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Running head: AFTERMATH OF WORLD WAR II

Aftermath of World War II


Michael Duvall, Jeremy Nieves, Samantha Olsen, and Jean Rowton
HIS/335
Chris Dean
September 19, 2016
Aftermath of World War II
The Holocaust was a state-sponsored persecution and attempted extermination of
Europes Jewish population. According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
(2016), the word is Greek in origin, meaning sacrifice by fire, a fitting description to the
murder of over six million Jews. The Nazis believed that Germans were racially superior to
the inferior Jews and sought to eliminate the inferior race in order to purify the German
population (USHMM, 2016).
Why the United States Intervened
The war in Europe had been raging for over two years when the United States was
officially pulled into battle following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7,
1941 (Department of History of the George Washington University [DHGWU], n.d.). The
brilliance of America's military leaders, including General Douglas MacArthur and Fleet Admiral

Chester Nimitz, who both led the Allies in the Pacific and General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who
planned and led the attack against the Nazis in Western Europe, contributed to the Allied victory
(DHGWU, n.d.).
Three Steps Necessary to Avoid Another Holocaust
According to the USHMM (2016), early notification of possible atrocities, an agreement
to protect people from genocide, and the creation of a Genocide Prevention Task Force are the
three steps necessary to ensure a Holocaust never happens again. The Early Warning Project was
designed by the Museum and Dartmouth College (USHMM, 2016). The tool tracks, measures,
and analyzes known risk factors that could trigger mass atrocities. The United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum states, The data, along with real-time analysis from regional and genocide
experts, generate a forecast (para. 1) and the results allow governments and human rights
agencies to focus resources and attention on the areas that are at highest risk.
The United Nations adopted the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principle at the 2005
World Summit as an essential part of its mandate to protect civilians and prevent mass
atrocities (USHMM, 2016, para. 2). This principle was created based on the idea that every
government has the responsibility to protect its citizens against war crimes, ethnic cleansing,
genocide, and crimes against humanity (USHMM, 2016). In addition, the international
community has a responsibility to hold governments accountable for protecting their citizens and
to assist them in doing so. Further, the USHMM states that if a government fails to protect its
population, the international community must be prepared to step in decisively and timely to take
over in protecting citizens (2016).
The Genocide Prevention Task Force was created in November 2007 and was co-chaired
by Madeleine Albright and William Cohen (USHMM, 2016). Its purpose is to develop

AFTERMATH OF WORLD WAR II

practical policy recommendations to enhance the capacity of the US government to respond to


emerging threats of genocide and mass atrocities (USHMM, 2016, para. 1). Had these three
steps been in place in the mid-20th century, it is possible that millions of lives could have been
saved. Unfortunately, the attempted extermination of an entire population of people had not been
imagined until Hitler put his plan in place.
Position of the Allies as the War Ended
In the last month of the war the allied forces started their final drives to ensure the
surrender of German forces and achieve the end of the war in Europe. The Soviet forces started
their last offensive in mid-April aiming for Berlin. The American and Soviet forces joined up on
the western front on April 25, 1945, merging in central Germany in the town of Torgau on the
Elbe River. Soviet forces were able to enter the German capital of Berlin on April 30, 1945.
American as well as British troops entered Czechoslovakia reaching the Baltic by the time the
war ended (USHMM, 2016).
Diplomacy Among the Allies and Toward Germany
America, Britain, and Soviet Union held their last conference in Yalta in February 1945.
They made agreements for strategies to end the war and how to proceed after the war ended.
Much was focused on what the Soviet wanted versus what the western allies wanted. At Yalta, it
was determined that Germany would be divided into occupation zones with the Soviet Union
extending to the Elbe river and Anglo-American spheres would be a French zone along with
Berlin being put under a four-power control. Stalin wanted Germany to be broken up into small
states but the western allies were hesitant and thought it would create more issues so the decision
was pushed to a later date (McDougall, 2015).

AFTERMATH OF WORLD WAR II

The Polish western border was a large issue that needed to be negotiated. The approved
western frontier would include a large amount of Germany which was a major concern to the
western allies. Stalin also wanted a say in Polish government. It was decided that the Polish
government could hold free elections within months of the end of the war, but Stalin held the
right to determine who was fascist and did not have the right to be a part of the free elections
(McDougall, 2015).
When it came to determining seats in the United Nations, Stalin had originally demanded
16 seats, one for each constituent republic of USSR. At Yalta, Stalin agreed to receive three
General Assembly seats and limited veto power. It was also decided that the Soviets would
declare war on Japan within 90 days of the end of war in Europe (McDougall, 2015).
Europes Response to the Changed Landscape
After World War II, the landscape of our global community was changed forever.
Countries fought effortlessly to recover from the peril which had become of their countries. New
alliances were forged and old alliances would eventually divide the world into three worlds: A
world led by Capitalism, a world led by Communism, and the remaining countries that were left
in the middle. As countries raced to recover the decimated economies, infrastructure and culture
some benefited, some took a great loss, and some left the war virtually unscathed (Center for
Research Libraries [CRL], 2010).
The Soviet Union suffered damage and economic ruin that they did not fully recover
from for at least another 30 years. Like the United Kingdom, nearly a quarter of its national
wealth was exhausted. Russia took control over Eastern Europe as well as eastern Germany and
relied on the productivity and goods produced in Soviet controlled Germany which, along with

