M05 Next Steps

In this module we reviewed how World War II started and ended. Although the Allied forces emerged as the victors of this war, they were tasked with rebuilding and reforming another nation. Following the Emperor Hirohito's surrender, the Japanese colony of Korea was divided along the thirty-eighth parallel; the Soviet Union was given control of the northern half and the United States was given control of the southern portion. In Europe, as had been agreed upon at a meeting of the Allies in Potsdam in the summer of 1945, Germany was divided into four occupation zones that would be controlled by Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States. The city of Berlin was similarly split into four sections. Plans were made to prosecute war criminals in both Japan and Germany. In October 1945, the United Nations was created for the purpose of facilitating global diplomacy and preventing future world wars. People around the world celebrated the end of the conflict, but America’s use of atomic bombs and lingering disagreements between the United States and the Soviet Union at Yalta and Potsdam would contribute to a new form of instability in the postwar world.

When you are ready to get started on the next module, click the button below.