The Post-WW II World
The Post-WW II World
After the War….
• United States• England• France• Italy • Germany • Japan• Soviet Union• China
United States
• Unprecedented wealth
• Strongest military power in the world
• No material damage (except Pearl Harbor)
• Confident
• Saw Communism as the major threat– Desire to spread capitalism
England
• Less material damage than France & Germany
• Economically broke
• No longer the world’s big power– Had been since 1700
France
• Devastated by the War
• Economy was a wreck
• Afraid of another German attack
• New and unstable government– Headed by Charles de Gaulle
Italy
• Defeated during the War
• Had a new government after mid-1944
• Economy was devastated
• Strong communist movement
Germany
• Defeated during the War
• Economy and society was totally destroyed– Remember WW I?
• Divided up and occupied by Allies after War– England, France, US each controlled a sector– USSR controlled another
Japan
• Completely defeated
• New government set up by US
• Completely dependent upon the US
Soviet Union (USSR) (Russia)
• 20 million dead during War
• Led by communist dictator Josef Stalin
• Felt like it had been used by other Allies during the War
• Concerned about protecting its borders
• Interested in spreading communism
China
• Brutalized by Japan during 14 years of war
• Corrupt & unpopular leader Chiang Kai-Shek
• Ongoing communist revolt since 1929
• Mao Tse-Tung and the Communists take over to the country in 1949