World War II was the most bloody and costly war the world has ever seen. It is estimated that over 55 million people were killed during the war. The largest number of people killed came from the USSR. About 20 million Soviets were killed during the war, far more than from any other country.
2. Destruction of Europe
By 1945 most of Europe lay in ruins. Cities, railways, roads and industries had been destroyed by bombs and battles. To ensure that Europe did not suffer the same economic difficulties of the inter-war period, the US government gave large loans called Marshall Aid to help rebuild Europe.
Yugoslavia Romania France Italy UK US
Germany Japan Poland
USSR China
0 5 10 Millions
Fig 14.29 Graph of military and civilian loss of life around the world during World War II.
3. End of European power and rise of the superpowers
After the war, the European countries were no longer as powerful as before the war. The USSR and the USA had risen in economic and political power. This meant that these two countries would dominate world politics for the rest of the twentieth century.
4. Europe divided The
USSR took 15 20
Civilian Military
14
control
of most
of
Eastern Europe. Countries such as Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Romania became puppet states (countries with governments who followed orders from another country) of the Soviet Union. Even Germany was divided up. The eastern part of Germany was given to the USSR to control while the western half was controlled by the Allies.
Fig 14.30 The utter destruction of Cologne, Germany. The cathedral took about 70 direct hits but remained standing in an almost flattened city.