Class 10 History Elective Chapter 4 The Second World War

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Class 10 History Elective Chapter 4 The Second World War

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The Second World War

Chapter: 4

TEXTUAL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

VERY SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS:

A. [Mention the dates of the following events]

(a) German attack of Soviet Russia.

(b) Operation Torch. 

(c) Destruction of the ‘Prince of Wales’.

(d) Surrendered of Singapore to the Japanese. 

(e) Dropping of atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

(f) Surrender of Japan to Douglas MacArthur.

(g) Independence of philippines.

Ans: (a) German attack of Soviet Russia : 22 June 1941.

(b) Operation Torch : November, 1942.

(c) Destruction of the ‘prince of Wales :10 December 1941.

(d) Surrendered of Singapore to the Japanese : 14 February 1942.

(e) Dropping of atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki : 6 and 9th August 1945.

(f) Surrendered of Japan to Douglas MacArthur : 2 September 1945.

(g) Independence of philippines : 1945.

B. Give the Answer of the following: 

(a) How many fighter planes were utilised by Hitler in the attack of Norway?

Ans: Hitler utilised 800 fighter planes in the attack of Norway.

(b) Who was Vidkun Quisling? 

Ans: Vidkun Quisling was the ki leader of the Fascist group that supported Hitler in his conquest of Norway.

(c) who organised the ‘Free France’ Movement? 

Ans: A France patriot named Colonel Charles de Gaulle organised the Free France’ Movement.

(d) which country did Hitler attack under the cod name Operation sea – Lion?

Ans: Hitler attacked England Under the code name Operation sea-Lion.

(e) Which country did destroy the British warships the ‘prince of Wales And the repulse’ off Singapore? 

Ans: japan destroyed the British warships the prince of Wales And the ‘ Repulse’ off Singapore.

(f) Who was known as ‘Desert fox’ ?

Ans: Erwin Rommel, one of the most capable German Generals came to be known as the ‘Desert Fox’.

(g) What is the new name of Formosa?

Ans: The New name of Formosa is Taiwan.

(h) Who was the prisedent of the UsA when the atom bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

Ans: Harry S. Truman waa the prisedent of the USA when the atom bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

(i) Who dropped the atom bombs on Hiroshima? 

Ans: Enola gay of the USA Air force dropped atom bomb on Nagasaki.

(j) Who dropped the atom bomb on the Nagasaki?

Ans: Charles W. Sweeney of the USA dropped the atom on Nagasaki.

(k) What was the name of Hitler’s wife?

Ans: The name of Hitler’s wife was Eva Braun.

(l) Who was the supreme commander of the Allied Forces after August 1943?

Ans: The supreme commander of the Allied Forces after August 1943 was Admiral lord Louis Mountbatten.

(m) Where did japan General Douglas MacArthur of the USA?

Ans: japan Surrendered to General Douglas MacArthur of the USA on board the battleship ‘Missouri.’

(n) What was the cod name of German attack on Russia?

Ans: The code name of German attack on Russia was ‘Operation Barbarossa’.

(o) Which countries did attack the Nazis under the cod name of’Opreation Overiord’?

Ans: The combined armies of Amarica and England attacked the Nazis under the cod name of ‘Opreation Overlord’.

Short Answer Type Questions

Q 1. What are the different phases of the second world War?

Ans: The different phases of the Second World war were:

(i) phases I : from 1939 to 1940

(ii) Phase II : from 1940 to 1941

(iii) phase III : from 1941 to 1942

(iv)  phase IV : from 1942 to 1944

(v) Phase V : from 1944 to 2945

Q 2. What circumstances lead to the entry of the USA in the second world war?

Ans: While the Nazis took control of Germany and planned for war in Europe, Japan aggressively expanded its control of territory in east Asia by invading Manchuria in 1931 and China in 1937. In 1940, Japan signed the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy, creating World War II’s Axis powers. While the United States had remained neutral in the war, it responded to Japan’s aggression in Asia with economic sanctions that caused severe shortages of natural resources that the Japanese needed for their war effort. In an attempt to prevent American interference in the Pacific war, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, the US naval station in Hawaii, in a surprise attack on December 7, 1941.

