Transcript The Legacy of the Holocaust

1945:
A Fact Sheet About The New World After The Second World
War
An introduction
 No other event in human history changed the path of
history like World War II. This war reshaped the
political map, altered the balance of power in the world,
and led to a new era in human history. In many ways,
the way we live today in the year 2015 continues to be
shaped by World War II and its aftermath. This fact
sheet summarizes the state of the world at the
conclusion of the war, and some of its major effects.
United States
 The U.S., which was untouched by the devastation of the
war, emerged as a military and economic “superpower.” The
other major victorious power, the Soviet Union, was the
second great “superpower” on Earth. The United States
economy was greatly stimulated by the war, and the
depression was brought decisively to an end. New industrial
complexes were built all over the United States. Spared the
physical destruction of war, the U.S. economy would
dominate the world economy. After four years of military
buildup, the U.S. had also become the leading military
power. The position of the United States as the leader of
the free world was now more obvious than ever.
Soviet Union
 The Russian people had suffered immeasurably during
the war, and western Russia was devastated by the
land warfare that was primarily on Russian territory.
But, in the process of defeating the Germans, the
Russians had built a large and powerful army, which
occupied most of Eastern Europe at the end of the war.
Their great resources and population assured that
the Soviet Union would be, along with the United
States, one of two superpowers.
Western Europe (including Great
Britain)
 Utterly destroyed and left in
ruins. Millions of people
were homeless, the
European economy had
collapsed, and much of the
European industrial
infrastructure was destroyed.
China
 China emerged on the
winning side of the war.
However, they were
devastated by the war with
Japan. A civil war between
the Nationalists (led by
Chiang Kai-Shek) and the
Communists (led by Mao
Zedong) continued on
throughout the rest of the
1940s, until the Communists
declared victory in October,
1949.
Central and Eastern Europe and the
Balkans
 With the exception of Austria, all of the nations liberated
from the Nazis by the Soviet Union were forcibly placed
under the control of Communist puppet governments
controlled by Stalin, including Hungary, Czechoslovakia,
Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania. Stalin also
annexed Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Elections were held
in many of these countries, as Stalin promised FDR at the
Yalta Conference, but the results were always manipulated
in favor of Communist candidates. The U.S. and British
governments were alarmed by the Soviet takeover of
Eastern Europe and regarded Soviet actions in this region
as a flagrant violation of self-determination, genuine
democracy, and open markets.
Germany
 The defeated Germany was
divided among the Allies into
American, Soviet, French,
and British zones. The
capital city of Berlin was also
divided into four occupation
zones.
Japan
 Japan was also left in ruins.
The defeated Japan was
occupied by American troops
for seven years, until 1952.
For the first several years,
General Douglas
MacArthur was the leader.
The Americans dismantled
the Japanese weapons
industry and worked with the
Japanese to establish a
constitutional democracy
under our guidance.
Korea
 The nation of Korea was
divided between the United
States and the Soviet Union
into a Communist-controlled
North Korea and a
capitalistic and democratic
South Korea.
Colonies in Africa, Asia, and the
Middle East
 The traditional colonial powers of Europe were now
exhausted and diminished. India and Pakistan
became independent from Great Britain in 1947. The
Vietnamese fought to win their independence from the
French. The Algerians revolted against the French as
well. The Netherlands failed in their attempt to
recapture the Dutch East Indies. The same process
was carried out across much of Africa in the late 40s
and early 50s.
Border changes
Reparations payments
 Germany made payments to the Soviet Union, mostly
in the form of dismantled industrial plants and 3 million
German POWs who were given to the Soviets as slave
laborers. Beginning immediately after the German
surrender and continuing for the next two years,
the U.S. pursued a vigorous program to harvest all
technological and scientific know-how as well as all
patents in Germany. We took most of their
scientists as well. Other nations forced to make
payments were Italy, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, and
Finland.
International organizations and
cooperation
 The United Nations was founded
on October 24, 1945. Also, in
1944, the major economic powers
met to create an International
Monetary Fund and to agree upon
a regime of international tariff
regulation known as GATT. The
World Bank was also established
at the landmark Bretton Woods
Conference in 1944 so that the
rebuilding of the world could be
funded. There was a
determination to avoid the
mistakes of the interwar years that
had exacerbated the Great
Depression.
What to do with Holocaust survivors?
 Approximately 3.5 million; Sh'erit ha-Pletah: "the Surviving
Remnant”
 Click here for statistics:
http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/hstatistics.htm
 Displaced persons camps all over Europe, many of them at
sites of former concentration camps
 Pogroms in Poland greet survivors- Kielce pogrom kills
41,50 wounded
 Jews attempting to enter Palestine were held in camps on
the island of Cyprus (12 camps, 53,000+ people)
DP Camps
Cyprus Detention Camp
The U.S. takes action
 Faced with congressional inaction, Truman issued an executive
order, the "Truman Directive," on December 22, 1945. The
directive required that existing immigration quotas be designated
for displaced persons. While overall immigration into the United
States did not increase, more DPs were admitted than before.
About 22,950 DPs, of whom two-thirds were Jewish, entered the
United States between December 22, 1945, and 1947 under
provisions of the Truman Directive.
 Congressional action was needed before existing immigration
quotas could be increased. In 1948, following intense lobbying by
the American Jewish community, Congress passed legislation to
admit 400,000 DPs to the United States. Nearly 80,000 of these,
or about 20 percent, were Jewish DPs.
The birth of Israel
 Zionism (the movement to
return to the Jewish homeland
in what was then Britishcontrolled Palestine)
 Early 1948: British withdraw
from Palestine.
 May 14, 1948: UN Partition
Plan: State of Israel formed
with approval of UN. Truman
recognizes Israel.
 May 15, 1948: Israel invaded.
 Over 100,000 Jewish
survivors emigrate there within
first few years.
What to do with war criminals?

The Nuremberg Trials

Judges from Soviet Union, U.S., France, and Britain oversee trials of 24 Nazi leaders

Begins October 6, 1945.

Charged with four major categories of crimes: conspiracy, crimes against peace, war crimes,
crimes against humanity.

19 defendants found guilty, 12 sentenced to death, 3 found not guilty on Aug 31, 1946.

https://youtu.be/FsOpcMFkrFs

https://youtu.be/WaL4uDr45oY (watch 59:16-106:45/2:29:19-2:32:35)

12 more trials held from 1946-49.

Thousands of Nazi war criminals fled; Adolf Eichmann caught, found guilty, and executed in
1962.