History

1. The Defeat of the Axis Powers : The Axis Powers-Germany, Italy and Japan-were defeated at the end of World War II.
Germany stood broken, humiliated and devastated. It was divided into two parts i.e., the East and the West Germany. Germany’s army was reduced ; her material was taken away. Her war-criminals were tried and duly punished, even excuted. Nazism came to an end.
The Japanese emperor was deprived of his authority. The Americal General Mac-Arthur was given complete control over Japan. Her army was disbanded and arsenals destroyed. Her fleet was also destroyed by the American war-ships.
Similarly Italy too was defeated. The Allies took over Sicily in July 1943 and then marched to Rome. Mussolini was dismissed and a new government of Badoglio surrendered before the Allies.
2. Unprecedented Deaths and Destruction and the Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki : The war killed about 25 million soldiers on both the sides, while it wounded more than 34 millions of them. Millions of civilians were also killed. Many big cities with beautiful building were reduced to ashes. Europe, from Baltic to the Black Sea, presented a tragic sight of ruined towns and cities, bridges, roads, fields, factories and concentration camps. This region was called the “misery belt” of the world. A large number of people became refugees, as their houses were destroyed. The two Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki continued to reel under the radiation effects of these nuclear weapons. These not only brought death for millions, but caused damage to kidney, ovary, nervous system, brain, muscles, skin and also caused diseases like cancer, blindness, sterility. The radioactive dust contaminated the earth, the water, the air, it killed animals and destroyed ecology. Vast areas of land were rendered unworthy of cultivation and human habitation. Some of these effects have continued even upto the present day; and life of man is today endangered with the stock-piling of more powerful nuclear weapons.
The cost of the war too was very huge. To the U.S.A. alone, it cost something like 350 billion dollars, whereas the direct expenditure of other countries was estimated at one trillion (1,000 billion) dollars, while loss of property must have run to another trillion. The indirect long range effects of the War were simply incalculable. No country was free from the impact of the war, directly or indirectly, Inflation pushed up the prices. The scarcity of food, clothing and shelter caushed untold suffering, misery and death to a large number of people all the world over.