World War II

==Aftermath==
{{Main|Aftermath of World War II|Consequences of Nazism}}
[[File:Ww2 170.jpg|thumb|Defendants at the [[Nuremberg trials]], where the Allied forces prosecuted prominent members of the political, military, judicial and economic leadership of [[Nazi Germany]] for [[crimes against humanity]]]]

The Allies established occupation administrations in [[Allied-occupied Austria|Austria]] and [[Allied-occupied Germany|Germany]], both initially divided between western and eastern occupation zones controlled by the Western Allies and the Soviet Union, respectively. However, their paths soon diverged. In Germany, the [[Trizone|western]] and [[Soviet occupation zone in Germany|eastern occupation zones]] controlled by the Western Allies and the Soviet Union officially ended in 1949, with the respective zones becoming separate countries, [[West Germany]] and [[East Germany]].<ref name="Wettig 2008 96_100">{{Harvnb|Wettig|2008|pp=96–100}}.</ref> In Austria, however, occupation continued until 1955, when a joint settlement between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union permitted the reunification of Austria as a democratic state officially non-aligned with any political bloc (although in practice having better relations with the Western Allies). A [[denazification]] program in Germany led to the prosecution of Nazi war criminals in the [[Nuremberg trials]] and the removal of ex-Nazis from power, although this policy moved towards amnesty and re-integration of ex-Nazis into West German society.<ref name="Frei 2002 41_66">{{Harvnb|Frei|2002|pp=41–66}}.</ref>

