Post World War Politics (TOK)
By. Rowan Castellanos
Ending of World War II After World War II, Europe and Asia were in ruins Borders were being redrawn Homecoming, expulsion, and burial Before the war, the world population was at about two
billion About eighty million died during World War II, about four
percent of the entire population The Allied forces became the new occupiers of Germany,
Japan, and most of the land previously occupied by Japan.
The Allies, now occupying Germany, now attempted to permanently disable the war-making abilities of both Germany and Japan Factories were destroyed and the former leadership was removed and
prosecuted Thousands of war criminal trials were held in Europe and Asia,
resulting in executions and prison sentences Millions of Japanese and Germans citizens were expelled from the places
that they had called home
These post-war actions, among others, taken by both the Allied Powers and by the United Nations lead to problems Tensions create East and West Germany Divergent plans on the Korean Peninsula lead to North and
South Korea The Partition Plan for Palestine- recommended a partition with
the Economic Union of Mandatory Palestine to follow the termination of the British Mandate On 29 November 1947, the U.N. General Assembly adopted a
resolution recommending the adoption and implementation of the Plan as Resolution
This led to Israel declaring its independence, 1948, and marked the start of the continuous Arab-Israel conflict
Post War Politics The Soviet Union and United States began to pay attention to the
politics in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, areas which had previously been disregarded in favor of Europe and North America
The United States and Soviet Union fought for influence over the political development of these newly independent countries Americans did not want more Communist nations, and the Soviet
Union did not want more Democracies
Tehran Conference November twenty-eighth to December first, 1943 Strategy meeting between President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
of the United States, Prime Minister Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom, and Premier Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union
Held in the Soviet Embassy in Tehran, Iran Was the first of three wartime conferences, the Big Three As a result of this meeting:
It was decided to open a second front against Nazi Germany Relations between the Allies and Turkey were addressed Iran operations in Yugoslavia were addressed An envisioned post-war settlement plan was discussed The “Big Three” pledged the recognition of Iran’s independence
Yalta Conference Also known as the Crimea Conference Codenamed the Argonaut Conference February fourth through eleventh,
1945 World War II meeting of Roosevelt,
Churchill, and Stalin The purpose:
To discuss Europe’s post-war reorganization
Discuss the re-establishment of the nations of war-torn Europe
Met in the Livadia Palace near Yalta in Crimea
Stalin Post-war economic assistance for Russia American and British recognition of a Soviet sphere of
influence in eastern Europe Churchill
Protection of the British Empire Clarify the postwar status of Germany.
Roosevelt Consensus on establishment of the United Nations Gaining Soviet agreement to enter the war against Japan once
Hitler had been defeated
Potsdam Conference July seventeenth to August second 1945 Held at Cecilienhof in Potsdam, occupied Germany Also known as the Berlin Conference of the Three Heads
of the Government of the Soviet Union, United States, and United Kingdom Churchill was later replaced by Clement Attlee and President
Harry S. Truman represented the United States The three leaders gathered to decide how to administer
punishment on Nazi Germany On May eighth, Germany had agreed to an unconditional
surrender
Conference goals also included: The establishment for
post-war order Peace treaty issues Countering the effects of
the war
Introduction to the Cold War After World War II, the world entered into a new era This era was brought on by the decline of old world
powers and rise of two new super powers: The Soviet Union, also known as the USSR The United States
A bipolar world The United States and Soviet Union had been temporary
allies during World War II, but turned into competitors on world stage and ended up engaged in The Cold War The Cold War is duly named because it never became open
war; rather, it focused on espionage, political subversion, and proxy wars
The world divided in two, the United States-led Western bloc, and the Soviet Union-led Eastern bloc
Some countries tried to stay neutral through the Non-Aligned Movement. Created in 1961 by the leaders of India, Indonesia, Egypt,
Ghana, and Yugoslavia The non-sligned countries were not formally with or against
any major power bloc The Cold War turned into a nuclear arms race between the United
Stated and Soviet Union It never became a heated war because of mutual deterrents or
mutually assured destruction
Cold War: Behind the Scenes Beginnings: 1945 to 1947 The Cold War lasted just under fifty years Events during and after World War II aggravated tensions
and led to the Cold War These include:
Soviet-German Pact- August twenty-third, 1939, broken when the German government invaded the Soviet Union on June twenty-second, 1941 During the first two years of the war led to subsequent invasions
The perceived delay of an amphibious invasion of German-occupied Europe
The Western Allies' support of the Atlantic Charter, defined the Allied goals for the post-war world
The disagreement in wartime conferences over the fate of Eastern Europe
The Soviets' creation of an Eastern Bloc of Soviet satellite states
Marshall Plan- American initiative to aid Europe, in which the United States gave economic support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to prevent the spread of Soviet Communism
Views of Joseph Stalin Stalinism- policy on how
to construct socialism and develop a communist society
Stalinist policies in the Soviet Union included: State terror- acts of
terrorism conducted by a state against a foreign state or people or its own people
Authoritarianism- form of government, characterized by absolute or blind obedience to authority
The theory of socialism in one country- given the defeat of all the communist revolutions in Europe, the Soviet Union should begin to strengthen itself internally
Collectivization of agriculture- consolidate individual land and labor into collective farms
Rapid industrialization A centralized state
Views of Winston Churchill Identified with Christianity
and its Anglican expression Admitted to praying often
during the heat of battle, but he always knew it was an unreasonable thing to do
Worldly man- dealt with governance, war, strategy, business, and economics
Suggests that religion isn’t necessary to dictate ethical and moral behavior for mankind
Views of Charles de Gaulle Gaullism- French political
ideology Main foreign policy was
independence for France and maintaining as much control of as many French colonies as possible France should not have to rely on
any other countries for its survival Should refuse subservient roles to
any country Believed that NATO was a
conspiracy by the Anglo-Saxons to dominate Europe
Harry S. Truman Thirty-third president Roosevelt’s final running
mate in 1944 April twelfth, 1945,
succeeded to presidency when Roosevelt died
United States successfully ended World War II and in the aftermath, entered the Cold War
During few weeks as Vice President, Truman barley saw Roosevelt
He received no briefing on the development of an atomic bomb or tensions with Soviet Union
When Roosevelt died, Truman said "I felt like the moon, the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me."
Primary Source Document Origin- Cold War anti-communist
propaganda Purpose- suggests that the rise of
communism brings the deaths of the named nations, hence the gravestones. The presents of Uncle Sam foreshadows that the United States is coming closer and with it, war. The iceberg also serves as symbolism, this is just the tip of the iceberg. If communism is allowed to continue, it will only bring about the death of other nations.
Value- portrays American sentiment towards communism.
Limit- this is bias, being propaganda, it is specifically engineered to bring forth specific thoughts and emotions
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