CONTEMPORARY HISTORY

What happened after the victory day?

The legacy of World War II and V-Day.
Victory in Europe Day (May 8,1945) after the war.
After 4 years of service in the war everyone celebrated on the streets.
Between 1939 and 1946, over 100 million people from over 30 countries were directly involved
in the second world war, and and estimated of 70m million people died; over 4 times as many
as in the world war I. the war was waged in Europe and the Atlantic in the pacific and southeast
Asia and china.
Air raids on Japan the houses were destructed due to bombing
Mos t of the deaths in World War 2 was from the Soviet Union within (1946-91), they lost
almost half of their population.
Berlin was the center of our world because everything happened in Germany.
The war ended in May but in the pacific was still going on until August (Atomic bombs).
Also called:
“The great patriotic war” or “the war of liberation”
THE REFUGEE PROBLEM
- 27 million European refugees
a. Prisoners of war
b. Forced workers
- UNRRA/IRO
a. 767 refugee camps (1945-1957)
- Refugees
b. Western Europeans
- Displaced
a. Eastern Europeans
b. Without a country
c. Did not want to return to their former countries, especially the Soviet Union.

THE GRAND ALLIANCE (1941-1945)

THE BIG THREE
1. Tehran (November 28-29, 1943)
2. Baltic annexation by the USSR
3. German unconditional surrender
4. Second front: D DAY ***
They will fight until the end they will not give up until Germany is defeated.
1943 Europe was peaceful.

YALTA CONFERENCE (February 1945)

1. The most important one
2. Polish new borders & provisional government
 3. Occupation zones in Germany and Austria
4. Soviet intervention against Japan.

1995 SAAR. European union = solidarity

POSTDAM (July 17- august 2, 1945)

1. Acceptance of France as a victory

2. German reparations $20 million
3. German industry dismantled
4. Division of Berlin in four zones
5. Revision of German Polish Borders
6. Nuremberg trials
THE NUREMBERG TRIALS
1. 13 trials carried out in Nuremberg, Germany =, between 1945 and 1949
2. The defendants were Nazi Party officials and high-ranking military officers along with German
industrialist, lawyers and doctor crimes against peace and crimes against humanity
3. 12 were sentenced to death, one in absentia and the rest were given prison sentences ranging
from 10 years to life behind the bars.
- The Nuremberg trials established that all the humanity would be guarded by an international
legal shield and that even a Head of State would be held criminally responsible and punished for
aggression and crimes against humanity. The right of humanitarian intervention to pu a stop to
crimes against humanity.

THE AMERICAN CENTURY

Read the cold war. Chapters one and two September.

Do groups of 8 people, choose the topic that you want to talk about

An economic superpower

In 1945 only 7%. Of the worlds human beings, the US had

- 1/3 of the world’s income
- Produced 60% of the worlds manufactured goods
- Its gold and foreign exchange reserves were, excluding the USSR, 78% of the worlds total.
- Produced 1/2 of the worlds coal, 2/3 of the world’s electricity
- During the war, produced 95 million tons of steel and 100,000 aircraft annually
- An industrial capacity that by the end of 1940’s was greater than the rest of the worlds countries
combined.
The United States wanted to control the world.

THE ATLANTIC CHARTER AUGUST 14TH, 1941

 - Joint statement by USA and UK
- An outline for the postwar world
- No territorial gains
- Territorial adjustments according to people concerned
- Right to self determination
- Lowering of trader barriers
- Global economic cooperation and social welfare
- World free of want and fear
- Freedom of the seas
- Common disarmament after the war

India is an example of a country that was divided among people concerns, who could not share
the same territory. The British empire was a multicultural empire that share one thing, which
was the empire.

UNITED NATIONS

The United Nations officially began, on 24 October 1945,

- Modelled after the USA constitution

- Collective security
- Non- interference in domestic affairs
- Security council
a. Great Britain
b. Republic of China
c. France
d. USSR
e. USA
They tried to stopped aggressions from all over the world. Making resolutions. Based on public
diplomacy which means we will share the same problems. The United Nations are not a world
government. It has a less effective way of dealing with people.

SYSTEM OF THE COLLECTIVE SECURITY

- Conference of San Francisco (April-June 1945)

- United nations principles:
a. Peace and international security
b. Self- determination of people
c. Universal declaration of human rights
d. Peaceful
UN general assembly. Each one of the people on the room represent a country.

UN
1. General assembly
2. Secretariat
 3. International court of justice
4. Trusteeship council
5. Security council
6. Economic and social council

TIMELINE

1946: revolution 96: the crime of genocides

1947: Resolution 181: the 1947 UNGA ‘partition resolution regarding the British Mandate of
Palestine.
1948: Resolution 217: Universal declaration of human rights.