Germany lost a quarter of its pre-war (1937) territory. Among the eastern territories, [[Silesia]], [[Neumark]] and most of [[Pomerania]] were taken over by Poland,<ref name="Eberhardt-2015">{{Cite journal|last=Eberhardt|first=Piotr|year=2015|title=The Oder-Neisse Line as Poland's western border: As postulated and made a reality|url=https://www.geographiapolonica.pl/article/item/9928.html|journal=Geographia Polonica|volume=88|issue=1|pages=77–105|access-date=3 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180503111248/https://www.geographiapolonica.pl/article/item/9928.html|archive-date=3 May 2018|url-status=live|doi=10.7163/GPol.0007|doi-access=free}}</ref> and [[East Prussia]] was divided between Poland and the Soviet Union, followed by the [[Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950)|expulsion to Germany]] of the nine million Germans from these provinces,<ref name="Eberhardt-2006">{{Cite book|url=https://www.igipz.pan.pl/en/zpz/Political_migrations.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626151411/https://www.igipz.pan.pl/en/zpz/Political_migrations.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 June 2015|title=Political Migrations in Poland 1939–1948|last=Eberhardt|first=Piotr|publisher=Didactica|year=2006|isbn=978-1-5361-1035-7|location=Warsaw}}</ref><ref name="Eberhardt-2011">{{Cite book|url=https://rcin.org.pl/Content/15652/WA51_13607_r2011-nr12_Monografie.pdf|title=Political Migrations On Polish Territories (1939–1950)|last=Eberhardt|first=Piotr|publisher=Polish Academy of Sciences|year=2011|isbn=978-83-61590-46-0|location=Warsaw|access-date=3 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140520220409/https://rcin.org.pl/Content/15652/WA51_13607_r2011-nr12_Monografie.pdf|archive-date=20 May 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> as well as three million Germans from the [[Sudetenland]] in Czechoslovakia. By the 1950s, one-fifth of West Germans were refugees from the east. The Soviet Union also took over the Polish provinces east of the [[Curzon Line]],<ref name="Eberhardt-2012">{{Cite journal|last=Eberhardt|first=Piotr|year=2012|title=The Curzon line as the eastern boundary of Poland. The origins and the political background|url=https://www.geographiapolonica.pl/article/item/7563.html|journal=Geographia Polonica|volume=85|issue=1|pages=5–21|access-date=3 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180503111001/https://www.geographiapolonica.pl/article/item/7563.html|archive-date=3 May 2018|url-status=live|doi=10.7163/GPol.2012.1.1}}</ref> from which [[Polish population transfers (1944–1946)|2 million Poles were expelled]];<ref name="Eberhardt-2011" /><ref name="stalinswars43">{{Harvnb|Roberts|2006|p=43}}.</ref> north-east Romania,<ref name="stalinswars55">{{Harvnb|Roberts|2006|p=55}}.</ref><ref name="shirer794">{{Harvnb|Shirer|1990|p=794}}.</ref> parts of eastern Finland,<ref name="ckpipe">{{Harvnb|Kennedy-Pipe|1995}}.</ref> and the [[Baltic states]] were [[Soviet re-occupation of the Baltic states (1944)|annexed into the Soviet Union]].<ref name="Wettig 2008 20_21">{{Harvnb|Wettig|2008|pp=20–21}}.</ref><ref name="Senn 2007 ?">{{Harvnb|Senn|2007|p=?}}.</ref> Italy [[1946 Italian institutional referendum|lost its monarchy]], [[Italian Empire|colonial empire]] and some [[Treaty of Paris between Italy and the Allied Powers|European territories]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Italy since 1945 |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Italy/Italy-since-1945 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=2 October 2023 |language=en |archive-date=5 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231005052527/https://www.britannica.com/place/Italy/Italy-since-1945 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In an effort to maintain [[world peace]],<ref name="Yoder 1997 39">{{Harvnb|Yoder|1997|p=39}}.</ref> the Allies formed the [[United Nations]],<ref>{{cite web |title=History of the UN |url=https://www.un.org/un70/en/content/history/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211215170453/https://www.un.org/un70/en/content/history/index.html |archive-date=15 December 2021 |access-date=17 January 2022 |work=United Nations}}</ref> which officially came into existence on 24 October 1945,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/aboutun/history.htm |title=History of the UN |publisher=United Nations |access-date=25 January 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100218221016/https://www.un.org/aboutun/history.htm |archive-date=18 February 2010 }}</ref> and adopted the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]] in 1948 as a common standard for all [[Member states of the United Nations|member nations]].<ref name="Waltz 2002">{{Harvnb|Waltz|2002}}.<br />
The UDHR is viewable here [https://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703093353/https://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/|date=3 July 2017}}</ref> The [[great powers]] that were the victors of the war—France, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States—became the [[Permanent members of the United Nations Security Council|permanent members]] of the UN's [[United Nations Security Council|Security Council]].<ref name="The UN Security Council">{{Citation|title=The UN Security Council|url=https://www.unfoundation.org/what-we-do/issues/united-nations/the-un-security-council.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120620101548/https://www.unfoundation.org/what-we-do/issues/united-nations/the-un-security-council.html|access-date=15 May 2012|archive-date=20 June 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> The five permanent members remain so to the present, although there have been two seat changes, [[United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758|between]] the [[Taiwan|Republic of China]] and the [[China|People's Republic of China]] in 1971, and between the Soviet Union and its [[Succession of states|successor state]], the [[Russia|Russian Federation]], following the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|dissolution of the USSR]] in 1991. The alliance between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union had begun to deteriorate even before the war was over.<ref name="Kantowicz 2000 6">{{Harvnb|Kantowicz|2000|p=6}}.</ref>

