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Consequences of World War 2 1. Demographic: More than 55million people died (more than 6 million were Jews) and a huge number of wounded military and civilian victims. 2. Economic: Huge economic losses: destruction of factories, lands, communication infrastructures, cities, towns and villages as a result of the air raids attacks. Europe had to depend on the American aid through the American Marshall Plan, rejected by the Communist countries. 3. Politics: a) Division of Germany: Germany and its capital, Berlin, were divided into 4 zones of occupation by the victorious powers. A bit later, Germany were divided into two countries: The Federal German Republic, in the West, democratic and capitalist; and The Democratic German Republic, Communist, under the control of the Soviet Union. The same happened with Berlin. b) Changes in the borders of European countries: The soviet Union occupied the former Baltic Republics and other territories in the East of Europe. c) The foundation of the UN (United Nations) as an international assembly to avoid new wars, maintain international peace and human rights. Its headquarters are in New York in and the four winner countries of the WWII plus China form the permanent members of Security Council with power of veto. the International Court of Justice is set in The Hague) d) The Nazi leaders were tried at Nuremberg for humanity crimes. e) The end of European Age: USA and the Soviet Union became superpowers. Europe and the world were divided into two big areas: the Western or capitalist area, under the control of USA; and the Eastern or communist area, under the control of USRR. This division was name by Churchill as the "Iron curtain" (Telón de acero, in Spanish). f) That division of the world into two blocks led to the Cold War, a period in which a new global war could be possible. That led to military race and to create military alliances: the Western block creates the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) in 1949, while the Eastern block signed the Warsaw Pact in 1955. The two superpowers never confronted directly but intervened with military aid in other countries. g) The rise of nationalism and independence movements in Asia and Africa. The former colonies got their independence, forming new countries. The first one was India. Achieving independence was very traumatic for most of the new countries. h) The creation of the Jew state of Israel in 1947 in Palestine, that would create a lot of conflicts in the Middle East, mainly between Jews and Muslims but with influence all over the world. i) The beginning of nuclear age. Questions 1.- Name the main consequences of WWII for Germany: 2.- Explain the political division of Europe: 3.- What happened with Nazism and its leaders: 4.- What is the Cold War? What elements are link to it? It is the period that follows WWII and it is characterized by... 5.- Explain what the UN is. Why is it not unbiased or impartial? 6.- Why do you think that the state of Israel was created? 7.- What happened with the former colonies? It was easy or not? Seven Major Consequences of World War II • 1: The End of the European Age. • 2: The rise of the US to superpower status. • 3: The expansion of the Soviet Union and its rise to superpower status. • 4: The emergence of the Cold War. • 5. The beginning of the nuclear age. • 6: The rise of nationalism and independence movements in Asia and Africa. • 7: A renewed effort to secure lasting peace through international organizations. • Germany was totally defeated, and the Nazi regime brought down. Its leaders were tried for crimes against humanity at Nuremberg, the former site of Nazi propaganda triumphs. Hitler escaped trial and execution by committing suicide in his Berlin bunker at the end of the war. German cities were in ruins from a massive bombing campaign. • Germany was divided into 4 zones of occupation by the victorious powers, pending a more permanent political settlement. • Japan also was in ruins from extensive bombing. Prominent military leaders were tried and convicted of war crimes, but the emperor was allowed to retain his position. • Japan was temporarily placed under U.S. military rule. • England was devastated by the war, having experienced extensive bombing during the 1940 blitz by the Germans. The economy depended for recovery upon aid from the United States. England rapidly phased out most of its remaining imperial holdings in the years immediately following the war. • France had not experienced the enormous human losses sustained in the First World War, but would have to recover from the effects of Nazi occupation. Retribution was taken upon collaborators. Like England, France would be compelled to dismantle its colonial empire in the years following the war. This was a particularly traumatic and drawn out process for the French, in Algeria and in Vietnam where they fought prolonged and bitter wars in an attempt to maintain their colonial control. • • England and France no longer held a status of power comparable either to the United States or the Soviet Union. The Russian people had suffered immeasurably during the war, and western Russia was devastated by the land warfare which was primarily on Russian territory. But, in the process of defeating the Germans, the Russians had built a large and powerful army, which occupied most of Eastern Europe at the end of the war. The great resources and population of Russia assured that the Soviet Union would be, along