Transcript End of WWII & Cold War

The End of World War II and
its Impact on World Affairs
End of WWII
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Things were bleak for
Europe.
Germany had taken over
Poland, Austria, Denmark,
Norway, Belgium,
Luxembourg, the
Netherlands,
Czechoslovakia, France and
many other nations.
The Soviet Union, Japan,
and Italy had allied with
Germany to form the Axis
Powers.
End of WWII
Continued
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Japan will attack Pearl
Harbor, the US naval
base located in Hawaii.
This will lead to the
USA jumping in and
supplying troops to fight
the war.
Our troops will
revitalize Europe’s
forces and be one factor
for the Allied victory.
End of WWII: Europe
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Hitler will turn on the Soviet
Union, causing them to join
the Allies.
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The Big 3, Joseph Stalin
(Soviet Union), Franklin D.
Roosevelt (U.S.A.), and
Winston Churchill (Great
Britain) will form a union
and fight together to defeat
the Axis Powers.
End of WWII: Europe
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The Soviets will push
Germany in from the
East, and the U.S.A.,
Britain, and what was
left of France’s forces
will push in from the
West.
End of WWII: Europe
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The Soviets were the first to discover
the Death Camps in Germany and
make reports that will shock the
world.
It is generally accepted that on April
30, 1945, Adolf Hitler committed
suicide with his new wife Eva Braun
in a bunker during the Battle for
Berlin.
End of WWII: V-E Day
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V-E Day (Victory in
Europe day) was May 7
and 8 1945. These are the
two days that the
unconditional surrender of
the Axis Powers in Europe
were accepted and signed.
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The War in Europe was
officially over.
End of WWII: Nuclear War
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New technology will be
used by the U.S.A. as a
show of force to end the
war with Japan in the
Pacific.
End of WWII: Nuclear War
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In order to bring the war to an end quickly,
President Harry S. Truman, decided that a show
of extreme force would end the fighting.
On August 6, 1945, “Little Boy” was dropped
on Hiroshima.
The U.S.A. then gave Japan an ultimatum,
unconditional surrender by the Japanese or
there would be a second nuclear attack.
On August 9, 1945, with Japan failing to
surrender, a second nuclear bomb called
“Fat Man” was dropped on Nagasaki.
On August 15, 1945, Japan surrendered to
the Allies.
End of WWII: Hiroshima
Hiroshima Model Before Bombing
Hiroshima Model After Bombing
End of WWII: Hiroshima
The ruins of Hiroshima smolder one day after the atomic
bomb called “Little Boy” was dropped on August 6, 1945.
End of WWII: Hiroshima
End of WWII: Nagasaki
End of WWII: Nagasaki
End of WWII: The Rise of Superpowers
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At the end of the war, there will be two
clear Superpowers: The United States of
America and the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.).
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A superpower is a country that has the
highest level of influence on world politics
and has a very strong military.
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Although the USA and Soviet Union were
friends during WWII, after the war they
are enemies.
End of WWII:A Divided Germany
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At the end of the war it was difficult to decide
what to do with Germany.
They were accused of starting two world wars
and Britain and France did not want to be
invaded again.
The solution was to divide Germany, but
how?
Germany was divided into Eastern
(Communist) and Western Germany
(Democracy).=Berlin Wall.
End of WWII:A Divided Germany
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The Soviets had lost millions of troops in the war and
wanted some control over the outcome.
The U.S.A. felt the need for representation if the
Soviets were involved. They feared the spread of
communism (the Soviets new economy and form of
government).
Britain and France also wanted in, but really were in
no shape to control anything other than rebuilding
themselves.
Germany was divided into four quarters, but the
U.S.A. would control all three sections for the Allies.
End of WWII: East & West Germany
End of WWII: East & West Berlin
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The capital of Germany was Berlin, and once
they divided the nation, it fell on the Soviet
controlled East Germany side.
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As a compromise, the city of Berlin was
divided into East and West Berlin.
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West Berlin was controlled by the U.S.A.
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East Berlin was controlled by the Soviet
Union.
End of WWII: Beginnings of the Cold War
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The debate over the division of Germany would be
the first of many problems between the Soviets and
the U.S.A.
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Following the war, the Soviets also developed an
atomic bomb.
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Now the two world superpowers both had nuclear
weapons.
Cold War
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The Cold War was a time period when
non-cooperation between the two major
world Superpowers, the USA and the Soviet
Union, that caused a fear of nuclear war.
Cold War
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With the two superpowers at odds, the rest of the
world felt the pressure to take sides.
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There became a clear division between the noncommunist nations of NATO and the communist
nations that became members of the Warsaw Pact.
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These two organizations (NATO and the Warsaw
Pact) were alliances between countries on either
side.
Cold War: The World Takes Sides
Cold War: Politics
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West Germany developed a capitalist
economy and a democratic government
modeled after the U.S.A.
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East Germany developed a communist
economy and government modeled after the
U.S.S.R.
Cold War: Politics
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Communism is an economic system and form of
government in which the government makes all of the
decisions as to what will be produced, how it will be
produced, and for whom it will be produced.
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Capitalism is an economic system in which
individuals decide what to produce, how to produce,
and for whom to produce.
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Democracy is a form of government in which the
people control the government by voting.
Cold War: The Berlin Wall
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In 1961 the Soviets built the Berlin wall to divide
East Germany from West Germany.
Anyone who tried to cross the wall would be shot.
Cold War: The Berlin Wall
Cold War: The Berlin Wall
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The Berlin Wall became
the symbol for the “Iron
Curtain.”
The “Iron Curtain” is
the term for the
imaginary border
between the communist
nations and the
members of NATO.
Cold War: “Proxy Wars”
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During the Cold War the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R.
never technically fought each other, there were
several “almost” events between the two.
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These include the Cuban Missile Crisis.
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Quite often the two nations avoided fighting directly
and encouraged other nations to fight each other
instead.
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These “proxy wars” are the reason nations like Iraq,
Iran, Syria, and Afghanistan have the military
training and technology that they do.
Cold War: And the Wall Comes
Tumbling Down
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After decades of failure to cooperate, under U.S.A.
President Ronald Regan and U.S.S.R. Premier the
two nations began to have communications.
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The U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. leaders before these two
men had not met regularly to speak in person.
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These two leaders began a relationship that sped
up the end of the Soviet Union and the eventual
fall of communism as we knew it.
Cold War: And the Wall Comes
Tumbling Down
Cold War: And the Wall Comes
Tumbling Down
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Under Mikhail
Gorbachev, the Soviet
Union’s form of
communism ended.
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The fall of the Berlin
Wall in August of 1989
became the symbol of
the fall of communism
in Europe and the end
of the Cold War.
Cold War: And the Wall Comes
Tumbling Down
Cold War: And the Wall Comes
Tumbling Down
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After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Germans from
East Berlin/Germany could finally travel across the
border into West Berlin/Germany freely.
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This was the beginning of the reunification of East
and West Germany.
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The two parts of Germany had been divided since the
end of World War II in 1945.
Cold War: One Germany
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The newly reformed Germany has struggled to
reshape itself into one nation again.
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Though people were happy with the event, the
difficulties of bringing former East Germany’s
infrastructure up to West German standards has
taken a long time.
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Today, the reunification is considered to be a
success.