the Effects of WW2

1. the Effects of WW2

2. Human cost • 40 millions dead in Europe • Two-third were civilians • One-fifth of Poland’s population died • 20 million people displaced • Stalin and Hitler alone were responsible for the forced removals of some 30 million people • After the war Germans from Hungary, Romania and Poland were driven from their homes and forced to move to Germany

3. http://www.fallen.io/ww2/

5. Economic cost • WW1 fighting took place mostly on the Western Front while during WW2 entire Europe was involved. • Aerial bombing destroyed many cities: Millions of homeless and dead civilians • Transport and communication disrupted • Industry destroyed • Farmland ruined • Food production fell to half • 150 million people dependent on relief food distribution • Britain was bankrupted • Soviet economy badly effected-25 millions homeless

6. Economic effects • Long term effects of WWI and WWII were different: WWI led to depression in the 1920s due to dislocation of world trade, decline of heavy industry and fall in agricultural prices. • World War II – USA’s willingness to remain engaged with Europe was of vital importance / helped Europe recover economically • The US distributed large amounts of aid from 1943 onwards, through the UN , and the World Bank, and the IMF • By 1950, the productivity of W EU exceeded the pre-1939 average by 25 percent

7. Economic Effects - Creation of the IMF, WTO, and World Bank • The Bretton Woods Conference (1944) set up the: • International Monetary Fund to try to prevent another world economic depression. It keeps track of the flow of goods going to and from countries and stabilizes the exchange rate • The World Bank was established to provide finance (loans) and advice to reduce poverty • The International Trade Organization (ITO) was formed to try to regulate and insure free trade

9. Political consequences • Slight changes of boundaries (compared to WWI) • Poland saw its border shifted westwards- lost 179,000 sq.km in the east and gained 104,000 sq.km from German territories • Yalta Conference- decided Poland’s boundaries • Germany to be divided into four occupation zones – leads to permanent division in 1949 • Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia one party regime under Stalin’s control.

11. Effects of war on international relations • Change in the balance of power. • USSR and USA emerged as super powers - Why was this? • Reasons – military: • USA had acquired the largest air force in the world, 12 million men in the armed forces, more naval vessels and the atomic bomb • USSR had acquired the largest land army in the world to defeat Germany • France and Britain’s inability to defeat Germany placed them second in rank • USSR lacked strong military neighbors thus making it a regional power

13. Reasons - economic • USA’s economy was strengthened by the war. It was able to out-produce all the other powers • USA was committed to more ‘open’ trade. • Small Eastern European countries needed support of a stronger neighbour which was provided by USSR

14. Impact of the superpowers • The map of Europe after 1945 was determined by the growing conflict between USSR and USA with a clear divide between Eastern and Western Europe • USA- end of isolationism, beginning of a dominant role in world affairs • Cold War • “ The Cold War began where it had left off in 1941, with profound distrust of Soviet motives, and an ideological divide every bit as deep as that between liberalism and Nazism. Only two years after the end of the war the American Air Policy Commission reported to Truman that the essential “incompatibility of East and West” called for the build-up of a “devastating “ fore of bombers and missiles equipped with nuclear weapons capable of operation at range of 5.000 miles. • From Richard Overy, Why the Allies Won, 2006

15. Western Europe • Followed democracy • Commitment by USA- the Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan– US steps in to provide economic aid - to prevent weakened governments of Italy and France to fall to communism • In the 1950s and 1960s, Western European countries enjoyed two decades of sustained economic growth. • Greater economic cooperation in W. Eu than ever before, formation of the European Coal and Steel Community and ultimately the European Economic Community (EEC) in the 1950s • Establishment of NATO 1949 – North Atlantic Treaty Organization , and Warsaw Pact in 1951

17. Eastern Europe • 1944-48 Stalin established control over Hungary, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Romania and Poland which involved • i. establishment of one-party rule • ii. Nationalization of private enterprise • Iii. Five- Year Plans- encouraged collective farming • Integration of economy: each satellite state had to produce what USSR needed- eg. Poland produced coal • Council fro Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon)

18. Eastern Europe • The economic and political system was backed by: • Social and ideological controls eg. Cominform, secret police • Censorship of all media • Suppression of religious freedom • Military presence of soviet troops • Political purges

