Immediate effects Aftermath of World War II

1 immediate effects

1.1 united kingdom
1.2 soviet union
1.3 germany
1.4 italy
1.5 austria
1.6 japan
1.7 finland
1.8 baltic states
1.9 population displacement

1.9.1 poland


1.10 rape during occupation

1.10.1 in europe
1.10.2 in japan

immediate effects

warsaw: aftermath of war.

at end of war, millions of people dead , millions homeless, european economy had collapsed, , of european industrial infrastructure had been destroyed. soviet union, too, had been heavily affected. in response, in 1947, u.s. secretary of state george marshall devised european recovery program , became known marshall plan. under plan, during 1948–1952 united states government allocated us$13 billion (us$139 billion in 2016 dollars) reconstruction of western europe.

united kingdom

by end of war, economy of united kingdom 1 of severe privation. more quarter of national wealth had been consumed. until introduction in 1941 of lend-lease aid us, uk had been spending assets purchase american equipment including aircraft , ships—over £437 million on aircraft alone. lend-lease came before reserves exhausted. britain had placed 55% of total labour force war production.

in spring 1945, labour party withdrew wartime coalition government, in effort oust winston churchill, forcing general election. following landslide victory, labour held more 60% of seats in house of commons , formed new government on 26 july 1945 under clement attlee.

britain s war debt described in american administration millstone round neck of british economy . although there suggestions international conference tackle issue, in august 1945 u.s. announced unexpectedly lend-lease programme end immediately.

the abrupt withdrawal of american lend lease support britain on 2 september 1945 dealt severe blow plans of new government. completion of anglo-american loan united states great britain on 15 july 1946 measure of economic stability restored. however, loan made support british overseas expenditure in immediate post-war years , not implement labour government s policies domestic welfare reforms , nationalisation of key industries. although loan agreed on reasonable terms, conditions included proved damaging fiscal conditions sterling. 1946-1948, uk introduced bread rationing never did during war.

soviet union

ruins in stalingrad, typical of destruction in many soviet cities.

the soviet union suffered enormous losses in war against germany. soviet population decreased 27 million during war; of these, 8.7 million combat deaths. 19 million non-combat deaths had variety of causes: starvation in siege of leningrad; conditions in german prisons , concentration camps; mass shootings of civilians; harsh labour in german industry; famine , disease; conditions in soviet camps; , service in german or german-controlled military units fighting soviet union. population not return pre-war level 30 years.

soviet ex-pows , civilians repatriated abroad suspected of having been nazi collaborators, , 226,127 of them sent forced labour camps after scrutiny soviet intelligence, nkvd. many ex-pows , young civilians conscripted serve in red army. others worked in labour battalions rebuild infrastructure destroyed during war.

the economy had been devastated. quarter of soviet union s capital resources destroyed, , industrial , agricultural output in 1945 fell far short of pre-war levels. rebuild country, soviet government obtained limited credits britain , sweden; refused assistance offered united states under marshall plan. instead, soviet union compelled soviet-occupied eastern europe supply machinery , raw materials. germany , former nazi satellites made reparations soviet union. reconstruction programme emphasised heavy industry detriment of agriculture , consumer goods. 1953, steel production twice 1940 level, production of many consumer goods , foodstuffs lower had been in late 1920s.

the immediate post-war period in europe dominated soviet union annexing, or converting soviet socialist republics, countries captured red army driving german invaders out of central , eastern europe. new soviet satellite states rose in poland, bulgaria, hungary, czechoslovakia, romania, albania, , east germany; last of these created soviet zone of occupation in germany. yugoslavia emerged independent communist state allied not aligned soviet union, owing independent nature of military victory of partisans of josip broz tito during world war ii in yugoslavia. allies established far eastern commission , allied council japan administer occupation of country while establishment allied control council, administered occupied germany. in accordance potsdam conference agreements, soviet union occupied , subsequently annexed strategic island of sakhalin.

