regard as autonomous education in relation to Germany .. France retained its control over the Saarland until 1958, after which, following a referendum, the Saarland was again included in Germany.
Soviet-Japanese War |
|
Manchuria, Sakhalin, Kuril Islands, Korea |
|
Russian victory |
|
Territorial changes: |
The Japanese Empire capitulated. The USSR returned South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. Manchukuo and Mengjiang ceased to exist. |
Opponents |
|
Commanders |
|
A. Vasilevsky |
Otsuzo Yamada (surrendered) |
H. Choibalsan |
N. Demchigdonrov (surrendered) |
Side forces |
|
1,577,225 soldiers 26,137 artillery pieces 1,852 self-propelled guns 3,704 tanks 5,368 aircraft |
Total 1,217,000 6,700 guns 1,000 tanks 1,800 aircraft |
Military casualties |
|
12,031 irretrievable 24,425 ambulances 78 tanks and self-propelled guns 232 guns and mortars 62 aircraft |
84,000 killed 594,000 captured |
Soviet-Japanese War of 1945, part of World War II and the Pacific War. Also known as battle for Manchuria or Manchurian operation, and in the West - as Operation August Storm.
Timeline of the conflict
April 13, 1941 - a neutrality pact was signed between the USSR and Japan. Accompanied by an agreement on small economic concessions from Japan, which she ignored.
December 1, 1943 - Tehran conference. The Allies are charting the contours of the post-war structure of the Asia-Pacific region.
February 1945 - Yalta conference. The Allies agree on the post-war structure of the world, including the Asia-Pacific region. The USSR assumes an unofficial obligation to enter the war with Japan no later than 3 months after the defeat of Germany.
June 1945 - Japan begins preparations to repulse the landing on the Japanese islands.
July 12, 1945 - The Japanese ambassador in Moscow addresses the USSR with a request for mediation in peace negotiations. On July 13 he was informed that an answer could not be given in connection with the departure of Stalin and Molotov to Potsdam.
July 26, 1945 - At the Potsdam Conference, the United States formally formulates the terms of Japan's surrender. Japan refuses to accept them.
August 8 - The USSR declares to the Japanese ambassador that it has joined the Potsdam Declaration and declares war on Japan.
August 10, 1945 - Japan officially declares its readiness to accept the Potsdam terms of surrender with a reservation regarding the preservation of the structure of imperial power in the country.
August 14 - Japan formally accepts the terms of unconditional surrender and communicates this to the Allies.
War preparation
The danger of a war between the USSR and Japan existed from the second half of the 1930s, in 1938 there were clashes on Lake Khasan, and in 1939 there was a battle at Khalkhin Gol on the border of Mongolia and Manchukuo. In 1940, the Soviet Far Eastern Front was created, which indicated a real risk of starting a war.
However, the aggravation of the situation on the western borders forced the USSR to seek a compromise in relations with Japan. The latter, in turn, choosing between the options of aggression to the north (against the USSR) and to the south (against the USA and Great Britain), was increasingly inclined towards the latter option, and sought to protect itself from the USSR. The result of the temporary coincidence of interests of the two countries is the signing of the Neutrality Pact on April 13, 1941, in accordance with Art. 2 of which:
In 1941, the countries of the Nazi coalition, except for Japan, declared war on the USSR (the Great Patriotic War), and in the same year Japan attacked the United States, starting a war in the Pacific.
In February 1945, at the Yalta Conference, Stalin promised the Allies to declare war on Japan 2-3 months after the end of hostilities in Europe (although the neutrality pact stipulated that its effect ceased only a year after the denunciation). At the Potsdam Conference in July 1945, the Allies issued a declaration demanding Japan's unconditional surrender. That same summer, Japan tried to negotiate mediation with the USSR, but to no avail.
War was declared exactly 3 months after the victory in Europe, on August 8, 1945, two days after the first US use of nuclear weapons against Japan (Hiroshima) and on the eve of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
Forces and plans of the parties
The commander-in-chief was Marshal of the Soviet Union A. M. Vasilevsky. There were 3 fronts of the Trans-Baikal Front, the 1st Far Eastern and 2nd Far Eastern (commanders R. Ya. Malinovsky, K. A. Meretskov and M. A. Purkaev), with a total number of approximately 1.5 million people. The troops of the MPR were commanded by Marshal of the MPR H. Choibalsan. They were opposed by the Japanese Kwantung Army under the command of General Otsuzo Yamada.
