Editing 1945 (section)

==Events==
[[World War II]] will be abbreviated as “WWII”

===January===
{{Main|January 1945}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-32279-007, KZ Auschwitz, Eingang.jpg|thumb|upright| [[January 27]] – The Soviet [[Red Army]] liberates [[Auschwitz concentration camp|Auschwitz]].]]
* [[January 1]] – WWII:
** [[Nazi Germany|Germany]] begins [[Operation Bodenplatte]], an attempt by the ''[[Luftwaffe]]'' to cripple [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] air forces in the [[Low Countries]].<ref>{{Cite book  |last=Girbig  |first=Werner  |date=1975  |title=Six Months to Oblivion: The Eclipse of the Luftwaffe Fighter Force Over the Western Front, 1944/45  |publisher=[[Schiffer Publishing]]  |isbn=978-0-88740-348-4|page=74}}</ref>
** [[Chenogne massacre]]: German prisoners are allegedly killed by American forces near the village of Chenogne, Belgium.
* [[January 6]] – WWII:  A German offensive recaptures [[Esztergom]], [[Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)|Hungary]] from the Soviets.
* [[January 9]] – WWII: American and Australian troops land at [[Lingayen Gulf]] on western coast of the largest Philippine island of [[Luzon]], occupied by Japan since 1942.
* [[January 12]] – WWII: The [[Soviet Union]] begins the [[Vistula–Oder Offensive]] in Eastern Europe, against the [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|German Army]].<ref name=Duffy>{{cite book|authorlink=Christopher Duffy|last=Duffy|first=Christopher|url=https://archive.org/details/redstormonreichs00duff|title=Red Storm on the Reich: The Soviet March on Germany, 1945|publisher=Routledge|year=1991|isbn=0-415-22829-8}}</ref>
* [[January 13]] – WWII: The Soviet Union begins the [[East Prussian Offensive]], to eliminate German forces in [[East Prussia]].
* [[January 16]] – WWII: [[Adolf Hitler]] takes residence in the ''[[Führerbunker]]'' in Berlin.
* [[January 17]]
** WWII: The [[Soviet Union]] occupies [[Warsaw]], Poland.
** [[The Holocaust]]: Swedish diplomat [[Raoul Wallenberg]], who has saved thousands of Jews, is taken into custody by a Soviet patrol during the [[Siege of Budapest]] and is never again seen publicly.
* [[January 18]] – [[The Holocaust]]: The [[SS]] begins the evacuation of [[Auschwitz concentration camp]]. Nearly 60,000 prisoners, mostly Jews, are forced to march to other locations in Germany; as many as 15,000 die. The 7,000 too sick to move are left without supplies being distributed.
* [[January 19]] – [[The Holocaust]]: Soviet forces liberate the [[Łódź Ghetto]]; only 877 Jews of the initial population of 164,000 remain at this time.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://motlc.wiesenthal.com/site/pp.asp?c=gvKVLcMVIuG&b=395095 |title=The Agony of the Łódź Ghetto, 1941–1944 |publisher=The Simon Wiesenthal Center |work=The Chronicle of the Łódź Ghetto, 1941–1944 by [[Lucjan Dobroszycki]], and The [[United States Holocaust Memorial Museum]], Washington D.C. |date=1997 |access-date=25 March 2015 |author=Abraham J. Peck}}</ref>
* [[January 20]] – Germany begins the [[Evacuation of East Prussia]].
* [[January 21]]–[[January 22|22]] (night) – At the [[Zielonka Pasłęcka|Grünhagen]] railroad station, located in [[East Prussia]] at this date, two trains, heading for [[Elbląg|Elbing]], collide. At dawn the station is reached by [[Soviet Army]] infantry and tanks which destroy the station, killing between 140 and 150 people.
* [[January 23]] – WWII:
** Hungary agrees to an [[armistice]] with the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]].
** German Grand Admiral [[Karl Dönitz]] orders the start of [[Operation Hannibal]], the mass evacuation by sea of German troops and civilians from the [[Courland Pocket]], [[Evacuation of East Prussia|East Prussia]] and the [[Polish Corridor]], evacuating an estimated 800,000-900,000 German civilians and 350,000 soldiers from advancing Soviet forces.
** Evacuation of Germans from [[Zielonka Pasłęcka|Grünhagen]].
* [[January 24]] – WWII: [[Associated Press|AP]] [[war correspondent]] [[Joseph Morton (correspondent)|Joseph Morton]], nine [[Office of Strategic Services|OSS]] men, and four [[Special Operations Executive|SOE]] agents are executed by the Germans at [[Mauthausen concentration camp]] under Hitler's [[Commando Order]] of 1942, which stipulates the immediate execution of all captured Allied [[commando]]s or [[sabotage|saboteurs]] without trial, even those in proper uniforms. Morton is the only [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] correspondent to be executed by the [[Axis powers|Axis]] during the war.
* [[January 25]] – WWII: Hitler appoints [[Heinrich Himmler]] as commander of the hastily formed [[Army Group Vistula]] (''Heeresgruppe Weichsel'') to halt the Soviet [[Red Army]]'s [[Vistula–Oder offensive]] into [[Pomerania]], despite Himmler's lack of military experience.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kershaw|first=Ian|author-link=Ian Kershaw|title=Hitler: A Biography|publisher=Norton|location=New York|year=2008|isbn=978-0-393-06757-6|page=891}}</ref>
* [[January 26]] – WWII: 19-year-old U.S. Army Staff Sergeant [[Audie Murphy]] sees action at [[Holtzwihr]], France, for which is awarded the [[Medal of Honor]].
* [[January 27]] – [[The Holocaust]]: The Soviet [[Red Army]] liberates the [[Auschwitz concentration camp|Auschwitz]] and Birkenau concentration camps.
* [[January 30]] – WWII:
** {{MV|Wilhelm Gustloff}}, with over 10,000 mainly civilian Germans from Gotenhafen ([[Gdynia]]) is sunk in [[Gdańsk Bay]] by three [[torpedo]]es from [[Soviet submarine S-13|Soviet submarine ''S-13'']] in the [[Baltic Sea]]; up to 9,400, 5,000 of whom are children, are thought to have died – the greatest loss of life in a single ship sinking in history.
** [[Raid at Cabanatuan]]: 121 American soldiers and 800 Filipino guerrillas free 813 American [[prisoners of war]] from the Japanese-held camp in the city of [[Cabanatuan]], in the [[Philippines]].
** [[Adolf Hitler]] makes his last public speech, on broadcast radio, expressing the belief that Germany will triumph.
* [[January 31]] – WWII: The [[Battle of Hill 170]] in the Burma Campaign ends with the British [[3rd Commando Brigade]] defeating the [[54th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)|Imperial Japanese Army 54th Division]], causing the [[Twenty-Eighth Army (Japan)|Japanese Twenty-Eighth Army]] to withdraw from the [[Rakhine State|Arakan]] Peninsula.

===February===
{{Main|February 1945}}
[[File:Yalta Conference (Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin) (B&W).jpg|thumb|[[February 4]] – The "Big Three" at the [[Yalta Conference]]: [[Winston Churchill]], [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] and [[Joseph Stalin]].]]
[[File:USMC-M-IwoJima-cvr.jpg|thumb|[[February 19]] – During the [[Battle of Iwo Jima]], U.S. Marines land on [[Iwo Jima|the island]].]]
* [[February]] – Raymond L. Libby of [[American Cyanamid]]'s research laboratories, at [[Stamford, Connecticut]], announces a method of orally administering the antibiotic [[penicillin]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Penicillin Pills May Replace Injection|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1368&dat=19450216&id=N0waAAAAIBAJ&pg=2626,3158721|newspaper=[[The Milwaukee Sentinel]]|date=1945-02-16|access-date=2012-05-22}}{{Dead link|date=May 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* [[February 3]] – WWII:
** [[Battle of Manila (1945)|Battle of Manila]]: United States forces enter the outskirts of [[Manila]] to capture it from the [[Imperial Japanese Army|Japanese Imperial Army]], starting the battle. On February 4, U.S. Army forces liberate [[Santo Tomas Internment Camp]] in the city.
** The [[Soviet Union]] agrees to enter the [[Pacific War]] against Japan, once hostilities against Germany are concluded.
* [[February 4]]–[[February 11|11]] – WWII: [[President of the United States|President]] [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] [[Winston Churchill]] and [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] leader [[Joseph Stalin]] hold the [[Yalta Conference]].
* [[February 7]] – WWII: General [[Douglas MacArthur]] returns to [[Manila]].
* [[February 8]] – The Alaska Anti-Discrimination Act of 1945, championed by charismatic native leader [[Elizabeth Peratrovich]], is passed by the territorial Senate, after the legislature defeated a previous bill in 1943.
* [[February 9]]
** [[Walter Ulbricht]] becomes leader of the German [[communism|Communists]] in Moscow.
** WWII: "[[Black Friday (1945)|Black Friday]]": A force of Allied [[Bristol Beaufighter]] aircraft suffers heavy casualties in an unsuccessful attack on [[German destroyer Z33|German destroyer ''Z33'']] and escorting vessels sheltering in [[Førde Fjord]], Norway.
* [[February 10]] – WWII: German [[troopship]] {{SS|General von Steuben}} is sunk by the [[Soviet submarine S-13|Soviet submarine ''S-13'']]; 3,608 drown.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?59620|title=SS General von Steuben [+1945]|publisher=WreckSite|access-date=2010-12-06}}</ref>
* [[February 10]]–[[February 20|20]] – WWII: [[Operation Kita]]: The [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] returns "Completion Force", containing both its [[Ise-class battleship|''Ise''-class battleship]]s, safely from [[Singapore]] to [[Kure, Hiroshima|Kure]] in Japan despite [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] attacks.
* [[February 12]] – A [[Tornado outbreak of February 12, 1945|devastating tornado outbreak]] in [[Mississippi]] and [[Alabama]] kills 45 people and injures 427 others.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Grazulis |first1=Thomas P. |title=Significant tornadoes, 1680–1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events |date=1993 |publisher=Environmental Films |location=St. Johnsbury, Vermont |isbn=1-879362-03-1 |pages=922–925}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=F. C. Pate (United States Weather Bureau) |title=The Tornado at Montgomery, Alabama, February 12, 1945 |journal=Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society |date=October 1946 |volume=27 |issue=8 |pages=462–464 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26257954 |access-date=27 May 2023 |publisher=American Meteorological Society|jstor=26257954 }}</ref>
* [[February 13]] – WWII:
** The [[Budapest Offensive]] and the [[Siege of Budapest]] end with [[Nazism|Nazi]] troops surrendering [[Budapest]] (Hungary) to [[Soviet Union|Soviet]]-Romanian forces.