20. Impact on asia • China lost 12 million people • Japan lost 2 million people

21. Japan • Eliminated as a major power • Occupied by the Americans under General Douglas MacArthur • Japan was made a democracy • Military and secret police forces were dissolved • The emperor remained to maintain political stability • Anyone who had played a part in Japanese aggression was purged from political office and industry • New constitution was introduced

23. The treaty of san francisco • Signed in 1951- Japan to • 1. renounce all claims to Taiwan, Sakhalin and the Kuriles • 2. hand over the Pacific Island of Micronesia to UN • 3. hand over the Ryuku and Bonin Islands to USA • 4. accepted the judgements of the international military Tribunal for the Far East • Guidelines for reparation and compensation to prisoners of war, renounced future military aggression, nullified prior treaties • Japan to become allied to the Western powers, and was to become economically strong and politically stable • Japan became an important military and strategic base for the USA in its fight against communism in Asia • A separate Treaty between Japan and USA- • USA promised to defend Japan until it could look after its own defense which meant that it had military bases in Japan

25. china • Fighting continued between the nationalist forces of Jiang jieshi and the communist forces of Mao Zedong • Conflict led to the victory of Mao in 1949 and the establishment of a communist China

26. Decolonization: the decline of european influence in asia • Weakness of Britain and France found it increasingly difficult to hold on to their empires in Asia and Africa • Nationalist Movements grew • USA and the UN condemned imperialism • Indonesia got independence from Dutch, Vietnam from the French, India, Burma and Ceylon from the british • USA and USSR sought to increase their sphere of influence in this area- Cold War

27. Other effects • War Tribunals established • Tribunals were set up to try war criminals in both Europe and Asia; eg. The Nuremberg Tribunal – 21 leading Nazis were charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity • Japan: General MacArthur carried out trials against war criminals and 28 of Japan’s leaders (about 1000 executed) • The United Nations • Emergence of an international organization – US initiative • Intended to be more effective in peacekeeping (than the LON) • The Arms Race • Central to the Cold War – main focus on the development and acquisition of nuclear weapons

28. Social changes • Women: • War- the challenge to tradition: • Family Life: • Racism and minority rights: • Ideology:

29. Social Effects - Women • Women took on many of the roles that had traditionally belonged to men • Many people belonging to minority groups also took on jobs that traditionally they had not • Women took on jobs in the in the war effort, including those such as: • Military nurses – working near battles around the world to save wounded men • Factory workers – building the machines necessary to fight wars • Journalists – reporting the happenings of the battle front to news agencies in their home countries

30. Social Effects - Women • The most common job for a woman to take on during the World War I or II was that of a nurse • At first men doubted that the women would work well in a battle situation, but those doubts quickly disappeared after the nurses proved themselves

31. Social/Economic Effects - Minorities • Women were not the government's only target for recruitment • The government also decided to begin recruiting more minorities for many of the same reasons it began recruiting women • In World War II, they recruited nearly over a million African Americans to be in the military and work in the factories • However, riots and strikes occurred protesting their rise in status

32. Social Effects - Minorities • African Americans served in World War II • Despite the numbers they faced racial discrimination: • Racially segregated forces • Blacks were often classified as unfit for combat and were not allowed on the front lines • Blacks were mostly given support duties • No blacks were given the Medal of Honor during either world war

33. Social Effects - Minorities • Nonetheless, progress was made: • Black combat units proved they could fight just as well as whites • The U.S. military was integrated in 1948, but black soldiers were still kept in separate units during the Korean War • The Tuskegee Airman, the first group of black pilots ever trained by the Air Force gained legendary status • Double V campaign drew public support • Truman set up the Committee on Civil Rights

34. Social Effects – Women & Minorities • The first and second World Wars did much to awaken the women and minority groups • For the first time since the Civil War era, African American rights became an issue (the issue of segregation in the military) • It is now commonplace for women to hold jobs, their role in society has expanded greatly since the era prior to World War I

35. What were the successes and failures of peacemaking? • No formal peace conference to resolve the issues of war; peacemaking “Sum total” of the developments • War destroyed fascist/Nazi regimes – victorious powers occupied their enemies’ territories - Japan and Germany were occupied until the Allies decided to restore their independence • Russian controlled areas – no democracy • COLD WAR – one of the most significant consequences of WWII – US policy of containment • Anti-Imperialism – the logic of war against racist doctrines and greedy nationalist taking other people’s lands also made the survival of EU empires difficult to sustain • After British withdrawal from India (1947), it was a matter of time before the EU empires worldwide collapsed.