World War II came to an end in 1945 with the total defeat of Germany, Italy,
and Japan.
V-E (Victory Day) in Europe is celebrated on May 8, 1945.
V-J (Victory Day) in Japan is celebrated on August 15, 1945
(Japanese time)
The wartime alliance of the United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and
China, with France reluctantly added as a fifth power after 1944, had finally
defeated Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan.
World War II Alliance
United States:
Franklin
Delano Roosevelt (died in April 12, 1945
Harry
S. Truman
Soviet Union:
Josef
Stalin
United Kingdom:
Winston
Churchill
Clement Attlee
France:
The Third French Republic surrenders to Germany in 1940
Vichy France under General Philippe Petain is established as a rump state under
German
influence until the Normandy Invasions of 1944..
Charles
de Gaulle (after 1944) established the Provisional Government of France.
DeGaule had been
leader of the Free French in exile in London after the fall of the Third
Republic.
China:
Chiang
Kai-shek
The Axis
Germany
Adolf Hitler (suicide on April 30, 1945 in his Bunker in Berlin)
Italy
Benito Mussolini (killed by partisans on April 28, 1945)
Japan
Hideki Tōjō (30 December 1884 – 23 December 1948) was a general
in the Imperial Japanese Army and the 40th Prime Minister of Japan
during much of World War II, from 18 October 1941 to 22 July 1944.
He was blamed for the imperialistic policies of Japan and approved
the attack on Peal Harbor on December 7, 1941. After the end
of the war, Tōjō was sentenced to death for war crimes by the
International Military Tribunal for the Far East and executed on 23
December 1948.
Hirohito, also known as Emperor Shōwa, (April 29, 1901 – January
7, 1989) was the 124th Emperor of Japan according to the traditional
order, reigning from December 25, 1926 until his death in 1989.
He was the figure-head emperor during World War II but was credited
with finally bringing the war to an end and cooperating with the
Americans during the occupation of Japan.
The Immediate Post War Period: 1945 - 1949
At the end of World War II, the Allied Powers were clearly in charge of
the world. But the war had taken a toll on the victors as well.
Only the United States, and to a lesser degree, the Soviet Union emerged out
of the war stronger than at its beginning. The British Empire had
survived, heavily mortgaged to the Americans, and was about to dissolve.
The French had really lost the war. Except for the charismatic
personality of Charles de Gaulle, France might not have been treated as a
Great Power, one of the Big Five, at the end of the war. The French
sought to reclaim their colonial empire with disastrous results in French
Indo-China and Algeria. The Republic of China under Chiang Kai-shek
moved almost directly from war with Japan to Civil War with the Chinese
Communists. By 1949, the Chinese Communists under Mao Tse-tung
(now spelled Mao Zedong) had defeated the Nationalists and imposed their
communist rule on the mainland.
Only the Soviet Union and the United States of America emerged stronger
than before the war. An era of bipolarity was to begin in world
politics which replaced the multi-polar balance of power that had prevailed
in world affairs since 1648. Rivalry between these two
superpowers led to the Cold War.
But in 1945 after the war, there remained one last act of fruitful
cooperation. The Five Great Powers of World War II cooperated in
creating the United Nations System.
The United Nations
The United Nations, or UN, "was founded on October
24, 1945
in San
Francisco, California,
following the Dumbarton
Oaks Conference in Washington,
DC, but the first General Assembly, with 51 nations represented, was not
held until January
10, 1946
(held in Central
Hall Westminster, London).
Before World
War II, there existed a somewhat similar organization under the name of League
of Nations, which can thus be considered the UN's precursor.
UN membership
is open to all "peace-loving states" that accept the obligations of
the UN
Charter and, in the judgment of the organization, are able and willing to
fulfill these obligations. The General Assembly determines admission upon
recommendation of the Security Council. As of September 2002 there were 191
members.
The idea for the United Nations was elaborated in declarations signed at
the wartime Allied conferences in Moscow
and Tehran
in 1943.