** [[Bombing of Dresden in World War II|Bombing of Dresden]] (Germany) by the British [[Royal Air Force]] and [[United States Army Air Forces]]; 25,000-35,000 are estimated to have died.
* [[February 16]] – WWII:
** The [[Bombing of Wesel in World War II|Bombing of Wesel]] begins, destroying 97% of the town over three days.
** American and Filipino ground forces land on [[Corregidor]] Island in the [[Philippines]].
** Combined American and Filipino forces recapture the [[Bataan]] Peninsula.
** [[Venezuela]] declares war on Germany.
* [[February 18]]&ndash;[[March 5]] &ndash; WWII: American and Brazilian troops kick off [[Operation Encore]] in Northern Italy, a successful limited action in the [[Northern Apennines]] that prepares for the western portion of the [[Spring 1945 offensive in Italy|Allied Spring offensive]].<ref>Ernest F. Fisher Jr., [https://web.archive.org/web/20120927071348/http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/006/6-4-1/CMH_Pub_6-4-1.pdf ''The Mediterranean Theater of Operations: Cassino to the Alps''] (Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, 1977), p.&nbsp;425-434</ref>
* [[February 19]]–[[February 20|20]] – 980 (actual figure is disputed)<ref>{{cite web |title=Guinness World Records Website |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2016/12/national-geographic-channel-and-guinness-world-records-investigate-crocodile-atta-455138 |website=guinnessworldrecords.com|date=December 13, 2016 }}</ref> Japanese soldiers die as a result of being attacked by long saltwater [[crocodile]]s in [[Battle of Ramree Island|Ramree, Burma]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Guinness Book of World Records|year=2008|page=137}}</ref>
* [[February 19]] – WWII: [[Battle of Iwo Jima]] – About 30,000 [[United States Marine Corps|United States Marines]] land on [[Iwo Jima]].
* [[February 21]] – The last [[V-2 rocket]] is launched from [[Peenemünde]].
* [[February 22]] – WWII:
** [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian Front]]: The [[Battle of Monte Castello]] ends after nearly three months of fighting when the [[Brazilian Expeditionary Force]] expels German forces from a pivot point in the [[Apennine Mountains#Northern Apennines|(Tuscan) North Apennines]] where their artillery was impeding the advance of the [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|British Eighth Army]] toward [[Bologna]].
** [[Uruguay]] declares war on Germany and Japan.
* [[February 23]] – WWII:
** [[Battle of Iwo Jima]]: A group of [[United States Marine Corps|United States Marines]] reach the top of [[Mount Suribachi]] on the island, and are photographed raising the [[flag of the United States|American flag]]. The photo, ''[[Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima]]'' (taken by [[Joe Rosenthal]]), later wins a [[Pulitzer Prize]].
** The [[11th Airborne Division (United States)|11th Airborne Division]], with [[Filipino people|Filipino]] guerrillas, free the captives of the [[Los Baños, Laguna|Los Baños]] internment camp.
** The capital of the [[Philippines]], Manila, is liberated by combined American and Filipino ground troops. The suburb of [[Intramuros]] is devastated.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=kzYOAAAACAAJ Battle of Manila Footnotes: Battle for Manila] by [[Richard Connaughton]], John Pimlott and Duncan Anderson (2002) Presidio Press {{ISBN|0-89141-771-0}} pp 164-7</ref>
** The German garrison in [[Poznań]] capitulates to [[Red Army]] and Polish troops.
** [[Bombing of Pforzheim in World War II|Bombing of Pforzheim]]: The heaviest of a series of bombing raids on [[Pforzheim]], Germany by Allied aircraft is carried out by the British [[Royal Air Force]]. As many as 17,600 people, or 31.4% of the town's population, are killed in the raid and about 83% of the town's buildings destroyed, two-thirds of its complete area and between 80 and 100% of the inner city.
** [[Turkey]] joins the war on the side of the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]].
* [[February 24]] – Egyptian Premier [[Ahmad Mahir Pasha]] is assassinated in Parliament after declaring war on Germany and Japan.
* [[February 27]] – The [[Bombing of Mainz in World War II|Bombing of Mainz]] results in 1,209 confirmed dead; 80% of the city is destroyed.
* [[February 28]] – In [[Bucharest]], a violent demonstration takes place, during which the ''Bolşevic'' group opens fire on the army and protesters. In response, [[Andrei Y. Vishinsky]], [[USSR]] vice commissioner of foreign affairs and president of the Allied Control Commission for [[Romania]], travels to Bucharest to compel [[Nicolae Rădescu]] to resign as premier.

===March===
{{Main|March 1945}}
* [[March 1]] – President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] gives what will be his last address to a [[joint session of the United States Congress]], reporting on the [[Yalta Conference]].
* [[March 2]]
** Former U.S. Vice-president [[Henry A. Wallace]] starts his term of office as [[United States Secretary of Commerce]], serving under President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]].
** The rocket-propelled [[Bachem Ba 349]] ''Natter'' is first test launched at [[Stetten am kalten Markt]]. The launch fails and the pilot, [[Lothar Sieber]], dies.<ref>''Year by Year – 1945''. [[History International]].</ref>
* [[March 3]] – WWII:
** Finland declares war on the [[Axis powers]].
** United States and Filipino troops take [[Battle of Manila (1945)|Manila]], [[Philippines]].
** [[Pawłokoma massacre]]: A Polish [[Home Army]] unit massacres between 150 and 500 Ukrainian civilians in the Polish village of [[Pawłokoma]].
** [[Bombing of the Bezuidenhout]]: The British [[Royal Air Force]] accidentally bombs the [[Bezuidenhout]] neighbourhood in [[The Hague]], Netherlands, killing 511 people.
* [[March 4]]
** In the United Kingdom, [[Elizabeth II|Princess Elizabeth]] (later Queen Elizabeth II), joins the [[Auxiliary Territorial Service]] (ATS) as a truck driver/mechanic in London.
** The Swiss cities of [[Basel]] and [[Zürich]] are [[Aerial incidents in Switzerland in World War II#Zürich and Basel|accidentally bombed]] by the United States.<ref>{{cite book |title=Air University Review |date=1976 |publisher=Department of the Air Force |page=20 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=py6oImEZoDMC&pg=RA3-PA20 |language=en}}</ref>
* [[March 5]] – WWII: Brazilian troops take Castelnuovo ([[Vergato]]), in the last operations of the Allied [[Operation Encore]].
* [[March 6]]
** A Communist-led government is formed in [[Kingdom of Romania|Romania]] under [[Petru Groza]], following [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] intervention.
** Resistance fighters accidentally ambush and attempt to execute SS general [[Hanns Albin Rauter]], the arch-persecutor of the Dutch.
* [[March 7]] – WWII: At the end of [[Operation Lumberjack]], American troops seize the [[Ludendorff Bridge]] over the [[Rhine]] at [[Remagen]], Germany and begin to cross; in the next 10 days, 25,000 troops with equipment are able to cross.
* [[March 8]]
** [[Josip Broz Tito]] forms a [[Provisional Government of the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia]], in the [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]].
** Nazi authorities kill 117 Dutch men, in reprisal for the attempted murder of [[Hanns Albin Rauter]].
** [[Operation Sunrise (World War II)|Operation Sunrise]]: [[Waffen-SS]] General [[Karl Wolff]] meets with [[Allen Welsh Dulles]] of the United States [[Office of Strategic Services]] at [[Lucerne]], Switzerland, to negotiate the surrender of the [[Axis powers|Axis]] forces in Italy to the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]].
* [[March 9]]–[[March 10|10]] – WWII: [[Bombing of Tokyo (10 March 1945)|Bombing of Tokyo]]: [[USAAF]] [[B-29 Superfortress|B-29]] [[bomber]]s attack Tokyo, Japan, with [[Incendiary device|incendiary bombs]], killing 100,000 citizens in the firebombing. It is the single most destructive conventional air attack of the war.
* [[March 11]]
** The [[Empire of Japan]] establishes the [[Empire of Vietnam]], a [[puppet state]] which will last only until August 23, with [[Bảo Đại]] as its ruler.
** The [[1945 Sammarinese general election|Sammarinese general election]] gives [[San Marino]] the world's first democratically elected [[communist]] government, which will hold power until [[1957]].<ref>{{cite book|editor1=[[Dieter Nohlen|Nohlen, Dieter]] |editor2=Stöver, Philip |year=2010|title=Elections in Europe: A data handbook|location=Baden-Baden|publisher=Nomos|page=1678|isbn=978-3-8329-5609-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Alan James|last=Mayne|title=From Politics Past to Politics Future: An Integrated Analysis of Current and Emergent Paradigms|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6MkTz6Rq7wUC&pg=PA59|access-date=2013-08-31|year=1999|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-96151-0|page=59}}</ref>
* [[March 12]] – WWII: [[Swinemünde]] is destroyed by the USAAF, killing an estimated 8,000 to 23,000 civilians, mostly refugees saved by [[Operation Hannibal]].
* [[March 15]]–[[March 31|31]] – WWII: The Soviet [[Red Army]] carries out the [[Upper Silesian Offensive]].
* [[March 15]] – The [[17th Academy Awards]] ceremony is held, broadcast via radio in the United States for the first time. [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]] goes to ''[[Going My Way]]''.
* [[March 16]] – WWII:
** The [[Battle of Iwo Jima]] unofficially ends.
** The [[Bombing of Würzburg in World War II|Bombing of Würzburg]], as part of the Allied strategic bombing campaign against Nazi Germany, destroys 89% of the city and causes 4,000 deaths.
* [[March 17]] – WWII: [[Kobe]], Japan [[Bombing of Kobe in World War II|is fire-bombed]] by 331 [[B-29 Superfortress|B-29]] bombers, killing over 8,000 people.
* [[March 18]] – WWII: 
** The 40th Infantry Division, spearheaded by the 185th US Infantry Regiment, lands unopposed in [[Tigbauan]] forcing the Japanese forces to surrender and General [[Macario Peralta]] and Gen. Gen. Eichelberger to declare the [[Panay Liberation Day |Liberation of Panay, Romblon and Guimaras]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Proclamation No. 430, s. 1989 - DECLARING THE EIGHTEENTH DAY OF MARCH OF EVERY YEAR AS VICTORY DAY IN THE ISLANDS OF PANAY AND ROMBLON, INCLUDING THE CITIES OF ILOILO AND ROXAS |url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1989/07/21/proclamation-no-430-s-1989/ |access-date=March 18, 2024 |website=Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines}}</ref>
** 1,250 American bombers attack Berlin.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bombing Berlin: The Biggest Wartime Raid on Hitler's Capital |url=https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/bombing-berlin-biggest-wartime-raid-hitlers-capital |access-date=March 18, 2024 |website=The National WWII Museum - New Orleans|date=March 14, 2020 }}</ref>
** [[Battle of Kolberg (1945)|Battle of Kolberg]] concludes with the Baltic seaport (designated a key ''Festung'' (fortress) by the Germans) taken by Polish and Soviet forces and ethnic Germans evacuated or expelled.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mapy.blink.pl/kolberg/|title=Festung Kolberg 1945|lang=pl|accessdate=2024-03-21|archive-date=August 11, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070811131030/http://mapy.blink.pl/kolberg/|url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref>
* [[March 19]] – WWII:
** [[Adolf Hitler]] issues the "[[Nero Decree]]" ordering that all industries, military installations, machine shops, transportation facilities and communications facilities in Germany be destroyed ahead of Allied advances, but [[Albert Speer]], placed in charge of the implementation, deliberately disobeys it.
