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World War II
العربية

Aftermath

The consequences that shaped the modern world

  1. Allied Victory and Axis Defeat

    The Allied powers won. The Axis powers were militarily defeated. Germany surrendered in May 1945, and Japan surrendered in September 1945.

  2. Over 70 Million Dead

    More than 70 million people were killed — the majority of them civilians — along with millions wounded and missing.

  3. Economic Ruin and the Destruction of Cities

    Heavy bombing and battles destroyed many of Europe's and Asia's major cities. The world economy collapsed before large-scale reconstruction began.

  4. Germany Divided in Two

    After the war Germany was split into the Federal Republic of Germany (West) and the German Democratic Republic (East). It remained divided until reunification in 1990.

  5. Founding of the United Nations

    The United Nations was founded in 1945 to preserve international peace and security and to settle disputes by negotiation rather than war. Saudi Arabia was one of the founding states.

  6. Japan Renounces Militarism

    Japan abandoned its aggressive military policy and adopted a new constitution that renounces war, turning it into a peaceful state. It then entered a long period of economic development.

  7. Decline of the Old European Powers and Japan

    The global standing of Britain, France, Italy, and Japan declined, while the United States and the Soviet Union emerged as the world's two superpowers.

  8. Collapse of the Colonial Empires

    European powers — above all Britain — lost most of their overseas colonies. India gained independence in 1947, followed by a cascade of independence movements across Asia and Africa in the following decades.

  9. Outbreak of the Cold War

    A political, military, and economic struggle emerged between the United States, the Soviet Union, and their satellite states — known as the Cold War — lasting from the end of WWII until 1991.

  10. A Global Ideological Struggle

    Ideological struggle became a defining feature of international relations: liberal capitalism in the West versus communist socialism in the East. It shaped governments, policies, and proxy conflicts across the world.