The plan of the Soviet command, described as "Strategic pincers", was simple in concept but grandiose in scale. It was planned to encircle the enemy in a total area of 1.5 million square kilometers.
The composition of the Kwantung Army: about 1 million people, 6260 guns and mortars, 1150 tanks, 1500 aircraft.
As noted in the "History of the Great Patriotic War"(Vol. 5, p. 548-549):
Despite the efforts of the Japanese to concentrate as many troops as possible on the islands of the empire itself, as well as in China south of Manchuria, the Japanese command paid attention to the Manchurian direction, especially after the Soviet Union denounced the Soviet-Japanese neutrality pact on April 5, 1945. That is why, out of the nine infantry divisions remaining in Manchuria at the end of 1944, the Japanese deployed 24 divisions and 10 brigades by August 1945. True, to organize new divisions and brigades, the Japanese could only use untrained recruits of younger ages and limited fit older ages - in the summer of 1945, 250,000 were called up, which made up more than half of the personnel of the Kwantung Army. Also, in the newly created Japanese divisions and brigades in Manchuria, in addition to the small number of combat personnel, artillery was often completely absent.
The most significant forces of the Kwantung Army - up to ten infantry divisions - were deployed in the east of Manchuria, bordering the Soviet Primorye, where the First Far Eastern Front was deployed, consisting of 31 rifle divisions, a cavalry division, a mechanized corps and 11 tank brigades. In the north of Manchuria, the Japanese held one infantry division and two brigades - against the Second Far Eastern Front, consisting of 11 rifle divisions, 4 rifle and 9 tank brigades. In the west of Manchuria, the Japanese deployed 6 infantry divisions and one brigade against 33 Soviet divisions, including two tank divisions, two mechanized corps, a tank corps and six tank brigades. In central and southern Manchuria, the Japanese held several more divisions and brigades, as well as both tank brigades and all combat aviation.
It should be noted that the tanks and aircraft of the Japanese army in 1945, according to the criteria of that time, can only be called obsolete. They roughly corresponded to the Soviet tank and aircraft equipment of 1939. This also applies to Japanese anti-tank guns, which had a caliber of 37 and 47 millimeters - that is, suitable for fighting only light Soviet tanks. What prompted the Japanese army to use suicide squads, strapped with grenades and explosives, as the main improvised anti-tank weapon.
However, the prospect of a quick surrender of the Japanese troops seemed far from obvious. Given the fanatical and sometimes suicidal resistance put up by the Japanese forces in April-June 1945 on Okinawa, there was every reason to believe that a long, difficult campaign was expected over the last remaining Japanese fortified areas. In some areas of the offensive, these expectations were fully justified.
The course of the war
At dawn on August 9, 1945, Soviet troops began intensive artillery preparation from the sea and from land. Then the ground operation began. Taking into account the experience of the war with the Germans, the fortified areas of the Japanese managed with moving parts and were blocked by infantry. The 6th Guards Tank Army of General Kravchenko was advancing from Mongolia to the center of Manchuria.
It was a risky decision, because the Khingan Mountains were difficult to pass. On August 11, army equipment stopped due to lack of fuel. But the experience of German tank units was used - the delivery of fuel to tanks by transport aircraft. As a result, by August 17, the 6th Guards Tank Army advanced several hundred kilometers - and about one hundred and fifty kilometers remained to the capital of Manchuria, the city of Xinjing. By this time, the First Far Eastern Front had broken the resistance of the Japanese in the east of Manchuria, having occupied the largest city in that region - Mudanjiang. In a number of areas in the depths of the defense, Soviet troops had to overcome fierce enemy resistance. In the zone of the 5th Army, it was carried out with special force in the Mudanjiang area. There were cases of stubborn resistance by the enemy in the zones of the Trans-Baikal and 2nd Far Eastern fronts. The Japanese army also made repeated counterattacks. On August 19, 1945, in Mukden, Soviet troops captured the Emperor of Manchukuo Pu Yi (formerly the last emperor of China).
On August 14, the Japanese command made a proposal to conclude a truce. But in practice, hostilities on the Japanese side did not stop. Only three days later, the Kwantung Army received an order from its command to surrender, which began on August 20. But he did not immediately reach everyone, and in some places the Japanese acted contrary to the order.
On August 18, the Kuril landing operation was launched, during which Soviet troops occupied the Kuril Islands. On the same day, August 18, the commander-in-chief of the Soviet troops in the Far East, Marshal Vasilevsky, ordered the occupation of the Japanese island of Hokkaido by the forces of two rifle divisions. This landing was not carried out due to the delay in the advance of Soviet troops in South Sakhalin, and then postponed until the instructions of the Headquarters.