** Off the coast of Japan, bombers hit the [[aircraft carrier]] [[USS Franklin (CV-13)|USS ''Franklin'']], killing about 800 of her crewmen and crippling the ship.
* [[March 20]] – WWII: Hitler dismisses [[Heinrich Himmler]] from his military command.<ref name=Duffy/>
* [[March 21]] – WWII:
** British troops liberate [[Mandalay]], [[British rule in Burma|Burma]].
** [[Kingdom of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]]n and [[Soviet]] troops successfully defend the north bank of the [[Drava River]], as the [[Battle of the Transdanubian Hills]] concludes.
* [[March 22]]
** The [[Arab League]] is formed, with the adoption of a charter in [[Cairo]], Egypt.
** The [[Hildesheim Cathedral|Cathedral]] and the historic centre of [[Hildesheim]] in Germany are destroyed in a [[Bombing of Hildesheim in World War II|bombing of the city]].
* [[March 24]]
** WWII: [[Operation Varsity]] – Two airborne divisions capture bridges across the river [[Rhine]] to aid the Allied advance.
** The cartoon character [[Sylvester (Looney Tunes)|Sylvester the cat]] debuts in ''[[Life with Feathers]]''.
* [[March 26]] – WWII: The [[Battle of Iwo Jima]] officially ends, with the destruction of the remaining areas of Japanese resistance, although there are [[Japanese holdout]]s here until 1949.
* [[March 27]] – WWII:
** The [[United States Army Air Forces]] begins [[Operation Starvation]], laying [[naval mine]]s in many of Japan's seaways.
** [[Argentina]] declares war on [[Nazi Germany|Germany]] and [[Empire of Japan|Japan]].
* [[March 29]]
** WWII: The [[Red Army]] almost destroys the [[4th Army (Wehrmacht)|German 4th Army]], in the [[Heiligenbeil Pocket]] in [[East Prussia]].
** The "Clash of Titans": [[George Mikan]] and [[Bob Kurland]] duel at [[Madison Square Garden (1925)|Madison Square Garden]] in New York, as [[Oklahoma State University–Stillwater|Oklahoma State University]] defeats [[DePaul University|DePaul]] 52–44 in [[basketball]].
* [[March 30]] – WWII:
** The [[Red Army]] pushes most of the Axis forces out of Hungary into Austria.
** American official [[Alger Hiss]] is congratulated in Moscow for his part in bringing the positions of the Western powers and the Soviet Union closer to each other, at the [[Yalta Conference]].

===April===
{{Main|April 1945}}
[[File:Yamato battleship explosion.jpg|thumb|[[April 7]] – [[Japanese battleship Yamato|Japanese battleship ''Yamato'']] explodes after persistent attacks from U.S. aircraft during the [[Battle of Okinawa]].]]
[[File:Stars & Stripes & Hitler Dead2.jpg|thumb|[[April 30]] – [[Adolf Hitler]], along with his wife of one day [[Eva Braun]], [[Death of Adolf Hitler|commits suicide]].]]
* [[April 1]] – WWII: [[Battle of Okinawa]]: The [[Tenth United States Army]] lands on [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]].
* [[April 4]] – WWII:
** American troops liberate their first Nazi concentration camp, [[Ohrdruf concentration camp|Ohrdruf extermination camp]] in Germany.
** The Soviet [[Red Army]] enters [[Bratislava]] and pushes to the outskirts of [[Vienna]], taking it on April 13, after several days of intense fighting.
* [[April 6]] – WWII:
** [[Sarajevo]] is liberated from [[Nazi Germany]] and the [[Independent State of Croatia]] (a [[fascist]] [[puppet state]]) by [[Yugoslav Partisans]].
** The [[Battle of Slater's Knoll]] on [[Bougainville Island]] concludes with a decisive victory for the [[Australian Army]]'s [[7th Brigade (Australia)|7th Brigade]].
** Allied forces reach [[Merkers Adventure Mines|Merkers Salt Mines]] in [[Thuringia]] where gold reserves of the Nazi German [[Reichsbank]] and art treasures are stored.
* [[April 7]] – WWII:
** The only flight of the German ramming unit known as [[Sonderkommando Elbe]] takes place, resulting in the loss of some 24 [[B-17 Flying Fortress|B-17s]] and [[B-24 Liberator|B-24s]] of the United States [[Eighth Air Force]].
** {{ship|Japanese battleship|Yamato}} and nine other warships take part in [[Operation Ten-Go]], a suicide attack on Allied forces engaged in the Battle of Okinawa. ''Yamato'' is sunk by U.S. Navy aircraft in the [[East China Sea]] {{convert|200|mi|km}} north of [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]] with the loss of 2,055 of 2,332 crew, together with five other Japanese warships.
** [[Kantarō Suzuki]] becomes [[Prime Minister of Japan]].
* [[April 8]] – The [[SS]] begins to evacuate the [[Buchenwald concentration camp]]; inmates in the [[Buchenwald Resistance]] call for American aid, and overpower and kill the remaining guards.
* [[April 9]]
** WWII: The [[Battle of Königsberg]], in [[East Prussia]], ends with Soviet forces capturing the city.
** [[Abwehr]] conspirators [[Wilhelm Canaris]], [[Hans Oster]] and [[Hans von Dohnányi]] are hanged at Flossenberg concentration camp, along with pastor [[Dietrich Bonhoeffer]].
** [[Johann Georg Elser]], would-be assassin of [[Adolf Hitler]], is executed at [[Dachau concentration camp]].
* [[April 10]] – WWII: [[Visoko]] is liberated by the 7th, 9th and 17th Krajina Brigades from the Tenth Division of [[Yugoslav Partisans|Yugoslav Partisan]] forces.
* [[April 11]] – [[Buchenwald concentration camp]] is liberated by the [[United States Army]].
* [[April 12]]
** Vice President [[Harry S. Truman]] becomes the 33rd president of the United States upon the death of President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] at the [[Little White House]] in [[Warm Springs, Georgia]] of an [[intracerebral hemorrhage]]. President Truman is [[First inauguration of Harry S. Truman|sworn in]] later this evening in the [[White House]].
** A [[Tornado outbreak of April 12, 1945|devastating tornado outbreak]] occurs across the United States, which kills 128 people and injures over 1,000 others. This is heavily overshadowed by the death of President Roosevelt.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Grazulis|first1=Thomas P.|author-link=Thomas P. Grazulis|title=Significant Tornadoes, 1680–1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events|date=July 1993|publisher=The Tornado Project of Environmental Films|location=[[St. Johnsbury, Vermont]]|isbn=1-879362-03-1|page=919}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Top Ten Deadliest Oklahoma Tornadoes (1882-Present) |url=https://www.weather.gov/oun/tornadodata-ok-deadliest |publisher=National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma |access-date=14 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230814191757/https://www.weather.gov/oun/tornadodata-ok-deadliest |archive-date=14 August 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>
** WWII: The [[Ninth United States Army|U.S. Ninth Army]] under General [[William H. Simpson]] crosses the [[Elbe|Elbe River]] astride [[Magdeburg]], and reaches [[Tangermünde]] — only 50 miles from [[Berlin]].
** [[Richard Strauss]] completes composition of his ''[[Metamorphosen]]''.
* [[April 14]] – WWII:
** The [[First Canadian Army]] assumes military control of the Netherlands, where German forces are trapped in the Atlantic Wall fortifications along the coastline.<ref name=Timeline>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldwar-2.net/timelines/war-in-europe/western-europe/western-europe-index-1945.htm|title=1945|work=A WW2 Timeline|publisher=Worldwar-2.net|access-date=2012-11-07}}</ref>
** [[Razing of Friesoythe]]: The [[4th Canadian (Armoured) Division]] deliberately destroys the German town of [[Friesoythe]], on the orders of Major General [[Christopher Vokes]].
* [[April 15]] – WWII:
** The [[Bergen-Belsen concentration camp]] is liberated by British and Canadian forces.
** The Canadian First Army reaches the coast in the northern [[Netherlands]], and captures [[Arnhem]].
* [[April 16]] – WWII:
** The [[Battle of Berlin]] begins, opening with the [[Red Army]] launching the [[Battle of the Oder–Neisse]] and the [[Battle of the Seelow Heights]].
** Canadian forces take [[Harlingen, Friesland|Harlingen]] and occupy [[Leeuwarden]] and [[Groningen]] in the Netherlands.
** {{MV|Goya}} is sunk by [[Soviet submarine L-3|Soviet submarine ''L-3'']] in the [[Baltic Sea]] while evacuating German troops and civilians as part of [[Operation Hannibal]]; 7,000–8,000 drown.
** [[Death marches (Holocaust)|Death marches]] from [[Flossenbürg concentration camp]] begin.
* [[April 17]] – WWII:
** [[Battle of Montese]]: [[Brazilian Expeditionary Force|Brazilian]] forces liberate the town of [[Montese]], Italy, from German forces.
** [[Inundation of the Wieringermeer]] in the Netherlands by occupying German forces.
* [[April 18]] – American [[war correspondent]] [[Ernie Pyle]] is killed by Japanese [[machine gun]] fire on the island of [[Iejima|Ie Shima]] off [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]].
* [[April 19]] – [[Rodgers and Hammerstein]]'s ''[[Carousel (musical)|Carousel]]'', a musical play based on [[Ferenc Molnár]]'s ''[[Liliom]]'', opens on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]], and becomes their second long-running stage classic. It includes the standard "[[You'll Never Walk Alone]]".
* [[April 20]] – WWII: 
** On his 56th birthday, [[Adolf Hitler]] leaves his ''[[Führerbunker]]'', to decorate a group of [[Hitler Youth]] soldiers in Berlin. It will be his last trip to the surface from his underground bunker.
