Atomic Bomb Testing in America This was the testing of the
atomic bomb in New Mexico.
Dropping of Atomic Bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki A day that shook the world.
Genocide the deliberate and
systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group.
Imagine the look on the faces of the Allied troops when they came across the horrific scenes of the concentration camps.
Targets of Genocide
Jews Poles (Poland) Slavs (Yugoslavia) Gypsies “Undesireables”
Homosexuals Mentally ill Political opponents
Hitler’s “Final Solution”
The mass murder of all European Jews
There were so many corpses, thousands were incinerated in these crematories.
Concentration Camps
The most famous concentration camp was Auschwitz located in Poland.
1.1 Million people died here. 90% were Jewish.
Nuremberg Trials: 1945-1946
Twenty-two Nazi leaders are convicted for violating laws of war and humanity.
Individuals were held accountable for their roles in the mass murders.
“I was following orders” was not an acceptable excuse.
Twelve were hanged Seven given long jail
sentences
Social Psychology
How obedient would you be to a person of authority giving you instruction to behave in a way that inflicts pain upon others?
Consider how you might respond if you were placed in the same positions as the subjects of this study done by behavior psychologist Stanley Milgram.
Punishing Japan
Top Japanese war criminals were tried in Tokyo from 1946-1948
Eighteen received heavy prison terms
Seven of them were hanged.
Yalta Conference: Feb. 1945Prior to dropping ‘A’ Bomb on Japan
“The Big Three” Roosevelt, Churchill,
Stalin Determine how to
handle Germany and Europe after the war
Occupation zones would be assigned in Germany
Drew up plans for a future peacekeeping organization The United Nations
Yalta Conference Continued
Roosevelt attempted to get the Soviets to attack Japan from the West.
The Soviets agreed in return they would attain control over the railroads in Manchuria, China.
Poland and other smaller Eastern European nations would also soon come under the control of the Soviets after the war.
Rivalry with the Soviets Grows Mutual suspicions Communism vs.
Capitalism Britain and America left
out Soviets on plans of creating Nuclear Weapons Bred mistrust
The US stopped lend-lease trading with Soviets in 1945
The US refused a reconstruction loan to Soviets after giving one to the British.
The Soviet Union wished to secure its borders by having a “sphere of influence” in Eastern European nations.
Americans saw this as expansion and clashed with Roosevelt’s ideas of self-determination in a free world.
Both the US and Soviets attempted to get other nations to adopt their form of government.
The only glue to the alliance between the US and Soviet Union was their common enemy in Germany.
The Creation of a United Nations: April 25, 1945 Reps from 50
nations attended chartering conference in San Francisco.
Successor of the League of Nations
Different than the League of Nations in various ways.
United Nations
Created a Security Council of the “Big Five” US, Britain, Soviet Union,
France, and China
None of these nations could take action against other members without the consent of the group.
It was praised and supported at home unlike the League of Nations after WWI.
The headquarters of the League is located in New York City.
The League of Nations assumed that the members would help defend each other in case of violence whereas the United Nations assumed that the nations would cooperate.
Post-War Germany
Germany divided into 4 occupation zones
Each assigned to “Big Four” Allied powers France, GB, USA, USSR,
USSR installed Communist rule in Eastern Germany
Republics of France, GB, and USA occupied the new independent nation of Western Germany.
Soviet Union Rule in Eastern Europe As a way to secure
their western borders in Europe, the Soviets took control over the smaller eastern European nations such as Poland and Hungary.
These nations fell to Communist rule and were known as the “satellite” states.
The “Iron Curtain”
The Soviets established an “Iron Curtain” between Eastern and Western Europe.
Eastern Europe would become Communist and Western Europe would attempt to remain Democracy/Republic governments.
This Iron Curtain ran from the Baltic Sea to the Adriatic Sea.
Berlin Air Lift
In 1948 the Soviets blocked off all transportation to Berlin which stopped all Allied supplies.
American pilots began airlifting thousands of supplies to the city daily.
The Soviets eventually put down their blockade.
“Containment”
George F. Kennan The American belief
was that the Soviets were attempting to expand Communism.
The way to stop communism wasn’t to get rid of it….the best way to combat it was to contain it where it was and stop its spread.
Truman Doctrine
One way that we planned to stop the spread of communism was through monetary aid.
Truman asked for $400 million dollars to give to Greece and Turkey to help them combat communism.
President Truman was ready to provide monetary aid to any nation who was attempting to resist the subjugation of communist governments.
Marshall Plan: July 1947
Secretary of State George C. Marshall
Concerned that economically depressed France, Italy, and Germany would fall to Communism from the inside.
Called for $12.5 billion over 4 years in 16 cooperating countries in Europe.
The plan was a great success in helping keep communism out of Italy and France.
America D’s Up at Home
1947: National Security Act passed
Created the Dept. of Defense Housed in the Pentagon
The heads of all branches of military were the Joint Chiefs of Staff National Security Council
(NCS) Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA) Selective Service (Draft)
NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization April 4, 1949 Invitation to the US from
GB, France, Belgium, Netherlands, and Lux.
It was a pledge to regard an attack on one as an attack on all and a promise to respond with “armed force”.
Goal for Europe was to keep the Russians out, the Germans down, and the Americans in.