germany


post-wwii occupation zones of germany, in 1937 borders, territories east of oder-neisse line shown annexed poland , soviet union, plus saar protectorate , divided berlin. east germany formed soviet zone, while west germany formed american, british, , french zones in 1949 , saar in 1957.

in west, alsace-lorraine returned france. sudetenland reverted czechoslovakia following european advisory commission s decision delimit german territory territory held on 31 december 1937. close 1 quarter of pre-war (1937) germany de facto annexed allies; 10 million germans either expelled territory or not permitted return if had fled during war. remainder of germany partitioned 4 zones of occupation, coordinated allied control council. saar detached , put in economic union france in 1947. in 1949, federal republic of germany created out of western zones. soviet zone became german democratic republic.

germany paid reparations united kingdom, france, , soviet union, in form of dismantled factories, forced labour, , coal. german standard of living reduced 1932 level. beginning after german surrender , continuing next 2 years, , britain pursued intellectual reparations programme harvest technological , scientific know-how patents in germany. value of these amounted around us$10 billion (us$123 billion in 2016 dollars). in accordance paris peace treaties, 1947, reparations assessed countries of italy, romania, hungary, bulgaria, , finland.

the hunger-winter of 1947, thousands protest against disastrous food situation (31 march 1947).

us policy in post-war germany april 1945 until july 1947 had been no should given germans in rebuilding nation, save minimum required mitigate starvation. allies immediate post-war industrial disarmament plan germany had been destroy germany s capability wage war complete or partial de-industrialization. first industrial plan germany, signed in 1946, required destruction of 1,500 manufacturing plants lower german heavy industry output 50% of 1938 level. dismantling of west german industry ended in 1951. 1950, equipment had been removed 706 manufacturing plants, , steel production capacity had been reduced 6.7 million tons. after lobbying joint chiefs of staff , generals lucius d. clay , george marshall, truman administration accepted economic recovery in europe not go forward without reconstruction of german industrial base on had been dependent. in july 1947, president truman rescinded on national security grounds directive had ordered occupation forces take no steps looking toward economic rehabilitation of germany. new directive recognised [a]n orderly, prosperous europe requires economic contributions of stable , productive germany. mid-1946 onwards germany received government aid through garioa programme. 1948 onwards west germany became minor beneficiary of marshall plan. volunteer organisations had been forbidden send food, in 1946 council of relief agencies licensed operate in germany founded. prohibition against sending care packages individuals in germany rescinded on 5 june 1946,

after german surrender, international red cross prohibited providing aid such food or visiting pow camps germans inside germany. however, after making approaches allies in autumn of 1945 allowed investigate camps in uk , french occupation zones of germany, provide relief prisoners held there. on 4 february 1946, red cross permitted visit , assist prisoners in u.s. occupation zone of germany, although small quantities of food. red cross petitioned improvements made in living conditions of german pows.

italy

the 1947 treaty of peace italy spelled end of italian colonial empire, along other border revisions. 1947 paris peace treaties compelled italy pay $360 million (us dollars @ 1938 prices) in war reparations: $125 million yugoslavia, $105 million greece, $100 million soviet union, $25 million ethiopia , $5 million albania. in 1946 italian constitutional referendum italian monarchy abolished, having been associated deprivations of war , fascist rule, in north.

unlike in germany , japan, no war crimes tribunals held against italian military , political leaders, though italian resistance summarily executed of them (such mussolini) @ end of war; togliatti amnesty, taking name communist party secretary @ time, pardoned wartime common , political crimes in 1946.

austria

the federal state of austria had been annexed germany in 1938 (anschluss, union banned treaty of versailles). austria (called ostmark germans) separated germany , divided 4 zones of occupation. austrian state treaty, these zones reunited in 1955 become republic of austria.

japan


the trust territory of pacific islands in micronesia administered united states 1947 1986




silent film footage taken in hiroshima in march 1946 showing survivors severe burns , keloid scars.

