Historical Look: The Aftermath of WWII

The final post I'll do here on reviewing the topic of WWII is it's costly aftermath. After six years of total war Europe was in complete shambles, ruined from German aggression. The greatest matter at hand was the justice to be served on those whom had committed crimes against humanity. However there was also the question on how Germany was to be governed in the future. In the end the fate of Germany and most of Europe was decided thru the Marshall Plan which in essence divided Europe between two superpowers; the western Capitalist ideals of America, and the eastern Communist ideals of Russia. And this difference in political idealism would lead to 50 years of tension known as the Cold War.

The Postdam Conference

On August 2, 1945 the United States, Soviet Union, and United Kingdom all met at the Potsdam Conference to establish post-war order, discuss peace treaties, and counter the effects of war. These efforts were lead by Josef Stalin, Winston Churchill, and Harry S. Truman. Churchill only oversaw parts of the conference as he was later replaced by Clement Attlee.

Germany was divided into four zones, with occupation by the Soviets, Americans, British, and French. They were also forced to de-Nazify which was a widespread process of demilitarization, democratization, decentralization, and decartelization (which essentially transitioned business away from cartels and back to the free market). Germany was also forced to pay for reparations especially for the damage it had caused the Soviet Union. 

A month after the fate of Europe was decided, the USA dropped atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshma killing thousands in an instant. This new super weapon caused Japan to quickly surrender and Truman declared VJ day. Japan was occupied by the USA, under the leadership of General Douglas MacArthur until 1951. Meanwhile Korea was under the control of Soviet Union.

Nuremberg Trials

The Nuremberg Trials was a military tribunal that prosecuted the most prominent Nazi German leaders who were guilty of war crimes; most notably for the mass genocide that was the Holocaust. By this point after the war, many of Germany's key leaders had already committed suicide such as Adolf Hitler, Henrich Himmler, and Josef Goebbels. However there were still leaders that had been captured, such as Hitler's successor and commander of the Nazi Air Force, Hermann Goring. Most of these men were sentenced to death or committed suicide after the trials.  

The Tokyo War Crimes were held against Japan, most notably for their cruelty to prisoners and genocide such as the Nanking Massacre. The Nanking Massacre was a terrible genocide event that took place in February of 1938, where the Japanese had close to 300,000 Chinese civilians mass-murdered.

The United Nations

The Allies deliberated for some time  after the war dealing with treaties, sovereignty, trials, councils, and new international policies. They also established the United Nations as a means to maintain international peace and order. This replaced the lest effective League of Nations and this time the United States joined as it's key leading member. The United Nations still operates today headquartered in New York City.

Europe was left in ruins, with millions of homeless refugees and a collapsed economy. The Marshall Plan was put forth by a US Senator named George Marshall to revise the European economy. Meanwhile, Eastern and Central Europe was controlled by communism under heavy influence from the Soviet Union. The war brought an end to European Imperialism, and many Asian countries became independent from the British Empire, such as India and Pakistan. The European Union was founded in 1951 as a means to support each other’s economies.        

Soviet Union and the United States emerged from the war, as total super-powers, and soon began a Cold War against one another. Each fearing that the other was getting too powerful, it lasted for nearly 40 years, as Communism spread all throughout the west.