United
States president Franklin
Delano Roosevelt suggested the name "United Nations" and the
first offical use of the term occurred on January
1, 1942
with the Declaration
by the United Nations. During World War II, the Allies used the term
"United Nations" to refer to their alliance. From August to October 1944,
representatives of the U.S., United
Kingdom, France,
USSR,
and China
met to elaborate the plans at the Dumbarton Oaks Estate in Washington,
D.C. Those and later talks produced proposals outlining the purposes of
the organization, its membership and organs, as well as arrangements to
maintain international peace and security and international economic and
social cooperation. These proposals were discussed and debated by governments
and private citizens worldwide.
On April 25, 1945, the United Nations Conference on International
Organizations began in San
Francisco. In addition to the Governments, a number of non-government
organisations, including Lions
Clubs International were invited to assist in the drafting of the charter.
The 50 nations represented at the conference signed the Charter of the United
Nations two months later on June 26. Poland,
which was not represented at the conference, but for which a place among the
original signatories had been reserved, added its name later, bringing the
total of original signatories to 51. The UN came into existence on October
24, 1945, after the Charter had been ratified by the five permanent
members of the Security
Council - China,
France,
USSR,
UK,
and the United
States - and by a majority of the other 46 signatories.
The U.S. Senate, by a vote of 89 to 2, gave its consent to the ratification
of the UN Charter on July 28, 1945. In December 1945, the Senate and the House
of Representatives, by unanimous votes, requested that the UN make its
headquarters in the U.S. The offer was accepted and the UN headquarters
building was constructed in New
York City in 1949 and 1950 beside the East River on land purchased by an
8.5 million dollar donation from John
D. Rockefeller, Jr. UN headquarters officially opened on January
9, 1951.
The land is now considered international territory. Under special agreement
with the U.S., certain diplomatic privileges and immunities have been granted,
but generally the laws of New York City, New York State, and the U.S. apply.
"
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations
"This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License, which
means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including
additions) remains under this license", and provide a link to http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html
The Charter is the basic document or
constitution which outlines the structures and functions of the United Nations.
There are five main organs and one associated institution. These are
The General Assembly
The Security Council
The
Economic and Social Council
The Trusteeship Council
The Secretariat
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the
associated institution.
The Cold War
The Cold War arose over many issues.
1. Long history of mutual suspicion ever since the Russian
Revolution.
2. Disputes during World War II over a Second Front.
3. Late Entry into the war against Japan and frozen out of the post war
administration.
4. US drops nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
Japan, to end World War II in Pacific Theater. Soviet Union (Stalin) did
not know about the development of the nuclear bomb (Manhattan Project).
5. US Nuclear Monopoly threatened the Soviet Union with military
superiority and further ignited Stalin's suspicions of "the West."
6. The death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the election defeat of Winston
Churchill brought new, and to Stalin, unknown leaders to power in the US and UK.
7. The Soviet Union's national interests diverged from those of the West.
In particular, the recognition of a sphere of influence to be exercised by the
Soviet Union over Eastern Europe was not acceptable, or understood, by Harry S.
Truman, the new American President. All territories liberated by the Red
Army from the German Wehrmacht were ultimately brought under pro-Soviet
Communist puppet regimes. The Iron Curtain descended over Eastern Europe.
a. Rival Governments for Poland
b. Conflict over Administration of Occupied Germany
c. Creating Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe liberated from the Nazis by the Red
Army
8. Winston Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech in Fulton, Missouri (March 5, 1946)
Who caused it.
1. Moscow's Fault.
2. Some Revisionists blame Washington.
3. Ideological Conflict between Communism and Democracy (Capitalism)
4. Leaders Fault.
a. Roosevelt dead
b. Churchill
defeated at polls
c. Truman and
Attlee inexperienced
d. Stalin
paranoid
5. System's to Blame
Only two
superpowers. Bipolarity breeds rivalry. Security dilemma.
6. It was all a misunderstanding. Mirror images.
Defensive behavior interpreted as aggression.