after war, allies rescinded japanese pre-war annexations such manchuria, , korea became independent. philippines , guam returned united states. burma, malaya , singapore returned britain , french indo-china france. dutch east indies handed dutch, resisted leading indonesian war independence. @ yalta conference, president franklin d. roosevelt had secretly traded japanese kurils , south sakhalin soviet union in return soviet entry in war japan. soviet union annexed kuril islands, provoking kuril islands dispute, ongoing, russia continues occupy islands.

hundreds of thousands of japanese forced relocate japanese main islands. okinawa became main staging point. covered large areas of military bases , continued occupy until 1972, years after end of occupation of main islands. bases still remain. skirt geneva convention, allies classified many japanese soldiers japanese surrendered personnel instead of pows , used them forced labour until 1947. uk, france, , netherlands conscripted japanese troops fight colonial resistances elsewhere in asia. general douglas macarthur established international military tribunal far east. allies collected reparations japan.

to further remove japan potential future military threat, far eastern commission decided de-industrialise japan, goal of reducing japanese standard of living prevailed between 1930 , 1934. in end, de-industrialisation programme in japan implemented lesser degree 1 in germany. japan received emergency aid garioa, did germany. in 1946, licensed agencies relief in asia formed , permitted supply japanese food , clothes. in april 1948 johnston committee report recommended economy of japan should reconstructed due high cost taxpayers of continuous emergency aid.

survivors of atomic bombings of hiroshima , nagasaki, known hibakusha (被爆者), ostracized japanese society. japan provided no special assistance these people until 1952. 65th anniversary of bombings, total casualties initial attack , later deaths reached 270,000 in hiroshima , 150,000 in nagasaki. 230,000 hibakusha still alive of 2010, , 2,200 suffering radiation-caused illnesses of 2007.

finland

in winter war of 1939–1940, soviet union invaded neutral finland , annexed of territory. 1941 until 1944, finland aligned nazi germany in failed effort regain lost territories soviets. finland retained independence following war, remained subject soviet-imposed constraints in domestic affairs.

the baltic states

in 1940 soviet union invaded , annexed neutral baltic states, estonia, latvia, , lithuania. in june 1941, soviet governments of baltic states carried out mass deportations of enemies of people ; result, many treated invading nazis liberators when invaded week later.

the atlantic charter promised self-determination peoples deprived of during war. british prime minister, winston churchill, argued weaker interpretation of charter permit soviet union continue control baltic states. in march 1944 u.s. accepted churchill s view atlantic charter did not apply baltic states.

with return of soviet troops @ end of war, forest brothers mounted guerrilla war. continued until mid-1950s.

population displacement


expulsion of germans sudetenland

as result of new borders drawn victorious nations, large populations found in hostile territory. soviet union took on areas formerly controlled germany, finland, poland, , japan. poland lost kresy region (about half of pre-war territory) , received of germany east of oder-neisse line, including industrial regions of silesia. german state of saar temporarily protectorate of france, later returned german administration. set forth @ potsdam, approximately 12 million people expelled germany, including 7 million germany proper, , 3 million sudetenland.

during war, united states government interned approximately 110,000 japanese americans , japanese lived along pacific coast of united states in wake of imperial japan s attack on pearl harbor. canada interned approximately 22,000 japanese canadians, 14,000 of whom born in canada. after war, internees chose return japan, while remained in north america.

poland

the soviet union expelled @ least 2 million poles east of new border approximating curzon line. estimate uncertain both polish communist government , soviet government did not keep track of number of expelled. number of polish citizens inhabiting polish borderlands (kresy region) 13 million before world war ii broke out according official polish statistics. polish citizens killed in war originated polish borderlands territory (killed both german nazi regime , soviet regime or expelled distant parts of siberia) accounted russian, ukrainian or belorussian casualties of war in official soviet historiography. fact imposes additional difficulties in making correct estimation of number of polish citizens forcibly transferred after war. border change reversed results of 1919-1920 polish-soviet war. former polish cities such lwów came under control of ukrainian soviet socialist republic. additionally, soviet union transferred more 2 million people within own borders; these included germans, finns, crimean tatars, , chechens.