Soviet troops occupied the southern part of Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, Manchuria and part of Korea. The main fighting on the continent was carried out for 12 days, until August 20. However, separate clashes continued until September 10, which became the day of the end of the complete surrender and capture of the Kwantung Army. The fighting on the islands ended completely on 5 September.
Japan's surrender was signed on September 2, 1945 aboard the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
As a result, the millionth Kwantung Army was completely defeated. According to Soviet data, her losses in killed amounted to 84 thousand people, about 600 thousand were taken prisoner. Dead Losses The Red Army amounted to 12 thousand people.
Meaning
The Manchurian operation was of great political and military importance. So on August 9, at an emergency meeting of the Supreme Council for the Direction of the War, Japanese Prime Minister Suzuki said:
The Soviet Army defeated the strong Kwantung Army of Japan. The Soviet Union, having entered the war with the Empire of Japan and made a significant contribution to its defeat, hastened the end of World War II. American leaders and historians have repeatedly stated that without the entry of the USSR into the war, it would have continued for at least another year and would have cost an additional several million human lives.
The commander-in-chief of the American armed forces in the Pacific, General MacArthur, believed that "Victory over Japan can only be guaranteed if the Japanese ground forces are defeated." US Secretary of State E. Stettinius stated the following:
Dwight Eisenhower, in his memoirs, indicated that he was addressing President Truman: "I told him that since the available information indicates the inevitability of the imminent collapse of Japan, I strongly object to the entry of the Red Army into this war."
Results
For differences in battles as part of the 1st Far Eastern Front, 16 formations and units received the honorary name "Ussuri", 19 - "Harbin", 149 - were awarded various orders.
As a result of the war, the USSR actually returned to its composition the territories lost Russian Empire in 1905, following the results of the Portsmouth Peace (southern Sakhalin and, temporarily, Kwantung with Port Arthur and Far), as well as the main group of the Kuril Islands previously ceded to Japan in 1875 and assigned to Japan by the Shimoda Treaty of 1855, the southern part of the Kuriles.
The last territorial loss by Japan has not yet been recognized. According to the San Francisco Peace Treaty, Japan renounced any claims to Sakhalin (Karafuto) and the Kuriles (Tishima Retto). But the treaty did not determine the ownership of the islands and the USSR did not sign it. However, in 1956, the Moscow Declaration was signed, which ended the state of war and established diplomatic and consular relations between the USSR and Japan. Article 9 of the Declaration, in particular, says:
Negotiations on the southern Kuril Islands continue to the present, the lack of a solution on this issue prevents the conclusion of a peace treaty between Japan and Russia, as the successor to the USSR.
Japan is also involved in a territorial dispute with China. People's Republic and the Republic of China regarding the ownership of the Senkaku Islands, despite the existence of peace treaties between the countries (the agreement was concluded with the Republic of China in 1952, with the PRC in 1978). In addition, despite the existence of the Basic Treaty on Relations between Japan and Korea, Japan and the Republic of Korea are also involved in a territorial dispute over the ownership of the Liancourt Islands.
Despite Article 9 of the Potsdam Declaration, which prescribes the return of military personnel at the end of hostilities, according to Stalin's order No. 9898, according to Japanese data, up to two million Japanese military personnel and civilians were deported to work in the USSR. As a result of hard work, frost and disease, according to Japanese data, 374,041 people died.
According to Soviet data, the number of prisoners of war was 640,276 people. Immediately after the end of hostilities, 65,176 wounded and sick were released. Died in captivity 62,069 prisoners of war, of which 22,331 before entering the territory of the USSR. An average of 100,000 people were repatriated annually. By the beginning of 1950, there were about 3,000 people convicted of criminal and war crimes (of which 971 were transferred to China for crimes committed against the Chinese people), who, in accordance with the Soviet-Japanese Declaration of 1956, were released early and repatriated to their homeland.
Americans really do not like to remember March 17, 1942. On this day, 120 thousand US citizens - ethnic Japanese or half-breeds - began to be sent to concentration camps.
Not only ethnic Japanese were subject to forced deportation, but even those American citizens who had only a great-grandmother or great-grandfather of Japanese nationality among their ancestors. That is, who had only 1/16 of the "enemy" blood.
