Impact of WWII
SS6H7b. Explain the impact of
WWII in terms of the
Holocaust, the origins of the
Cold War, and the rise of
Superpowers.
E.Q.
• How did WWII impact the world in terms of
the Holocaust, the origins of the Cold War, and
the rise of Superpowers?
Holocaust
Key Facts
• Holocaust: systematic killing of 6 million Jews
• Key person: Adolph Hitler
• Time period: WWII
• Genocide: planned killing of a race of people
• How:
–
–
–
–
1. identified Jews with yellow star
2. took away rights/freedoms
3. gathered/imprisoned Jews in ghettos
4. shipped Jews to concentration camps
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/media_fi.php?ModuleId=10005143&MediaId=183
Concentration Camps
Left
• Old, weak, young
• Sent to “showers”
• Gassed to death
• cremated
•
•
•
•
•
•
Right
Workers
Sent to showers
Heads shaved
Given prison clothes
Tattooed with number
Worked to death
Not Just Jews Killed
•
•
•
•
Political prisoners
Mentally ill
Disabled
Gypsies, Poles, and others
Helene Gotthold, a Jehovah's Witness,
was beheaded for her religious beliefs on
December 8, 1944, in Berlin. She is
pictured with her children. Germany, June
25, 1936.
After
• Survivors – no homes left
• United Nations divided Palestine into Arab and
Jewish “states” (countries)
• Israel became a Jewish nation - 1948
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/media_fi.php?ModuleId=10005129&M
ediaId=177
Page169 CRCT Test Prep
#435. What is genocide?
The planned killing of a race of people
#436. Who created the country of Israel?
United Nations
#437. Who was spared in the Holocaust?
None of the above
#438. What actions did the United Nations take as
a result of the Holocaust?
Created a Jewish state and made genocide a crime
Cold War
Key Facts
• When: end of WWII – 1945
• What: period of distrust and misunderstanding
• Who: between Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.) & U.S.A.
(and former allies)
• Why: Soviet Union was communist/command
(strong central government controls
businesses). U.S.A. believed businesses should
be privately owned.
Eastern Bloc vs. Western Bloc
Eastern (red)
• Soviet Union
• Most eastern European
countries
Western (blue)
• U.S.A.
• Most western European
countries
Germany
• Divided after WWII into 4 parts
• 1948: divided into West
Germany (free) and East
Germany (Soviet controlled)
• Capital – Berlin – divided into
East Berlin and West Berlin
• 1961: Berlin Wall built to
separate city
Fears
• Each side believed the other wanted to rule the
world.
• People feared a nuclear war would happen.
• Countries formed alliances for protection.
• 1949
– Western Bloc plus Canada formed North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO)
– Eastern Bloc formed Warsaw Pact
CRCT Test Prep page 170
439. Which country was the leader of the Eastern Bloc?
Soviet Union
440. What 2 terms describe the dividing line between eastern
& western, communist & noncommunist areas?
Berlin Wall & Iron Curtain
441. Which was 1 of the areas of disagreement between the
U.S.S.R. & the U.S. during the Cold War?
Best type of economic system
442. When was the Cold War?
After WWII
443. The Warsaw Pact was to the U.S.S.R. as NATO was to the
U.S.
Rise of the Superpowers
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
U.S.A.
Constitutional Republic, Free
market
Permanent seat on U.N. Security
Council
4th most populated country in
world
Powerful military support from
NATO
Largest navy in world
Military bases all over world
CIA (spies)
Large reserve of nukes
Influenced world events
Soviet Union
• Communist, Command
• Permanent seat on U.N.
Security Council
• Largest country in the world
• Military and space technology
• World-wide spy network (KGB)
• One of largest stockpiles of
nukes in world
• Influenced world events
CRCT Test Prep page 171
444. As a world superpower, the U.S.S.R. had
A seat on the UN Security Council
445. As a world superpower, the U.S. had
Military bases all over the world
446. Which condition is required to be a world
superpower?
Influence over world events
Collapse of the Soviet Union
• Problem: Soviet Union spent $$$$$$$
– Putting down revolts in its countries
– protecting its borders
– keeping up with the arms race against the U.S.A
Collapse of the Soviet Union
1985
• leader Mikhail Gorbachev
– reduced government control
of business
– increased freedom for
citizens
Result
– improved relations with
U.S.A.
– inspired other Eastern Bloc
countries to demand freedom
German Reunification
• Nov 1989: Berlin Wall torn
down
• Germany began to reunify
• Germany was 1 country
again in 1990
• Cold War was over
• Soviet republics gained
freedom from Soviet
Union.
• Many new countries were
made. Russia is the
largest.
CRCT Test Prep pages 172
447. Why did Gorbachev reduce government
control of the economy?
An unstable economy due to increased military
spending
448. What marked the end of the Cold War?
Destruction of the Berlin Wall
449. What was the largest country created from
the former Soviet Union?
Russia