Download 16.5: The Devastation of Europe and Japan

16.5: The Devastation of Europe and Japan
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World War II cost millions of human
lives and billions of dollars in
damages. It left Europe and Japan in
Ruins.
By: Emily Haines
Corrin Rodriguez
Hannah Guerrero
Key Terms
• Nuremburg trials- a series of court
proceedings held in Nuremburg, Germany,
after World War II, in which Nazi leaders were
tried for aggression, violations of the rules of
war, and crimes against humanity
• Demilitarization- a reduction in a country’s
ability to wage war, achieved by disbanding
its armed forces and prohibiting it from
acquiring weapons
• Barter- to trade goods and services without
money
Europe in Ruins
Life after the War
• By the end of the war, approximately 60 million people
had died--two-thirds of them civilians. The war also left
about 50 million people that were uprooted from their
homes
• Before the war, Warsaw, the capitol of Poland, had a
population of about 1,289,000 people. After the war, there
were only 153,000
• Over 95% of the city of Berlin was demolished by 25,000
tons of bombs.
Obviously, this war caused more death and destruction than
any other conflict in history
Effects on the people
• After the war, many civilians were left to live in partially
destroyed homes or caves and cellars under the rubble.
Without water, food, and electricity, the civilians had a
very difficult time surviving.
• Some survivors of concentration camps, prisoners of war,
and refugees fleeing the soviet army joined the army of
displaced persons who wandered Europe post war.
• After the war ended, Everything was disrupted, including:
– Agriculture
– Transportation
– Widespread famine and disease
• Just to get a few potatoes, people would barter any
valuable items they had left.
•
Postwar Government and
Politics
Hitler’s Nazi government had brought Germany to ruins
which made it hard for Germany, Italy, and France to get
back to their old leadership
• Mussolini had led Italy to defeat.
• After the war, the Communist party promised change
which caused their party to make huge gain in the first
postwar election.
• Communist membership and influence started to decline
after they staged a series of violent strikes.
• The French and Italians voted for anti-Communist parties.
The Nuremberg Trials
• In 1946, an International Military Tribunal representing 23
nations put Nazi war criminals on trial in Nuremberg, Germany.
• In the first of the trials, 22 Nazi leaders were charged with
waging a war of aggression and were accused of violating the
laws of war and committing “crimes against humanity”- the
murder of 11 million people
• Four of the Nazi leaders
escaped trial by committing
suicide. The others had to
face the charges.
• 12 out of 22 defendants
were sentenced to death.
• On October 16,1946 the
defendants were hanged then
cremated at the same
concentration camp where
many of their victims were killed.
Effects of Defeat in Japan
The defeat Japan suffered after the war left the country in
ruins. The atomic bomb left nothing but rubble and waste
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan’s colonial empire, and
land that had belonged to them was taken by the allies.
The U.S. occupies Japan
• Though many Japanese military leaders wanted to
continue the fight, Emperor Hirohito told the people if they
continued to fight, it would end in “ultimate collapse of
the Japanese nation.”
• Two weeks after the Emperor’s
broadcast, the supreme commander
for allied powers, Douglas MacArthur,
accepted the surrender & took charge
of U.S. occupation.
Demilitarization in Japan
• MacArthur began a process of demilitarization in which he
quickly disbanded the Japanese armed forces leaving
only a small police force to ensure an end to fighting.
• February 1946: MacArthur and his American political
advisers drew up a new constitution which changed the
empire into a parliamentary democracy formed after
Great Britain’s government.
• May 3,1947: The Japanese accepted the constitution and
it went into effect.
• MacArthur was instructed to broaden land ownership and
increase participation of workers and farmers in the new
democracy.
• Still bitter about Pearl Harbor, the United States sent $2
billion in emergency relief, which was a small amount
considering all the work that had to be done
U.S. Occupation Brings Change
• The most important achievement brought by the
occupation of the U.S. was the new constitution
• The occupation of the U.S. brought other changes that
forced the Emperor to declare he was not a god. This was
extremely shocking because the emperor had been seen
as a god forever in the Japanese culture
• September 1951: The United States, and 48 other nations
signed a peace treaty with Japan. The treaty ended the
war and six months after it was signed, U.S. occupation
was over.
• After the occupation ended, Japan’s economy quickly
recovered, and allowed Japan and the United States to
become allies.
Questions
1. Out of the 60 million people that died during World War II,
how many were civilians?
a. 1/3
b. 2/3
c. 100%
2. What shocking fact is World War II known for?
a. It started the potato famine
b. It ended the potato famine
c. It caused more death and destruction than any other conflict
in history
3. Why did the communist party gain in the first postwar
election?
a. They promised change
b. Everyone that survived the war was communist
c. The Communist party was the only party running