DK - World War II Map by Map

THE AFTERMATH OF WAR 263

and USSR (the “superpowers”) engaged in a nuclear arms

race, and the US fought the Chinese Communist troops

in Korea, fears of an even more destructive World War III

were only too real.

Economic recovery

Across the world, political recovery and economic

reconstruction were surprisingly successful. As a global

economy was restored (excluding the Communist states),

there was no return to the mass unemployment of the

Depression years, and in many countries, consumer demand

was soon driving high growth rates. Japan and Germany

had seen enough of the horrors of war and, unlike after

World War I, there were no calls to avenge defeat. Japan was

reestablished as a constitutional monarchy, and Hiroshima

and Nagasaki were restored as flourishing cities. In West

Germany, democracy took root, and industrial growth was

rapid. Across much of Western Europe, forms of social

democracy with mixed economies became standard.

Progressive innovations included votes for women in

France and the National Health Service in Britain.

The post-war world

The victorious powers fell far short of

fulfilling the ideals they had expressed

during the conflict. In the Soviet-

controlled sphere—which included

Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia,

Hungary, East Germany, Poland,

Romania, and Yugoslavia—prison

camps and the denial of individual

freedom negated the promise of

liberation. Meanwhile, the US was

prepared to support right-wing

dictators serving the anticommunist

cause, as in Francoist Spain and

much of Latin America. For decades,

the colonial powers still fought local

wars against subject populations,

while in the Middle East, the

founding of Israel confirmed a

chronic instability in the region.

Instead of disarmament, there was

a headlong race to expand both

nuclear and conventional military

arsenals. However, amid these

conflicts and uncertainties, many

individuals found a chance to build new

lives in rapidly changing societies. The post-

war world did not necessarily offer justice,

peace, or security, but it did offer hope.

◁ Back on track

The mass production of the Volkswagen

(meaning “people’s car”) became a

symbol of West Germany’s economic

and political recovery in the 1950s.

Aug 29, 1949

First Soviet atomic

bomb test begins

nuclear arms race

against US

Jun 25, 1950 Korean

War begins as North

Korea invades South

May 23, 1949

West Germany

is created

Dec 27, 1949

Netherlands

recognizes

independence

of Indonesia

Oct 1, 1949

People’s Republic of

China is founded

after Communist

victory in civil war

Apr 4, 1949

NATO is formed,

tying US into

defense of

Western Europe

Apr 18, 1951

France, West Germany,

and four other countries

form European Coal and

Steel Community

Nov 1, 1952

US carries out

first hydrogen

bomb test

Mar 5, 1953

Death of Stalin

May 9, 1955

West Germany

is admitted into

NATO

Jul 21, 1954 France agrees

to accept Vietnam as

independent, but it is divided

between North and South

1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955

“Shall we put an end to the human race;

or shall mankind renounce war?”

BERTRAND RUSSELL, THE RUSSELL–EINSTEIN

MANIFESTO, 1955

△ Mao’s China

A poster celebrates the anniversary of the founding

of Communist China, led by Chairman Mao Zedong.

In the 1960s, about one third of the world’s

population lived under Communist rule.

US_262-263_N_Aftermath_of_War.indd 263 24/05/19 1:17 PM