World War II: Causes, Conflicts, and Consequences

• World War II was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945.
• The principal belligerents were the Axis powers (primarily Germany, Italy, and Japan) and the Allies (primarily France, Great Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union).
• It involved the vast majority of the world's countries, forming opposing military alliances.
• It was the most widespread war in history and directly involved more than 100 million people from more than 30 countries.
• The war was marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust, and the use of new military technologies.
• In total, an estimated 50 to 85 million fatalities resulted, making World War II the deadliest conflict in human history.
• It reshaped the political alignment and social structures of the globe.
• The Holocaust was a genocide during World War II in which Nazi Germany, aided by its collaborators, systematically murdered some six million European Jews.
• Jews were targeted for extermination based on racial ideology.
• Other groups, including Roma, the intellectually disabled, political dissidents, and homosexuals, were also persecuted and murdered.
• The Nazis established concentration camps and extermination camps where prisoners were subjected to forced labor, starvation, torture, and mass killings.
• Auschwitz-Birkenau was the largest and most infamous of these camps.
• The Nuremberg Trials were held after World War II to prosecute prominent members of Nazi Germany's political, military, and economic leadership.
• They were held in Nuremberg, Germany, from 1945 to 1949.
• The trials established important principles of international law, including the concept of individual responsibility for war crimes, crimes against peace, and crimes against humanity.
• Human rights are moral principles or norms that describe certain standards of human behavior and are regularly protected as legal rights in national and international law.
• They are commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights "to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being" and which are "inherent to all human beings", regardless of their age, ethnic origin, location, language, religion, or any other status.
• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948.
• The UDHR outlines basic rights and fundamental freedoms to which all human beings are entitled.
• These rights include the right to life, liberty, and security of person; freedom from slavery and torture; freedom of opinion and expression; the right to work and education; and the right to an adequate standard of living.
• The UDHR is not a treaty itself, but it has served as the foundation for the development of international human rights law.

Key Political Leaders During WWII

• Franklin D. Roosevelt (United States): President of the United States during most of the war, he led the country from a position of neutrality to becoming a major Allied power.
• Winston Churchill (United Kingdom): Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, he rallied the British people and played a crucial role in the Allied war effort.
• Joseph Stalin (Soviet Union): Leader of the Soviet Union, he oversaw the country's war effort after Germany's invasion in 1941.
• Adolf Hitler (Germany): Dictator of Nazi Germany and the central figure in initiating World War II and the Holocaust.
• Benito Mussolini (Italy): Fascist dictator of Italy, he allied with Hitler and led Italy into the war.
• Emperor Hirohito (Japan): The symbolic head of state of Japan, during whose reign Japan pursued aggressive expansionist policies.

The United Nations

• The aftermath of World War II led to the creation of the United Nations (UN) in 1945.
• The UN was established to promote international cooperation and prevent future conflicts.
• It has played a significant role in addressing global issues, including peace and security, human rights, and economic development.

The Allies & Axis

• The Allied powers were made up of many significant players.
• The Allies included Great Britain, The United States, and the Soviet Union.
• The Axis powers were made up of Germany, Italy, and Japan.
• Many of the key political leaders had different agendas at the end of the war.
• The end of the war marked a shift in global politics and power.