It is less known that people who had the misfortune of being of the same nationality as Hitler and Mussolini fell under the Roosevelt Decree: 11,000 Germans and 5,000 Italians were placed in camps. About 150,000 more Germans and Italians received the status of "suspect persons", and throughout the war they were under the supervision of special services and had to report on all movements in the United States.
Approximately 10,000 Japanese were able to prove their worth to America at war - they were mostly engineers and skilled workers. They were not placed in the camp, but also received the status of "suspect person".
Families were given two days to prepare. During this time, they had to settle all material matters and sell their property, including cars. It was impossible to do this in such a short time, and the unfortunate people simply abandoned their houses and cars.
Their American neighbors took this as a signal to loot the property of the "enemy". Buildings and shops were set on fire, and several Japanese were killed - until the army and police intervened. The inscriptions on the walls "I am an American" did not save, under which the rioters wrote: "A good Japanese is a dead Japanese."
On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The next day, the United States declared war on the aggressor. During the first five days of the war, about 2,100 ethnic Japanese were arrested or interned as suspected spies, and on February 16, about 2,200 more Japanese were arrested and interned.
The first Japanese immigrants arrived in Hawaii and the East Coast of the United States 60 years before Pearl Harbor, in 1891. These early immigrants, the "issei," were drawn here by the same things that all other emigrants were: freedom, both personal and economic; hope for a better life than at home. By 1910, there were 100,000 such “issays” in the United States. They were not stopped even by the slingshots that the American bureaucracy put on them, for example, in obtaining American citizenship, nor by the anti-Japanese hysterical campaign that - without a shadow of the political correctness that exists today - was waged against them by American racists (the American Legion, the League - with the exception of the Japanese and other organizations ).
The state authorities clearly listened to these voices, and therefore all legal opportunities for the continuation of Japanese immigration were blocked back in 1924 under President Coolidge. Nevertheless, many "Issei" were delighted with America, which did not close the paths and loopholes in front of them, at least for their economic growth. Moreover, “Nisei” appeared in America: the Japanese are American citizens. After all, according to the American Constitution, the children of even the most disenfranchised immigrants are equal American citizens if they were born in the United States.
Moreover, by the time the war began, the Nisei formed a large majority among Japanese Americans, and the general loyalty of the Japanese community was confirmed by the authoritative report of the Kurisa Munson Commission established by the US Department of Foreign Affairs: there is no internal Japanese threat and no uprising in California or Hawaii is expected. have to!
In the media, however, different music was heard. Newspapers and radio spread opinions about the Japanese as a fifth column, about the need to evict them from the Pacific coast as far and as soon as possible. This chorus was soon joined by high-profile politicians such as Governor Olson of California, Mayor Brauron of Los Angeles, and, most notably, US Attorney General Francis Biddle.
On January 5, 1942, all American servicemen of Japanese origin were discharged from the army or transferred to auxiliary work, and on February 19, 1942, that is, two months and nine days after the start of the war, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order No. 9066 on the internment and deportation of 110 thousand Japanese Americans from the first category operational area, that is, from the entire western coast of the Pacific Ocean, as well as along the border with Mexico in the state of Arizona. The following day, Secretary of War Henry L. Simpson placed Lieutenant General John de Witt in charge of carrying out this order. To help him, the National Committee for the Study of Migration was created in the name of national security("The Tolan Committee").
At first, the Japanese were offered to deport ... themselves! That is, to move to their relatives living in the central or eastern states. While it turned out that practically no one had such relatives, most remained at home. Thus, at the end of March 1942, more than 100 thousand Japanese still lived within the first operational zone forbidden for them, then the state came to the rescue, hastily creating two networks of camps for Japanese internees. The first network is 12 collection and distribution camps, guarded and with barbed wire. They were relatively close: most of the camps were located right there - in the depths of the states of California, Oregon, Washington and Arizona.
What happened to the Japanese on the American continent was pure water racism, there was no military need for it. It's funny that the Japanese who lived in Hawaii, one might say, in the frontline zone, were never resettled anywhere: their economic role in the life of the Hawaiian Islands was so important that no amount of speculation could overcome it! The Japanese were given one week to arrange their affairs, but the sale of a house or property was not a prerequisite: the institution of private property remained unshakable. The Japanese were taken to the camps by buses and trains under guard.
I must say that the living conditions there were very deplorable. But already in June-October 1942, most of the Japanese were moved to a network of 10 stationary camps, which were already located much further from the coast - in the second or third row of the western American states: in Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, and two camps - even in Arkansas, in the southern part of the central belt of the United States. Living conditions were already at the level of American standards, but the climate for the new settlers was difficult: instead of even California weather, there was a harsh continental climate with significant annual temperature differences.
