The
Results of
WWII
Creation of the United Nations
The United Nations was formed in 1945 to maintain
peace, bring an end to war, improve the standard of
living for all nations, and to promote human rights. It
was led by the security council (Britain, France, U.S.,
U.S.S.R., & China) and included all major powers of the
world.
Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and
Joseph Stalin at Yalta in Feb. 1945.
Attlee, Truman, and Stalin at Potsdam. JulyAug. 1945.
During the conference (Potsdam), Truman mentioned to Stalin
about an unspecified "powerful new weapon"; Stalin, who knew
of its existence long before Truman ever knew through placing
spies inside US borders, encouraged the usage of any weapon that
would hasten the end of the war.
Discovery of the Holocaust
Near the end of the war allied troops discovered the
concentration camps set up by the Nazis. At these
camps Jews worked for the German war effort. In
some cases they were used in German medical
experiments as guinea pigs. At Auschwitz over 6,000
Jews were gassed per day. By the end of the war Hitler
had killed over 1/3 of the Jews in Europe, approx. 6
million people.
Holocaust Map of Concentration Camps
Manhattan Project & Atomic Age
The United States, led by physicist Robert Oppenheimer,
developed an atomic bomb under the secretive Manhattan
Project. By mid-1945 there was a belief by the Americans that the
Japanese were too proud to surrender. This led American
President Harry S. Truman to order the dropping of the atomic
bomb. On August 6, 1945 the U.S. bombed Hiroshima. More than
70,000 people were killed and 61,000 were injured instantly.
Many people were vaporized, and radiation burns scorched others.
The Japanese refused surrender and on Aug. 9 the U.S. dropped a
second bomb on Nagasaki. Aug. 10, 1945 Japan surrenders ending
WWII. This signaled the beginning of the nuclear arms race and
the Cold War.
Atomic bomb test explosion
Los Alamos was so secret that officially it did
not exist. Babies born there received birth
certificates indicating they were born at box
1663.
Watch towers and prison-like security
surrounded the U.S. top security, top secret
Los Alamos atomic bomb development
facility during WWII
The patterns of clothing were
permanently burned into the skin
because of the intense flash of light.
Hair loss due to radiation exposure
Atomic Blast Shadows
The shadow of the parapets are imprinted on the surface of the bridge,
2,890 feet (880 meters) south-south-west of the hypocenter. These
shadows give a clue as to the exact location of the hypocenter
Little Boy
Fat Man
Birth of the Cold War
The Cold War resulted from disputes between
democratic and communist nations during WWII. The
US and the USSR could not agree on how to deal with
Germany at the end of WWII. The US did not want
reparations to be paid while the USSR did. This led to
the division of Germany into separate zones (both
communist and democratic). A power struggle emerged
between the superpowers leading to an arms race and
the formation of alliances based upon communist or
democratic lines throughout the world.
The countries
behind the iron
curtain are shaded
in red. Yugosalvia
(in grey) was
independent of the
Eastern Bloc, yet it
was still communist
run.
Germany divided into
separate zones after
WWII ends. The
creation of West
Germany (democratic)
and East Germany
(communist) was a
result of the cold war.
Berlin was located in
East Germany
(communist) but the
city itself was divided
into both democratic
and communist zones.
From 1949-1961, almost
three million East
Germans escaped to the
West. In July 1961
alone, 30,000 fled,
precipitating another
Berlin Crisis on August
13, 1961 when East
German authorities built
a 28-mile-long wall
(euphemistically called
the "antifascist
protective barrier")
along the border to
prevent East Germans
from escaping to the
West.
Baby Boom Generation
With the return of peace many Canadians began to marry and
start families. As a result the population soared in Canada after
the war. Between 1945 and 1965 the baby boom occurred.
The average family had 3-4 children. As these children aged
society had to change to accommodate the large numbers. This
led to a boom in infrastructure, employment and housing.
How did the birthrate rise and fall during the baby boom years in the
US?
1940
2,559,000 births per year
1946
3,311,000 births per year
1955
4,097,000 births per year
1957
4,300,000 births per year
1964
4,027,000 births per year
1974
3,160,000 births per year
Symbols of the Baby Boom in Suburbia
1950
1960
Hot Dog Production (millions of lbs)
750
1050
Potato Chip Production (millions of lbs)
320
532
Sales of lawn and porch furniture (millions of dollars)
53.6
145.2
Sales of power mowers (millions of dollars)
1.0
3.8
Sales of floor polishers (millions of dollars)
0.24
1.0
Sales of Encyclopaedia (millions of dollars)
72
300
Number of Children age 5-14
24.3
35.5
Number of baseball Little Leagues
776
5,700
Music the Baby Boomers Have Taken to Heart
Rock Around the Clock
by Bill Haley and His Comets
Heartbreak Hotel
by Elvis Presley
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
by The Platters
Save the Last Dance for Me
by The Drifters
Duke of Earl
by Gene Chandler
I Want to Hold Your Hand
by The Beatles
You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
by The Righteous Brothers
The Sounds of Silence
by Simon and Garfunkel
Aquarius
by The Fifth Dimension
American Pie
by Don McLean
Fads of the Baby Boomers
Hula Hoops
Frozen Foods
Poodle Skirts and Saddle Shoes
Panty Raids
Barbie and GI Joe Dolls
Bikinis
Frisbees
Yo-yos
Ouija Boards
Dune Buggies
Before: picture of the land that would become the American suburb of Levittown, in Long Island, NY.
After: An aerial view of the suburban development of Levittown as a result of the baby boom.