Download - Aftermath of World War II
Aftermath of World War II
Dealing with Enemies – Old and New
GermanyUnconditional surrender
May 8, 1945
Morgenthau PlanDismembermentDemilitarizationDeindustrialization
Potsdam PlanFour occupation zones
Some land to Poland
Denazification
Expulsions
Nuremberg Trials
DeathMartin Borman (Nazi Party Secretary)Wilhelm Frick (authored Nuremberg Laws)Hermann Göring (Hitler’s Second)Joachim von Ribbentrop (Foreign Minister)
PrisonRudolph Hess (Hitler’s Deputy)Albert Speer (Hitler’s Architect)
JapanUnconditional Surrender
August 9, 1945
US Occupation1945-52Gen. MacArthur
No military
Japanese War Crimes Trials
• At surrender over 500 officers commit suicide
• Emperor is exonerated; remains figurehead
• About 900 tried and executed – mostly for treatment of Allied prisoners
The United NationsDumbarton Oaks, 1944
Major Features
Yalta, 1945Expanded membership
San Francisco, 1945United Nations Charter
The United NationsHQ: New York City
Money donated by John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
Security CouncilFive “permanent” members have vetoUS, UK, France, Russia, China
1946: League of Nations is dissolved
Eleanor RooseveltAppointed by Truman as UN DelegateInstrumental in creating Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)
Election of 1948Truman
Support for Israel
Embraces Civil RightsIntegration of military
Push for health care reform
Trying to keep New Deal legacy alive
Election of 1948
TrumanExpected to lose
George Dewey, Republican
Democratic defectorStrom Thurmond“Dixiecrat” Party
“Whistle Stop” Tour