Effects of World War II
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The effects of World War II had far-reach-
ing implications for the international com-
munity. Many millions of lives had been lost
as a result of the war. Germany was divided
into four quadrants, which were controlled
by the Allied Powers — the United States,
Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union.
The war can be identified to varying degrees
as the catalyst for many continental, national
and local phenomena, such as the redrawing
of European borders, the birth of the United
Kingdom’s welfare state,
the communist
takeover of China and Eastern Europe, the
creation of Israel, and the 4 divisions of Ger-
many and Korea and later of Vietnam. In ad-
dition, many organizations have roots in the
Second World War; for example, the United
Nations, the World Bank, the WTO, and the
IMF. Technologies, such as nuclear fission,
the computer and the jet engine, also ap-
peared during this period.
A multipolar world was replaced by a bi-
polar one dominated by the two most power-
ful victors, the United States and Soviet
Union, which
became known as
the
superpowers.
Europe in ruins
At the end of the war, millions of refugees
were homeless, the European economy had
collapsed, and most of the European industri-
al infrastructure was destroyed.
Border revisions and population
transfers
As a result of the new borders drawn by the
victorious nations,
large populations sud-
denly found themse