What’s Happening? 1946- bikini invented 1950- first “Peanuts” comic published 1952- seatbelts introduced 1953- DNA discovered 1955- McDonalds founded 1957- Dr. Seuss publishes “Cat in the Hat”
Life after WWII
Aftermath of WWII Approx 75 million people died during WWII- many were civilians; will never know exactly how many were killed Only learned the extent of the Holocaust after the war US was now a superpower
Nuremberg Trials War crimes trials took place in Nuremberg, Germany 177 Germans and Austrians were tried; 142 were found guilty; top Nazi officials sentenced to death Similar trials also held in Japan and Italy Trials showed that political and military leaders could be held accountable for actions during wartime
United Nations April 1945 diplomats from 50 countries met in San Francisco and adopted a charter creating a new organization- the United Nations Purpose was to try to prevent wars from occurring and stopping those that do as well as working together to stop hunger, disease, and illiteracy All members belong to the General Assembly which discusses world problems and recommend action
Marshall Plan 1947 US Secretary of State George Marshall was deeply upset about the dire need of the people in Europe Countries desperately needed financial aid to rebuild their devastated economies and infrastructure America pledged $12 billion over 4 years and worked to revive Europe
Occupation of Japan US army occupied Japan after the war ended Commanded by Douglas MacArthur Demilitarized the country and drafted a constitution that called for a representative government Stayed in Japan until 1952 when they became an independent country again
End of European Colonial Powers After WWII people in colonies demanded freedom b/w 1950 and 1980 more than 50 new nations emerged in Africa alone At first, Europeans tried to hold on to their power but WWII had exhausted their military and financial resources
India Gains Independence Indian nationalists had begun demanding independence after WWI Indian nationalists were led by Mohandas Gandhi Gandhi believed in nonviolent resistance and encouraged Indians to join him in boycotts, strikes, and other protests Finally in 1948 GB granted India independence
Partition of Indian Subcontinent Had been tension between Muslims and Hindus in India for hundreds of years After much discussion b/w the two groups, they agreed to partition or split up the Indian subcontinent into two countries India (Hindu) and Pakistan (Muslim) 1971- East Pakistan became the independent country of Bangladesh
Creation of Israel At the end of WWII the land we now know as Israel was Palestine and was a British colony Jews that had survived the Holocaust longed for a homeland to go to In 1947 Britain announced they were withdrawing from Palestine and turning the land over to the UN UN announced a plan to divide the land into 2 countries- one Jewish; one Palestinan Arabs were furious
China becomes Communist During WWII Nationalists and Communists in China agreed to halt their civil war to form a united front against Japan After WWII alliance quickly broke down and civil war continued By 1949, Mao Zedong and the Communists had driven the Nationalists from power Created the People’s Republic of China- has a communist government that is still in power today