The legacies of World War II

The birth of the United Nations, the death of colonial empires and the first steps towards the European Union are all legacies of World War II.

- New international institutions -

Succeeding the League of Nations, which failed to prevent World War II, the United Nations Organisation is created in San Francisco on June 26, 1945. Its executive Security Council has 15 members, five of which are permanent and hold veto powers. They represent the victorious nations: Britain, China, France, the Soviet Union and the United States. The UN has a mandate to guarantee global peace and security and sets up an intervention force dubbed "blue helmets."

- On the economic front, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is founded in July 1944 to guarantee global financial stability.

- The World Bank rounds out the trio of new institutions in December 1945, with a mandate to assist the reconstruction of Europe and Japan.

- Human rights and crimes against humanity -

In response to Nazi war crimes, the UN General Assembly adopts the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948.

- The concept of Crimes Against Humanity is defined in the charter of the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg, which tried Nazi leaders in 1945-46.

According to the International Criminal Court (ICC) which came into being in 2002, crimes against humanity can include "acts committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population"; murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation or the forcible transfer of populations, torture, rape.

- Superpowers face off -

The main victors of the war, the Soviet Union and the United States move from being allies to adversaries. From 1945 to 1949, the Communist Party takes over in countries liberated by Moscow's forces. In March 1946, Winston Churchill deplores an "Iron Curtain" that separates Europe in two.
- On June 5, 1949, then US secretary of state George Marshall launches a huge economic aid programme for Europe that draws Moscow's ire. The subsequent Cold War lasts until most communist regimes collapse in late 1989.

- On April 4, 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is created in Washington to ensure a common defence of western Europe. On May 4, 1955, Eastern Europe counters with the Warsaw Pact.

- Germany and Japan under tutelage -

- After the Third Reich surrenders on May 8, 1945, Germany is divided into four zones under the control of Britain, France, the US and USSR.
- At the Potsdam Conference in August 1945, the Allied powers decide to dismantle Germany's army and confiscate industrial assets to pay for war compensation. In May 1949, three zones under western tutelage become the Federal Republic of Germany. The following October, the Soviet zone becomes the German Democratic Republic. Full German reunification must wait until 1990.

- After Japan surrenders in September 1945 it loses some territories. The US drafts a new constitution that takes effect on May 3, 1947. In September 1951, the Treaty of San Francisco returns Japan's sovereignty and its right to self defence. US forces remain stationed in the country however.

- The nuclear threat -
On August 6 and 9, 1945, the US drops atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and Japan swiftly surrenders. The USSR  becomes a nuclear power in 1949, followed by Britain in 1952, France in 1960 and China in 1964.

- Nuclear deterrence, the threat of global destruction, becomes a core defence strategy in the Cold War. It continues to represent the foundation of global order.

- Towards the European Union -

The oldest European organisation, the Council of Europe, is created on May 5, 1949 by 10 former warring countries to promote democratic stability in Europe.
- On April 18, 1951, the founding acts of the EU, the Treaty of Paris, created the European Coal and Steel Community with Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands as members. By binding their means of production together, France and Germany make it almost impossible to wage war against each other again.

- End of colonial empires, the baby boom -

- After World War II, colonial empires built by Britain, France and the Netherlands crumble as growing nationalist movements push for independence.

India becomes independent in 1947, Indonesia in 1949, and Vietnam in 1954.

- From 1945 until 1974, the so-called Baby Boom, a global surge in births, coincides with sustained global growth that is cut short by oil price spikes in 1973 and 1979.

- Birth of Israel -
After the Holocaust, Jewish refugees move en masse to Palestine. On May 14, 1948, Britain's mandate over the region expires and David Ben Gurion immediately declares the independence of the state of Israel. Arab armies move against the new state, and more than 700,000 Palestinians are pushed into exile.