Articles | Effects of the Second World War

The effects of the Second World War were felt in almost all parts of the world. Millions of lives were lost because of the war, Germany was separated into four quadrants each controlled by the main Allied Powers, Japan retreated back to her main borders after occupying many regions in the Pacific, and the world first came to shudder and fear with the release of nuclear weapons against Japan.

The Second World War can also be identified as the main catalyst for many changes in the world's geo-political landscapes. We all have seen and witnessed the great redrawing of the borders of European nations, the birth of the welfare state of the United Kingdom, the rising of communist revolutions in China and Eastern Europe, the birth of Israel, and the divisions of Germany followed by Korea and Vietnam. Many of today's influential organizations also have their roots during and after the Second Great War. The Best examples are the World Bank, the United Nations, and the International Monetary Fund.

Breakthroughs in progress and technology were also seen to have sparked during that time to fill out various roles and requirements in the war effort. The best examples are nuclear fission, the introduction of the jet engine and electronic computer. The multi polar world, which was prevalent all throughout history, changed a bipolar model dominated by the U.S. and Russia, two of the biggest victors of the Great War. They became known as the superpowers.

During and after the war, Europe and some regions in the Pacific lay in ruins with millions of refugees. Most of the industrial infrastructure in the European nations was destroyed and whole economies collapsed. With the shaping of the new borders courtesy of victorious nations, populations have suddenly found themselves trapped in hostile territories.

It can be concluded that the Soviet Union was the main beneficiary of the border revisions as she saw her borders extended at the expense if Poland, Germany, Finland, Romania, Czechoslovakia and Japan. She had also acquired three independent states (Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania) that had declared themselves neutral prior to the war. These Baltic States were occupied in the pre-war agreement (the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact) with the Nazi regime, which was then re-conquered back in 1944. Russia also attempted establishing a separate government in some areas within Iran it controlled during the war.

France for her part became a minor and temporary beneficiary with the annexing of the German state of Saar back in 1947. The state was considered an independent protectorate completely under the French economic control. Poland was indemnified for her losses to Russia by taking a greater part of East Germany. Overall, Germany suffered by giving away almost a quarter of her territory.

The defeat and occupation of Japan in the Second World War by victorious allied forces ushered in westernization. She became modernized in no time at all and quickly cultivated a very strong market with the industrial economy boom that can still be seen up to the present.