Early Confrontations
Which government for Poland
Administering Divided Germany
Crisis in Iran, Greece, and Turkey
Coup in Czechoslovakia, February 1948
Currency Reform in Western Sectors of Germany
Berlin Blockade of all ground routes, June 1948
Berlin Airlift, June 1948 to May 1949
Communist Victory in China
Korean War
Early American Responses
Truman Doctrine, March 12, 1947
Marshall Plan
Economic Cooperation Act of 1948
North Atlantic Treaty Organization formed in April 1949
United States nuclear monopoly ends in September 1949
Containment Policy. George Kennan
NSC-68. National Security Council document on how to deal with the
spread of international communism.
Chinese Civil War is finally won by Communists in October 1949
Nationalists or Kuomintang (KTM) Party
led by Chiang Kai-shek
Communists led by Mao Zedong formed PRC,
People's Republic of China.
Chiang Kai-shek fled to the island of Taiwan
(Formosa)
Korean War: 1950 - 1953
Korea had been a Japanese colony. After the war, it was divided between
Soviet and American occupation troops along the 38th parallel.
North Korea: Kim Il-Sung (led till his death in 1994)
USSR withdrew its troops from North in January 1949.
US. withdrew its troops from South in Summer 1949.
June 25, 1950, North Korea attacked South Korea.
United Nations authorizes intervention in Korea to repulse
aggression.
USSR was boycotting Security Council meetings at the time.
It was protesting that UN, under US leadership, would not recognize new
Communist Regime on Mainland.
UN authorized US led police action.
Douglas MacArthur landed American forces at the Inchon Peninsula behind
North Korean lines in September 1950. He routed the North Koreans, pushed them
back to the 38th parallel, and then persuaded President Harry Truman to push them
toward the Yalu River, the border between Korea and China. Chinese
"volunteers"
intervened and pushed U.S. back toward the 38th parallel. Douglas MacArthur is
dismissed by Truman in April 1951. War becomes a stalemate near where it had begun.
January 1953, President Dwight Eisenhower is elected. Warns Koreans
of possible use
of atomic bomb if armistice is not signed. Cease fire is signed in July 1953.
Stalin dies March 5, 1953
at age 73 of natural causes.
Relaxation, 1953 - 1957
1953
Dwight Eisenhower takes over as President from Harry
S. Truman.
John Foster Dulles becomes his Secretary of
State. Talks in a highly moralistic tone about rolling back
Communism. Spreads false hopes in Eastern Europe.
German uprising in East Berlin
Iran. CIA engineered coup ousts Iranian Premier Muhammed
Mossadegh and replaces him with Shah Muhammad Reza Pahlavi
1954
CIA staged coup in Guatemala ousts President Jacobo Arbanz
and replaced him with Castillo Armas,
Vietnamese Viet Minh rebels defeated the French at the battle of
Dien Bien Phu. Ho Chi Minh. General Giap won victory. U.S. asked for
military help. Eisenhower refused. French withdraw from
Indochina. Two re-groupment areas established: one for Vietminh in
North and one for French and their supporters in South. Becomes de facto
North and South Vietnam.
1955
Geneva Summit
1956
Nikita Khrushchev's Speech to the 20th Communist Party
Congress denounces the cult of personality of Stalin's. Speech is long
kept secret in the Soviet Union. Eases up internal controls somewhat.
Polish uprising, 1956
Hungarian uprising, 1956
Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized Suez
Canal. Led to Israeli, British, and French attack on Egypt. US and
USSR oppose British and French action. Humiliating withdrawal by British
and French. Anthony Eden of Britain resigns.
European ideas of nationalism, democracy, and political
sovereignty have undermined the colonial powers' legitimacy.
To the Brink, 1957 - 1964
"We will bury you." It would appear that
at a Diplomatic Reception in Moscow in November 18, 1956 Nikita Khrushchev (1894-1971), Soviet Premier, made
the following remark as quoted in the Times of London on Nov. 19, 1956:
Quotation: "Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will
bury you."
Another famous episode of
confrontation was the Nixon-Khrushchev Kitchen debate
in July 1959 in Moscow.
The shoe banging episode took place at the United
Nations General Assembly meeting
on October 12, 1960.
