Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources Reading Comprehension Worksheets World War II

V-J Day, Part 1 - Longing for Peace World War II

---

V-J Day, Part 1 - Longing for Peace
Print V-J Day, Part 1 - Longing for Peace Reading Comprehension


Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 7 to 9
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	7.35

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		bushido, death-grip, predicted-perhaps, kamikaze, bloodshed, astronomical, moonscape, devastation, momentous, invasion, disgrace, bunker, top-secret, zealous, suicide, cruelty
	content words:		V-J Day, World War II, Admiral Karl Doenitz, Third Reich, V-E Day, President Harry Truman, Manhattan Project, On August, President Truman, Emperor Hirohito

---

V-J Day, Part 1 - Longing for Peace By Toni Lee Robinson

---

¹     Ask any American who was born before 1935 where they were on August 14, 1945. Chances are, they can tell you not only where they were, but recall what they did, what they said, and even the clothes they wore. That day was imprinted on the memories of Americans because it was a day they had been awaiting for three and a half anxious years. The day came to be known as V-J Day. It was the day the Japanese agreed to surrender to Allied forces. It was the end of World War II.
 
²     Three months earlier, the world had watched with weary relief as Germany surrendered. It was a messy affair. Allied soldiers pushing through Germany were discovering camps where Jews had been starved and slaughtered. The world was stunned at the horrors revealed. Russian and American troops had broken through exhausted German defenses. They entered Berlin, a city ravaged by Allied bombing. German citizens huddled in cellars and bomb shelters, starving and hopeless.
 
³     On April 30, 1945, Allied shells could be heard outside the Nazi command bunker. Inside, Hitler and his new bride bid their staff goodbye and committed suicide. A week later, the interim government, led by Admiral Karl Doenitz, signed papers of surrender. The war in Europe was over. People of France and Britain were especially joyful, having suffered much at the hands of the Nazis. The fall of the dreaded Third Reich was a momentous event worldwide. May 8 was designated V-E Day for victory in Europe.
 
⁴     Americans celebrated with the rest of the world. But the joyous moment was tinged with a longing for a real peace. Everyone was painfully aware that the German defeat didn't mean the end of the war. The Axis fought on in the form of the zealous Japanese military. Though defeated in terms of numbers and materials, Japanese soldiers hung on grimly. Japanese military ethics stated: "I will never suffer the disgrace of being taken alive...I will offer up the courage of my soul..." Bushido soldiers and kamikaze pilots sacrificed themselves, causing as much damage as possible in the process.
 
⁵     In June, the Allies finally won a brutal, eleven-week, death-grip battle against fanatical enemy troops on Okinawa. The experience convinced them that Japanese soldiers would never stop fighting. The end of the war would come only with the invasion of Japan. It appeared that the military would have to be completely crushed. Experts predicted the cost in human life would be astronomical. It was estimated that as many as one million U.S. lives would be lost in such an endeavor. Five million Japanese could die, experts predicted-perhaps more. If only there were another way to convince Japan that it had no choice but to quit.

Paragraphs 6 to 11:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable

---

Weekly Reading Books

Create Weekly Reading Books Prepare for an entire week at once!

---

Feedback on V-J Day, Part 1 - Longing for Peace

Leave your feedback on V-J Day, Part 1 - Longing for Peace   (use this link if you found an error in the story)

---

World War II

World War II

---

More Lessons

High School Reading Comprehensions and High School Reading Lessons

---

Social Studies

Social Studies

United States History and Theme Units         American Government         Ancient America         Ancient China         Ancient Egypt         Ancient Greece         Ancient India         Ancient Mesopotamia         Ancient Rome         Biographies         Canadian Theme Unit         Country Theme Units         Crime and Terrorism         Economics         European History: 1600s-1800s

Explorers         Famous Educators         Geography         Grades 2-3 Social Studies Wendy's World Series         History of Books and Writing         History of Mathematics         How Can I Help?         Inventors and Inventions         Middle Ages         Renaissance         World Religion         World War I         World War II         World Wonders

---

United States

United States

American Government         Black History and Blacks in U.S. History         Children in History         Government Careers         Hispanic Heritage         How Can I Help?

Immigration         National Parks and Monuments         Native Americans         Presidents of the United States         Women's History

---

United States History

A Nation Divided (1840-1861)         A New Nation (1776-1830)         After the Civil War (1865-1870)         American Revolution         Cold War (1947-1991)         Colonial America (1492-1776)         Lewis and Clark (1804-1806)         Pearl Harbor         Spanish American War (1898)         The 1890's         The 1900's         The 1910's         The 1920's         The 1930's

The 1940's         The 1950's         The 1960's         The 1970's         The 1980's         The 1990's         The 2000's         The Civil War (1861-1865)         The Great Depression (1929-1945)         The United States Grows (1865-1900)         The War of 1812         Wild, Wild West         World War I (1914-1918)         World War II

---

50 States

Fifty States Theme Unit

---

Document Based Activities

Document Based Activities

Copyright © 2025 edHelper