Craig Shirley - April 1945 The Hinge of History

PRAISE FOR APRIL 1945

This newest book by Craig Shirley propels him into the first rank of American historians. In April 1945, Shirley tells well a story that has never been told before, and he does so with the same verve, energy, and detail as he did with his books on Ronald Reagan, his biography of me, and his book on Mary Ball Washington. April 1945, his companion book to his bestseller December 1941, is a must-read.

NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND BESTSELLING AUTHOR

April 1945 was a turning point in history. Nobody tells the real story and drama of that time better than Craig Shirley.

CHRISTOPHER RUDDY, CEO OF NEWSMAX MEDIA, INC.

Craig Shirleys great talent for taking us back to key inflection points in our history is on full and vigorous display in this book. So much of the way we live now can be traced to the end of World War II, and Shirley recaptures that epochal time with brio and insight. A terrific book!

JON MEACHAM, PULITZER PRIZE WINNER AND BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF AMERICAN LION

With the advent of April 1945, Craig Shirley must be considered among the first rank of American historians. He tells well one of the most important months in American history. This book is sensational. A must-read!

MARK LEVIN, NATIONALLY SYNDICATED RADIO HOST AND BESTSELLING AUTHOR

Craig Shirley has become such a solid go-to historian, and a prolific one. His books stand out as not just compelling, well written, and thoroughly researched, but unique. He is so adept at identifying pivotal people and pivotal points in history, and this is one of them. This books focus on the pivot points of April 1945 is fascinating. Its a really engaging and really important work. April 1945 was truly a hinge of history, and this is truly a significant historical work.

PAUL KENGOR, PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, GROVE CITY COLLEGE

Craig Shirley has produced the fitting bookend to his previous December 1941, for it is falling out of focus today how much America had changed during our four-year involvement in the world war. Even with victory in sight in the spring of 1945, it was not yet clear where Americas place in the world might settle once the shooting ended. Shirleys fine-grained narrative captures both the details of everyday life on the ground along with the larger strategic questions that overwhelmed the worlds leaders.

STEVEN F. HAYWARD, AUTHOR OF THE AGE OF REAGAN

As always, Craig Shirley reminds us why real history is elegantly written, thoroughly researched, and painstakingly defended.

LAURA INGRAHAM, HOST OF THE INGRAHAM ANGLE AND BESTSELLING AUTHOR

Craig Shirleys December 1941 was a veritable time machine, one that placed us so precisely in the moment when a startled nation awakes to find itself at war. His April 1945 skillfully transports us once again, this time to a world at wars end. Its an account of history as exacting and rigorous as you will find, events worthy of this careful look by one of our nations most talented historians.

JOHN HEUBUSCH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE RONALD REAGAN PRESIDENTIAL FOUNDATION AND INSTITUTE

Craig Shirley gives you compelling new stories of the events and people that shaped 1945, a year that fundamentally transformed the United States and the world. His gripping account of the fall of Germany, rise of the Cold War, and the political leaders who shaped that period is riveting. He documents what shaped the second half of the twentieth century in a way only Craig Shirley can do.

STEVEN SCULLY, C-SPAN HOST AND LECTURER

April 1945 transports readers through the last days of World War II. Its as if were reading multiple social-media feeds from Hitler, FDR, average Americans, reporters, and generals in real time. Once again, Craig Shirley delivers an important must-read.

JANE HAMPTON COOK, AUTHOR OF RESILIENCE ON PARADE

ALSO BY CRAIG SHIRLEY

Reagans Revolution: The Untold Story of the Campaign That Started It All

Rendezvous with Destiny: Ronald Reagan and the Campaign That Changed America

December 1941: 31 Days That Changed America and Saved the World

Last Act: The Final Years and Emerging Legacy of Ronald Reagan

Reagan Rising: The Decisive Years, 19761980

Citizen Newt: The Making of a Reagan Conservative

Mary Ball Washington: The Untold Story of George Washingtons Mother

April 1945

2022 Craig Shirley

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ISBN 978-1-4002-1714-4 (Audiobook)

Epub Edition December 2021 9781400217113

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Shirley, Craig, author.

Title: April 1945: the hinge of history / Craig Shirley, New York Times bestselling author of December 1941.

Description: Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, [2022] | Summary: Acclaimed historian and New York Times bestselling author Craig Shirley delivers a compelling account of 1945, particularly the watershed events in the month of April, that details how America emerged from World War II as a leading superpowerProvided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021037040 (print) | LCCN 2021037041 (ebook) | ISBN 9781400217083 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781400217113 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: World War, 19391945United StatesChronology. | United StatesHistory19331945.

Classification: LCC D769 .S542 2022 (print) | LCC D769 (ebook) | DDC 940.53/73dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021037040

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021037041

Printed in the United States of America

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Information about External Hyperlinks in this ebook

Please note that the endnotes in this ebook may contain hyperlinks to external websites as part of bibliographic citations. These hyperlinks have not been activated by the publisher, who cannot verify the accuracy of these links beyond the date of publication

As with everything, this book is dedicated to my beloved wife,

Zorine, who has made forty years seem like forty minutes.

CONTENTS

Hitler in Radio Talk Predicts Nazi Victory

BOSTON DAILY GLOBE

American Captives Starved by Nazis

NEW YORK TIMES

Washington the City Is Overcrowded, Badly Housed, Expensive, Crime-Ridden, Intolerant

HARPERS

I n April 1945, life-altering events happened. The old order was dying, and a new America was being built.

And many people died, including world leaders.

April, they say, is the cruelest month.

In 1945, Americans were still reeling from the attack on Pearl Harbor, where many men remained unidentified four years later. Hawaii had once been a peaceful and idyllic island chain in the Pacific. One resident, Gene Paterson Ames, wrote to her mother immediately after the attack of hearing the tinkling of Japanese shell casings falling from their planes as they flew overhead, looking for anything to shoot. At first, I just went to piecesall of us did, she wrote frankly. She also wrote of the carnage there, of trenches being dug around houses, and of her husband being deployed to help guard the beach against a possible invasion. She was shortly evacuated to the mainland. Her husband, Major Alan Strock, later became a much-decorated soldier, fighting for four years in the Pacific.