** The German city of [[Nuremberg]], previously the site of the [[Nuremberg rallies]], is occupied by American troops.
** "[[Morotai Mutiny]]": members of the [[Australian First Tactical Air Force]] based on the island of [[Morotai]] in the [[Dutch East Indies]] tender their resignations to protest their belief that they are being assigned to missions of no military importance and in which they are not specialists; a subsequent inquiry effectively vindicates them.<ref>{{cite journal|last= Alexander|first=Kristen|date=2004-09-01|title="Cleaning the Augean stables": the Morotai Mutiny?|journal=Sabretache| publisher= Military Historical Society of Australia|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/%22Cleaning+the+augean+stables.%22+The+Morotai+Mutiny%3F-a0123162109}}</ref>
* [[April 22]] – WWII:
** [[Heinrich Himmler]], through [[Folke Bernadotte]], Count of Wisborg, puts forth an offer of German surrender to the Western Allies, but not the Soviet Union.
** [[Adolf Hitler]] finally concedes that "everything is lost"<ref>{{cite AV media|people=Jones, Bill|year=1989|title=The Fatal Attraction of Adolf Hitler|medium=Television documentary|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8onbm_8bcgQ|access-date=2016-04-27|publisher=[[BBC]]}}</ref> at a meeting in the ''Führerbunker'' after learning that ''[[SS-Obergruppenführer]]'' [[Felix Steiner]] cannot mobilize enough men to launch a counterattack on the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] forces which are surrounding Berlin.
* [[April 23]] – WWII:
** [[Hermann Göring]] sends the [[Göring telegram]] to Hitler, seeking confirmation that he should take over leadership of Germany, in accordance with the decree of June 29, 1941. Hitler regards this as treason.
** The main [[Flossenbürg concentration camp]] is liberated by the United States Army.
* [[April 24]] – WWII:
** [[Battle of Berlin]]: [[Red Army]] troops complete encirclement of Berlin.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ziemke|first=Earl F.|year=1969|title=Battle for Berlin: End of the Third Reich|series=Ballantine's Illustrated History of World War II, Battle Book #6|publisher=Ballantine Books}}</ref>
** Retreating [[Wehrmacht|German troops]] destroy all the bridges over the [[Adige]] in [[Verona]], including the historic [[Castelvecchio Bridge|Ponte di Castelvecchio]] and [[Ponte Pietra (Verona)|Ponte Pietra]].
* [[April 25]]
** Founding negotiations for the [[United Nations]] begin in [[San Francisco]].
** WWII – [[Elbe Day]]: United States and [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] troops link up at the river [[Elbe]], cutting Germany in two.
* [[April 25]]–[[April 26|26]] – WWII: The last major [[strategic bombing]] raid by [[RAF Bomber Command]], the destruction of the oil refinery at [[Tønsberg]] in southern Norway, is carried out by 107 [[Avro Lancaster]]s.
* [[April 26]] – WWII:
** [[Battle of Bautzen (1945)|Battle of Bautzen]]: The last "successful" German panzer-offensive in [[Bautzen]] ends with the city recaptured.
** The [[3rd Infantry Division (United Kingdom)|British 3rd Infantry Division]], under [[Lashmer Whistler|General Whistler]], captures Bremen.<ref>{{cite book|first=John|last=Smythe|title=Bolo Whistler: The Life of General Sir Lashmer Whistler|location=London|publisher=Muller|year=1967}}</ref>
** Nazi surrenders mean the British and Canadians now control the German border with Switzerland, from [[Basel]] to [[Lake Constance]].
* [[April 27]]
** The last German formations withdraw from Finland to Norway. The [[Lapland War]] and thus, [[Military history of Finland during World War II|World War II in Finland]], comes to an end and the ''[[Raising the Flag on the Three-Country Cairn]]'' photograph is taken.
** The provisional government of [[Austria]] headed by [[Karl Renner]] asserts its independence from Germany.<ref name="stone books apr 27">{{cite web |url=http://books.stonebooks.com/wardiary/19450427/ |title=War Diary for Friday, 27 April 1945 |website=Stone & Stone Books |access-date=March 28, 2016}}</ref>
** U.S. Ordnance troops find the coffins of [[Frederick William I of Prussia]], [[Frederick the Great]], [[Paul von Hindenburg]] and his wife in a salt mine in Germany.<ref>MacDonogh, Giles (2007). ''After the Reich: The Brutal History of the Allied Occupation''. New York: Basic Books. p. 93.</ref>
* [[April 28]]
** The bodies of [[Benito Mussolini]], his mistress, [[Clara Petacci]], and other followers are hung by their heels at a gas station in the public square of [[Milan]], Piazzale Loreto, following their execution by Italian partisans after an attempt to flee the country.
** The Canadian First Army captures [[Emden]] and [[Wilhelmshaven]].
* [[April 29]]
** At the royal palace in [[Caserta]], Lieutenant-Colonel Viktor von Schweinitz (representing General [[Heinrich von Vietinghoff]]) and SS-''Obersturmbannführer'' Eugen Wenner (representing [[Waffen-SS]] General [[Karl Wolff]]) sign an unconditional instrument of surrender for all [[Axis powers]] forces in Italy, taking effect on [[May 2]]. Italian General [[Rodolfo Graziani]] orders the ''[[Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano]]'' forces under his command to lay down their arms.<ref>Ernest F. Fisher Jr., [https://web.archive.org/web/20120927071348/http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/006/6-4-1/CMH_Pub_6-4-1.pdf ''The Mediterranean Theater of Operations: Cassino to the Alps''] (Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, 1977), p.&nbsp;524</ref>
** [[Dachau concentration camp]] is surrendered to U.S. forces, who kill SS guards at the camp and the nearby hamlet of Webling.<ref>{{cite web|first=George R.|last=Duncan|title=Massacres and Atrocities of World War II|url=http://compunews.com/gus/massacres.htm|access-date=2015-10-15}}</ref>
** [[Brazilian Expeditionary Force|Brazilian]] forces liberate the commune of [[Fornovo di Taro]], Italy, from German forces.
** [[Operations Manna and Chowhound|Operation Manna]]: British [[Avro Lancaster]] bombers drop food into the Netherlands to prevent the starvation of the civilian population.
** Soviet soldiers hoist the [[Red flag (politics)|Red flag]] over the ''[[Reich Chancellery#New Reich Chancellery|Reich Chancellery]]'' in Berlin.
** [[Adolf Hitler]] marries his longtime mistress [[Eva Braun]], in a closed civil ceremony in the Berlin ''[[Führerbunker]]'', and signs [[Last will and testament of Adolf Hitler|his last will and testament]].
* [[April 30]] – WWII:
** [[Death of Adolf Hitler]]: Adolf Hitler and his wife of one day, [[Eva Braun]], commit suicide as the [[Red Army]] approaches the ''[[Führerbunker]]'' in Berlin. ''Großadmiral'' [[Karl Dönitz]] succeeds Hitler as [[President of Germany (1919–1945)|''Reichspräsident'' (President of Germany)]] and [[Joseph Goebbels]] succeeds as [[Chancellor of Germany|''Reichskanzler'' (Chancellor of Germany)]], in accordance with Hitler's political testament the day earlier.
** American forces enter the Bavarian capital of [[Munich]].

=== May ===
{{Main|May 1945}}
[[File:Ww2 158.jpg|thumb|alt=a black and white image of two Marines in their combat uniforms. One Marine is providing cover fire with his [[Tommy gun|M1 Thompson submachinegun]] as the other with a [[Browning Automatic Rifle]], prepares to break cover to move to a different position. There are bare sticks and rocks on the ground.|May – Marines of 1st Marine Division [[Battle of Okinawa|fighting on Okinawa]].]]
[[File:Americans on Okinawa hear of victory in Europe.jpg|thumb|[[May 8]] – American soldiers fighting in the [[Pacific War|Pacific]] theater listen to radio reports of [[Victory in Europe Day]].]]
[[File:Prague liberation 1945 konev.jpg|thumb|[[May 9]] – Prague is liberated by the [[Red Army]].]]
* [[May]] – [[Interpol]] (being headquartered in Berlin) effectively ceases to exist (it is recreated on [[June 3]], [[1946]]).
* [[May 1]] – WWII:
** [[Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk|Reichssender Hamburg]]'s [[Flensburg]] radio station announces that Hitler has died in battle, "fighting up to his last breath against [[Bolshevik|Bolshevism]]."
** [[Joseph Goebbels]] carries out his sole official act as Chancellor of Germany, dictating a letter to the Soviet commander in Berlin advising of Hitler's death and requesting a ceasefire. When the latter is refused, he and his wife [[Magda Goebbels|Magda]] kill their [[Goebbels children|six children]] and commit suicide themselves. Karl Dönitz appoints [[Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk]] as the new ''de facto'' [[Chancellor of Germany]], in the [[Flensburg Government]].
** Troops of the [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslav]] 4th Army, together with the [[Slovenes|Slovene]] 9th Corpus NOV, enter [[Trieste]].
** [[Mass suicide in Demmin]]: An estimated 700–2,500 suicides take place, after 80% of the town has been destroyed by the Soviets during the past three days.
* [[May 2]] – WWII:
** The [[Soviet Union]] announces the [[Battle of Berlin#Breakout and surrender|fall of Berlin]]. The famous picture of [[Raising a Flag over the Reichstag]] was taken at this date. 
** [[Lübeck]] is liberated by the [[British Army]].
** The surrender of [[Axis powers|Axis troops]] in Italy comes into effect.
** A [[Holocaust]] [[Death marches (Holocaust)#Dachau to the Austrian border|death march]] from [[Dachau concentration camp|Dachau]] to the Austrian border is halted under two kilometers west of [[Waakirchen]] by the segregated, all-[[Nisei]] [[442nd Infantry Regiment (United States)#522nd Field Artillery Battalion|522nd Field Artillery Battalion]] of the U.S. Army in southern Bavaria, saving several hundred prisoners.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.goforbroke.org/learn/history/combat_history/world_war_2/european_theater/central_europe_campaign.php |title=Central Europe Campaign – 522nd Field Artillery Battalion |access-date=2015-01-12 |quote=Jewish prisoners from the outer Dachau camps were marched to Dachau, and then 70 miles south. Many of the Jewish marchers weighed less than 80 pounds. Shivering in their tattered striped uniforms, the "skeletons" marched 10 to 15 hours a day, passing more than a dozen Bavarian towns. If they stopped or fell behind, the SS guards shot them and left their corpses along the road. |archive-date=March 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320005449/http://www.goforbroke.org/learn/history/combat_history/world_war_2/european_theater/central_europe_campaign.php |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ushmm.org/search/results/?q=Waakirchen|title=Search Results|website=www.ushmm.org|access-date=April 5, 2018}}</ref>
** Troops of the [[New Zealand Army]] [[2nd Division (New Zealand)|2nd Division]] enter [[Trieste]] a day after the [[Yugoslavs]]; the [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|German Army]] in [[Trieste]] surrenders to the [[New Zealand Army]].
