World War II and its Aftermath in Europe

Submitted by:

Jan Martin Justo

Bezalel Casas

Kirk Albert Garcia

Rency Nheal Abainza

IV-Bookkeeping

Submitted to:

Prof. Christine A. del Rosario

26 January 2012
 Outline:

Thesis Statement: World War II in Europe had a significant impact on history

due to the following: the spread and its onset, fall of political leaders, and the

start of change and new beginnings that was experienced by the whole world

and formed the sovereign nations of today.

I. Onset and spread of war

a. Collapse of economy

b. Expansion and colonialism

c. Population decline

d. Destruction of infrastructures

II. Fall of political leaders

a. Adolf Hitler

b. Benito Mussolini

c. Winston Churchill

d. Joseph Stalin

III. New beginning and change

a. Recovery from the war

b. Differences in the type of government

 c. Rise of European nations

d. Establishment of United Nations

World War II and its Aftermath in Europe

World War II was a global conflict that was underway by 1939 and ended

in 1945. It involved most of the world's nations—including all of the great

powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and

the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, with more than

100 million military personnel mobilized. In a state of "total war", the major

participants placed their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities at

the service of the war effort, erasing the distinction between civilian and military

resources. Marked by significant events involving the mass death of civilians,

including the Holocaust and the only use of nuclear weapons in warfare, it is

the deadliest conflict in human history, resulting in 50 million to over 70 million

fatalities (Wikipedia.com). This war brought tremendous devastation to the

whole world particularly in the prosperous continent of Europe.

Forced deportation, mass evacuation and displacement of people took

place in many of the countries involved in World War II. These were caused both

by the direct hostilities between Axis and Allied powers, and the border changes
enacted in the pre-war settlement. The crisis in former Axis-occupied territories

after liberation provided the context for much of the new

international refugee and human rights architecture that survives today

(Wikipedia.com).

World War II in Europe had a significant impact on history due to the

following: the spread and its onset, fall of political leaders, and the start of

change and new beginnings that was experienced by the whole world and

formed the sovereign nations of today. By the end of the war, the European

economy had collapsed with 70% of the industrial infrastructure destroyed. The

strength of the economic recovery following the war varied throughout the

world though it was generally quite robust. The economy had been devastated.

The United Kingdom became a debtor nation and was in a state of economic ruin

after the war. Roughly a quarter of the Soviet Union's capital resources were

destroyed and industrial and agricultural output in 1945 fell. Italy was in a poor

economic condition but in 1950’s Italian economy was marked by stability and

high growth (countriesquest.com).

France rebounded quickly and enjoyed rapid economic growth and

modernization under Monnet Plan. Some of the territories were evacuated

during the war or before it, as part of the course of the war. Most of the people

expelled were sent as slave labor in Germany or to concentration camps.

 Soviet expansion in Europe (as a result of Stalin's need to create a buffer

zone for the USSR to protect itself from future invasion - they had suffered heavy

casualties in WWII, whilst the US had flourished economically) was seen by the

US as Stalin trying to spread communism, which to an extent was true

(Wikipedia.com).

The capitalist US was afraid of communism, which eventually led to the

Red Scare. As a result of soviet expansionism, the US decided to set up 'Marshall

Aid,' which set up funds for the countries of Eastern Europe at threat of falling to

communism, much to Stalin's dismay. Soviet expansionism really did stem the

whole cold war - it brought to the forefront the US's fear of communism and total

hostility - the proxy war began over Marshall Aid and the Berlin Airlift in 1948,

which were a result of Soviet expansionism (Answers.com). Population greatly

decreased during and after the war. It caused more terrible losses in human lives

and properties than the First World War. The Soviet Union suffered enormous

losses in the war against Germany. The Soviet population decreased by about 40

million during the war; of these, 8.7 million were combat deaths. The 19 million

non-combat deaths had a variety of causes: starvation in the siege of Leningrad;

conditions in German prisons and concentration camps; mass shootings of

civilians; harsh labour in German industry; famine and disease; conditions in

Soviet camps; and service in German or German-controlled military units

fighting the Soviet Union. The population of Germany was treated significantly

worse. Over 60 million people were killed, which was over 2.5% of the world

population. World War II fatality statistics vary, estimates of total dead ranging

from 50 million to over 70 million.

The sources cited in this article document had an estimated death toll in

World War II of 62 to 78 million, making it the deadliest war in world history in

absolute terms of total dead but not in terms of deaths relative to the world

population. Many millions of lives and infrastructures had been lost as a result

of the war (Wikipedia.com).

