Chapter 19 The Cold War

1. Chapter 19The Cold War Section 1 Healing the Wounds of War

2. The Occupation of Germany • {To discuss how to handle post war Germany, Allied leaders met in Potsdam, Germany in July 1945 at the Potsdam Conference} • President Truman met with Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill, who at the conference was replaced by Clement Attlee, and together they divided Germany into four occupation zones • The British, French and Americans took the western parts of Germany and the Soviet Union took the eastern part. • Their goal was to crush the Nazi Party and reestablish a government, rebuild German industry and return refugees to their homes

4. The Occupation of Japan • The U.S. occupied post war Japan from 1945 to 1952. • Although Emperor Hirohito remained in his palace, he had no power. Supreme Commander Douglas MacArthur, his people and a new Japanese congress ran the country • Under MacArthur Japan began the demobilization of millions of Japanese troops and established its own constitution in 1947. • The new constitution, set up a democratic system, gave women the right to vote, granted freedom of religion and stated that Japan can never become a military power again • Japan also set up new economic reforms like giving land t farmers, allowing labor unions to organize and breaking up the {Zaibatsu- huge corporations run by single families that had monopolies in Japan}

5. In Japan, the Emperor was actually seen as a deity, or a god, and had been since the beginning. {So the first time in history the Japanese public had ever heard the voice of their Emperor over the radio it was of him not only admitting defeat and surrender but admitting that he was a mortal man and not a god.} Can you imagine the devastation this set upon the Japanese people. Their entire belief system was put into question. They began to question their faith and wonder what other parts of their religion or culture were based upon lies?

6. Japanese POW’s reaction to the Emperor’s public surrender broadcast

7. The War Crimes Trials The Nuremburg Trials • The Allied powers agreed that all the German and Japanese war criminals and military leaders should be punished • The German war crime trials were held in Nuremburg, Germany and were appropriately called the {Nuremburg Trials • The trials began in November 1945 where the testimonies of witnesses gave the horrific accounts of Nazi atrocities.} • In September of 1946 Nazi leaders were charged with planning the war, committing war crimes, crimes against humanity and conspiracy to commit those crimes • 12 Nazi leaders were sentenced to death, 7 received jail time, 3 were acquitted and many others were fined and barred from public offices • Many others like {Adolph Eichmann, the founder of the Jewish extermination program, avoided immediate prosecution by hiding their identities and fleeing to Latin America}

10. The War Crimes Trials Trials in Tokyo • In Tokyo, MacArthur created the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in 1946, to try war criminals from the wars in the Pacific • The court prosecuted more than 20 Japanese military leaders between May 1946 and November 1948 • 7 people were sentenced to death including Hideki Tojo, Japan’s premier during the war • Despite protests from Americans that more Japanese and German officials should have been punished, the courts tried to follow legal procedures rather than act on anger • The trials did set the standard that all can be tried for their actions and that “I was just following orders” were not grounds for leniency

11. The Founding of the United Nations • In Washington DC, 1944, {delegates from the U.S., G.B., the Soviet Union and China met and came up with a postwar international organization called the United Nations} • In April 1945, leaders form 50 nations met in San Francisco to create the Charter of the UN • The charter created a National Assembly and a Security Council • The Security Council deals with military and political problems and has the power to veto any action proposed by the National Assembly • On October 24 1945 the United Nations became official and established its headquarters in NYC • Trygve Lie of Norway served as the first secretary-general of the UN and former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt served as one of the first US delegates to the UN

12. The Founding of Israel • One of the first issues the UN had to deal with was Palestine, a Mediterranean region occupied by both Arabs and Jews • Rather than return to Europe after the end of WWII, many Jews moved to Palestine despite Arab protests • Britain, who ruled Palestine since WWI, was unable to resolve the conflict and turned it over to the UN in 1947 • The UN divided the nation up into 2 states, one for the Jews and one for the Arabs, but the Arabs rejected the proposal • {Zionism was the movement seeking a home for the Jewish people in Palestine.} • Zionist leader David Ben-Gurion and other Jewish leaders promptly proclaimed the new state of Israel promptly after the British forces withdrew from Palestine • They had the support of both the US and the Soviet Union

13. These displaced 4-year old Jewish refugees from Europe, were bound for Palestine (on board the Exodus) and photographed by a Red Cross Photographer: Werner Bischof

14. The Arab-Israeli War • The Arabs responded with violence, refusing to recognize Israel. • The Palestine Arabs rallied forces from Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Transjordan to attack Israel. • Outnumbered, but backed with all the money from the American Jewish community the Israeli soldiers were able to hold on • In an attempt to end the war the UN sent a mediator, Ralph Bunche, to the Middle East. {He eventually was able to get both sides to accept an armistice • For this Ralph Bunche became the first African American to win a Nobel Peace Prize} • The agreement gave Israel more territory but divided Jerusalem into Arab and Israeli zones • It gave Egypt control of the Gaza Strip and gave Jordan the West Bank of the Jordan River • The Arab countries still refused to recognize Israel • However the issue of the Palestine Arabs still residing in Israel was left unresolved