The German troops had taken several blows in the end of 1944, most notably from the Soviets. The two nations were now experiencing hostilities like never before, with both unwilling to back down.

January marked a number of considerable events as the Second World War was coming to a close. In early January, German troops were forced to withdraw from the Ardennes. Soviet troops were not taking any breaks, particularly in their efforts to liberate those still being persecuted by the Nazis. In mid-January Soviet troops captured Warsaw, and just two weeks later Auschwitz was liberated.

February 4^th-11^th marked the Yalta Conference, where Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met to discuss the impending end of the war, and what steps would be necessary to take during the postwar period.

Meanwhile, action was still taking place on the battlefield. Just one week into March began the German’s last offensive in the war, defending oil fields in Hungary. While the Allies were aware of this, they were more concerned with attacking the source of the problem. On April 1^st, Allied forces encircled German forces in the Ruhr. The liberation of concentration camps continued to be a major priority, and on April 12^th two major camps (Buchenwald and Belsen) were liberated. On that same day, Roosevelt died, and Harry Truman assumed the presidency.

About one week later, Germans in the Ruhr surrendered and the Soviets closed in on Berlin. Hitler had been staying in a bunker for four weeks, where he had been having daily briefings with Nazi generals to hear of the Soviet advancements. After weeks of this, Hitler declared the failure of the Reich and that they had no choice to fight until the very end, despite the impending loss of the war.

The Fuhrer began making preparations for his own suicide. In his last will and testament he reiterated many of the same theories in Mein Kampf, blaming the Jews for his own personal struggles as well as the entire Second World War. He had a final dinner with his closest friends and generals, and in a small ceremony was wedded to Eva Braun. After attending his last military situation conference and bidding farewell to remaining military aide and staff members, he retreated to his private quarters. Moments later a gunshot was hear, and Hitler was found dead in his quarters, along with his wife who had died after swallowing poison.

Hitler’s death marked the end of the reign of the Reich, and just a week later on May 7^th, German forces unconditionally surrendered to all Allies. However, there were still other matters to be attended to.

On June 5^th, Allies took control of the German government, and just one month later they moved into Berlin.

Japanese hostilities still continued, and the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6^th, and the Soviets declared war just two days later. The next day the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, leading to the surrender of Japan on August 14^th.

Just two months later the United Nations was formed of necessity, in the sense that it would provide a better way of arbitrating international conflict and negotiating peace.

http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/timeline/ww2time.htm#1944

www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-united-nations-is-born