Review!!1. The Battle of Leningrad (later called Stalingrad) was

A. the final battle in North AfricaB. The most deadly naval battle of the warC. a Soviet victory that turned the tide of the war in the eastD. Hitler’s greatest victory

2. D-Day refers to theA. Allied invasion of FranceB. British victory in North AfricaC. End of World War IID. Entry of the United States into the war

3. What strategy did Allied leaders use against Japan?A. AppeasementB. Island HoppingC. BlitzkriegD. Trench Warfare

4. The Battle of Midway was a turning point in WWII thatA. Forced Japan to surrenderB. Started Japan’s uninterrupted series of victoriesC. Allowed the United States to take the offensive in the PacificD. Brought the United States into the war

From World War II to the Cold War

Aftermath of the WarCosts of the war

Killed as many as 75 million people around the world

In Europe, about 38 million people lost their lives, many of them civilians

The Soviet Union suffered the most casualtiesMore than 22 million died

New atrocities were brought to lightAt the end of the war, the Allies saw the full

extent of the HolocaustAt wartime meetings, the Allies agreed that Axis

leaders should be tried for “crimes against humanity”

War Crimes TrialsThe war crimes trials took place in Nuremberg, where

Hitler had staged mass rallies in the 1930sA total of 177 Germans and Austrians were tried, and

142 were found guiltySimilar war crimes trials were held in Japan and ItalyWhat did this show?

That political and military leaders could be held accountable for actions in wartime

As these war crimes trials progressed, it exposed the savagery of the Axis regimes and discredited the Nazi, fascist, and militarist ideologies that led to war

How could this be prevented in the future?By strengthening democracy to ensure tolerance and peace

and to protect the rights of all citizens

In his closing remarks Robert Jackson, the U.S. Chief Prosecutor issued the following warning:

Two World Wars have left a legacy of dead which number more than all the armies engaged in any way that made ancient or medieval history. No half-century ever witnessed slaughter on such a scale, such cruelties and inhumanities, such wholesale deportations of peoples into slavery, such annihilations of minorities. These deeds are the overshadowing historical facts by which generations to come will remember this decade. If we cannot eliminate the causes and prevent the repetition of these barbaric events, it is not an irresponsible prophecy to say that this twentieth century may yet succeed in bringing the doom of civilization.

The United NationsIn April 1945, delegates from 50 nations met in San

Francisco to draft a charter for the United NationsUnder the UN Charter, each member had one vote in the

General AssemblyA much smaller body called the Security Council was given

greater powerMade up of five permanent members: The United States, the

Soviet Union (today, Russia), Britain, France and ChinaHad the right to veto any council decision

Goal was to give these great powers the authority to ensure the peace

The United Nation’s work would go far beyond peacekeepingPreventing the outbreak of diseaseImproving educationProtecting refugeesAiding economic development

New World SuperpowersA new power structure emerged

Germany was defeated, France and Britain had been drained and exhaustedBritain and France used the mandate system to control the Middle

East after World War IAfter World War II, they gave up those mandates

Two other powers: the United States and the Soviet Union brought about the final victoryThese two would emerge as superpowers with the economic

resources and military might to dominate the globe

After the war, the alliance crumbled amid suspicious, mutual distrust and conflicting ideologies

This soon led to a conflict known as the Cold WarA state of tension between nations without armed

conflict

The Cold WarStalin had two goals in Eastern Europe

1. To spread communism2. Create a buffer zone of friendly governments as a

defense against GermanyAs the Red Army pushed German forces out of

Eastern Europe, they left behind occupying forcesAfter the war, the Soviets tried to persuade the western

democracies to accept Soviet influence in those areasRoosevelt and Churchill rejected Stalin’s view, making him

promise “Free elections” in Eastern EuropeStalin ignored the pledge and local communists in Poland,

