REAL Exclusive Magazine

70th Anniversary Of The End Of WWII.

In this photo Navy carrier planes fly in formation over the U.S. and British fleets in Tokyo Bay during the Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945. The USS Missouri, where the ceremonies took place, is at the left.

Japanese General Yoshira Umeza and foreign minister Manoru Shigemitsu signed the act of surrender of Japan on the American ship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945. U.S. General Douglas MacArthur witnessed the ceremony marking the end of World War II with other American and British officers. President Truman announced Japan’s surrender at the end of World War II to the American people.

World War II lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world’s nations, eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries.

In a state of “total war”, the major nations threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, erasing the distinction between civilian and military resources. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust (approximately 11 million killed) and the strategic bombing of industrial and population centers (approximately 1 million killed, including the drop of 2 nuclear weapons), it resulted in an estimated 50 to 85 million deaths. This made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history.

To all the brave men and women that made a great, lasting, impact on the world.