US and England recognize Yugoslavia; United Nations Participation Act of 1945 becomes public law

World War 2 70th Anniversary - Exhibit and resources from Government Documents and Maps Department, UHM

December 20, 2015-December 26, 2015
Location: Government Documents

In a hospital in Heidelberg, Germany, General Patton succumbs to injuries sustained in an automobile accident. One of his last acts is to shield the American sergeant driving the other vehicle from any prosecution. He will be buried according to his wishes with his men who died in the Battle of the Bulge in an American cemetery in Luxembourg City.

In parts of Asia and the Pacific, millions of Japanese still await repatriation to their homeland. In Manchuria, Japanese civilians who have survived the brutal Soviet invasion and local Chinese attacks in the waning days of the war are the least likely to see Japan before the end of the year, including several thousand Japanese orphans.

In the US, President Truman directs priority of immigration visas in the American occupation zone in Europe to displaced persons: "distributed fairly among persons of all faiths, creeds and nationalities." He desires special attention be devoted to orphaned children. The presidential statement and directive appears in the December 23 Department of State Bulletin (text inadvertently chopped off), or digitally from the Truman Library. In this same bulletin, the US government recognizes the present regime of the newly established Yugoslavia (reserving approval of its policies however).

Newsmap. Monday, 31 December, 1945: week of 18 December to 25 December

Front:Text describes photographs of: German PWs arriving in States on V-E-Day; January: Yanks on Luzon; February: "Big three" at Yalta; March: across the Rhine at Remagen; April: Franklin Delano Roosevelt dies; May: V-E-Day; June: United Nations; July: Potsdam Conference; August: atomic age begins; September: V-J-Day ends World War II; October: Goering and 23 other high Nazis indicted for war crimes; November: new chief of staff; December: Moscow meeting. Verso: If you plan to return to school or college. Text describes how to apply for college credit for Army training. 2 photographs.

View this map in print in the Map Collection reading room, ground floor of UHM Hamilton Library, the week of 20 December 2015
View this map online through the University of North Texas Digital Library (http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc838/)

Notes: Newsmaps were color posters issued by the U.S. Army and the Government Printing Office (GPO) on Mondays during the World War II. They combine maps, images, and news from the previous week’s war effort.