rape during occupation

in europe

as soviet troops marched across balkans, committed rapes , robberies in romania, hungary, czechoslovakia , yugoslavia. population of bulgaria largely spared treatment, due possibly sense of ethnic kinship or leadership of marshal fyodor tolbukhin. population of germany treated worse. rape , murder of german civilians bad as, , worse than, nazi propaganda had anticipated. political officers encouraged soviet troops seek revenge , terrorise german population. on basis of hochrechnungen (projections or estimations) , 1.9 million german women altogether raped @ end of war red army soldiers. one-third of german women in berlin raped soviet forces. substantial minority raped multiple times. in berlin, contemporary hospital records indicate between 95,000 , 130,000 women raped soviet troops. 10,000 of these women died, suicide. on 4.5 million germans fled towards west. soviets had no rules against troops fraternising german women, 1947 started isolate troops german population in attempt stop rape , robbery troops. not soviet soldiers participated in these activities.

foreign reports of soviet brutality denounced false. rape, robbery, , murder blamed on german bandits impersonating soviet soldiers. justified soviet brutality towards german civilians based on previous brutality of german troops toward russian civilians. until reunification of germany, east german histories virtually ignored actions of soviet troops, , russian histories still tend so. reports of mass rapes soviet troops dismissed anti-communist propaganda or normal byproduct of war.

rapes occurred under other occupation forces, though majority committed soviet troops. french moroccan troops matched behaviour of soviet troops when came rape, in occupations of baden , württemberg. in letter editor of time published in september 1945, american army sergeant wrote, our own army , british army along ours have done share of looting , raping ... offensive attitude among our troops not @ general, percentage large enough have given our army pretty black name, , considered army of rapists. robert lilly’s analysis of military records led him conclude 14,000 rapes occurred in britain, france, , germany @ hands of soldiers between 1942 , 1945. lilly assumed 5% of rapes american soldiers reported, making 17,000 gi rapes possibility, while analysts estimate 50% of (ordinary peace-time) rapes reported. supporting lilly s lower figure crucial difference world war ii military rapes commanding officer, not victim, brought charges .

german soldiers left many war children behind in nations such france , denmark, occupied extended period. after war, children , mothers suffered recriminations. in norway, “tyskerunger“ (german-kids) suffered greatly.

in japan

in first few weeks of american military occupation of japan, rape , other violent crime widespread in naval ports yokohama , yokosuka, declined shortly afterward. there 1,336 reported rapes during first 10 days of occupation of kanagawa prefecture. historian toshiyuki tanaka relates in yokohama, capital of prefecture, there 119 known rapes in september 1945.

historians eiji takemae , robert ricketts state when paratroopers landed in sapporo, orgy of looting, sexual violence , drunken brawling ensued. gang rapes , other sex atrocities not infrequent , of rape victims committed suicide.

general robert l. eichelberger, commander of u.s. eighth army, recorded in 1 instance when japanese formed self-help vigilante guard protect women off-duty gis, eighth army ordered armored vehicles in battle array streets , arrested leaders, , leaders received long prison terms.

according takemae , ricketts, members of british commonwealth occupation force (bcof) involved in rapes:

a former prostitute recalled australian troops arrived in kure in 1946, dragged young women jeeps, took them mountain, , raped them. heard them screaming every night . such behavior commonplace, news of criminal activity occupation forces suppressed.

rape committed u.s. soldiers occupying okinawa notable phenomenon. okinawan historian oshiro masayasu (former director of okinawa prefectural historical archives) writes:

soon after u.s. marines landed, women of village on motobu peninsula fell hands of american soldiers. @ time, there women, children , old people in village, young men had been mobilized war. after landing, marines mopped entire village, found no signs of japanese forces. taking advantage of situation, started hunting women in broad daylight , hiding in village or nearby air raid shelters dragged out 1 after another.

according toshiyuki tanaka, 76 cases of rape or rape-murder reported during first 5 years of american occupation of okinawa. however, claims not true figure, cases unreported.