End of World War 2: 10 Important Things to Know

Anti-invasion Defences by War Office official photographer from Wikimedia Commons

End of World War 2: 10 Important Things to Know

Most people assume that World War 2 only mostly affected Europe or the US but in fact, it affected parts of Africa and the whole world at large. This war contributed to the loss of cities, villages and infrastructure that had taken years to build. It forced countries to get into economic despair which led to food shortages as well as a number of consumer goods. 

People from all across the world had to confront the staggering amount of death and destruction that World War II had produced when it came to an end in 1945. The diplomatic responses, escalating international tensions between the US and the USSR, and the societal unrest that followed this fight demonstrated that World War II was, in fact, the war that changed the world as the repercussions of victory became painfully obvious.

The conclusion of World War 2 was a pivotal moment in modern history that ushered in profound political, economic, and social upheavals. Following the war, there were several significant changes that are important to note.

1. Several people who committed atrocities during the Holocaust were put on trial

The Holocaust by Auschwitz Erkennungsdienst from Wikimedia Commons

Those charged with crimes committed during the Holocaust were brought to justice after the war. Trials that took place between 1945 and 1946 were held in Nuremberg, Germany. In the trials of twenty-two important Nazi criminals, judges from the Allied powers—Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States—presided.

Twelve well-known Nazis received death sentences. The majority of the defendants admitted to the acts with which they were charged, while the majority maintained that they were merely carrying out orders from a higher authority. Many more criminals were never brought to justice.

Some people left Germany to live overseas. Following Nuremberg, Nazis continued to be tried in Germany and numerous other nations. In 1961, Israel held a trial of Adolf Eichmann, who had assisted in organising and carrying out the deportations of millions of Jews. The evidence of hundreds of witnesses, many of whom were survivors, was believed all throughout the world. In 1962, Eichmann was found guilty and killed.

2. On August 1944 the Polish Home Army resistance began an uprising to be liberated from the Germans

Warsaw was liberated from the Germans on August 1st, 1944, by the Polish Home Army resistance. In anticipation of Soviet assistance in fighting the Germans, the Soviet army entered the city and the rebellion began. The Polish resistance was eventually put down by the Germans because the Soviets halted short. From August 1944 until October 1944, there was resistance.

Contrary to popular belief, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943 was not the same as the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. Jewish fighters who were unarmed and in need of help started the uprising in 1943 as German police and troops invaded the ghetto to round up survivors for deportation to concentration camps. In April and May 1943, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising took place but was put down by the Germans.

3. Churchill was thrown out of office in 1945

Sir Winston Churchill by BiblioArchives from Wikimedia Commons

Winston Churchill and his Conservative party were dramatically ousted from power in the British elections of July 1945, and Clement Attlee’s Labor Party triumphed by a wide margin.

4. The Second World War’s death toll ranged from 50 to 80 million people

Although most historians agree that 60 million people died in the Second World War, the actual death toll for the conflict ranges from 50 to 80 million. Six million more Jews were killed by the Germans during the Holocaust.

5. Germany’s division following World War II was due to its responsibility for both wars.

Germany’s potential to start a new war was something the Allies wanted to avoid. Along with robbing, starving, and expelling many of its own citizens, Germany had also expelled ethnic Germans from the nation. It was decided that dividing Germany into two countries would be the best course of action for the occupation of Germany as a result of deteriorating relations between the Soviet Union and the United States over time.

The Cold War had already started in 1947 as a result of opposing ideologies held by the US and the USSR. Previously, Berlin, the capital of Axis Germany, was equally owned by the Big Three. The German division was reorganised following World War II. Despite the fact that Berlin was situated on a territory governed by the Soviet Union, the decision to divide the city was made. The Allied countries of Britain, France, and the United States were in charge of West Berlin. The Soviet Union was in charge of East Germany and East Berlin.

6. The United States occupied Japan for some time

Japan was occupied by the US after it surrendered, and they assisted in establishing a democracy with a pacifist constitution. By signing the San Francisco Peace Treaty on September 8, 1951, and making it operative on April 28, 1952, the occupation was ended.

7. There was a lot of relocation done by  Europeans

Germany utilised the pre-war argument that it had national rights to take control of any land that had German residents. In order to support their claim to the Sudetenland region of Czechia, the Germans used this argument. The Germans made a concerted attempt to populate the regions of the nations they conquered with Germans during the war, particularly in the east. At Yalta and Potsdam, the Allies resolved that racially homogeneous governments would prevent future hostilities from erupting and that Germans in the east should be relocated to Germany proper.

Furthermore, nations that had endured the heinous cruelty of the Germans and who had been given or reclaimed territory from Germany did not want a German population to stay within their boundaries. Following their eviction, these communities subsequently relocated to Germany. For instance, the Czechs and Poles drove out all Germans from the Sudetenland and Prussia, respectively. Not everyone who was transported was a German. Not just in Europe, but throughout the entire world, there was a massive migration of people that did not settle until the 1950s.

8. The iron curtain was created

House of terror by Ank Kumar from Wikimedia Commons

Winston Churchill created the phrase “Iron Curtain” to describe the division between the Western American and Eastern Soviet blocs in a speech he delivered in 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.”

Up until the Soviet Union and the Soviet Bloc’s dissolution in 1991, the Iron Curtain would remain in place.

9. Joseph Stalin died in 1953

Stalin by Evgeny Kovalenko from Wikimedia Commons

Joseph Stalin seized control of the Soviet Union after Lenin’s passing in 1924 and remained the country’s undisputed leader until his death on March 5, 1953. He was putting the finishing touches on a new Great Terror to replicate his purge of 1937–1938 when he passed away from a brain haemorrhage. Nikita Khrushchev would take over from him.

10. The United States gave Europe assistance to recover

There was concern that the newly freed republics would elect communist administrations as a result of the chaos and destruction that followed the end of World War Two throughout all of Europe. The United States chose to help Europe in order to stop this. The Marshall Plan was given to this initiative, formally known as the European Recovery Program. Eventually, the US would contribute 17 billion dollars (in 1940s currency) to the reconstruction of Europe.

In conclusion, substantial political, economic, and social changes occurred in the wake of World War II, many of which are still influencing the global landscape today. The effects of the war continue to play a significant role in modern history, influencing everything from the creation of the United Nations to the development of new technologies and civil rights organisations.