[[File:EasternBloc BorderChange38-48.svg|thumb|Post-war border changes in [[Central Europe]] and creation of the [[Communism|Communist]] [[Eastern Bloc]]]]
Besides Germany, the rest of Europe was also divided into Western and Soviet [[spheres of influence]].<ref name="Trachtenberg 1999 33">{{Harvnb|Trachtenberg|1999|p=33}}.</ref> Most eastern and central European countries fell into [[Eastern Bloc|the Soviet sphere]], which led to establishment of Communist-led regimes, with full or partial support of the Soviet occupation authorities. As a result, [[East Germany]],<ref name="Applebaum 2012">{{Harvnb|Applebaum|2012}}.</ref> [[Polish People's Republic|Poland]], [[Hungarian People's Republic|Hungary]], [[Socialist Republic of Romania|Romania]], [[People's Republic of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]], [[Czechoslovak Socialist Republic|Czechoslovakia]], and [[People's Socialist Republic of Albania|Albania]]<ref name="Naimark 2010">{{Harvnb|Naimark|2010}}.</ref> became Soviet [[Satellite state#Soviet satellite states|satellite states]]. Communist [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]] conducted a fully [[Non-Aligned Movement|independent policy]], causing [[Tito–Stalin split|tension with the Soviet Union]].<ref name="Swain 1992">{{Harvnb|Swain|1992}}.</ref> A [[Greek Civil War|Communist uprising in Greece]] was put down with Anglo-American support and the country remained aligned with the West.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Greek Civil War |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Greek-Civil-War |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |date=28 May 2023 |language=en |access-date=15 May 2023 |archive-date=24 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230324172645/https://www.britannica.com/event/Greek-Civil-War |url-status=live }}</ref>

Post-war division of the world was formalised by two international military alliances, the United States-led [[NATO]] and the Soviet-led [[Warsaw Pact]].<ref name="Borstelmann 2005 318">{{Harvnb|Borstelmann|2005|p=318}}.</ref> The long period of political tensions and military competition between them—the [[Cold War]]—would be accompanied by an unprecedented [[arms race]] and number of [[proxy war]]s throughout the world.<ref>{{Harvnb|Leffler|Westad|2010}}.</ref>

In Asia, the United States led the [[occupation of Japan]] and [[Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands|administered Japan's former islands]] in the Western Pacific, while the Soviets annexed [[South Sakhalin]] and the [[Kuril Islands]].<ref name="Weinberg 2005 911">{{Harvnb|Weinberg|2005|p=911}}.</ref> [[Korea]], formerly [[Korea under Japanese rule|under Japanese colonial rule]], was [[Division of Korea|divided and occupied]] by the Soviet Union in the [[North Korea|North]] and the United States in the [[South Korea|South]] between 1945 and 1948. Separate republics emerged on both sides of the 38th parallel in 1948, each claiming to be the legitimate government for all of Korea, which led ultimately to the [[Korean War]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Stueck|2010|p=71}}.</ref>

In China, nationalist and communist forces resumed [[Chinese Civil War|the civil war]] in June 1946. Communist forces were victorious and established the People's Republic of China on the mainland, while nationalist forces retreated to [[Taiwan]] in 1949.<ref name="Lynch 2010 12_13">{{Harvnb|Lynch|2010|pp=12–13}}.</ref> In the Middle East, the Arab rejection of the [[United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine]] and the [[creation of Israel]] marked the escalation of the [[Arab–Israeli conflict]]. While European powers attempted to retain some or all of their [[colonial empire]]s, their losses of prestige and resources during the war rendered this unsuccessful, leading to [[Decolonization|decolonisation]].<ref name="JMRoberts 1996 589">{{Harvnb|Roberts|1997|p=589}}.</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Darwin|2007|pp=441–443, 464–68}}.</ref>

The global economy suffered heavily from the war, although participating nations were affected differently. The United States emerged much richer than any other nation, leading to a [[Mid-20th century baby boom|baby boom]], and by 1950 its gross domestic product per person was much higher than that of any of the other powers, and it dominated the world economy.<ref>{{Harvnb|Dear|Foot|2001|p=1006}}; {{Harvnb|Harrison|1998|pp=34–55}}.</ref> The Allied occupational authorities pursued a policy of [[Allied plans for German industry after World War II|industrial disarmament in Western Germany]] from 1945 to 1948.<ref name="Balabkins 1964 207">{{Harvnb|Balabkins|1964|p=207}}.</ref> Due to international trade interdependencies, this policy led to an economic stagnation in Europe and delayed European recovery from the war for several years.<ref>{{Harvnb|Petrov|1967|p=263}}.</ref><ref name="Balabkins 1964 208,209">{{Harvnb|Balabkins|1964|pp=208–209}}.</ref>