with the United States, one of two super-powers. • The United States economy was greatly stimulated by the war, even more so than in World War I. The depression was brought decisively to an end, and new industrial complexes were built all over the United States. Spared the physical destruction of war, the U.S. economy dominated the world economy. After 4 years of military buildup, the U.S. had also become the leading military power. The position of the United States as world leader was now more obvious than ever. • The eastern victors demanded payment of war reparations from the defeated nations, and in the Paris Peace Treaty, the Soviet Union's enemies-Hungary, Finland and Romania were required to pay $300,000,000 each to the Soviet Union. Italy was required to pay $360,000,000, shared chiefly between Greece, Yugoslavia, and the Soviet Union. The much larger reparations from occupied Germany to Russia were to be paid not by goods or money but by the transfer of capital goods, such as dismantled manufacturing plants. • A separate Reparations to the western victors consisted mainly of free coal deliveries as well as of machinery and dismantled factories, of which the majority went to France, with some going to Britain. Germany and Italy also paid in the form of POWprovided forced labor; 100,000 in Britain and 700,000 in France. The U.S settled for appropriating German patents as well as all German company assets in the U.S. The "intellectual reparations", such as patents and blueprints, taken by the U.S. and the UK amounted to close to $10 billion, equivalent of around $100 billion in 2006 terms. The program of also acquiring German scientists and technicians for the U.S. was also used to deny the expertise of German scientists to the Soviet Union. • Germany was totally defeated, and the Nazi regime brought down. Its leaders were tried for crimes against humanity at Nuremberg, the former site of Nazi propaganda triumphs. Hitler escaped trial and execution by committing suicide in his Berlin bunker at the end of the war. German cities were in ruins from a massive bombing campaign. • Germany was divided into 4 zones of occupation by the victorious powers, pending a more permanent political settlement. • Japan also was in ruins from extensive bombing. Prominent military leaders were tried and convicted of war crimes, but the emperor was allowed to retain his position. • Japan was temporarily placed under U.S. military rule. • England was devastated by the war, having experienced extensive bombing during the 1940 blitz by the Germans. The economy depended for recovery upon aid from the United States. England rapidly phased out most of its remaining imperial holdings in the years immediately following the war. • France had not experienced the enormous human losses sustained in the First World War, but would have to recover from the effects of Nazi occupation. Retribution was taken upon collaborators. Like England, France would be compelled to dismantle its colonial empire in the years following the war. This was a particularly traumatic and drawn out process for the French, in Algeria and in Vietnam where they fought prolonged and bitter wars in an attempt to maintain their colonial control. • England and France no longer held a status of power comparable either to the United States or the Soviet Union. The Russian people had suffered immeasurably during the war, and western Russia was devastated by the land warfare which was primarily on Russian territory. But, in the process of defeating the Germans, the Russians had built a large and powerful army, which occupied most of Eastern Europe at the end of the war. The great resources and population of Russia assured that the Soviet Union would be, along with the United States, one of two super-powers. • • The United States economy was greatly stimulated by the war, even more so than in World War I. The depression was brought decisively to an end, and new industrial complexes were built all over the United States. Spared the physical destruction of war, the U.S. economy dominated the world economy. After 4 years of military buildup, the U.S. had also become the leading military power. The position of the United States as world leader was now more obvious than ever. • The eastern victors demanded payment of war reparations from the defeated nations, and in the Paris Peace Treaty, the Soviet Union's enemies-Hungary, Finland and Romania were required to pay $300,000,000 each to the Soviet Union. Italy was required to pay $360,000,000, shared chiefly between Greece, Yugoslavia, and the Soviet Union. The much larger reparations from occupied Germany to Russia were to be paid not by goods or money but by the transfer of capital goods, such as dismantled manufacturing plants. • A separate Reparations to the western victors consisted mainly of free coal deliveries as well as of machinery and dismantled factories, of which the majority went to France, with some going to Britain. Germany and Italy also paid in the form of POWprovided forced labor; 100,000 in Britain and 700,000 in France. The U.S settled for appropriating German patents as well as all German company assets in the U.S. The "intellectual reparations", such as patents and blueprints, taken by the U.S. and the UK amounted to close to $10 billion, equivalent of around $100 billion in 2006 terms. The program of also acquiring German scientists and technicians for the U.S. was also used to deny the expertise of German scientists to the Soviet Union.