World War II – The Immediate Consequences of the War’s End

Unit 5 Chapter 26 Section 4

Unit 6 Chapter 27 Section 1

7.2.3 Part 5

Consequences of World War II - Devastation

• Germany• 500,000 German

civilians killed• Transportation and

fuel supplies destroyed

• Japan• Cities were destroyed

– Lack of Air Force– Cities made from flimsy

material collapsed quickly

The Atomic Bombs

• August 6, 1945 – “Enola Gay” drops “Little Boy” on Hiroshima– 190,000 killed

• August 9, 1945 – “Bockscar” drops “Fat Man” on Nagasaki– 73,000 killed

Consequences of World War II - Population

• Total deaths range anywhere from 60-80 million

• United States loses over 400,000

• Soviet Union loses almost 24,000,000

• Germany loses between 8 and 10% of their population

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Millions

Consequences of World War II - Population

• Holocaust results in 11,000,000 dead

• 6,000,000 of which are Jewish– 2/3’s of all European Jews killed

• Poland lost approximately 3,000,000 citizens

Consequences of World War II – The Atomic Age

• United States – Only country with nuclear weapons

• August, 1949 – USSR tests its first nuclear weapon

• USA vs. USSR in an arms race– Who can build the most

nuclear weapons

• Size of weapons and armies (arsenal) used in fighting Cold War– A war with no actual direct

conflict

Consequences of World War II – Germany and Japan

• Germany divided into east and west

• Berlin, the largest city, also divided– USA, England and

France control West– USSR controls East– Berlin Wall becomes

symbol of Cold War

• Japan cannot maintain their own army

• United States essentially acts as Japanese army

The Cold War

• No direct conflict between USSR and USA• Arms race begins in preparation for war

– 1949: USSR tests its first atomic bomb

• Suspicions of Communists within the United States

• Conflicts in Korea and Vietnam for Communist expansion

• Space race grows for inter-stellar colonization