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The End of the War and a Labour Landslide
In 1945 the Germans surrendered. In August an atomic bomb obliterated Hiroshima. The Japanese surrendered and the Second World War was over. Churchill resigned as war time Prime Minister and formed a caretaker government to run the country until elections could be held. Those elections were held in July and Clement Attlee became Labour Prime Minister. On December 27th the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund were created to help avoid another world depression.
Clement Atlee |
Clement Richard Attlee (1883-1967)- Born in Putney, educated at Haileybury and Oxford and called to the Bar in 1905
- A socialist and member of the Labour Party
- Became an MP in 1922
- Became Deputy Leader of the Opposition of 1931 and Leader of the Opposition in 1935
- Became Deputy Prime Minister during the Second World War
- Became Prime Minister in 1945 and stayed there for six years
- Oversaw a nationalisation programme which included The Bank of England; road transport, railways, civil aviation, coal mines, steel and cable and wireless
- Granted India independence
- Introduced the National Health Service
- Became First Earl Attlee
- His autobiography, As It Happened was published in 1954
Anne Frank died in Belsen Concentration Camp in 1945. Her diary was published in 1947 and she became a symbol of Jewish suffering at the hands of the Nazis.
Extract From The Report Of William T Laurence Of The New York Chronicle On Hiroshima
"Observers in the tail . . . saw a giant ball of fire rise, as though the bowels of the earth, belching forth enormous white smoke rings. Next they saw a giant pillar of purple fire, 10,000ft high, shooting skyward with enormous speed. By the time our ship [aircraft] had made another turn in the direction of the atomic explosion the pillar of purple fire had reached the level of our altitude. Only about 45 seconds had passed. Awe-struck, we watched it shoot upward like a meteor coming from the earth instead of from outer space, becoming ever more alive as it climbed skyward through the white clouds. It was no longer smoke, or dust, or even a cloud of fire. It was a living thing, a new species of being, born right before our incredulous eyes . . . "
 
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| 1940 | Churchill becomes Prime Minister
Rationing is introduced
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| 1941 | The Atlantic Charter is formed
Anglo-Soviet Treaty is signed
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| 1942 | The Beveridge Report is published
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| 1944 | Butler's Education Act
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| 1945 | Attlee becomes Prime Minister
World War II ends
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| 1946 | National Insurance Act is passed
National Health Act is passed
The United Nations is founded
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| 1947 | India becomes independent
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| 1948 | Gandhi is assassinated
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| 1949 | NATO is formed
Republic of Ireland become independent
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| 1950 | Korean War breaks out
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| War Diary 1945 | | • | January 17 Soviet troops take Warsaw |
| • | February 4 Yalta Conference |
| • | February 14 Destruction of Dresden |
| • | February 23 Iwo Jima |
| • | March 7 Allies cross Rhine |
| • | April 12 Roosevelt dies |
| • | April 20 Russians enter Berlin |
| • | April 28 Germans surrender in Italy |
| • | April 28 Mussolini shot by Italian partisans |
| • | April 30 Hitler commits suicide |
| • | May 3 British retake Rangoon |
| • | May 7 German surrender |
| • | May 8 VE Day |
| • | May 23 Himmler commits suicide |
| • | June 26 UN established |
| • | July 5 Labour win General Elecion |
| • | July 31 Potsdam Three Power Conference |
| • | August 6 Atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima |
| • | August 9 Atomic bomb dropped over Nagasaki |
| • | August 14 Japanese surrender |
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