The End:

World War II
Rathjen
May 2010
The War’s Aftermath
 50 million dead
 30 M in Europe/ ½ of were civilians
 20 M alone in SU
Aftermath cont’d
 Total war had gutted cities, factories, homes, etc.
 20 millions refugees wandered Europe
 Faced with disease, hunger, mental illness
 Holocaust is unveiled
War Crimes Trials
 Axis power leaders tried for “crimes against
humanity”
 NUREMBERG Trials
 Hundreds of Germans/Austrian put on trial
 22 TOP Nazi Leaders
 11 = DP, 3 were acquitted, 3 = LIFE, 4 other
sentences
 Similar trials in Japan
Establishing the UN

 50 nations met in SF, USA to set up

 Predecessor was the League of Nations
 Main Goal = Peace-Keeping
UN cont’d
 UN Charter
 General Assembly = each country had ONE vote
 Security Council = much smaller, has right to
VETO any actions of the GA, 5 permanent
members
 UN Today:
 Takes on world problems (hunger, disease, war)
 192 members, 15 on Security Council
Alliances Break Apart
 US/ Soviet Union become dominant powers
Reasons for Separation
1. Suspicions on both sides – Democracy v. Communism
2. Uneasy agreements post WWII
 Issue with German reparations
 Free elections
3. Economic Reasons
 Truman Doctrine – aided countries closest to SU to prevent
spread of Communism – CONTAINMENT
 Marshall Plan – aid package to rebuild Europe and prevent it
from falling to Communist ideas
 Division of Germany – SU furious at Western attempts to
rebuild the German economy.
4. Arms race
 The US had not told SU about Atomic Bomb
Why call it the Cold War?
 No “hot” fighting going on, or armed conflict
 Only a state of tension and hostility
Situation Worsens
 Berlin Airlift
 city, SU territory, was divided as well
 SU tried to cut off supplies to western
(democratic) half
 Western nations have to airlift supplies for a year
 New Alliances
 NATO, Warsaw Pact
 Propoganda War