At the [[Bretton Woods Conference]] in July 1944, the Allied nations drew up an economic framework for the post-war world. The agreement created the [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF) and the [[International Bank for Reconstruction and Development]] (IBRD), which later became part of the [[World Bank Group]]. The [[Bretton Woods system]] lasted until 1973.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Bretton Woods Conference, 1944 |date=7 January 2008 |publisher=United States Department of State |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/wwii/98681.htm |access-date=18 April 2022 |archive-date=17 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220417233116/https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/wwii/98681.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Recovery began with the mid-1948 [[Deutsche Mark|currency reform in Western Germany]], and was sped up by the liberalisation of European economic policy that the U.S. [[Marshall Plan]] economic aid (1948–1951) both directly and indirectly caused.<ref>{{Harvnb|DeLong|Eichengreen|1993|pp=190–191}}</ref><ref name="Balabkins 1964 212">{{Harvnb|Balabkins|1964|p=212}}.</ref> The post-1948 West German recovery has been called the [[Wirtschaftswunder#West Germany|German economic miracle]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Wolf|1993|pp=29–30, 32}}</ref> Italy also experienced an [[Italian economic miracle|economic boom]]<ref>{{Harvnb|Bull|Newell|2005|pp=20–21}}</ref> and the [[Trente Glorieuses|French economy rebounded]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Ritchie|1992|p=23}}.</ref> By contrast, the United Kingdom was in a state of economic ruin,<ref>{{Harvnb|Minford|1993|p=117}}.</ref> and although receiving a quarter of the total Marshall Plan assistance, more than any other European country,<!--twice as much as Germany for example--><ref>{{Harvnb|Schain|2001}}.</ref> it continued in relative economic decline for decades.<ref>{{Harvnb|Emadi-Coffin|2002|p=64}}.</ref> The Soviet Union, despite enormous human and material losses, also experienced rapid increase in production in the immediate post-war era,<ref name="Smith 1993 32">{{Harvnb|Smith|1993|p=32}}.</ref> having seized and transferred most of Germany's industrial plants and exacted [[World War II reparations|war reparations]] from its satellite states.{{efn|Reparations were exacted from [[East Germany]], [[Hungarian People's Republic|Hungary]], [[Romanian People's Republic|Romania]], and [[People's Republic of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]] using Soviet-dominated joint enterprises. The USSR also instituted trading arrangements deliberately designed to favour the country. Moscow controlled the Communist parties that ruled the satellite states, and they followed orders from the Kremlin. Historian Mark Kramer concludes: "The net outflow of resources from eastern Europe to the Soviet Union was approximately $15 billion to $20 billion in the first decade after World War II, an amount roughly equal to the total aid provided by the United States to western Europe under the [[Marshall Plan]]."}}<ref>Mark Kramer, "The Soviet Bloc and the Cold War in Europe", in {{Cite book |editor-first=Klaus | editor-last=Larresm |url={{GBurl|id=EyNcCwAAQBAJ|pg=PT174}} |title=A Companion to Europe Since 1945 |publisher=Wiley |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-118-89024-0 |page=79}}</ref> Japan recovered much later.<ref>{{Harvnb|Neary|1992|p=49}}.</ref> China returned to its pre-war industrial production by 1952.<ref>{{cite book|last=Genzberger|first=Christine|title=China Business: The Portable Encyclopedia for Doing Business with China|year=1994|publisher=World Trade Press|isbn=978-0-9631864-3-0|url=https://archive.org/details/chinabusinesspor0000genz/page/4|location=Petaluma, CA|page=[https://archive.org/details/chinabusinesspor0000genz/page/4 4]}}</ref>