Czechoslovakia, and elsewhere destroyed rival political parties and even assassinated democratic leadersBy 1948, Stalin had installed pro-Soviet communist

governments throughout Eastern Europe

A Divided EuropeChurchill had long distrusted Stalin

Described the Soviet control of Eastern Europe as an “iron curtain” dividing the continent

In the West, the “iron curtain” became a symbol of the Cold WarExpressed the growing fear of communism and

described the division of Europe into “eastern” and “western” blocsIn the East were the Soviet-dominated, communist countries

of Eastern EuropeIn the West, were the western democracies, led by the United

States

New Conflicts DevelopPresident Truman also saw communism as an evil force creeping

across Europe and threatening countries around the worldTo deal with that threat, the United Nations abandoned its isolationism

Stalin soon showed his intentions by backing communist rebels in Greece who were fighting to overturn a right-wing monarchy supported by Britain

On March 12, 1947, Truman outlined a new policy to Congress Truman said, “I believe that it must be the policy of the United States

to support free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures”

This policy, which became known as the Truman Doctrine, would guide the United States for decadesIt made it clear that Americans would resist Soviet expansion in

Europe or elsewhere in the worldWas rooted in the idea of containment, limiting communism to the

areas already under Soviet controlStalin saw containment as “encirclement” by the capitalist world that wanted to

isolate the Soviet Union

The Marshall PlanPostwar hunger and poverty made Western

Europe prime for communist ideasTo strengthen democratic governments, the United

States offered a massive aid package, called the Marshall Plan

Under the Marshall Plan, the United States funneled food and economic assistance to Europe to help countries rebuild

President Truman also offered aid to the Soviet Union and its satellites (dependent states) in Eastern EuropeStalin saw this as a trick to win Eastern Europe over

to capitalism and democracies and forbade any Eastern European countries to accept American aid

Divisions in GermanyDefeated Germany became another focus of the Cold War

At the Yalta Conference, the Big Three divided up Germany as well as the former capital of Berlin

Fearing the danger of a restored Germany, the Soviet Union dismantled factories and other resources in its occupation zone and used them to help rebuild the Soviet Union

France, Britain and the United States decided to unite their zones of occupation, encouraging Germans to rebuild businesses and industries

Germany became a divided nationIn West Germany, the democratic nations allowed their people

to write their own constitution and regain self-governmentIn East Germany, the Soviet Union installed a communist

government tied to Moscow

The Berlin AirliftStalin’s resentment at western democracy being

introduced in Germany triggered a crisis over BerlinThe former German capital was occupied by all four

Allies, even though it was deep within the Russian zoneIn 1948, Stalin tried to force the western Allies out

of Berlin by sealing off the railroads and highways into the western sectors of the city

The western powers responded to the blockade by mounting a round-the-clock airliftFor more than a year, cargo planes supplied

West Berliners with food and fuelThis forced the Soviets to end the blockade,

but the crisis deepened hostilities

Military AlliancesIn 1949, the United States, Canada, and nine

Western European countries formed a new military alliance called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)Members pledged to help one another if any one of

them was attackedIn 1955, the Soviet Union responded by forming

its own military alliance, the Warsaw PactIncluded the USSR and seven satellites in Eastern

EuropeUnlike NATO, the Warsaw Pact was a weapon used by the

Soviets to keep its satellites in order

The Arms RaceStalin’s top scientists were under orders to develop an

atomic bomb of their ownThey succeeded in 1949, and the arms race began

For four decades, the superpowers developed new, more deadly nuclear and conventional weaponsThey also invested to improve “delivery systems”-

bombers, missiles, and submarines, to launch these weaponsChurchill described the new balance of power as a “balance of terror”

Both sides participated in a propaganda warThe United States spoke of defending capitalism and

democracy against communism and totalitarianismThe soviet Union claimed the high ground in the struggle

against western imperialism

Effects of World War II (Choose 3 for your Key Ideas!)

Cold WarNew superpowersNuremberg trialsUnited NationsU.S. involved in world affairsArms raceNew military alliancesSpread of communism