Costs of World War II:
Over 60 million people were killed in WWII. That was equal to about 3% of the worlds population in 1940, but some estimates even say that over 80 million soldiers and civilians lost their lives. Germany had the second most losses during the war coming in at about 3 million lost in combat. Over 3/4 of these loses were on the Eastern Front of the war. The axis ally of Germany, Japan lost over 1.5 million soldiers in combat and about 900,000 civilians. The Soviet union had by far the most loses of the war. Estimates total around 13 million died in combat but there have been some guesses that up to 25 million Russians lost their lives. On the other end of the spectrum, the US joining the war late had only around 300,000 combat deaths and about 100,000 other deaths. All in all WWII became the most destructive war in history, and has still not been beaten to this day. |
Divided Berlin:Not only was Germany as a whole split up between the Allies, but so was Berlin itself. This becomes a problem later on for the US since Berlin sits right in the middle of Soviet controlled German territory.
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Why did Relationships Sour:Throughout the course of WWII the USSR lost more people than Great Britain and the United States Combined. Joseph Stalin felt this meant he should get more territory after the war. The US was against this because they knew he just wanted to spread communism and make the USSR a new world super power.
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Inside the USSR:In order to strengthen his dictatorial power, Stalin started the great purges, also known as "The Terror." He ordered the assassination of many political enemies and many others were sent to labor camps. In addition to this, Stalin promoted Russian history and culture, in other words a "cult of personality." He ordered the production and circulation of propaganda which portrayed him as a hero or a god.
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