The Peace of WWII
Now we are going to look at what actually happened to the winners and losers of WWII. Below is information about the goals of the winners and the goals of the losing countries along with the final agreements of the war. Use information from the passages to complete the attached graphic organizer. When you have finished, complete the final questions at the bottom of the page.
PART I: COUNTRY GOALS
The Winners
The three major winners of the war (the “Big Three”) were Britain, the United States and the USSR. All of these countries agreed that the Axis powers had to surrender unconditionally. This meant that defeated countries would be required to accept all post-war agreements made by the victors.
The United States and Great Britain
In a 1941 agreement called the Atlantic Charter, the United States and Great Britain outlined their vision for postwar peace. This document included the following goals:
· The U.S. and Great Britain would not take any new colonies as a result of the war.
· People should have the right to determine their own forms of government (national self-determination).
· An international association of United Nations should be formed to maintain world peace.
Both the United States and Great Britain wanted Europe to be rebuilt and new, stable governments to be established in the former German-occupied territories.
The Soviet Union:
The Soviet Union (USSR) was the hardest hit of any country in World War II. 20 million Soviet citizens were killed during the war and many cities and industries were destroyed. Because the USSR suffered such heavy losses during the war, it wanted to permanently disable Germany. The Soviet Union also demanded reparations (payments) from Germany to pay for lost lives and property.
Another main goal of the USSR was to protect itself from future invasions from the west. To accomplish this, the Soviet Union wanted to maintain control over the Eastern European countries it had liberated from the Axis forces at the end of the war, hoping that these countries would form a sort of buffer zone (shield).
The Losers
The main losers of World War II – Japan and Germany – suffered devastating losses during World War II. Large numbers of German and Japanese civilians were killed and most major cities were destroyed. Both countries hoped to be able to rebuild their countries and to create stable governments. They also hoped to avoid having to surrender unconditionally since it would place the losing countries at the mercy of the Allied Powers. Finally, Germany and Japan hoped to avoid a long-term occupation by Allied forces after the war.
PART II: Final Agreements
There were several areas of WWII agreements: Fill in the organizer as you learn how WWII was resolved…
1. Unconditional Surrender
2. The Yalta and Potsdam Conferences
3. Occupation of Japan and Germany
4. The Nuremburg Trials: Putting War Criminals on Trial
1. Unconditional Surrender
In 1945, the Axis powers surrendered unconditionally to the Allied forces. Not long afterwards, the Big Three powers (Britain, the US and Russia) presented the losing side with a series of peace treaties known as the Yalta and Potsdam agreements. Read the key clauses below.
2. The Yalta & Potsdam Agreements
1. The three governments will help the people in any European state: (a) to establish peace; (b) to provide economic relief; (c) to hold free, democratic, elections.
2. The United Kingdom, the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) shall have supreme authority (total control) over Germany and Japan.
3. Germany must pay for the losses caused by her to the Allied nations in the course of the war. However, payment of these reparations should leave enough resources to enable the German people to live without foreign aid.
4. Germany would be forced to go through demilitarization (it must dismantle its military) and denazification (the removal of any remnants of the Nazi regime in society, culture, press, economy, judiciary and politics).
5. Destruction of German industrial war-potential through the destruction or control of all industry with military potential. To this end, all civilian shipyards and aircraft factories were to be dismantled or otherwise destroyed. All production capacity associated with war-potential, such as metals, chemical, machinery etc were to be reduced to a minimum level.
6. A "Committee on Dismemberment of Germany" was to be set up with the purpose of deciding whether Germany was to be divided into several nations.
7. Membership in an international association, known as the United Nations, is open to all peace-loving States (Axis and Allied)
3. Occupation of Japan and Germany
At the end of the Second World War, Japan was occupied by the Allied Powers, led by the United States. This was the first time in Japanese history that the island nation had been occupied by a foreign power.
The occupation accomplished the following goals
A. Japan was forced to eliminate its army (Disarmament)
B. Japan became a Democratic state, with a constitution and political system that is modeled after the United States. The emperor became the symbolic head of Japan, with no real political power. (Democratization)
C. The Allied forces also occupied Germany. Germany was divided into four separate zones – a British, French, Soviet and American zone.
4. The Nuremburg Trials: Putting War Criminals on Trial
After World War II, the Allies decided to put the military and political leaders of Nazi Germany on trial in an international court (Hitler had committed suicide, so he was not put on trial). The trials were held in Germany from 1945-1949 and were meant to “De-Nazify” Germany. German leaders were put on trial for the following crimes:
Planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression and other crimes against peace
War crimes
Crimes against humanity
Of the twelve defendants sentenced to death by hanging, two were not hanged: Hermann Göring committed suicide the night before the execution and Martin Bormann was not present when convicted. The remaining ten defendants sentenced to death were hanged.