1. Aim: Describe Conditions in Europe in 1945

2. Devastation in Europe
By end of WWII, close to 40 million Europeans had died
A few of the great cities of Europe (Paris, Rome & Brussels) remained largely undamaged
Battle of Britain left huge areas of London little more than blackened ruins
Warsaw (Capital of Poland) was almost completely destroyed
Displaced persons included the survivors of concentration camps, prisoners of war, & refugees wandered across Europe searching find a safe place
War ravaged Europe agriculture which led to famine & disease for thousands 2

3. Postwar Governments & Politics
Despairing Europeans often blamed their leaders for the war & its aftermath
In countries like Germany, Italy, & France, a return to the old leadership was not desirable
The Nuremberg Trials:
While nations were struggling to recover politically & economically, they also tried to deal with the issue of war crimes
: International Military Tribunal representing 23 nations put Nazi war criminals on trial in Nuremberg, Germany
22 Nazi leaders were charged with waging a war of aggression
Also accused of committing “crimes against humanity”- murder of 11 million 3

4. Postwar Japan
General MacArthur who had accepted the Japanese surrender took charge of the U.S. occupation of Japan
MacArthur was determined to be fair
To ensure that peace would prevail, he began the process of demilitarization or disbanding the Japanese armed forces
MacArthur turned his attention to democratization, the process of creating a government elected by the people
May 1945: American advisors drew up new constitution that brought deep changes
Guaranteed that real power rested with people
People elected a two-house parliament (Diet)
Constitutional protected basic freedoms
Article 9: Stated that Japan could no longer make war 4