On December 8, Joseph Goebbels described Adolf Hitler as “exceptionally happy” when he learned the news.

Q 3. Dropping of the Atoms Bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Ans: On 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the only use of nuclear weapons in an armed conflict.

Q 4. Resistance Movement of in Poland.

Ans: The exiled President, Government and Parliament led foreign politics and supported the conspiracy in Poland through the person of the Government Delegate to the Country and the Delegacy subject to him – an underground administration whose task was the preservation of the State Administration continuity, the preparation to take control over the Country after the war, the registration of the occupants’ acts and the documentation of war crimes, charity activities, underground education and jurisdiction. In occupied Poland a conspiracy army started forming, known since 1942 as the AK.

In the spring of 1944 the army numbered 300.000 soldiers and was the largest organization of this type in Europe. The fundamental purpose of its activity was to prepare a nationwide uprising. While waiting for the right moment for the rising the army engaged in intelligence, subversive and propaganda activities.

Q 6. Resistance Movement in Yugoslavia.

Ans: The Yugoslav resistance was carried out by two movements. These were the Royalist Četnici (English: Chetniks) and the Communist Partisans. The Chetniks were led by General Draža Mihailović and the communist Partisan movement was led by Josip Broz Tito.

The Chetniks were mostly Serbians and, on many occasions, former soldiers, who, after the collapse of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, organized into smaller armed formations. The Chetnik’s basic ideology was to return things as they were before the war, which meant that they supported the exiled King. While today the term Chetnik is generally used to describe the Royalist Serbian resistance movement, the term itself is much older than that.

Living in the Balkans has often been difficult throughout history. During the long Ottoman rule of this region, free people were often forced to seek refuge in the mountains and forests. Those who could, would organize small armed gangs that would often make guerrilla attacks against Ottoman soldiers or other targets. This was especially true for the Serbians who, during the 19th century, fiercely opposed the Ottoman Empire, staging two major uprisings. The Serbians would often employ small hit-and-run attacks behind enemy lines against much larger Ottoman military units.

Q 5. Resistance Movement in France.

Ans: The French Resistance was a collection of groups that fought the Nazi occupation and the collaborationist Vichy régime in France during the Second World War. Resistance cells were small groups of armed men and women (called the Maquis in rural areas) who conducted guerrilla warfare and published underground newspapers. They also provided first-hand intelligence information, and escape networks that helped Allied soldiers and airmen trapped behind Axis lines. The Resistance’s men and women came from many parts of French society, including émigrés, academics, students, aristocrats, conservative Roman Catholics (including clergy), Protestants, Jews, Muslims, liberals, anarchists, communists, and some fascists. The proportion of French people who participated in organized resistance has been estimated at from one to three percent of the total population.

The French Resistance played a significant role in facilitating the Allies’ rapid advance through France following the invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944. Members provided military intelligence on German defences known as the Atlantic Wall, and on Wehrmacht deployments and orders of battle for the Allies’ invasion of Provence on 15 August. The Resistance also planned, coordinated, and executed sabotage acts on electrical power grids, transport facilities, and telecommunications networks.

Q 7. Resistance Movement in Greece.

Ans: The Greek resistance involved armed and unarmed groups from across the political spectrum that resisted the Axis occupation of Greece in the period 1941–1944, during World War II. The largest group was the Communist-dominated EAM-ELAS. 

In April 1941, Hitler captured Greece and established the Nazi rule. In the wake of Hitler’s attack, the government fell and the patriotic elements including the king fled to Cairo and there they formed a government under in exile. Soon the Communists started the Residence Movement against the Nazis within the country. After the liberation of Greece, the members of the government in exile tried to from a government in Greece and this resulted in a civil war between the Communists and the members of the government in exile. The civil war of Greece lasted from 1946 to 1949. This weekend the internal condition of Greece to a great extent.

Q 8. Resistance Movement in Vietnam.

Ans: The Resistance Movement by the people of Vietnam was not only against France but also against japan and America. 

Opposition to the war in Vietnam was well under way before The Resistance was founded in 1967. President Johnson dramatically escalated the war in early 1965, beginning a massive bombing campaign and sending the first U.S. ground troops in March.  His actions swelled a long-planned April anti-war rally in Washington DC to more than 25,000.

