1. The Legacy of World War II
Chapter 26
Section 5

2. Worldwide Destruction
What were the costs of the war?
20 million soldiers were killed – millions wounded. Soviet Union-8 million; 400,000 Americans died – 600,000 wounded.
Millions of civilians died; a war without boundaries.
Huge wave of refugees; 21 million – prisoners of war, survivors of concentration camps, those who fled advancing armies.

3. Economic Winners and Losers
Wartime boom brought U.S. out of the Great Depression. Economy kept growing.
Marshall Plan, plan to boost Europe's economy – 13 billion to help European nations.
U.S. occupied Japan for many years and helped them create programs for economic recovery.

4. Attempt at World Peace
What did the international community do to protect world peace?
July, Potsdam Conference to plan the war’s end.
Nuremberg Trials – German War criminals; 24 defendants, top German officials; charged with crimes against humanity.
19 were found guilty. 12 sentenced to death.
Upheld idea that people are responsible for their actions, even in wartime.

5. Creation of the United Nations
June 1945 – 50 nations met in San Francisco and created a charter for the United Nations.
League of Nations too weak. Why?

6. Changes in America and the World
What changes did the war bring about?
G.I. Bill of Rights – paid for returning soldiers’ schooling with a living allowance.
Housing shortage; most Americans lived in crowded urban slums or shacks.
United Nations created Israel in 1948 as a homeland for Jews; Arabs in Palestine violently opposed; conflict continues to this day.

7. Changes
Stalin promised to promote democracy, but instead forced the Soviet occupied countries to live under communism.
Future conflicts led to the Cold War.
Beginning of the atomic age.