1. 16.5: The Devastation of Europe and Japan
World War II cost millions of human lives and billions of dollars in damages. It left Europe and Japan in Ruins.
By: Emily Haines
Corrin Rodriguez
Hannah Guerrero

2. Key Terms
Nuremburg trials- a series of court proceedings held in Nuremburg, Germany, after World War II, in which Nazi leaders were tried for aggression, violations of the rules of war, and crimes against humanity
Demilitarization- a reduction in a country’s ability to wage war, achieved by disbanding its armed forces and prohibiting it from acquiring weapons
Barter- to trade goods and services without money

3. Europe in Ruins Life after the War
By the end of the war, approximately 60 million people had died--two-thirds of them civilians. The war also left about 50 million people that were uprooted from their homes
Before the war, Warsaw, the capitol of Poland, had a population of about 1,289,000 people. After the war, there were only 153,000
Over 95% of the city of Berlin was demolished by 25,000 tons of bombs.
Obviously, this war caused more death and destruction than any other conflict in history

4. Effects on the people
After the war, many civilians were left to live in partially destroyed homes or caves and cellars under the rubble. Without water, food, and electricity, the civilians had a very difficult time surviving.
Some survivors of concentration camps, prisoners of war, and refugees fleeing the soviet army joined the army of displaced persons who wandered Europe post war.
After the war ended, Everything was disrupted, including:
Agriculture
Transportation
Widespread famine and disease
Just to get a few potatoes, people would barter any valuable items they had left.

5. Postwar Government and Politics
Hitler’s Nazi government had brought Germany to ruins which made it hard for Germany, Italy, and France to get back to their old leadership
Mussolini had led Italy to defeat.
After the war, the Communist party promised change which caused their party to make huge gain in the first postwar election.
Communist membership and influence started to decline after they staged a series of violent strikes.
The French and Italians voted for anti-Communist parties.

6. In 1946, an International Military Tribunal representing 23 nations put Nazi war criminals on trial in Nuremberg, Germany.
In the first of the trials, 22 Nazi leaders were charged with waging a war of aggression and were accused of violating the laws of war and committing “crimes against humanity”- the murder of 11 million people
Four of the Nazi leaders
escaped trial by committing
suicide. The others had to
face the charges.
12 out of 22 defendants
were sentenced to death.
On October 16,1946 the
defendants were hanged then
cremated at the same
concentration camp where
many of their victims were killed.
The Nuremberg Trials

7. Effects of Defeat in Japan
The defeat Japan suffered after the war left the country in ruins. The atomic bomb left nothing but rubble and waste of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan’s colonial empire, and land that had belonged to them was taken by the allies.
The U.S. occupies Japan
Though many Japanese military leaders wanted to continue the fight, Emperor Hirohito told the people if they continued to fight, it would end in “ultimate collapse of the Japanese nation.”
Two weeks after the Emperor’s
broadcast, the supreme commander
for allied powers, Douglas MacArthur,
accepted the surrender & took charge
of U.S. occupation.

8. Demilitarization in Japan
MacArthur began a process of demilitarization in which he quickly disbanded the Japanese armed forces leaving only a small police force to ensure an end to fighting.
February 1946: MacArthur and his American political advisers drew up a new constitution which changed the empire into a parliamentary democracy formed after Great Britain’s government.
May 3,1947: The Japanese accepted the constitution and it went into effect.
MacArthur was instructed to broaden land ownership and increase participation of workers and farmers in the new democracy.
Still bitter about Pearl Harbor, the United States sent $2 billion in emergency relief, which was a small amount considering all the work that had to be done

9. U.S. Occupation Brings Change
The most important achievement brought by the occupation of the U.S. was the new constitution
The occupation of the U.S. brought other changes that forced the Emperor to declare he was not a god. This was extremely shocking because the emperor had been seen as a god forever in the Japanese culture
September 1951: The United States, and 48 other nations signed a peace treaty with Japan. The treaty ended the war and six months after it was signed, U.S. occupation was over.
After the occupation ended, Japan’s economy quickly recovered, and allowed Japan and the United States to become allies.

10. Questions
1. Out of the 60 million people that died during World War II, how many were civilians?
a. 1/3
b. 2/3
c. 100%
2. What shocking fact is World War II known for?
a. It started the potato famine
b. It ended the potato famine
c. It caused more death and destruction than any other conflict in history
3. Why did the communist party gain in the first postwar election?
a. They promised change
b. Everyone that survived the war was communist
c. The Communist party was the only party running