** Following the death or resignation of the [[Hitler Cabinet]] in Germany, the [[Schwerin von Krosigk cabinet]] first meets.
** [[Neuengamme concentration camp]] near [[Hamburg]] is evacuated at about this date.
** Expatriate American poet [[Ezra Pound]] is arrested by the [[Italian resistance movement]] but soon released by them as of no interest; on [[May 5]] he turns himself in to the [[United States Army]] and is imprisoned as a traitor.
* [[May 3]] – WWII:
** The [[prison ship]]s ''[[Cap Arcona]]'' (5,000 dead), ''[[SS Thielbek (1940)|Thielbek]]'' (2,750 dead) and ''[[SS Deutschland (1923)|Deutschland]]'' (all survive) are sunk by the British [[Royal Air Force]] in [[Lübeck]] Bay.
** Rocket scientist [[Wernher von Braun]] and 120 members of his team surrender to U.S. forces (later going on to help start the U.S. space program).
** German Protestant theologian [[Gerhard Kittel]] is arrested by the French forces in Tübingen, Germany.
** [[Operation Dracula]]: British troops liberate the Burmese capital of [[Rangoon]] from Japanese forces.
* [[May 4]] – WWII:
** [[German surrender at Lüneburg Heath]]: All German armed forces in northwest Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands surrender unconditionally to Field Marshal [[Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein|Bernard Montgomery]], effective on May 5 at 08:00 hours British Double (and German) Summer Time.
** The Netherlands is liberated by British and Canadian troops.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www-lib.usc.edu/~anthonya/war/lib.htm|title=Liberatione|publisher=Lib.usc.edu|date=1945-05-04|access-date=2012-01-16|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414115418/http://www-lib.usc.edu/~anthonya/war/lib.htm|archive-date=2016-04-14}}</ref>
** Denmark is liberated.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.befrielsen1945.dk/tidslinje/index.html|title=Befrielsen 1945 – Tidslinje|publisher=Befrielsen1945.dk|date=2012-01-02|access-date=2012-01-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110122093917/http://www.befrielsen1945.dk/tidslinje/index.html|archive-date=January 22, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>
** Admiral [[Karl Dönitz]] orders all [[U-boat]]s to cease offensive operations and return to bases in Norway.<ref>{{cite web|title=U-Boats that Surrendered|first=Derek|last=Waller|url=http://www.uboat.net/articles/79.html|work=u-boat.net|date=2010-09-25|access-date=2014-11-14}}</ref>
** The [[Holy Crown of Hungary]] is found in [[Mattsee]], Austria, by the [[86th Infantry Division (United States)|United States Army 86th Infantry Division]]. The U.S. government keeps the crown in [[Fort Knox]] for safekeeping from the Soviets until it is returned to [[Hungary]] on January 6 [[1978]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/academic/history/marshall/military/mil_hist_inst/h/hungary.asc|title=Hungary: Recovery of Crown Jewels 1945|access-date=2008-12-17}}</ref>
** [[German auxiliary cruiser Orion|German auxiliary cruiser ''Orion'']] is sunk on her way to [[Copenhagen]] carrying refugees, with a loss of over 3,800 lives.
* [[May 5]] – WWII:
** [[Prague uprising]]: [[Prague]] rises up against occupying Nazi forces, encouraged by radio broadcasts (giving rise to the [[Battle for Czech Radio]]).
** The [[11th Armored Division (United States)|US 11th Armored Division]] liberates the prisoners of [[Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp|Mauthausen concentration camp]], including [[Simon Wiesenthal]].
** Canadian soldiers liberate the city of [[Amsterdam]] from [[Nazism|Nazi]] occupation.
** A Japanese [[fire balloon]] kills six people, Elsie Mitchell and five children, near [[Bly, Oregon]], when it explodes as they drag it from the woods. These are the only people killed by an enemy attack on the American mainland during WWII.
* [[May 6]]
** WWII: [[Mildred Gillars]] ("Axis Sally") delivers her last [[propaganda]] broadcast to [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] troops (the first was on December 11, [[1941]]).
** [[Holocaust]]: [[Ebensee concentration camp]] in Austria is liberated by troops of the [[80th Division (United States)]].
* [[May 6]]–[[May 7|7]] – The government of the [[Independent State of Croatia]], the Nazi-affiliated fascist puppet state established in occupied [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]], flees [[Zagreb]] for a location near [[Klagenfurt]] in Austria, but is captured in the [[Bleiburg repatriations]] that then leads to mass executions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.feldgrau.com/WW2-Croatian-Axis-Forces/|title=Croatian Axis Forces in WWII|first=Allen|last=Milcic|access-date=2012-06-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Dizdar|first=Zdravko|url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=27516&lang=en|language=hr|title=Prilog istraživanju problema Bleiburga i križnih putova (u povodu 60. obljetnice)|trans-title=An addition to the research of the problem of Bleiburg and the Way of the Cross (dedicated to their 60th anniversary)|pages=117–193|journal=The Review of Senj|volume=32|number=1|issn=0582-673X|publisher=City Museum Senj; Senj Museum Society|location=[[Senj]], Croatia|access-date=2012-05-28|date=December 2005}}</ref>
* [[May 7]] – WWII:
** At 02:41, General [[Alfred Jodl]] signs the unconditional [[German Instrument of Surrender]] in [[SHAEF]] HQ at [[Reims]], France, to end Germany's participation in the war. Surrender is effective on May 8 at 23:01 hours Central European Time (00:01 hours May 9 German Summer Time). This afternoon [[Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk]], Leading Minister in the rump [[Flensburg Government]], makes a broadcast announcing the German surrender and American journalist [[Edward Kennedy (journalist)|Edward Kennedy]] breaks an Allied embargo on news of the signing.<ref>{{cite news|title=Edward Kennedy, 58, Reporter Who Flashed '45 Surrender, Dies|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0E1FF73A541A7B93C2AA178AD95F478685F9|agency=Associated Press|work=The New York Times|date=1963-11-30|accessdate=2007-12-21}}</ref> 
** Numerous RAF [[Avro Lancaster|Lancasters]] land in Germany to repatriate British prisoners of war. Some 4,500 ex-POWs are flown back to Great Britain over the next 24 hours.
* [[May 8]] – WWII:
** [[Victory in Europe Day]] (VE Day) is observed by the western European powers as [[Nazi Germany]] surrenders, marking the end of WWII in Europe.
** Shortly before midnight (May 9 Moscow time) the final [[German Instrument of Surrender]] is signed at the seat of the Soviet Military Administration in Berlin-[[Karlshorst]], attended by [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] representatives.
** Canadian troops move into [[Amsterdam]], after German troops surrender.
** The surrender of the [[Dodecanese]] is signed in [[Symi]].
** The [[Prague uprising]] ends with a ceasefire.
** The [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|Eighth British Army]], together with Slovene partisan troops and a motorized detachment of the Yugoslav 4th Army, arrives in [[Carinthia (state)|Carinthia]] and [[Klagenfurt]]. The [[Croatian Armed Forces (Independent State of Croatia)|Croatian Armed Forces]] of the [[Independent State of Croatia]] are ordered by their commanders not to surrender to the [[Yugoslav Partisans]], but to attempt to retreat to Austria and surrender to the British, part of the events leading to the [[Bleiburg repatriations]].
** [[Hermann Göring]] surrenders himself to the United States Army near [[Radstadt]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Killen|first=John|date=2003|title=The Luftwaffe: A History|location=Barnsley|publisher=Pen & Sword|pages=299–300|isbn=978-1-78159-110-9}}</ref>
* [[May 8]]–[[May 29|29]] – [[Sétif and Guelma massacre]]: in [[Algeria]], thousands die as French troops and released Italian POWs kill an estimated 6,000 to 40,000 Algerian citizens.
* [[May 9]] – WWII:
** The [[Soviet Union]] marks [[Victory in Europe Day|VE Day]] as the [[Red Army]] enters Prague.<ref>{{cite book|title=The American Military Tradition: From Colonial Times to the Present|editor1=Colin F. Baxter|editor2=John Martin Carroll|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2007|isbn=9780742544284|page=181}}</ref>
** [[Vidkun Quisling]] and other members of the [[Collaborationism|collaborationist]] [[Quisling regime]] in Norway surrender to the Resistance ([[Milorg]]) and [[Norwegian police troops in Sweden during World War II|police]] at [[Møllergata 19]] in Oslo, as part of the [[legal purge in Norway after World War II]].
** General [[Alexander Löhr]], Commander of German Army Group E near Topolšica, [[Slovenia]], signs the capitulation of German occupation troops.
** [[Liberation of the German-occupied Channel Islands]]: British forces take the surrender of the occupying troops, with Royal Navy ships [[HMS Bulldog (H91)|HMS ''Bulldog'']] arriving in [[St Peter Port]], [[Guernsey]], and [[HMS Beagle (H30)|HMS ''Beagle'']] in [[St Helier]], [[Jersey]].
* [[May 10]] – WWII: [[Liberation of the German-occupied Channel Islands]]: Occupation of [[Sark]] ends, with British forces taking the surrender of the occupying troops and leaving them under the orders of Dame [[Sibyl Hathaway]].
* [[May 12]]
**[[Argentina|Argentinian]] labour leader José Peter declares the ''[[Meat Industry Workers Federation]]'' dissolved.
**[[Wilbert Awdry|Rev. W. V. Awdry]]'s children's book ''[[The Three Railway Engines]]'', first of [[The Railway Series]], is published in England.
* [[May 14]]–[[May 15|15]] – WWII: [[Battle of Poljana]]: The last battle of the War in Europe is fought at Poljana near [[Slovenj Gradec]], [[Slovenia]].
* [[May 15]] – WWII: [[Bleiburg repatriations#Surrender at Bleiburg|Surrender at Bleiburg]] – Retreating troops of the [[Croatian Armed Forces (Independent State of Croatia)|Croatian Armed Forces]] of the former puppet [[Independent State of Croatia]] (intermingled with fleeing civilians) attempt to surrender to the British Army at [[Bleiburg]], but are directed to surrender to [[Yugoslav Partisans]], who open fire on them. The remainder, after orders are given by [[Josip Broz Tito|Tito]], are force-marched through Croatia and [[Serbia]], interned or massacred, with thousands dying.<ref>{{cite book|author-link=Nicholas Bethell|first=Nicholas|last=Bethell|year=1974|title=The Last Secret|url=https://archive.org/details/lastsecretdel00beth|url-access=registration|location=London|isbn=9780465038138}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Michael|last=Palaich|title=Bleiburg Tragedy|website=[[YouTube]]|year=1991|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKymDoAdLzU| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017010113/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKymDoAdLzU| archive-date=2013-10-17 | url-status=dead|access-date=2013-08-15}}</ref>
* [[May 16]] – WWII: [[Liberation of the German-occupied Channel Islands]]: Occupation of [[Alderney]] ends, with British forces taking the surrender of the occupying troops, the civilian population having been evacuated.
