Pearson Baccalaureate – World History:
Causes and Effects of 20th Century Wars
Cross-regional war: World War Two – Effects (p. 199-209)
The impact of the war in Europe
Human cost
• Estimates put the number of dead at more than 50 million, with 40 million in Europe
alone. Also, civilians had never been affected as heavily: Two thirds of all casualties were
civilians. No other war has recorded such a loss of life in so short a time.
• Apart from the number of casualties, more than 20 million people had been displaced
during the war as a result of fighting but also due to deportations of targeted groups of
people.
• Additionally, the suffering didn’t simply stop when the war was over. Many people were
forced to move away from their homes once the war was over. Between 1945-47 alone,
16 million Germans were expelled from the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and
many died on their flight.
Economic cost
Unlike WWI, WWII was much more devastating in terms of economic cost and also took place
in nearly all of Europe. The aerial bombing was particularly destructive, millions of people lost
their homes and agriculture, industry, communication systems and infrastructure were destroyed.
As a consequence, the victors of the war emerged from the conflict almost as devastated as the
losers. People were homeless and their states weren’t able to produce enough food. Britain was
bankrupted by the war and the Soviet economy also suffered badly.
Political consequences
• Compared to WWI, boundaries weren’t changed drastically after the war with the
exception of Poland which was moved westwards gaining former Germany territory.
(Yalta Conference). There was no major treaty drawn up at the end of the war which could
be compared to the Treaty of Versailles, the Allies however, did meet twice to discuss
post-war Europe, at the Yalta Conference and later at Potsdam.
• Germany’s future also wasn’t particularly discussed. Even though the Allies agreed on
temporarily dividing it up into four occupation zones, growing hostility between the US
and the SU led to a permanent division of German by 1949.
• Despite an agreement signed at Yalta stating that free elections would be allowed in all
Eastern European states, the countries that the Red Army had liberated were now one-
party regimes under Stalin’s control.
The effects of the war on international relations
The USA and the USSR emerge as superpowers
The change in the balance of power was probably the most significant impact on international
relations. In contrast to WWI, there was a major shift in power. While “old powers” such as
France and Britain emerged significantly weaker, the USSR and the USA emerged much more
powerful than ever before. Why?
, Military reasons:
• Largest air force, 700’000 naval vessels, 12 million men in the armed forces + atomic
bomb and possessed the largest land army
• France and Britain had not been able to defeat Germany w/o the power of the USA
+SU
• The USSR was a regional power as it lacked any strong military neighbours.
Economic reasons:
• The US’ economy was able to out-produce all others during the war and emerged as the
world’s strongest economy.
• The USA was committed to more “open trade” and was willing to play an active role in
preventing the pre-war pattern of trade blocs and tariffs from re-remerging.
• The USA had the economic strength to prevent a return to instability in Europe
• The USSR replaced Germany in its role of supporting smaller and newly created states.
Political reasons:
• The Western and the USA’s liberal democracy had triumphed over fascism.
• In the East it was Communism that had triumphed over Fascism and Communism had
gained widespread respect and influence in Europe because of its part in resisting the
Germans. There were even strong Communist parties in many Western European states.
In Asia, Communism also played a role in filling the power vacuum left by the collapse
of colonial empires
• Communisms could also fill the political vacuum in Europe and had the strength to
prevent a return to instability in Eastern Europe.
• The role of the Red Army defeating Germany gave Stalin a claim to a large role in
forming the post-war world.
The impact of the superpowers
Due to their strength and power, the USA and the SU became key players in setting up the post-
war settlement of Europe. As the two superpowers became increasingly hostile with each other,
Europe became increasingly insignificant in its role of international relations and the whole
conflict eventually developed into the “Cold War”. The USA and the SU did not agree on the
post-war settlement and Europe was gradually divided up into Western and Eastern Europe. →
end of US isolationism and the beginning of a dominant role in world affairs
Western Europe
Western Europe’s economic weakness started to translate into a political one which is why the
USA had to give economic aid trying to prevent the weak Western economic states falling to
Communism. →Marshall Plan 1948: Thanks to American involvement Europe was able to
recover economically and implement necessary social changes.
With the elimination of fascism an increasing amount of multi-party democracies started to
establish. The role of a modern state was therefore revolutionized, every European state set up
provision for social services. (= Britain: the Welfare State)
As the traditional exchange between the West and the East was disrupted, the Western states
needed to economically cooperate with each other.
The impact of the war on the position of women:
During the war women strongly contributed to war effort by working in all kinds of professions.