THE SECRETARIET
- Executive arm
- Setting the agenda for decision making bodies
- Run by the secretary general, appointed by the General Assembly.

The Council is composed of 15 Members:

There are five permanent members: China, France, Russia Federation, The United Kingdom, and
the United States. Followed by ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms by the
general assembly.

The ones who won the second world war, are the ones will be in charge.
Makes the list of topics that will be touch during the year.

THE BRETTON WOODS AGREEMENT (1944)

There were different ways to rule and operate their own economy.
- It started whit a conference the 22nd of July 1944. 730 delegates from all 44 allied
nations gathered at the mount, Washington hotel in Bretton woods.
- A set of rules was created: Chief features
a. An obligation for each country to adopt a monetary policy that maintained its
external exchange rates within 1 percent by tying its currency to gold.
b. Ability of the international monetary fund IMF to bridge temporary imbalance of
payments (most part of the gold from the world was in the United States) The US
dollar was the main source of exchange.
c. The system was liberal
d. Market forces into a framework where they could be regulated by national
government. State-led development strategies, short term IMF borrowing.

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND IMF

 - Established in 1945 by 23 countries
- Reconstruct the international monetary system
- Allowed system to balance the rebuilding of international capitalism with the
maximization of national economic.
- His main role is to borrow money to the countries

**International Bank for Reconstruction and Developments

General agreement on Tariffs and trade (GATT)**

THE COLD WAR

The cold war was a failure to reconcile new principles. Having tree main countries these being:

1. United states
2. United Kingdom (they lost more of their power at the war, they had a huge economic
crisis right after the war finished) looking for survival
3. Soviet Union (consider the second winner of the war after United states, conquer most
of Europe, china, Korea, and middle east, it was a competition between power with
different interests with the United States)

- Soviet Union: eastern Europe and central

- Great Britain: middle east, Mediterranean
- United states: Latin America, china, and Japan.

The long telegram (1946)

George F. Kennan, February 22, 1946. He did a summary of a completely different way of how
societies live. And trying to explain how Russian politics work. Russia did not have the same
power the United States did. Explains how Russia will be a treat because they have the sources
to do so.
Kennan’s insights in the “Sources of Soviet conduct” (1946)

The United States did huge mistakes in his strategy since they were not able to identify a
main purpose.

**Novikov Telegram** (1946)

Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” Speech in Fulton 5/03/1946

 There will be a competition between countries, a “total war”, being fought as
propaganda and ideology.

The Turkish straits crisis

This was a deciding factor to declare the “Truman Doctrine”. They asked the united
nation and united states for protection, they sent money to help them out.

The Truman doctrine: March 12. 1947 speech:

Why is it call the cold war? It was not an actual war, there was no declaration of war.
Known as a proxy war. They fought with unconventional methods such as propaganda.

McCarthyism and the red scare. He led a huge campaign to spread fear to every person
who would support communism.

The Marshall Plan 1948

European recovery program (ERP): financial aid from the US to help postwar
reconstruction.
Communism was strong in European’s mind, the only way to know that capitalism is better we
need to send money 13million dollars, economic integration, and promotion of free markets.
Only send to countries willing to accept democracy.

NATO the Atlantic alliance 1949 most part of the countries in Europe become part of this
alliance
Warsaw Pact 1955 the USSR was the one who will have the power. And countries will support
communism.
Germany was the most powerful country in Europe, and it became the main problem.
The USSR was against Germany. And they did not have much control over Germany.
USA+Britain will ally with Germany.
The nuclear powers, Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) if on person attacks, the other can do it
to, it would be a self-destruction.
ARMS RACE, most part of the economy of the countries was used to create nuclear arm.

The civil ware dilemma was:

 Nuclear build up to deter enemy aggression
 Risk of bringing nuclear war by accident
 Soviet Union expanded its nuclear arsenal in the 1960’s.

National Security Act July 1947:

There was a division between the military and the navy.
Navy, Army and Airforce were prepared to attack in any minute. The Department of War will
make the decisions.

CIA
The most important agency funded at that time
They were based on civilian people; they work not only in their own grounds but in the whole
world.
Civilian foreign intelligence service.
The CIA works with a semilegal status, a senior officer can deny any responsibility.
1948 Italy, a large communist party of millions of people about to win the elections, however,
the CIA gave 20 millions of dollars to the other campaign to win the elections, and the political
party stay in power for the next years.
CLIMAX:
USSR: Stalin 1941-1953
US: 3 presidents: 1. Truman 1945-1953 2. Eisenhower 1953-1961 3. Kennedy 1961-1963
The berlin Blockade, the western countries decided to take a big step. France, Great Britain, and
United States got together. They were violating the division of Germany

The origins of the Korean war:

 Korea was divided by the allies in two occupation zones

The Korean war: 1950-1953

 The republic of Korea was formed in August 1948, with Syngman Rhee as president