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Postwar World: A New Beginning and the Fallacies of Peace

Explore the aftermath of World War II and its impact on Europe, from the dropping of the atomic bomb to the formation of new diplomatic alliances and geopolitical divisions. Delve into the trials of Nazi leaders, the re-education of German youth, and the emergence of the Cold War. Discover the political, military, and economic rivalries that shaped the world for decades.

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Postwar World: A New Beginning and the Fallacies of Peace

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  1. Postwar World The End Creates New Beginnings A New World

  2. Postwar Europe

  3. Dropping the Bomb • Manhattan Project • Truman’s Dilemma • The Final Decision • Outcomes • Read the account of a child in Hiroshima (OA 213) • How does her experience show the effect of the bomb on civilians? • How do we know she likely hasn’t carried resentments from her experience into adulthood?

  4. Nuclear World

  5. Conferences: Illusions of Peaceful Cooperation • Atlantic Charter 1941 • Casablanca 1943 • Tehran Conference 1943 • Quebec Conference 1944 • Yalta 1945 • Potsdam 1945

  6. Potsdam July 1945

  7. In what ways were the Allies (particularly Britain and the U.S.) appeasing Stalin, just like they had done with Hitler?

  8. 1945: Relief then reality…

  9. Nazi-Axis Destroyed Europe • Deaths: 15 million military; 30 million civilian =60 million incl. Holocaust/Famine • Economic devastation • Displaced populations • Political instability • Destruction of transportation and infrastructure

  10. Dresden, Germany

  11. Trials • 22 Nazi leaders put on trial • Hitler, Himmler & Goebbels had escaped by suicide • Only crimes between 1939 and 1945 • 200 men tried; 1600 in other tribunals • Each country (Fra. U.S., Britain, USSR) provided one judge and one alternate

  12. New World Order • Rivals • Diplomatic Structures • UN • NATO • Warsaw Pact • Geopolitical Divisions • Confronting Communism • Truman Doctrine • Marshall Plan

  13. Nuremberg

  14. Valid Trials? • Accused were not permitted to appeal • Only the victors had judges • Shouldn’t Soviets have been tried for aggressions against Poland? • The Soviet judge had participated in Stalin’s show trials

  15. Occupied Germany • 4 zones of occupation • East v. West • Read the account of the re-education of German youth. (OA 217-218)

  16. Result of End of War Actions • Soviet Union had influence in E. Europe • Weak Germany becomes pawn • U.S. and Britain underestimate Stalin • Illusion of cooperation during war

  17. Winston Churchill • The “Iron Curtain” (March 1946) • From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia; all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject, in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and in some cases increasing measure of control from Moscow. • ….. • In a great number of countries, far from the Russian frontiers and throughout the world, Communist fifth columns are established and work in complete unity and absolute obedience to the directions they receive from the Communist center. Except in the British Commonwealth and in the United States where Communism is in its infancy, the Communist parties or fifth columns constitute a growing challenge and peril to Christian civilization.

  18. Political/Military Rivalry • Hot Wars • Korea • Vietnam • Cold War • Germany-Berlin Wall • Hungary • Yugoslavia • Czechoslovakia

  19. Threat of Stalin/USSR • Stalin unpredictable • Arms race • Communism-Worldwide revolution

  20. Arms Race • Competition betw. NATO and Warsaw countries • Resulted in techn. advances • Deterrence because of assured destruction • Military replaced by intelligence gathering

  21. Note who has more weapons in 1945, 1955, 1970 and 1980 U.S. vs USSR Arms Race

  22. Nuclear Arms Race • What is the topic/context/occasion of the cartoon? • What symbols are used? What do they represent? • What is the cartoonist’s point?

  23. Sputnik 1957

  24. Space Race • 1957-1975 • Military benefits • Morale boosting • Chronology: • Satellites • Living organisms in space • Lunar landings • Travel to other planets

  25. Questions from Text (798) • Was the Cold War inevitable? • How were the ideas of George Kennan reflected in Truman’s Cold War policies? • How would you assess overall responsibility for the origins of the Cold War?

  26. Russians: The Popular Enemy • Listen to Sting’s song: “The Russians” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rk78eCIx4E

  27. Cold War Ideology, Science, Economics 1945-1989

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