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Post World War II. U.S. History 11. Yalta Conference. Conference among the “Big Three” (Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin) April 1945 Discussed post-war reorganization plans Plans for Germany Status of Poland UN membership Fight against Japan. The United Nations (UN).
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Post World War II U.S. History 11
Yalta Conference • Conference among the “Big Three” (Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin) • April 1945 • Discussed post-war reorganization plans • Plans for Germany • Status of Poland • UN membership • Fight against Japan
The United Nations (UN) • Established October 24, 1945 • Replaced the League of Nations • Purpose to promote international cooperation and avoid another world war • Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Aftermath • Much of Europe and Japan are destroyed • Many people left homeless and/or displaced • Economy has collapsed in Europe • GB- immense war debts, had to implement bread rationing • SU- largest losses in population, converted to USSR, obtained Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Albania, and East Germany
The Aftermath • Germany • Returned Alsace-Lorraine, returned Sudetenland • Placed under zones of occupation • Required to pay reparations to Great Britain, France, and Soviet Union • Nuremburg Trials • Italy • forced to pay reparations • monarchy and fascist rule abolished • executed Mussolini
The Aftermath • Japan- • lost annexed territories • occupation zones created • forced to pay reparations to the Allies • Survivors of the atomic bombs (hibakusha) were ostracized from society
War Crimes • Violations of the Geneva Convention • More than a thousand Japanese tried, including Prime Minister Hideki Tojo • Nuremberg Trials (1946) • Nazi’s were tried for crimes • Some executed, many given long prison sentences • Many tried gave the excuse that they were “just following orders.” Do you think the excuse was legitimate?
CIA • Central Intelligence Agency • Created in 1947 • Purpose: Intelligence gathering organization
The Marshall Plan • Secretary of State John C. Marshall • AKA- European Recovery Program • From 1948-52: U.S. provided $13 billion for the reconstruction of Western Europe • $136 billion in 2013 dollars • Goals: rebuild war-devastated regions, remove trade barriers, modernize industry, and boost Europe’s economy • Rejected by the Soviet Union • Also meant to prevent the spread of communism
Creation of Israel • 1948- Jewish community in Palestine declared a State of Israel • The U.N. had been in support of the creation of an independent homeland for the Jews • President Truman immediately recognized Israel as a new nation • Solidified the U.S. as an important ally to the Jewish State
NATO • North Atlantic Treaty Organization • 1949 • International military alliance • Initially to counter Soviet expansion • Promote trans-Atlantic cooperation and keep the Soviet Union out • Largely a political alliance until the Korean War
Overall • The U.S. and USSR emerge as the new superpowers of the world • Spheres of Influence: • Power is split between U.S. and its allies in Western Europe and the Pacific • And the USSR and its Eastern European annexed states • U.S. has a new commitment to civil rights and the economy prospers