* [[May 23]]
** The [[Flensburg Government]] is dissolved by the Allies, and [[President of Germany (1919–1945)|German President]] [[Karl Dönitz]] and [[German Chancellor]] [[Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk]] are arrested by British [[RAF Regiment]] personnel at [[Flensburg]]. They are respectively the last German [[Head of state]] and [[Prime minister|Head of government]] until [[1949]].
** [[Heinrich Himmler]], former head of the [[Nazism|Nazi]] [[Schutzstaffel|SS]], commits suicide in British custody.
* [[May 28]] – U.S.-born Irish-raised [[William Joyce]] ("[[Lord Haw-Haw]]") is captured on the German border. He is later charged in London with high treason for his earlier English-language wartime broadcasts from German radio, convicted, and then hanged in January 1946.
* [[May 29]]
** German communists, led by [[Walter Ulbricht]], arrive in Berlin.
** Dutch painter [[Han van Meegeren]] is arrested for collaboration with the Nazis, but the "Dutch Golden Age" paintings he has sold to [[Hermann Göring]] (Koch) are later proved to be his own fakes.
* [[May 30]] – The [[Iran]]ian government demands that all Soviet and British troops leave the country.


===June===
{{Main|June 1945}}
[[File:Montgomery receives Order of Victory HD-SN-99-02756 cropped.JPG|thumb|[[June 5]] – [[Dwight Eisenhower]], [[Georgy Zhukov]] and [[Arthur Tedder]].]]
* [[June 1]] – The British take over [[Lebanon]] and [[Syria]].
* [[June 5]] – The [[Allied Control Council]], the military occupation governing body of Germany, formally takes power.
* [[June 7]] – King [[Haakon VII of Norway]] returns to Norway five years to the day after leaving for exile in Britain.
* [[June 11]]
** [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]] is re-elected as Canadian prime minister.
** The Franck Committee recommends against a surprise nuclear bombing of Japan.<ref name="nuclearfiles1945">{{cite web|url=http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/timeline/1940/1945.htm|title=1945 – The Decision to Drop the Bomb|work=NuclearFiles|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100406133356/http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/timeline/1940/1945.htm|archive-date=2010-04-06}}</ref>
* [[June 12]] – The [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslav]] Army leaves [[Trieste]], leaving the [[New Zealand Army]] in control.
* [[June 21]] – WWII: The [[Battle of Okinawa]] ends, with U.S. occupation of the island until [[1972]].
* [[June 24]] – WWII: A [[Moscow Victory Parade of 1945|victory parade]] is held in [[Red Square]] in Moscow.
* [[June 25]] – [[Seán T. O'Kelly]] is elected the second [[President of Ireland]].
* [[June 26]] – The [[United Nations Charter]] is signed in San Francisco.
* [[June 29]] – [[Czechoslovakia]] cedes [[Carpathian Ruthenia]] to the [[Soviet Union]].
* [[June 30]] – [[John von Neumann]]'s ''[[First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC]]'' is distributed, containing the first published description of the logical design of a computer, with [[Stored-program computer|stored-program]] and instruction data stored in the same address space within the memory ([[von Neumann architecture]]).

===July===
{{Main|July 1945}}
[[File:Trinity shot color.jpg|thumb|right|upright| [[July 16]] – [[Trinity (nuclear test)|Trinity test]] at night in [[New Mexico]].]]
* [[July 1]]
** WWII: Germany is [[Inner German border|divided]] between the Allied occupation forces.
** WWII: Australian and other Allied forces launch an invasion of the east coast of Japanese-occupied [[Borneo]] near [[Balikpapan]].
* [[July 2]] – The [[1945 Sheikh Bashir rebellion]] breaks out in [[Burao]] and [[Erigavo]] in [[British Somaliland]], led by [[Sheikh Bashir]], a [[Somalis|Somali]] religious leader.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Mohamed|first=Jama|date=2002|title='The Evils of Locust Bait': Popular Nationalism during the 1945 Anti-Locust Control Rebellion in Colonial Somaliland|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3600720|journal=Past & Present|issue=174|pages=184–216|doi=10.1093/past/174.1.184|jstor=3600720|issn=0031-2746}}</ref> 
* [[July 4]] – [[Brazilian cruiser Bahia|Brazilian cruiser ''Bahia'']] is sunk by an accidentally induced explosion, killing more than 300 and stranding the survivors in shark-infested waters.
* [[July 5]]
** The [[1945 United Kingdom general election|1945 general election]] is held, though some constituencies delay their polls for local holiday reasons. Counting of votes and declaration of results are delayed until July 26 to allow for voting by the large number of service personnel still overseas.
** [[John Curtin]], 14th [[Prime Minister of Australia]], dies in office from heart failure at the age of 60. He is briefly replaced by his deputy [[Frank Forde]], who serves as the 15th Prime Minister until a [[Australian Labor Party|Labor Party]] [[1945 Australian Labor Party leadership election|leadership election]] is held to replace Curtin.
** WWII: The [[Philippines]] are declared liberated.
* [[July 6]]–[[July 7|7]] – [[Schio massacre]]: 54 prisoners, mostly fascist sympathisers, are killed by members of the [[Italian resistance movement]] in [[Schio]].
* [[July 8]] – WWII: [[Harry S. Truman]] is informed that Japan will talk peace if it can retain the reign of the Emperor.<ref name="nuclearfiles1945"/>
* [[July 12]] – [[Ben Chifley]] is [[1945 Australian Labor Party leadership election|elected]] leader of the [[Australian Labor Party|Labor Party]], and consequently becomes the 16th [[Prime Minister of Australia]], defeating [[Frank Forde]] as well as [[Norman Makin]] and [[H.V. Evatt]]. As a result, Forde becomes the shortest serving Prime Minister in Australian history; nevertheless, he retains his post as Deputy Leader.
* [[July 14]] – WWII: Italy declares war on Japan.
* [[July 16]]
** The [[Trinity (nuclear test)|Trinity Test]], the first of an [[nuclear weapon|atomic bomb]], using about six kilograms of [[plutonium]], succeeds in unleashing an explosion equivalent to that of 22 kilotons of TNT.
** A train collision near [[Munich]], Germany kills 102 war prisoners.
* [[July 17]]–[[August 2]] – WWII: [[Potsdam Conference]] – At [[Potsdam]], the three main [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] leaders hold their final summit of the war. President Truman officially informs Stalin that the U.S. has a powerful new weapon.
* [[July 21]] – WWII: President [[Harry S. Truman]] approves the order for atomic bombs to be used against Japan.<ref name="nuclearfiles1945"/>
* [[July 23]] – WWII: French marshal [[Philippe Pétain]], who headed the [[Vichy France|Vichy government]] during WWII, goes on trial for treason.
* [[July 26]]
** [[Winston Churchill]] resigns as [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]], after his [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] is soundly defeated by the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] in the [[1945 United Kingdom general election|1945 general election]]. [[Clement Attlee]] becomes the new Prime Minister. It is the first time that Labour has governed Britain with a majority in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/basics/4393271.stm|work=BBC News|title=1945: Labour landslide buries Churchill|date=April 5, 2005}}</ref>
** The [[Potsdam Declaration]] demands Japan's unconditional surrender; Article 12, permitting Japan to retain the reign of the Emperor, has been deleted by President Truman.<ref name="nuclearfiles1945"/>
* [[July 27]] – WWII: [[Bombing of Aomori in World War II|Bombing of Aomori]] – Two [[USAAF]] [[B-29 Superfortress|B-29]]s drop a total of 60,000 [[Airborne leaflet propaganda|leaflet]]s on the city of [[Aomori (city)|Aomori]], Japan, warning civilians of an air raid and urging them to leave immediately.
* [[July 28]]
** WWII: Japan ambiguously rejects the [[Potsdam Declaration]].<ref name="nuclearfiles1945" />
** A [[North American B-25 Mitchell]] [[1945 Empire State Building B-25 crash|crashes]] into [[Empire State Building|The Empire State Building]], killing 14 people.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Accident North American B-25D-20 Mitchell 41-30577, 28 Jul 1945 |url=https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/74693 |access-date=2023-05-10 |website=aviation-safety.net}}</ref>
* [[July 29]]
** The [[BBC Light Programme]] radio station is launched in the United Kingdom, aimed at [[wikt:mainstream|mainstream]] light entertainment and [[music]].
** WWII: [[Bombing of Aomori in World War II|Bombing of Aomori]]: The Japanese city of [[Aomori (city)|Aomori]] is firebombed by 63 [[USAAF]] [[B-29 Superfortress|B-29]] [[heavy bomber]]s, killing 1,767 civilians and destroying 18,045 homes.
* [[July 30]] – WWII: Heavy cruiser {{USS|Indianapolis|CA-35|6}} is hit and sunk by torpedoes from the {{ship|Japanese submarine|I-58|1943|6}} in the [[Philippine Sea]]. Some 900 survivors jump into the sea and are adrift for up to four days. Nearly 600 die before help arrives. Captain [[Charles B. McVay III]] of the cruiser is later court-martialed and convicted; in 2000, he is posthumously exonerated.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23455951 |title=USS ''Indianapolis'' sinking: 'You could see sharks circling' |work=BBC News |access-date=2018-06-20 |archive-date=2018-04-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180418191159/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23455951 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===August===
{{Main|August 1945}}
[[File:Nagasakibomb.jpg|thumb|upright|[[August 9]] – The mushroom cloud from the [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|nuclear bomb dropped on Nagasaki]] rising 18&nbsp;km into the air.]]
[[File:Zhongshan Warship Tourist Area - Victory memorial - P1540113.JPG|thumb|[[August 18]] – Surrender of the Japanese Army in Central China (Memorial in Wuhan).]]
* [[August 6]] – WWII: [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|Atomic bombing of Hiroshima]]: United States [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress]] ''[[Enola Gay]]'' drops a [[uranium-235]] [[atomic bomb]], codenamed "[[Little Boy]]", on the Japanese city of [[Hiroshima]] at 8:15&nbsp;a.m. local time, resulting in between 90,000 and 146,000 deaths.
* [[August 7]] – U.S. President Harry Truman announces the successful atomic bombing of Hiroshima, while he is returning from the Potsdam Conference aboard the U.S. Navy heavy cruiser {{USS|Augusta|CA-31}}, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
* [[August 8]]
** The [[United Nations Charter]] is ratified by the United States Senate, and this nation becomes the third to join the new international organization.
