Finally, in May 1945, Berlin was surrounded by the Soviet Army. 2 days before that. On 30th April 1945, Hitler killed himself. On 8th May 1945, Germany surrendered formally. German territories were divided. East Germany and West Germany were formed. Poland was recreated from a large part of East Germany. The borders of many countries were redrawn.
Today, the map of Europe that you see it looks the way it is because of world war 2. The map before world war 2 was completely different. When the new government was formed in Germany. They had cordial relations with France. The long enmity between the two countries was finally at the end.
Initially, to foster cooperation between the two countries, The European Coal and Steel Committee was formed. So that they could trade in coal and steel. Some years later, neighbouring countries like Italy and Britain became a part of it too. Trading was taken to the next step. And eventually in 2000, European Union was formed. An organisation that has erased borders between European countries.
Thanks to which, till today, there has been no other war like world war 2. In October 1945, the United Nations was established. To ensure that there are no more World Wars.
After this, the framework of World Bank, IMF, and NATO were set up. This is why you would have noticed, the permanent members of the United Nations were actually the countries which were the Allied Forces in World War 2. An interesting fact that I haven’t told you yet, is that after Germany’s surrender, World War 2 was not over.
Japan took another 2 months to surrender. In July 1945, Japan was given the ultimatum to surrender. But this ultimatum was ignored after which America dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Also Read : Why World War 1 Happened? The Real Reason
