1. 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”

2. Life after WWII

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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 when they became an independent country again

8. End of European Colonial Powers
After WWII people in colonies demanded freedom
b/w 1950 and 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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