** WWII: The Soviet Union declares war on Japan.
* [[August 9]] – WWII:
** [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|Atomic bombing of Nagasaki]]: United States [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress|B-29]] ''[[Bockscar]]'' drops a [[plutonium-239]] atomic bomb, codenamed "[[Fat Man]]", on the Japanese city of [[Nagasaki]] at 11:02&nbsp;a.m. local time, resulting in between 39,000 and 80,000 deaths.
** The [[Soviet–Japanese War]] opens: The [[Soviet Union]] begins its army offensive against Japan, in the northern part of the Japanese-held Chinese region of [[Manchuria]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Glantz |first1=LTC David M. |title=Leavenworth Papers No. 8 - August Storm: Soviet Tactical and Operational Combat in Manchuria, 1945 |date=June 1983 |publisher=Combat Studies Institute, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College |location=[[Fort Leavenworth]], KS|page=1 |issn=0195-3451|url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA143942.pdf |access-date=26 September 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
* [[August 10]] – WWII: Japan offers to surrender to the Allies, "provided this does not prejudice the sovereignty of the Emperor".
* [[August 11]]
** WWII: The [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] reply to the Japanese surrender offer by stating that Emperor [[Hirohito]] will be subject to the authority of the [[Supreme Allied Commander|Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces]].
** [[The Holocaust]]: [[Kraków pogrom]] – [[Róża Berger]] is shot dead by Polish militia.
* [[August 11]]–[[August 25|25]] – Soviet troops complete the occupation of [[Sakhalin]].
* [[August 13]] – The [[Zionism|Zionist]] World Congress approaches the British government to discuss the founding of the country of [[Israel]].
* [[August 14]] – WWII: Emperor [[Hirohito]] accepts the terms of the [[Potsdam Declaration]]. His recorded announcement of this is smuggled out of the [[Tokyo Imperial Palace]]. At 19:00 hrs in [[Washington, D.C.]] (23:00 [[GMT]]), U.S. President [[Harry S. Truman]] announces the Japanese surrender.
* [[August 15]]
** WWII:
*** [[Bombing of Kumagaya in World War II|Bombing of Kumagaya]], Japan, by the United States using conventional bombs, beginning at 00:23.
*** [[Hirohito surrender broadcast]] ''(Gyokuon-hōsō)'': Emperor [[Hirohito]]'s announcement of the unconditional [[surrender of Japan]] is broadcast on the radio a little after noon (12:00 [[Japan Standard Time]] is 03:00 GMT). This is probably the first time an [[Emperor of Japan]] has been heard by the common people. Delivered in formal [[Classical Japanese language|classical Japanese]], without directly referring to surrender and following official censorship of the country's weak position, the recorded speech is not immediately easily understood by ordinary people. The Allies call this day [[Victory over Japan Day]] (V-J Day). This ends the period of [[Japanese militarism|Japanese expansionism]], and begins the period of the [[Occupation of Japan]] and sets the stage for Korean independence.
** The [[August Revolution]] in [[Vietnam]] begins, with the [[Viet Minh]] taking over the capital [[Hanoi]], taking advantage of the collapse of Japanese power.
** The Provisional [[International Civil Aviation Organization]] is founded, as a specialized agency of the [[United Nations]].
* [[August 17]]
** Philippines President [[Jose P. Laurel|José P. Laurel]] issues an Executive Proclamation putting an end to the [[Second Philippine Republic]], thus ending his term as President of the Philippines.
** [[Proclamation of Indonesian Independence]]: Indonesian nationalists [[Sukarno]] and [[Mohammad Hatta]] declare the independence of the Republic of [[Indonesia]], with Sukarno as president and [[Mohammad Hatta]] as vice-president, igniting the [[Indonesian National Revolution]] against the [[Dutch Empire]].
* [[August 18]] – WWII: [[Death of Subhas Chandra Bose]]: Indian nationalist leader [[Subhas Chandra Bose]] is killed as a result of his overloaded Japanese plane crashing in [[Taiwan under Japanese rule|Japanese Taiwan]].
* [[August 19]] – [[Chinese Civil War]]: [[Mao Zedong]] and [[Chiang Kai-shek]] meet in [[Chongqing]] to discuss an end to hostilities between the [[Chinese Communist Party|Communists]] and the [[Kuomintang|Nationalists]].
* [[August 23]] – [[Soviet–Japanese War]]: [[Joseph Stalin]] orders the detention of [[Japanese prisoners of war in the Soviet Union]].
* [[August 25]] – [[Bảo Đại]] abdicates as [[Emperor of Vietnam]], ending 2,000 years of dynastic and monarchic rule in the country and 143 years of the [[Nguyễn dynasty]].
* [[August 30]] – WWII: [[Vietnam]]'s capital [[Hanoi]] is taken by the [[Viet Minh]], which ends the French occupation in what becomes [[North Vietnam]], and thus the southern provinces become [[South Vietnam]]. This ends the [[August Revolution]].
* [[August 31]]
**  WWII: Allied troops arrest German [[field marshal]] [[Walther von Brauchitsch]].
** A team at [[American Cyanamid]]'s Lederle Laboratories, [[Pearl River, New York]], led by [[Yellapragada Subbarow]], announces they have obtained [[folic acid]] in a pure crystalline form.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Angier|first1=R. B.|last2=Boothe|first2=J. H.|last3=Hutchings|first3=B. L.|last4=Mowat|first4=J. H.|last5=Semb|first5=J.|last6=Stokstad|first6=E. L. R.|last7=Subbarow|first7=Y.|last8=Waller|first8=C. W.|last9=Cosulich|first9=D. B.|last10=Fahrenbach|first10=M. J.|last11=Hultquist|first11=M. E.|last12=Kuh|first12=E.|last13=Northey|first13=E. H.|last14=Seeger|first14=D. R.|last15=Sickels|first15=J. P.|last16=Smith Jr|first16=J. M.|title=Synthesis of a Compound Identical with the L. Casei Factor Isolated from Liver|doi=10.1126/science.102.2644.227|journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]]|volume=102|issue=2644|pages=227–28|year=1945|pmid=17778509|bibcode=1945Sci...102..227A}}</ref> This [[vitamin]] is abundant in green [[leaf vegetable]]s, [[liver]], [[kidney]], and [[yeast]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hoffbrand|first1=A. V.|last2=Weir|first2=D. G.|year=2001|title=The history of folic acid|journal=[[British Journal of Haematology]]|volume=113|issue=3|pages=579–589|doi=10.1046/j.1365-2141.2001.02822.x|pmid=11380441|s2cid=22925228}}</ref>

===September===
{{Main|September 1945}}
[[File:Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the Instrument of Surrender, officially ending the Second World War.jpg|thumb|[[September 2]] – Japan signs the [[Japanese Instrument of Surrender|Instrument of Surrender]] aboard the [[USS Missouri (BB-63)|USS ''Missouri'']].]]
[[File:Japanese flag down US flag up.png|thumb|[[September 9]] – Japanese troops formally relinquish control of Southern Korea over to the United States, effectively ending Japan's 35-year [[Korea under Japanese rule|rule over Korea]].]]
* [[September 2]] – World War II ends:
** Japanese general [[Tomoyuki Yamashita]] surrenders to Philippine and American forces at [[Kiangan, Ifugao]].
** The final official [[Japanese Instrument of Surrender]] is accepted by the Supreme Allied Commander, General [[Douglas MacArthur]], and [[Admiral of the Fleet|Fleet Admiral]] [[Chester W. Nimitz]] for the United States, and delegates from the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, China, and others from a Japanese delegation led by [[Mamoru Shigemitsu]], on board the American battleship USS ''[[USS Missouri (BB-63)|Missouri]]'' in [[Tokyo Bay]].
** General [[Douglas MacArthur]] is given the title of [[Supreme Commander Allied Powers]], and is also tasked with the occupation of Japan.<ref name=Jessup>{{cite book|last1=Jessup|first1=John E.|title=A Chronology of Conflict and Resolution, 1945-1985|year=1989|publisher=Greenwood Press|location=New York|isbn=0-313-24308-5}}</ref>
** The [[North Vietnam|Democratic Republic of Vietnam]] is officially established, by [[Ho Chi Minh]].<ref name=Jessup/>
* [[September 4]] – WWII: Japanese forces surrender on [[Wake Island]], after hearing word of their country's surrender.
* [[September 5]]
** [[Iva Toguri D'Aquino]], a [[Japanese American]] suspected of being wartime radio propagandist "[[Tokyo Rose]]", is arrested in [[Yokohama]].
** Russian code clerk [[Igor Gouzenko]] comes forward with numerous documents implicating the Soviet Union in many spy rings in North America, both in the United States and in Canada.
* [[September 8]] – U.S. troops arrive in [[United States Army Military Government in Korea|Southern Korea]], while the [[Soviet Union]] occupies the [[Soviet Civil Authority|north]], with the dividing line being the 38th parallel of latitude. This arrangement proves to be the indirect beginning of a divided Korea, which will lead to the [[Korean War]] when North Korea invades in [[1950]].
* [[September 9]] 
**Chairman of the Nationalist Government of China [[Chiang Kai-shek]] officially accepts the Japanese capitulation at [[Nanjing|Nanking]].<ref name=Jessup/>
**Japanese troops in [[Keijō]] (present day [[Seoul]]) formally relinquish control over Southern Korea to the United States, effectively ending Japan's 35-year rule of Korea.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sthelepress.com/index.php/2023/12/16/ccc/|quote=Assertion that the emperor's surrender 'abruptly' ended Japan’s occupation of the peninsula, which in fact continued in the southern part for more than three weeks?|last=Myers|first=Brian Reynolds|title=The Power to Mystify|work=Sthele Press|date=16 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/museums/nmusn/explore/photography/korean-war/surrender-japan-korea.html | title=Surrender of Japan in Korea }}</ref>
* [[September 10]] – [[Vidkun Quisling]] is sentenced to death for being a Nazi collaborator in Norway.<ref name=Jessup/>
* [[September 11]]
** [[Hideki Tojo]], Japanese prime minister during most of World War II, attempts to commit suicide to avoid facing an Allied [[war crime]]s tribunal.
** ''[[Radio Republik Indonesia]]'' starts broadcasting.
** The [[Batu Lintang camp]] in [[Sarawak]], [[Borneo]] is liberated by Australian forces.
* [[September 12]] 
**[[Operation Tiderace]]: The Japanese Army formally surrenders to the British in [[Singapore]].
**The office of [[Governor-General of Chōsen|governor-general of Korea]] is disbanded by the United States Army Military Government in Korea, formally ending Japan's 35-year rule in Korea.
* [[September 18]]
** [[Tropical cyclone|Typhoon Makurazaki]] kills 3,746 people in Japan.
** The Japanese Army in Central China officially surrenders to the Chinese, in [[Wuhan]].
* [[September 20]] – [[Mahatma Gandhi|Mohandas Gandhi]] and [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] demand that all British troops depart India.
