WAW: Lesson - World War II: Aftermath

World War II: Aftermath

World War II Negotiations

Leaders of the "Big Three" (United States, United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union) met three times throughout the course of World War II to discuss the military strategy and possibilities for the postwar world. Each had deeply different visions of what the world should look like following an Allied victory, but compromised at the Tehran, Yalta, and Potsdam conferences.

Select each conference below for additional details on who was present and what was discussed.

Tehran Conference
Left to Right: Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill in Tehran.
The Big 3 representatives: Josef Stalin for the USSR, Franklin D Roosevelt for the USA, and Winston Churchill for the UK.

Discussions:

  1. Simultaneous attack on Europe (UK and USA push from the West and USSR push from the East)
  2. After Germany’s defeat, USSR would help the USA fight in the Pacific in exchange for the land they gained in Eastern Europe
  3. Iran would be an independent nation
Yalta Conference
Left to Right: Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin in Yalta.The Big 3 representatives: Winston Churchill for the UK, Franklin D Roosevelt for the USA, and Josef Stalin for the USSR. Roosevelt’s health had declined; he died 2 months later.

Discussions:

  1. Germany divided into 4 occupation zones (UK, USA, USSR, France), war criminals would be tried, and change the government
  2. After Germany’s defeat, USSR join the USA in the Pacific for “sphere of influence” in China
  3. USSR joins the United Nations (UN)
Tehran Conference
Left to Right: Attlee, Truman, and Stalin in Potsdam.The Big 3 representatives: newly-elected Clement Attlee for the UK, Harry Truman for the USA, and Josef Stalin for the USSR.

Discussions:

  1. Demilitarize the Axis powers (Germany and Japan) and Denazify Germany
  2. Replace Japan's government

One thing that all of the “Big Three” agreed on was the failure of the League of Nations. It was replaced by the United Nations in 1946. While both bodies had the goal of preventing war, the Security Council of the United Nations could vote to act. The five countries with permanent voting power on the UN Security Council were: the USA, the UK, France, USSR (now Russia), and China. 

American Plans for Europe and Japan

Since the European victory happened first, this was also the first area to be revitalized. For the most part, the zones occupied by Great Britain, the United States, and France worked together to rebuild Germany. Under the Marshall Plan, the United States provided $13 billion to rebuild Western Europe—both structurally and economically. For the United States and Western Europe, the Marshall Plan was a mutually beneficial investment that allowed Europe to regain confidence in its economic future and the United States to have a strong market with which to trade.

The United States then turned towards Japan. The MacArthur Plan, named for General Douglas MacArthur, had the goal of preventing future warfare from Japan. First, the nation was demilitarized, and the war criminals were tried. Emperor Hirohito was spared because MacArthur identified Hideki Tojo as the real instigator. Then, Japan was turned into a constitutional monarchy, notably without emperor worship. Finally, Japan’s economy was restimulated, and poor farmers especially had a chance to own their own land. By 1951, the American occupation of Japan was completed, but Japan and the United States had developed a close alliance that continues to this day.

Germany divided by Allied powers after WW2The Formation of NATO and the Warsaw Pact

The Soviet Union was focused on its own vision of enhancing its influence in Eastern Europe which did not include American involvement. During World War II, as the Soviets pushed back the Nazis, they occupied Nazi-invaded land in Eastern Europe. After the war, the Soviets remained in those nations creating the Eastern Bloc of nations that ultimately converted to communism under Soviet influence.

The Soviet Union extended emigration restrictions to their satellite nations making it illegal to leave the nations without permission. Effectively, this put up an "Iron Curtain" that separated the democratic West from the communist East. However, some desperate Eastern Europeans discovered they could move to Soviet Germany, then to Soviet Berlin, then to Capitalist Berlin, and escape to Western Europe.

In 1948, Stalin cut off Western Berlin from the rest of Germany. In response, the United States, Great Britain, and France launched the Berlin Airlift. From 1948 to when restrictions were lifted in 1949, the Berlin Airlift included the shuttling of food and resources into Berlin via plane.

Image note: Germany was divided into four quadrants after World War II. Northwest (green): UK; Southwest (blue): France; Southeast (yellow): USA; Northeast (red): USSR. Berlin was also divided between UK, France, USA, and USSR.

Both the Soviets and Western Europe were frustrated at the events of 1948. In 1949, Western European and North American nations entered the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) creating a military alliance for defense. In reaction to the formation of NATO, the USSR led the formation of a pro-Communist alliance called the Warsaw Pact in 1955.

A map of the world immediately following WWII. Additional details included on the page.
Image text: Map of the NATO and USSR-allied countries.
The dark blue countries, including USA, Canada, Denmark, France, the UK, Portugal, Turkey, Greece, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Italy became NATO countries.
Green countries were "Western colonies" meaning that they were controlled by NATO countries and generally supported NATO, but were not member nations.
The dark red countries, including the USSR, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland ,and Romania became the Warsaw Pact.
Grey countries were not included in either pact.

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