THE Second World War, which took place between 1939 and 1945, left thousands dead, countless injured, and redefined the balance of world power.
The main consequences of this conflict were the rise of the United States, the division of the world between capitalism and socialism and the emergence of the UN.
In Brazil, the end of the Getúlio Vargas government and the rapprochement with the Americans is verified.
Number of Victims of World War II
The conflict, according to some estimates, killed 45 million people and left 35 million injured. The greatest number of casualties was recorded in the Soviet Union with 20 million deaths.
In Poland, an estimated 6 million casualties, while Germany accounts for 5.5 million. As a result of the conflict, 1.5 million Japanese were killed.
Furthermore, World War II produced one of the most atrocious crimes against humanity: the murder of 6 million Jews on an industrial scale.
The physical elimination of these people was part of a project to adolf hitler (1889-1945), known as the Final Solution. To accomplish this, the Nazis devised a complex system of extermination in concentration and death camps.
Economic Consequences of World War II
In addition to human losses, the conflict cost $1 trillion and $385 billion in monetary losses. Of the amount, 21% went to the United States, 13% to the Soviet Union and 4% to Japan.
All 72 countries involved accumulated losses in different proportions. There was an intense drop in industrial production and government investments were directed to the war, to the detriment of other areas, generating intense social problems.
If for most countries there was a loss, for the United States, the war resulted in the strengthening of its imperialist and economic position. After all, this country was not attacked and, therefore, it was not necessary to allocate resources for its reconstruction.
Geopolitical Consequences of World War II
After World War II new countries emerged and some had their borders redrawn.
Austria, which had been annexed by Germany in 1938, re-emerges as an independent country.
Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Yugoslavia deposed the monarchy and replaced it with the republican regime.
Portugal and Spain are isolated from the international system until the mid-1950s, due to the dictatorships of Salazar and Franco, respectively.
Countries liberated by the Soviet Union such as Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia pass to the Soviet sphere of influence; while the other countries continue with social democracy.
Germany
After the war, Germany had to accept the four "Ds" imposed by the allied powers: "denazification", demilitarization, democratization, disarmament.
Thus, some Nazi leaders were tried by the Nuremberg Court. Of these, 12 were sentenced to death.
On the other hand, the country was divided into two clear zones of influence: the German Democratic Republic (GDR), with a socialist regime, and the Federal Republic of Germany (RFA), which continued to be capitalist.
In the city of Berlin, then capital of the GDR, the Berlin Wall which became the symbol of the ideological division of the world.
Likewise, the armed forces were reduced and the country ceded facilities to accommodate both American and Soviet troops.
Japan
Japan was forced to recognize Korea's independence, return the Kuril Islands to the Soviet Union and reduce its armed forces.
The country had the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki destroyed by two atomic bombs launched by the US and received 2.5 billion for its reconstruction.
Cold War
During the conflict, the US invested approximately US$300 billion, which was recovered with a 75% increase in the arms industry.
The United States also took the position of creditors of the destroyed countries and in 1948 elaborated the Marshall Plan. This consisted of a financial aid of US$ 38 billion in order to recover European industries and cities.
American assistance, however, was refused by the Soviet Union, initiating the process known as the Cold War.
The Soviet Union extended its influence to the countries of Eastern Europe and would continue to support movements that wanted to implement socialism as a governing regime.
Consequences of World War II in Brazil
In Brazil, the Second World War directly influenced the end of the Vargas government. Intellectuals, politicians of various trends, and part of the population question the contradiction of sending soldiers to defend democracy while Brazil was under a dictatorship.
Getúlio Vargas was deposed in 1945 through an articulated coup between the Armed Forces and conservatives. The presidential elections take place the following year and give victory to Eurico Gaspar Dutra.
In turn, the Brazilian Expeditionary Force is still demobilized in Europe, as Vargas feared that this contingent would turn against him.
Likewise, Brazil remains politically and culturally aligned with the United States, whose approximation was due to the Good Neighbor Policy.
However, due to its participation in the conflict, Brazil is invited to join the United Nations (UN).
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