Page 124 - ABCTE Study Guide_Neat

World War II. Some estimates put the loss of life resulting from the war at 50 million. It was marked by
atrocious acts of violence, including the Holocaust, the use of the atomic bomb, and the firebombing of
Dresden. Covering even a fraction of World War II would take an entire course in itself (at the minimum),
but to review the basics of this conflict:

Causes Among the many causes of the war was rising
nationalism in Germany. Left in dire straits after
WWI, factions within the German government
began to blame the leaders of World War I-era
Germany. This led to the rise of Hitler and the Nazi
party, whose aggression eventually drew allies and
enemies.
Participants The Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and
others
The Allied Powers: the United States, Soviet
Union, the United Kingdom, France, and others

Loss of Life Axis: An estimated six million
Allies: An estimated twelve million
Civilian deaths figured largely in WWII, with about
thirty million noncombatant deaths.

The Cold War

While Americans enjoyed a period of economic prospertity after the war, a new conflict was simmering,
one that would last decades and feature many battles, both open and clandestine. The roots of the cold
war go back to events several decades in the past: enmity about the U.S. involvement in the Russian civil
war, unfulfilled promises from World War II, and, of course, the rise of capitalism in the United States and
communism in the Soviet Union. The following are some of the events and policies that shaped the cold
war.

• Korean War
In 1950, Stalin sent forces to invade the U.S.–backed country of South Korea. The United
States had an agreement with Japan to house military bases in Japan, and southeast Asia
quickly became an important area to both superpowers. The United States was worried
about the spread of communism, and the Soviets were concerned about letting the United
States establish a foothold in the region. China and the Soviet Union controlled and backed
North Korea, and the resulting conflict cost tens of thousands of American lives and a million
Korean lives on both sides of the war.
• Cuban Missile Crisis
When the United States placed midrange nuclear missiles in eastern Europe, the Soviets
responded by drawing up plans to house similar missiles in the socialist island nation of
Cuba. President Kennedy called for a naval blockade around the island and readied the
military for an assault on Cuba in the event that the Soviets refused to dismantle their
missiles. Many historians see these tense days as the closest the superpowers ever got to
nuclear war. The Soviets eventually agreed to remove the weaponry in exchange for a
certain number of U.S. missiles being removed from Europe.