After the war, however, there were strong calls, for women to return to their normal lives at
Causes and Effects of 20th Century Wars
Cross-regional war: World War Two – Effects (p. 199-209)
The impact of the war in Europe
Human cost
• Estimates put the number of dead at more than 50 million, with 40 million in Europe
alone. Also, civilians had never been affected as heavily: Two thirds of all casualties were
civilians. No other war has recorded such a loss of life in so short a time.
• Apart from the number of casualties, more than 20 million people had been displaced
during the war as a result of fighting but also due to deportations of targeted groups of
people.
• Additionally, the suffering didn’t simply stop when the war was over. Many people were
forced to move away from their homes once the war was over. Between 1945-47 alone,
16 million Germans were expelled from the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and
many died on their flight.
Economic cost
Unlike WWI, WWII was much more devastating in terms of economic cost and also took place
in nearly all of Europe. The aerial bombing was particularly destructive, millions of people lost
their homes and agriculture, industry, communication systems and infrastructure were destroyed.
As a consequence, the victors of the war emerged from the conflict almost as devastated as the
losers. People were homeless and their states weren’t able to produce enough food. Britain was
bankrupted by the war and the Soviet economy also suffered badly.
Political consequences
• Compared to WWI, boundaries weren’t changed drastically after the war with the
exception of Poland which was moved westwards gaining former Germany territory.
(Yalta Conference). There was no major treaty drawn up at the end of the war which could
be compared to the Treaty of Versailles, the Allies however, did meet twice to discuss
post-war Europe, at the Yalta Conference and later at Potsdam.
• Germany’s future also wasn’t particularly discussed. Even though the Allies agreed on
temporarily dividing it up into four occupation zones, growing hostility between the US
and the SU led to a permanent division of German by 1949.
• Despite an agreement signed at Yalta stating that free elections would be allowed in all
Eastern European states, the countries that the Red Army had liberated were now one-
party regimes under Stalin’s control.
The effects of the war on international relations
The USA and the USSR emerge as superpowers
The change in the balance of power was probably the most significant impact on international
relations. In contrast to WWI, there was a major shift in power. While “old powers” such as
France and Britain emerged significantly weaker, the USSR and the USA emerged much more
powerful than ever before. Why?
, Military reasons:
• Largest air force, 700’000 naval vessels, 12 million men in the armed forces + atomic
bomb and possessed the largest land army
• France and Britain had not been able to defeat Germany w/o the power of the USA
+SU
• The USSR was a regional power as it lacked any strong military neighbours.
Economic reasons:
• The US’ economy was able to out-produce all others during the war and emerged as the
world’s strongest economy.
• The USA was committed to more “open trade” and was willing to play an active role in
preventing the pre-war pattern of trade blocs and tariffs from re-remerging.
• The USA had the economic strength to prevent a return to instability in Europe
• The USSR replaced Germany in its role of supporting smaller and newly created states.
Political reasons:
• The Western and the USA’s liberal democracy had triumphed over fascism.
• In the East it was Communism that had triumphed over Fascism and Communism had
gained widespread respect and influence in Europe because of its part in resisting the
Germans. There were even strong Communist parties in many Western European states.
In Asia, Communism also played a role in filling the power vacuum left by the collapse
of colonial empires
• Communisms could also fill the political vacuum in Europe and had the strength to
prevent a return to instability in Eastern Europe.
• The role of the Red Army defeating Germany gave Stalin a claim to a large role in
forming the post-war world.
The impact of the superpowers
Due to their strength and power, the USA and the SU became key players in setting up the post-
war settlement of Europe. As the two superpowers became increasingly hostile with each other,
Europe became increasingly insignificant in its role of international relations and the whole
conflict eventually developed into the “Cold War”. The USA and the SU did not agree on the
post-war settlement and Europe was gradually divided up into Western and Eastern Europe. →
end of US isolationism and the beginning of a dominant role in world affairs
Western Europe
Western Europe’s economic weakness started to translate into a political one which is why the
USA had to give economic aid trying to prevent the weak Western economic states falling to
Communism. →Marshall Plan 1948: Thanks to American involvement Europe was able to
recover economically and implement necessary social changes.
With the elimination of fascism an increasing amount of multi-party democracies started to
establish. The role of a modern state was therefore revolutionized, every European state set up
provision for social services. (= Britain: the Welfare State)
As the traditional exchange between the West and the East was disrupted, the Western states
needed to economically cooperate with each other.
The impact of the war on the position of women:
During the war women strongly contributed to war effort by working in all kinds of professions.
After the war, however, there were strong calls, for women to return to their normal lives at
