1. Chapter 16 Section 5 Europe & Japan in Ruins
Objective: Compare postwar governments in Europe & Japan
Vocabulary: Nuremberg Trials, Demilitarization, & Democratization

2. Setting the Stage
After 6 long years of war, the Allies were finally victorious
WWII caused more deaths & destruction than any other conflict in history
Over 60 million people were killed
Another 50 million were uprooted from their homes & wandered the countryside in search of somewhere to live
Property damage ran into billions of U.S. Dollars
1/3 of the deaths were from the Soviet Union
Why would people be uprooted from their homes?

3. Devastation in Europe
40 million Europeans had died, 2/3rds of them were civilians
Constant bombing & shelling had reduced hundreds of cities to rubble
Millions of people were now homeless
27 Million

4. A Harvest of Destruction
Cities like London & Warsaw were completely destroyed
In 1939, Warsaw had 1.3 million citizens by the end of the war it only had 153,000 citizens
95% of Berlin was demolished by Allied bombing
Many cities had no water, no electricity, & very little food
Europeans wandered across Europe, hoping to find their families or to find a safe place to live
Holocaust survivors find themselves in a different country
Others looking for their family members

5. Misery Continues After the War
Many civilians found they were now in different countries when postwar treaties changed national borders
The misery in Europe continued for years after the war
Thousands died as famine & disease spread throughout the destroyed cities
The first winter was the toughest as people went without shoes & coats

6. Postwar Governments & Politics
Europeans often blamed their leaders for the war & its aftermath
Some countries returned to their prewar governments
Others like Germany & Italy did not return to old leadership ways
Communism began to spread however after some violent strikes their influence began to decline
Belgium, Holland, Denmark & Norway were fine
France also didn’t return to old way, since their government collaborated with the nazis

7. The Nuremberg Trials
During 1945 to 1946, an International Military Tribunal representing 23 nations put Nazi war criminals on trial – Nuremberg Trials
22 Nazi leaders were charged with waging a war of aggression
Nazi leaders were also accused of committing “crimes against humanity”
What crime against humanity did they commit?
The murder of 11 million people.

8. The Nuremberg Trials
Hitler, Himmler, & Goebbels committed suicide before the trials began
Goring will be sentenced to death but will also commit suicide
10 Nazi leaders were hanged on October 16th 1946
The bodies of those executed were burned at the concentration camp of Dachau
Goebbels became the new chancellor for a day
Killed himself as well as his wife and 6 kids
Hans Frank will be the only one to show remorse “A thousand years will pass & still this guilt of Germany will not have been erased”

9. Postwar Japan
The defeat suffered by Japan in World War II left the country in ruins
2 million lives had been lost
Major cities like Tokyo were ruined by bombing raids
Hiroshima & Nagasaki were blackened wastelands

10. Occupied Japan
General Douglas MacArthur took charge of U.S. occupation of Japan
Demilitarization: disbanding the Japanese armed forces
MacArthur also began bringing war criminals to trial
Democratization: process of creating a government elected by the people
The Japanese empire became a constitutional monarchy
7 military leaders were condemned to hang

11. Occupation Brings Deep Changes
Emperor Hirohito had to declare to the Japanese people he was not divine
The Emperor became a figurehead like Great Britain’s ruler
People over the age of 20 now had the right to vote
Japan was also unable to wage war but they can fight if attacked
The United States & Japan became allies
This included women
Occupation lasted for 6 months