1957
Sputnik launched by Russians. October 4, 1957
1959
Fidel Castro ousted Fugencio Bastista of Cuba in
January 1959
John Foster Dulles dies in May; replaced by
Christian Herder as U.S. Secretary of State.
Doctrine of Massive Retaliation.
Vice President Richard M. Nixon visits Russia
for the opening of an American trade fair (U.S. Trade and Cultural Fair in
Sokolniki Park). Arrives on July 23, 1959, visits Poland on August
2, returns to U.S. on August 5. During this trip is the famous kitchen
debate. (See http://history.acusd.edu/gen/20th/kitchendebate.html)
Khrushchev visits the US in September.
Arrives Sept 15, 1959 and leaves 13 days later.
Gives speech at United Nations.
1960
US election year. Kennedy versus Nixon.
U-2 Spy Plane shot down over Russia. Francis Gary
Powers, the pilot, is captured alive.
Eisenhower takes
responsibility.
Paris Summit meeting between Eisenhower and Khrushchev
is
bitter.
Eisenhower's scheduled visit to Soviet Union is called off.
Nikita Khrushchev arrives in US on September
19, 1960 to attend the 20th United Nations General Assembly meeting, which opens
on September 20, 1960. UN admits 13 new African states and Cyprus.
UN Membership is at 96. Khrushchev stays for 25 days.
Khrushchev denounces Dag Hammarskjold, UN
Secretary General, and asks him to resign. Proposes a troika (three
person) structure to replace a single Secretary General on Sept. 22.
Khrushchev
bangs his shoe on desk at the UN General Assembly Session on October 12,
1960.
(See New York Times for October 13, 1960 [has picture] and Time
Magazine for October 24, 1960 at page 34.
[Haven't been able to find picture on
WEB])
Presidential Election Campaign. John F. Kennedy against
Richard M. Nixon.
Kennedy alleges Missile Gap.
John F. Kennedy elected President on Nov. 4,
1960. Kennedy defeated Nixon
34,227,096 to 34,108,546.
1961
Kennedy Inauguration
Flexible response replaces doctrine of massive retaliation
Summit between Kennedy and Khrushchev leads the Soviet leader
to underestimate the young and seemingly inexperienced American
President.
August 13, 1961 Berlin Wall is put up.
1962
Cuban Missile Crisis--October.
Closest world came to World War III during the era of Cold War.
1963
Ngo Dinh Dien, President of South Vietnam, is killed in a
coup approved by the United States. Kennedy is shocked. 16,000
American troops are in South Vietnam at the time of Kennedy's death. In
1968, the maximum number of 550,000 is reached.
November 22, 1963 John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas,
Texas, by Lee Harvey Oswald. Lyndon Banes Johnson becomes President.
Peaceful Competition, 1964 - 1968
1964
Khrushchev overthrown. Leonid Breshnev and
Aleksey Kosygin assume control of the Soviet Union.
Johnson elected U.S. President in a landslide
election again Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona. Johnson campaign used
Atomic bomb picture as propaganda against Goldwater. Goldwater
is pictured as an extremist. Goldwater himself nourishes that idea by
stating that "extremism in the defense of virtue is no vice."
Johnson promises not to send American boys to do what Asian boys should do
for themselves. 89th Congress is elected.
China explodes an Atomic bomb in October
1965
U.S. Marines are used to overthrow Juan Bosch in
Dominican Republic.
Tonkin Gulf Resolution used by Johnson to
escalate war in Vietnam.
Vietnam War begins in earnest.
Detente, 1969 - 1979
Cold War Returns, 1979 - 1985
Carter and Human Rights
Breshnev's Last Years
Muslim Fundamentalism
Iranian Hostage Crisis
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
Reagan, The Evil Empire, and the Reagan Doctrine
Cold War Ends, 1985 - 1991
Mikhail Gorbachev
Perestroika
Glasnost
The Satellite States assert their Independence
Poland
Hungary
Czechoslovakia
Germany: The Wall Falls
Romania
The Soviet Union Collapses
The Baltic Republics
The Russian Federation Elects a President
The August 1991 Coup Fails
