Notes for World History
EFFECTS OF THE WAR
- Enormous destruction: Almost 40 million people were killed, 20 million went homeless, the most notorious was Holocaust.
- No all-inclusive peace settlement: Unlike at the end of the First World War, when an all-inclusive settlement was negotiated at Versailles, no such settlement was made this time mainly because of the distrust between USSR and the west.
- Production of nuclear weapons: The first ever use of nuclear weapons- on Hiroshima and Nagasaki- was made during this war. The world was left under the threat of nuclear war.
- Europe’s domination ended: The four western European states- France, Italy, Germany, and Britain- were now much weaker than before.
- Emergence of superpowers: The USA and the USSR emerged as the two most powerful nations in the world. The Americans had the largest navy and air force and the USSR had the largest army in the world.
- Decolonization: The war encouraged the movement towards decolonization. The defeats of Britain, Holland and France by Japan, and the Japanese occupation of their territories destroyed the tradition of European superiority and invincibility. This intensified the demands of of independence in colonized countries.
- United Nations Organization: This emerged as the successor to the League of Nations. Its main aim was to maintain the world peace, and it has been more successful that its predecessor-the League of Nations.