* [[September 24]] – [[Postwar anti-Jewish violence in Slovakia]]: The [[Topoľčany pogrom]] is carried out in Czechoslovakia.

===October===
{{Main|October 1945}}
[[File:Buchenwald Slave Laborers Liberation.jpg|thumb| [[October 18]] – [[Nuremberg trials]] begin, after [[Buchenwald concentration camp|Buchenwald]] closes.]]
* [[October]] – [[Arthur C. Clarke]] puts forward the idea of a [[Geosynchronous satellite|geosynchronous]] [[communications satellite]], in a ''[[Wireless World]]'' magazine article.
* [[October 1]]–[[October|15]] – [[Operation Backfire (WWII)|Operation Backfire]]: Three [[V-2 rocket|A4 rockets]] are launched near [[Cuxhaven]], in a demonstration to Allied forces.
* [[October 2]] – [[George Albert Smith]] becomes [[President of the Church (LDS Church)|president]] of [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]].
* [[October 4]] – The [[Partizan Belgrade]] [[sports club]] is founded in [[Belgrade]], [[Serbia]].
* [[October 5]] – [[Hollywood Black Friday]]: A strike by the Set Decorator's Union in Hollywood results in a riot.
* [[October 8]]–[[October 15|15]] – Hadamar Trial: Personnel of the [[Hadamar Euthanasia Centre]], now in the American zone of [[Allied-occupied Germany]], are the first to be tried for systematic extermination in [[Nazi Germany]].
* [[October 9]] – Former prime minister [[Pierre Laval]] is sentenced to death, for collaboration with the [[Nazi]]s in [[Vichy France]].<ref name=Jessup/>
* [[October 10]] – The [[Nazi Party]] is dissolved by the Allied Powers.
* [[October 14]] – [[Czechoslovakia]]: A new provisional national assembly is elected.<ref name=Jessup/>
* [[October 15]]–[[October 21|21]] – The [[Pan-African Congress#5th Pan-African Congress: Manchester (1945)|Fifth Pan-African Congress]] is held in [[Manchester]].
* [[October 16]] – The [[Food and Agriculture Organization]] is established at a meeting in [[Quebec City]], as a specialized agency of the [[United Nations]].
* [[October 17]] – A massive number of people, headed for the [[General Confederation of Labour (Argentina)]], gather in the [[Plaza de Mayo]] in [[Buenos Aires]] to demand [[Juan Perón]]'s release. This is known to the [[Peronism|Peronists]] as the ''Día de la lealtad'' ([[Loyalty Day (Argentina)|Loyalty Day]]) and considered the founding day of [[Peronism]].
* [[October 18]] – [[Isaías Medina Angarita]], president of [[Venezuela]], is overthrown by a [[Coup d'état|military coup]].<ref name=Jessup/>
* [[October 19]] – Members of the [[Indonesian National Armed Forces|Indonesian People's Army]] attack Anglo-Dutch forces in [[Indonesia]].<ref name=Jessup/>
* [[October 20]] – [[Mongolia]]ns vote for independence from China.<ref name=Jessup/>
* [[October 21]] – [[Women's suffrage]]: Women are allowed to vote in the [[1945 French legislative election|French Legislative Election]] for the first time.
* [[October 22]] – [[Rómulo Betancourt]] is named provisional president of [[Venezuela]].<ref name=Jessup/>
* [[October 24]]
** The [[United Nations]] is founded by ratification of [[United Nations Charter|its Charter]], by [[Enlargement of the United Nations#1945 (original members)|29 nations]].<ref name=Jessup/>
** The [[International Court of Justice]] ("World Court") is established by the [[United Nations Charter]].
** Norwegian Nazi leader [[Vidkun Quisling]] is [[Execution by firing squad|executed by firing squad]], for [[treason]] against Norway.<ref name=Jessup/>
* [[October 25]]
** WWII: Japanese armed forces in [[Taiwan]] surrender to the Allies.
** [[Getúlio Vargas]] is deposed as president in Brazil; [[José Linhares]] is named temporary president.<ref name=Jessup/>
** [[Osijek prison massacre]] by Yugoslav secret police.
* [[October 27]]–[[November 20]] – [[Indonesian National Revolution]]: [[Battle of Surabaya]] – Pro-independence [[Indonesia]]n soldiers and militia fight British and British Indian troops in [[Surabaya]].
* [[October 29]]
** [[Getúlio Vargas]] resigns as president of Brazil.
** At [[Gimbels]] Department Store in New York City, the first [[ballpoint pen]]s go on sale at $12.50 each.
* [[October 30]] – The undivided country of [[British India|India]] joins the [[United Nations]].

===November===
{{Main|November 1945}}
* [[November 1]]
**  [[International Labour Organization]]'s new constitution comes into effect.
** [[Telechron]] introduces the model 8H59 Musalarm, the first [[clock radio]].
* [[November 5]] – [[Colombia]] joins the [[United Nations]].
* [[November 6]] – [[Indonesia]]ns reject an offer of autonomy from the [[Netherlands|Dutch]].<ref name=Jessup/>
* [[November 9]] – [[Soo Bahk Do]] and [[Moo Duk Kwan]] martial arts are founded in [[Korea]].
* [[November 10]] – [[Indonesian National Revolution]]: [[Battle of Surabaya]] – Following the killing of British officer Brigadier [[Aubertin Walter Sothern Mallaby|A. W. S. Mallaby]] on October 30, the [[British Indian Army]] (in support of its allied Dutch colonial administration) begins an advance on [[Surabaya]] in the [[Dutch East Indies]] against [[Indonesia]]n nationalists; although most of the city is retaken in 3 days of heavy fighting, the strength of the resistance leads to today being celebrated as [[Heroes' Day#Indonesia|Heroes' Day]] (Hari Pahlawan) in Indonesia.
* [[November 11]] – [[1945 Yugoslavian parliamentary election]]: Marshal [[Josip Broz Tito]] and the [[People's Front (Yugoslavia)|People's Front]] win a decisive majority (90%) in the Yugoslavian Assembly.<ref name=Jessup/>
* [[November 15]]
** [[Harry S. Truman]], [[Clement Attlee]] and [[William Lyon Mackenzie King|Mackenzie King]] share nuclear information with the U.N. and call for a [[United Nations Atomic Energy Commission]].<ref name="nuclearfiles1945"/><ref name=Jessup/>
** An offensive is begun in [[Manchuria]] by the [[Kuomintang]] (Chinese Nationalists) against further infiltration by the [[Chinese Communist Party]].<ref name=Jessup/>
* [[November 16]]
** [[Charles de Gaulle]] is unanimously elected [[president of France]] by the [[Provisional Government of the French Republic|provisional government]].<ref name=Jessup/>
** The United States controversially imports 88 German scientists to help in the production of [[rocket]] technology.
** The foundation of [[UNESCO]] (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is agreed at a meeting in London.
* [[November 18]] – The [[Tudeh Party of Iran|Tudeh party]] starts a bloodless coup, and will form [[Azerbaijan People's Government|Azerbaijan]] within days. Soviet troops prevent [[Iran]]ian troops from getting involved.
* [[November 20]] – The [[Nuremberg trials]] begin: Trials against 22 [[Nazi]]s for [[List of war crimes#1939–1945: World War II|war crimes of World War II]] start at the [[Palace of Justice, Nuremberg]].<ref name=Jessup/>
* [[November 26]] – U.S. Ambassador to China [[Patrick J. Hurley]] resigns after he is unable to broker a deal between [[Chiang Kai-shek]] and [[Mao Tse-tung]].<ref name=Jessup/>
* [[November 28]]
** The [[1945 Balochistan earthquake]] causes a tsunami and kills 4,000.
** British [[fascist]] [[John Amery]] pleads guilty to treason, and is condemned to death.<ref>{{cite news |title=Amery sentenced to death: "A self-confessed traitor." |newspaper=[[The Times]] |date=29 November 1945|page=2 |issue= 50312}}</ref>
* [[November 29]]
** The [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]] is declared (this day is celebrated as Republic Day until the 1990s). [[Josip Broz Tito|Marshal Tito]] is named president.
** Assembly of the world's first general purpose electronic computer, the Electronic Numerical Integrator Analyzer and Computer ([[ENIAC]]), is completed in the United States, covering {{convert|1800|sqft|m2}} of floor space, and the first set of calculations is run on it.

=== December ===
{{Main|December 1945}}
* [[December 2]]
** General [[Eurico Gaspar Dutra]] is elected president of Brazil.
** French banks ([[Bank of France]], [[BNP Paribas|BNCI]], [[BNP Paribas|CNEP]], [[Crédit Lyonnais]], and [[Société Générale]]) are nationalized.
* [[December 3]] – [[Communism|Communist]] demonstrations in [[Athens]] presage the [[Greek Civil War]].
* [[December 4]] – The [[United States Senate]] approves the entry of the United States into the [[United Nations]] by a vote of 65–7.
* [[December 5]] – [[Flight 19]] of [[United States Navy]] [[Grumman TBF Avenger]] [[torpedo bomber]]s disappears on a training exercise from [[Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale]].
* [[December 9]] – American General [[George S. Patton]] is involved in a car accident in Germany, resulting in his death on December 21.
* [[December 27]] – Twenty-one nations ratify the articles creating the [[World Bank]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/archive/history/exhibits/75th-Anniversary-IBRD-Articles-of-Agreement-Ratification#:~:text=Indeed%20on%20December%2027%2C%201945,ushering%20the%20Bank%20into%20existence|title=75th Anniversary of World Bank Articles of Agreement Ratification|website=World Bank|access-date=May 5, 2022}}</ref>

===Date unknown===
* A team at [[Oak Ridge National Laboratory]] (led by [[Charles D. Coryell]]) discovers [[chemical element]] 61, the only one still missing between 1 and 96 on the [[periodic table]], which they will name [[promethium]].<ref>{{cite journal|year=2003 |title=Discovery of Promethium |journal=Oak Ridge National Laboratory Review |volume=36 |issue=1 |url=http://www.ornl.gov/info/ornlreview/v36_1_03/article_02.shtml |access-date=2011-06-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622100448/http://www.ornl.gov/info/ornlreview/v36_1_03/article_02.shtml |archive-date=2011-06-22}}</ref> Found by analysis of fission products of irradiated uranium fuel, its discovery is not made public until 1947.
* The Australian government introduces an Assisted Passage Migration Scheme to encourage the immigration of British subjects, at a fare of [[Pound sterling|£]]10, hence they become known as "[[Ten Pound Poms]]".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hammerton|first1=A. James|last2=Thomson|first2=Alistair|title='Ten Pound Poms': Australia's Invisible Migrants|year=2005|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=0-719071321}}</ref>
* The first geothermal milk pasteurization is done in [[Klamath Falls, Oregon]], United States.