During the World War II, many political leaders and powerful people fell

and were defeated by the United States of America. Some of them are Adolf

Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin. The actions of

Hitler, and Hitler's ideology, Nazism, are almost universally regarded as gravely

immoral. Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was

developed first by Anton Drexler and then Adolf Hitler as a means to draw

workers away from communism and into nationalism. Nazism

promoted political violence, militarism, and war, it conceived of politics as being

a "battle". Between 1939 and 1945 there were many attempts or plans

to assassinate Hitler, some of which proceeded to significant degrees.

 The most well-known attempt came from within Germany during World

War II and was at least partly driven by the increasing prospect of a German

defeat in the war. On 30 April 1945, after intense street-to-street combat, when

Soviet troops were within a block or two of the Reich Chancellery, Hitler and

Braun committed suicide (Wikipedia.com).

Hitler's policies and orders resulted in the death of approximately 40

million people, including about 27 million in the Soviet Union. Historians,

philosophers, and politicians have often applied the word "evil" to describe

Hitler's ideology and its outcomes. Hitler is regarded as one of the most

significant leaders in World history. Mussolini had been traveling with retreating

German forces and was apprehended while attempting to escape recognition by

wearing a German military uniform. The military-industrial complex he fostered

pulled Germany out of the post-World War I economic crisis and, at its height,

controlled the greater part of Europe. The embrace of total war both by the Axis

and Allied powers during this time led to the destruction of much of Europe.

Hitler is almost universally held responsible for the racial policy of Nazi

Germany, the Holocaust, and the death and displacement of millions occurring

during his leadership. An important factor in fascism gaining support in its

earliest stages was the fact that it claimed to oppose discrimination based on

social class and was strongly opposed to all forms of class war.
 Fascism instead supported nationalist sentiments such as a strong unity,

regardless of class, in the hopes of raising Italy up to the levels of its

great Roman past. The ideological basis for fascism came from a number of

sources. After being shot, kicked, and spat upon, the bodies were hung upside

down on meathooks from the roof of an Esso gas station. The bodies were then

stoned by civilians from below (Wikipedia.com).

This was done both to discourage any Fascists from continuing the fight

and as an act of revenge for the hanging of many partisans in the same place by

Axis authorities. The corpse of the deposed leader became subject to ridicule and

abuse. Mussolini's National Fascist Party was banned in the

postwar Constitution of Italy, but a number of successor neo-fascist parties

emerged to carry on its legacy. After the outbreak of the Second World War, the

day Britain declared war on Germany, Churchill was appointed First Lord of the

Admiralty and a member of the War Cabinet, as he had been during the first part

of the First World War. In this job, he proved to be one of the highest-profile

ministers during the so-called "Phoney War", when the only noticeable action

was at sea. Churchill advocated the pre-emptive occupation of the neutral

Norwegian iron-ore port of Narvik and the iron mines in Kiruna, Sweden, early

in the war. However, Chamberlain and the rest of the Cabinet disagreed, and the

operation was delayed until the successful German invasion of Norway.

 As Europe celebrated peace at the end of six years of war, Churchill was

concerned with the possibility that the celebrations would soon be brutally

interrupted. He concluded that the UK and the US must anticipate the Red Army

ignoring previously agreed frontiers and agreements in Europe, and prepare to

"impose upon Russia the will of the United States and the British Empire." After

the General Election of 1951, Churchill again held the office of Minister of

Defense between October 1951 and January 1952. He also became prime minister

in October 1951, and his third government—after the wartime national

government and the brief caretaker government of 1945—lasted until his

resignation in April 1955. His domestic priorities in his last government were

overshadowed by a series of foreign policy crises, which were partly the result of

the continued decline of British military and imperial prestige and power. Being

a strong proponent of Britain as an international power, Churchill would often

meet such moments with direct action (Wikipedia.com).

When Stalin came to power in the Soviet Union – the entire Soviet system

was a mess. The USSR was a disorganized, under-developed, and largely

agricultural expanse. The economy was stagnant and broken. Stalin instituted a

whole slew of reforms – coming down with a heavy hand in order to motive

change. He was absolutely ruthless in his aim to industrialize the USSR. It was

only than that Stalin launched a massive offensive against Hitler and the Nazis.
It was this campaign that earned him the title of Time Magazine's "Person of the

