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The Cold War Era World War II destroyed cities, factories, harbors, bridges, railroads, farms, homes, and lives. Refugees by the millions were displaced. Hunger and disease took large tolls. 75 million people were killed. 38 million Europeans died. 22 million people from the Soviet Union lost their lives, more than any other nation. Investigations revealed that terrible atrocities had taken place in this war. The Holocaust Revealed: It was not until the end of the war that the grim realities of the Holocaust were made public. Germans living in villages near concentration camps were forced to walk through them to learn what had been done to the victims. Over 11 million people were killed in Nazi death camps out of which 6 million were Jewish. The Allies decided that Axis leaders should be tried for “crimes against humanity” because of the terrible suffering they had brought to victims. These trials were known as the Nuremberg Trials and were held at the city where Hitler staged many rallies and issued the Nuremberg Laws. At first, the head Nazis were tried. 142 were found guilty. 11 Nazis were sentenced to death. 3 were acquitted and 3 served life sentences. Countless others had committed suicide or changed their identity and moved away before they could be caught. Other trials were held in the following years and hundreds of survivors testified against Nazis who ran death and labor camps. Many more individuals were sent to prison or were executed. The Nuremberg Trials showed that political and military leaders could be held accountable for actions in wartime. Allied Occupation: Allied troops occupied Japan and Germany following WWII. They hoped to build democratic governments there. Denazification, or removal of all traces of Nazi power occurred. School curriculums were replaced, Nazi flags were destroyed, swastikas disappeared from public view, and the German government was re-organized. Japan’s military was reduced greatly in size and dictatorship was replaced with democracy. The United Nations: was formed in April of 1945. Delegates from 50 nations met in San Francisco, CA to draft the UN Charter, which was intended to ensure world peace. Each member nation had one vote in the General Assembly. The Security Council consisted of five permanent members, the US, Soviet Union, Britain, France, and China and had the right to veto any decisions. The goal was to give these nations the authority to ensure peace. They also work to prevent the outbreak of disease, improve education, protect refugees, and aid nations in developing economically. UN agencies such as the World Health Organization promote better health and access to medical care. The Food and Agriculture Organization has provided food, tools, fertilizer, and machinery to millions. The U.S vs. the Soviet Union The Superpowers: Because the U.S. and the Soviet Union were so instrumental in defeating the Germans and the Japanese, they became known as the two superpowers. Because they had different political systems and disagreed on many issues, a conflict called the Cold War began. The Cold War was a state of tension and hostility among nations without armed conflict. Eastern Europe became the focus of the cold war. Stalin wanted to spread communism into Eastern Europe and create a buffer zone, or area of protection between Europe and the Soviet border. Since the Soviet Red Army had pushed the Nazis out of Eastern Europe, Stalin felt that he had the right to control the area. Roosevelt and Churchill wanted Stalin to promise “free elections” in Eastern Europe. But by 1948, the Soviet Union had taken control of Poland, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania. These nations were known as satellite states of the Soviet Union because they were forced to set up Communist governments and act like mini Soviet nations. Winston Churchill called these nations “The Iron Curtain.” Europe was divided into “eastern” and “western” blocs. The East was Soviet-dominated while the West consisted of democracies aided by the U.S. New Conflicts: President Truman feared that Communism would spread further in the world, so he presented the Truman Doctrine to Congress, a plan that involved U.S. resistance to the spread of Communism. Truman sent military and economic aid to Greece and Turkey to help strengthen them against communism. Containment was a major idea of the Truman Doctrine, which meant that communism would be contained where it was and not be allowed to spread further. Another plan developed in this time period was known as the Marshall Plan. Under this plan, the U.S. sent food and economic assistance to Europe to help rebuild economies. Europe recovered quickly from the war because of the Marshall Plan and continued as U.S. allies. Aid was offered to Soviet satellites but Stalin refused to allow them to take it. Germany: Germany was divided into two parts following the war. The Soviet Union spread communism into their zone (East Germany)and the British, French, and U.S. zones merged together to form West Germany. A crisis emerged in the city of Berlin, the former German capital, which had also been divided among the Allies. In 1948, Stalin tried to force the western Allies out of Berlin by sealing off every railroad and highway into the western sectors of the city. Western powers responded by mounting a round-the-clock airlift supplying West Berliners with food. Finally, after a year, the Soviets backed off and allowed West Berlin to be free. Military Alliances: In 1949, the U.S., Canada, and nine Western European nations formed NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which was an alliance of democratic nations who pledged to protect each other if any one of them were attacked. In 1955, the Soviet Union responded by forming its own military alliance, the Warsaw Pact, which included the USSR and seven satellites in Eastern Europe. The Arms Race: Stalin’s top scientists developed an atomic bomb of their own in 1949. The arms race was on, which involved both the US and the USSR spending large sums of money to develop deadly new weapons and improve bombers, missiles, and submarines to launch these weapons of mass destruction. Churchill referred to the global balance of power as a “balance of terror” because these weapons had the power to destroy on a massive scale. Post War Japan: One main reason for the U.S. dropping the atomic bomb on Japan, besides ending the war quickly, was to establish supremacy there before the Soviet Union had a chance to. Once the Japanese surrendered atrocities were revealed about the Japanese brutal treatment of prisoners of war and those they conquered. The Rape of Nanjing refers to the violence and cruelty carried out by the Japanese on the conquered people of Nanjing, China. 20,000 women were raped and murdered, 12,000 other civilians were tortured and killed, and about 30,000 Chinese soldiers were massacred. Many Allied prisoners of war were brutally tortured in POW camps. Following the war, Japan was forced to: 1. Give up its overseas empire and was left with just its home islands 2. Write a new constitution which renounced war, reduced the size of their military, and made Japan one of the world’s most democratic nations 3. The role of the emperor was changed so that he was simply a symbolic head government, with no real power. Massive economic aid ($$) was pumped into Japan to rebuild and to create a U.S. ally. With this assistance, Japan grew into an economic power. The end of WWII differs greatly from the end of WWI in that the aggressors were not blamed…instead an effort was made to help them economically so that an ally, not a future enemy would be created. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: In 1948, UN members approved the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. According to the document, all people are entitled to basic human rights and freedoms such as the rights to life, liberty, and security of person.” Later, in 1975, nations signing the Helsinki Accords guaranteed basic rights such as freedom of speech, religion, the press, and the right to earn a living and live safely. These documents are meant to set an example that members of the United Nations should follow. The Cold War Era: Vocabulary List Name:___________________________ As a result of WWII: 75 million- 38 million 22 million- 11 million: 6 million: Crimes Against Humanity: Nuremberg Trials: Allied Occupation: Denazification: The United Nations: UN Charter: General Assembly: Security Council: World Health Organization: Food and Agriculture Organization: Superpowers: Cold War: Eastern Europe: Buffer zone: Red Army: List nations the Soviet Union controlled: Satellite States: The Iron Curtain: Truman Doctrine: Containment: Marshall Plan: East Germany: West Germany: NATO: Warsaw Pact: Arms Race: Balance of Terror: Rape of Nanjing: List three things Japan was forced to do after WWII: 1. 2. 3. Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Helsinki