In the camps, all adults were required to work 40 hours a week. The Japanese were mainly employed in agricultural work and crafts. Each camp had a cinema, a hospital, a school, Kindergarten, House of Culture - in general, a typical set of social and cultural life for a small town.
As the camp inmates later recalled, the administration treated them normally in most cases. There were also incidents - several Japanese were killed while trying to escape (American historians give figures from 7 to 12 people during the entire existence of the camps). Violators of the order could be put in a guardhouse for several days.
The rehabilitation of the Japanese began almost simultaneously with the deportation - from October 1942. The Japanese, recognized after verification (and each was given a special questionnaire!) loyal to the United States, returned personal freedom and the right to free settlement: everywhere in the United States, except for the zone from which they were deported. Those deemed disloyal were taken to a special camp at Tulle Lake in California, which lasted until March 20, 1946.
Most Japanese accepted their deportation with humility, believing it to be The best way expressions of loyalty. But some refused to recognize the deportation as legal and, challenging Roosevelt's order, went to court. So, Fred Korematsu flatly refused to voluntarily leave his home in San Levandro, and when he was arrested, he filed a lawsuit about the incapacity of the state to relocate or arrest people on the basis of race. The Supreme Court reasoned that Korematsu and the rest of the Japanese were being persecuted not because they were Japanese, but because the state of war with Japan and martial law necessitated their temporary separation from the west coast. Jesuits, be jealous! Luckier was Mitsue Endo. Her claim was more subtle: the government has no right to move loyal citizens without giving reasons for such a move. And she won the process in 1944, and with her all the other "nisei" (US citizens) won. They were also allowed to return to their places of pre-war residence.
In 1948, Japanese internees were paid partial compensation for the loss of their property (between 20 and 40% of the value of the property).
Rehabilitation was soon extended to the Issei, who, beginning in 1952, were allowed to apply for citizenship. In 1980, Congress created a special commission to study the circumstances of the appearance of Order No. 9066 and the circumstances of the deportation itself. The commission's conclusion was clear: Roosevelt's order was illegal. The commission recommended that each former Japanese deportee be paid $20,000 in compensation for illegal and forced displacement. In October 1990, each of them received an individual letter from President Bush Sr. with words of apology and condemnation of past lawlessness. And soon came and checks for compensation.
A little about the origins of the conflict between Japan and the United States
Roosevelt began to eliminate a powerful competitor in the Pacific region from the moment when, in 1932, the Japanese created the puppet state of Manchukuo in northern China and squeezed American companies out of there. After that, the American president called for the international isolation of the aggressors who encroached on the sovereignty of China (or rather, on the interests of US business).
In 1939, the United States unilaterally denounced the 28-year trade treaty with Japan and thwarted attempts to negotiate a new one. This was followed by a ban on the export of American aviation gasoline and scrap metal to Japan, which, in the conditions of the war with China, was in dire need of fuel for its aircraft and metal raw materials for the defense industry.
Then American soldiers were allowed to fight on the side of the Chinese, and soon an embargo was announced on all Japanese assets in the formally neutral United States. Left without oil and raw materials, Japan had to either negotiate with the Americans on their terms, or start a war against them.
Since Roosevelt refused to negotiate with the Japanese Prime Minister, the Japanese tried to act through their ambassador, Kurusu Saburo. In response, US Secretary of State Cordell Hull presented them with counter-proposals resembling an ultimatum in form. For example, the Americans demanded the withdrawal of Japanese troops from all occupied territories, including China.
In response, the Japanese went to war. After the aircraft of the Naval Forces of the Land of the Rising Sun sank four battleships, two destroyers and one minelayer in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, destroyed about 200 American aircraft, Japan suddenly gained air supremacy and the Pacific Ocean as a whole. .
Roosevelt was well aware that the economic potential of the United States and its allies did not leave Japan a chance to win a big war. However, the shock and anger from Japan's unexpectedly successful attack on the States was too great in the country.
Under these conditions, a populist step was required from the government, which would demonstrate to citizens the uncompromising determination of the authorities to fight the enemy - external and internal.
Roosevelt did not reinvent the wheel and in his decree relied on an old document of 1798, adopted during the war with France - the law on hostile foreigners. It allowed (and still allows) US authorities to place anyone in prison or a concentration camp on suspicion of being associated with a hostile state.