Year" twice. Stalin was effectively the dictator of the Soviet Union. His forced

collectivization of agriculture cost millions of lives, while his programme of

rapid industrialization achieved huge increases in Soviet productivity and

economic growth but at great cost (blog.richmond.edu). Moreover, the

population suffered immensely during the Great Terror of the 1930s, during

which Stalin purged the party of 'enemies of the people', resulting in the

execution of thousands and the exile of millions to the gulag system of slave

labor camps (bbc.co.uk). Stalin's health deteriorated towards the end of World

War II. He suffered from atherosclerosis from his heavy smoking. He suffered a

mild stroke around the time of the Victory parade, and a severe heart attack in

October 1945. It has been suggested that Stalin was assassinated

(Wikipedia.com). Some regard Stalin as a political hero who helped lead the

Soviet Union out of the dark ages and into the modern world. Others regard him

as a ruthless, evil dictator who is worthy of no title other than mass murderer

(blog.richmond.edu). These political leaders brought dramatic changes in Europe

and it helped them become advance and productive which we can still see today.

At the end of the war, millions of people were homeless, the European

economy had collapsed, and much of the European industrial infrastructure had

been destroyed. The war ended with the total victory of the Allies over the Axis
in 1945. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the

world. To help rebuild the country, the Soviet government obtained limited

credits from Britain and Sweden; it refused assistance offered by the United

States under the Marshall Plan (Wikipedia.com).

Under the plan, during 1948-1952 the United States government allocated

US$13 billion (US$128 billion in 2011 dollars) for the reconstruction of Western

Europe. The plan was in operation for four years beginning in April 1948. The

goals of the United States were to rebuild a war-devastated region, remove trade

barriers, modernize industry, and make Europe prosperous again. It addressed

each of the obstacles to postwar recovery. The plan looked to the future, and did

not focus on the destruction caused by the war. Much more important were

efforts to modernize European industrial and business practices using high-

efficiency American models, reduce artificial trade barriers, and instill a sense of

hope and self-reliance. Instead of accepting the offer by the US, the Soviet Union

compelled Soviet-occupied Eastern Europe to supply machinery and raw

materials. The U.S. sought to promote an economically strong and politically

united Western Europe to counter the threat posed by the Soviet Union. This was

done openly using tools such as the European Recovery Program, which

encouraged European economic integration. The Soviet Union experienced

rapid increase production in the immediate post-war era (Wikipedia.com).

Stalin's expansionism was a problem as he was trying to take Poland and

Germany, Poland, the country that England had entered WWII for in the first

place. The real problem came to a head when Stalin infringed on the "declaration

on liberation Europe" which stated that eastern Europeans countries had the

freedom to choose the type of government under which they lived

(answers.com). Austria was separated from Germany and divided into four

zones of occupation. The destruction of Europe and the destruction of a

significant portion of the United Kingdom's cities (via aerial bombing) would

also ruin the reputation of the imperial nations in the eyes of their colonies

(Wikipedia.com). Communist East Germany was created from the Soviet Zone of

occupation in Germany while the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia

emerged as an independent communist state not aligned with the USSR.

Democratic West Germany had declined economically during the first years of

Allied occupation (Absoluteastronomy.com).

The United Nations (UN) organization was established to foster

international cooperation and prevent future conflicts. The Soviet Union and the

United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War,

which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great

powers started to decline, while the decolonization of Asia and Africa began.

Most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic
recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to

stabilize postwar relations. It is an international organization whose stated aims

are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic

development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace.

The UN was founded in 1945 after World War II to replace the League of

Nations, to stop wars between countries, and to provide a platform for dialogue.

It contains multiple subsidiary organizations to carry out its missions. Because of

the widespread recognition that humankind could not afford a third world war,

the United Nations was established to replace the flawed League of Nations in

1945 in order to maintain international peace and promote cooperation in solving

international economic, social and humanitarian problems (Wikipedia.com).

Overall, even though the Second World War had damaged a lot of

infrastructures and casualties in almost every nation, it eventually resulted to

good things like the establishment of today’s European nations and the creation

of the United Nations that shaped and formed the whole world towards

becoming sovereign and progressive.

 Works Cited:

Santos, Teresita Ocampo and Ramona Karasig-Villa. World History. Quezon

City: New Horizon Publishing, 2009

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aftermath_of_World_War_II

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Aftermath_of_World_War_II

http://www.countriesquest.com/europe/united_kingdom/history/world_war_ii_a

nd_its_aftermath/postwar_britain.htm

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_did_the_Soviet_Expansion_in_Eastern_Europe

_result_in_the_cold_war#ixzz0Ve4HmVCq

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/End_of_World_War_II_in_Europe

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/stalin_joseph.shtml

http://blog.richmond.edu/psyc449/2010/12/02/joseph-stalin-rise-fall-repeat/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benito_Mussolini

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_hitler
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_stalin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_World_War_II

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_nations

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Recovery_Program

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_churchill