WORLD WAR II – EFFECTS

The Second World War was one of the most disastrous events in the history of modern world. An important feature of this war was the use of destructive atom bombs. It was fought in four continents, two oceans and also in the air.

1. Inestimable destruction – The Second World War caused unprecedented destruction of life and property. It claimed the lives of about a crore and a half people while about four and a half crore people were permanently disabled. The loss of property was incalculable. The whole world suffered from the ravages of the war. Millions of people were uprooted from their homes and became refugees.

 

2. Moral degradation of man – the Nazi, Fascist and Japanese armies committed atrocities on soldiers and civilians. Destructive atomic weapons were used by the major powers. These are the examples of mans barbaric and savage acts showing moral degradation of man.

 

3. Second – rate powers after the war – The other European and Asian powers such as England, France, china and Japan became weak and were forced to become the camp followers of the two great powers, the United States or Soviet Russia. England and France were confronted with various domestic problems. Both of them could no longer hold on to their colonies. Their colonies suffered under the pressure of the war. The war torn Europe depended heavily on American aid and investment for economic recovery. China, during and after the communist revolution had to depend on soviet Russia for financial and other material assistance. This showed that these countries were drifting to second – rate power and camp followers of either the United States or Soviet Russia.

 

4. Rise of USA and USSR as super powers – the contributions of USA and USSR to the defeat of the Axis powers were the largest. It was after America’s entry into the war in December 1941 and the defeat of the Nazi army by the Soviet army in February 1943 that the Allies emerged more powerful and finally succeeded in crushing the Nazis and fascist powers. This war made USA and USSR the two greatest powers of the world.

 

5. Destruction of the Axis powers – Germany, Italy and Japan who formed the axis were badly defeated. In Germany, the Nazi leaders were arrested and tried and Germany was partitioned into four zones under USA, USSR, England and France and remained under foreign military power.

Italy was also defeated and her empire was broken. Italy surrendered all her colonies and was forced to pay heavy war damages.

Japan surrendered and was put under the Far Eastern Commission with Gen. Mac Arthur as the Supreme Commander. Her army was disbanded and she was demilitarized.

6. Opportunities for subject people (Decolonization) – the Second World War had changed the power and position of different European powers. England and France lost their power to USA and USSR. At the same time it had also given rise to the spirit of nationalism in subject nations and colonies in Asia and Africa who started fighting for their independence from colonial rule. This led to the beginning of decolonization.

 

7. Formation of the United Nations Organization – The massive destruction caused by the Second World War made the world leaders realize the importance to preserve peace and harmony in the world. The League of Nations, which had proved ineffective, was replaced by a more dynamic global organization called the UNO. A number of other regional organization were also set up e.g. the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Warsaw Pact, etc.

 

8. Beginning of cold war – the rise of USA and USSR as super powers resulted in a new ideological conflict between the two power blocs, which created lot of international tension and suspicion and brought the world on the brink of another catastrophic war. The USA was the champion of democracy while USSR championed communism. The two super powers vied with each other to spread their influence and thus the world was again divided into two camps. This international tension is referred to as the Cold War, which finally ended with the collapse of the Berlin war and the disintegration of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.