The Supreme Court of the country in 1944 confirmed the constitutionality of internment, stating that, if "public necessity" so requires, it is possible to restrict civil rights any national group.
The operation to evict the Japanese was assigned to General John Dewitt, commander of the Western Military Region, who told the US Congress: “It doesn't matter if they are American citizens - they are still Japanese. We must always be concerned about the Japanese until they are wiped off the face of the earth."
He repeatedly stressed that there is no way to determine the loyalty of a Japanese American to the Stars and Stripes, and therefore, during a war, such people are a danger to the United States and should be immediately isolated. In particular, after Pearl Harbor, he suspected immigrants of communicating with Japanese ships by radio.
DeWitt's views were typical of the US military leadership, which was dominated by overtly racist sentiments. The Military Movement Directorate, which was led by Milton Eisenhower, the younger brother of the commander of Allied forces in Europe and future US President Dwight Eisenhower, was responsible for the movement and maintenance of the deportees. This department built ten concentration camps in the states of California, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Arkansas, to which the displaced Japanese were taken.
The camps were located in remote areas - as a rule, on the territory of Indian reservations. Moreover, this was an unpleasant surprise for the inhabitants of the reservations, and subsequently the Indians did not receive any monetary compensation for the use of their lands.
The created camps were surrounded by a barbed wire fence around the perimeter. The Japanese were ordered to live in hastily knocked together wooden barracks, where it was especially hard in winter. It was strictly forbidden to go outside the camp, the guards shot at those who tried to break this rule. All adults were required to work 40 hours a week - usually in agricultural work.
The largest concentration camp was considered to be Manzaner in California, where more than 10 thousand people were driven, and the most terrible was Tulle Lake, in the same state, where the most “dangerous” hunters, pilots, fishermen and radio operators were placed.
Japan's almost lightning conquest of vast territories in Asia and the Pacific Ocean made its army and navy an almost invincible force in the eyes of the American inhabitants and greatly stirred up anti-Japanese hysteria, which was actively fueled by the newspapers. Thus, the Los Angeles Times called all Japanese vipers and wrote that a Japanese-American will definitely grow up to be a Japanese, but not an American.
Calls were made to remove the Japanese as potential traitors from the east coast of the United States, inland. At the same time, columnist Henry McLemore wrote that he hated all the Japanese.
The resettlement of "enemies" was enthusiastically received by the population of the United States. The inhabitants of California were especially jubilant, where an atmosphere similar to the racial laws of the Third Reich had long reigned. In 1905, mixed marriages between whites and Japanese were banned in the state. In 1906, San Francisco voted to segregate schools along racial lines. Appropriate sentiments were also fueled by the Asian Exclusion Act of 1924, thanks to which immigrants had almost no chance of obtaining US citizenship.
The shameful decree was canceled only many years later - in 1976 by then US President Gerald Ford. Under the next head of state, Jim Carter, a Commission for the Relocation and Internment of Civilians in Wartime was created. In 1983, she concluded that the deprivation of Japanese Americans of freedom was not due to military necessity.
In 1988, President Ronald Reagan issued a written apology on behalf of the United States to those who survived the internment. They were paid $20,000 each. Subsequently, already under Bush Sr., each of the victims received another seven thousand dollars.
Compared to how people of the same nationality were treated with the enemy at that time, the US authorities treated the Japanese humanely. For example, in neighboring Canada, the Japanese, Germans, Italians, Koreans and Hungarians had a different fate.
In the Canadian town of Hastings Park, by Decree of February 24, 1942, the Center for the Temporary Detention System was established - in fact the same concentration camp, to which by November 1942 12,000 people of Japanese origin were forcibly moved. They were allocated 20 cents a day for food (2-2.5 times less than Japanese campers in the USA). Another 945 Japanese were sent to high-security labor camps, 3991 people to sugar beet plantations, 1661 Japanese to settlement colonies (mainly in the taiga, where they were engaged in logging), 699 people were interned in prisoner of war camps in the province of Ontario , 42 people - repatriated to Japan, 111 - taken into custody in a prison in Vancouver. In total, about 350 Japanese died while trying to escape, from disease and ill-treatment (2.5% of the total number of Japanese who were struck in their rights - the mortality rate was similar to the same indicators in Stalin's camps in non-war times).
Prime Minister Brian Mulroney on September 22, 1988 also apologized to the Japanese, Germans and so on deported during the war. All of them were given compensation for suffering in 21 thousand Canadian dollars per person.
