CONSEQUENCES OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR

DEMOGRAPHIC AND MATERIAL CONSEQUENCES

In addition to the invaluable physical destruction, the war had about 45 millions of victims. Half of the dead are Russians (22 million) followed by Chinese (13 million), Germany (7 million) and Poland (6 million). Yugoslavs and Japanese had about 2 million victims respectively, while French, British and Italians lost about 1/2 million each. the Americans just they had 1/4 million deaths.

IDEOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES

Fascism and Nazism just as discredited ideologies. During 1945 and 1946 the Nuremberg trials, in them come to light aspects are made more negative of the Nazi Regime. Henceforth there will be only two major ideological groups, the pro-capitalist that rests on the idea of freedom and the defense of parliamentary democracy, and pro-communist who supported the idea of equality and the defense of the social justice, both with different manifestations.

ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES

After the war the US economic hegemony was unchallenged. Had more than 50% of P.I.B. worldwide and more than 60% of gold reserves world, this time not adopt its traditional position of neutrality and be involved openly in the economic and political design of the new phase. In the conference Bretton Woods in 1944 the foundations of the new economic order and financial are made world. New monetary system and international institutions were created to regulate

economy (IMF, World Bank, GATT). The challenge posed by the existence of powerful Communist parties in Western Europe, was instrumental in the decision by the United States to help massively to Europe and Japan for its reconstruction and development, is the Marshall plan. In order to demonstrate the superiority of the capitalist model on communist, Western democracies built a social system that it reached a level of prosperity never seen, the welfare state.

POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES

The Russians led to the installation of communist regimes in the Soviet-type liberated countries, especially from Prague coup in 1948. This made react to economic Truman chose to intervene militarily to prevent communist expansion, is called Truman Doctrine. The USSR and the United States involved in the civil wars of Greece and China support each in their respective

side. In 1949 the Western allies created NATO in order to support militarily against the USSR. Now the world is the game board where the two victorious superpowers try to impose their domain, The Cold War begins.