AFTERMATH OF WORLD WAR II

other Eastern European countries, was exploited to the Soviet Unions benefit (Croft
Communications, 2014).
Germany was divided into four pieces. Each section was controlled by Russia,
the United States, United Kingdom, and France. Germany was forced to pay reparations and its
standard of living was reduced down to pre-war levels. However, soon Germany would rise
from the ashes as it always had, because in order for Europe to have a successful economy,
Germany would have to become economically viable and self-sufficient (CLR, 2010).
The Aftermaths Effect on the Worlds Jewish Population
After World War II ended, the Jewish population was not the same due to the Holocaust.
Jews had a huge undertaking of picking themselves up and trying to live normal lives once again.
For survivors, the prospect of rebuilding their lives was daunting (USHMM, 2016, para. 1).
The reason for this seemingly overwhelming task was because many Jewish people still feared
for their lives due to lingering anti-Semitic feelings amongst people in different European nations
such as Poland and other neighboring countries. Some of these anti-Semitic feelings led to riots
and protests where Jews were beaten or even lost their lives (USHMM, 2016).
Many Jews returned to their former homes, but still were mindful of their ethnicity
because of the fear they still felt. Some agencies, such as The American Jewish Joint
Distribution Committee and the Jewish Brigade Group, were created to aid in the recovery of the
population by giving food, clothes and shelter after the Holocaust (USHMM, 2016). These
actions helped the Jewish people to recover, but it would be a long struggle. Since the Jews were
sent all over Europe to concentration camps, the population was widespread after the war. For
many, the camps sent them further from their homes and communities than they had ever lived
before the events of World War II. The population spread all over Europe moving to the east in

AFTERMATH OF WORLD WAR II

Russia, Romania and Poland, while very few remained in Germany, Hungary or Austria, but the
majority of the population moved westward to Great Britain and France (USHMM, 2016).
While these populations still existed all over Europe, many were reduced because of the massive
loss of life.
The Jews sought to create a nation where they could own land and have a government
that would protect them from the threat of another Holocaust. With the population sprinkled
throughout other nations, the possibility was very real that another Holocaust could happen.
According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (2016), With the establishment of
the State of Israel in May 1948, Jewish displaced persons and refugees began streaming into the
new sovereign state. Possibly as many as 170,000 Jewish displaced persons and refugees had
immigrated to Israel by 1953 (para. 7). By establishing their own country, the Jews had a better
opportunity to continue to rebuild their lives and try and move forward from the horrific events
of the Holocaust.

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References

Center for Research Libraries. (2010). World War II aftermath. Retrieved from
https://www.crl.edu/collections/topics/world-war-ii-and-aftermath
Croft Communications. (2014). World War II: Aftermath. Retrieved from
http://www.worldwarii.biz/aftermath-of-world-war-2/
Department of History of the George Washington University. (n.d.). Teaching Eleanor Roosevelt
glossary: World War II (1939-1945). Retrieved from
https://www.gwu.edu/~erpapers/teachinger/glossary/world-war-2.cfm
McDougall, W. A. (2015). 20th-Century international relations. In Encyclopdia Britannica.
Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/international-relations/World-War-II1939-45
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (2016). Early warning project. Retrieved from
https://www.ushmm.org/confront-genocide/how-to-prevent-genocide/early-warningproject
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (2016). Genocide Prevention Task Force. Retrieved
from https://www.ushmm.org/confront-genocide/about/initiatives/genocide-preventiontask-force
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (2016). Jewish population of Europe in 1945.
Retrieved from https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005687
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (2016). The aftermath of the Holocaust. Retrieved
from https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005129

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United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (2016). The UN and the responsibility to protect
(R2P). Retrieved from https://www.ushmm.org/confront-genocide/how-to-preventgenocide/responsibility-to-protect
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (2016). What was the Holocaust? Retrieved from
https://www.ushmm.org/learn/introduction-to-the-holocaust
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (2016). World War II in Europe. Retrieved from
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/mobile/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005137

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