Protests grew throughout the year; an estimated 100,000 participated in the International Days of Protest in 80 cities within the U.S. and around the world. So many young men had publicly burned their draft cards by August 1965 that Congress, denouncing them as dirty, long-haired beatniks and most certainly Communists, outlawed the practice. Less than two months later, David Miller became the first to publically burn his card despite the new law – the first, but certainly not the last.

Q 9. Extent of damages caused by the second world war.

Ans: Britain and France lost most of their empires due to World War II. Germany, Italy, and Japan were conquered and occupied. The Soviet Union lost its most productive citizens—more than twenty million died in the war.

The Second World war caused immense loss of life and property. The estimated war expenditure of the USA stood at 350 billion dollars while that of the other countries stood at 1,000 billion dollars. The value of the property destroyed came to another 1,000 billion dollars. In terms of human resources, the number of people killed stood at 22 million and people were injured about 34 million. The number of civilians killed in the war over 20 million. At the behest of Hitler, Aikman seemed to have killed more than 6 Million jhamaila jews. The Second World War was one of the major transformative events of the 20th century, with 39 million deaths in Europe alone. Large amounts of physical capital were destroyed through six years of ground battles and bombing.

Essay Type Questions

Q 1. Give a brief history of German attack on poland and the Baltic States.

Ans: The outbreak of the Second World War on 1 September 1939 is a turning point in the world history. The event had far- reaching consequences which altered the face of the world.

(i) German invasions of Poland: Invasion of Poland, attack on Poland by Nazi Germany that marked the start of World War II. The invasion lasted from September 1 to October 5, 1939.

As dawn broke on September 1, 1939, German forces launched a surprise attack on Poland. The attack was sounded with the predawn shelling, by the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein, of Polish fortifications at the Baltic port of Danzig (modern Dansk). Sixty-two divisions, with more than 1,300 airplanes in support, then commenced a coordinated assault across the German–Polish border. Army Group North attacked from Pomerania and East Prussia, while Army Group South drove deep into southern Poland from Silesia and Slovakia. Strategically outflanked and materially outnumbered, Polish forces stood little chance, especially because they were deployed too close to the German frontier, unintentionally facilitating Germany’s strategy of envelopment.

(ii) Russian invasion of Baltic countries: The occupation of the Baltic states coincided with a communist coup d’état in each country, supported by the Soviet troops. On 15 June the USSR invaded Lithuania. The Soviet troops attacked the Latvian border guards at Masļenki before invading Latvia and Estonia on June 16.

(iii) German invasion of other European countries: In World War II, Germany sought to defeat its opponents in a series of short campaigns in Europe. Germany quickly overran much of Europe and was victorious for more than two years. Germany defeated and occupied Poland (attacked in September 1939), Denmark (April 1940), Norway (April 1940), Belgium (May 1940), the Netherlands (May 1940), Luxembourg (May 1940), France (May 1940), Yugoslavia (April 1941), and Greece (April 1941). Yet Germany did not defeat Great Britain, which was protected from German ground attack by the English Channel and the Royal Navy. On June 22, 1941, German forces suddenly invaded the Soviet Union. But Germany proved unable to defeat the Soviet Union, which together with Great Britain and the United States turned the tide of battle and ultimately defeated Germany in May 1945.

Q 2. Give a pen- picture of German attack on England culminating in the Battle of Britain.

Ans: The Battle of Britain was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force and the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany’s air force, the Luftwaffe. It was the first major military campaign fought entirely by air forces. The British officially recognise the battle’s duration as being from 10 July until 31 October 1940, which overlaps the period of large-scale night attacks known as the Blitz, that lasted from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941. German historians do not follow this subdivision and regard the battle as a single campaign lasting from July 1940 to May 1941, including the Blitz.

The primary objective of the German forces was to compel Britain to agree to a negotiated peace settlement. In July 1940, the air and sea blockade began, with the Luftwaffe mainly targeting coastal-shipping convoys, as well as ports and shipping centres such as Portsmouth. On 1 August, the Luftwaffe was directed to achieve air superiority over the RAF, with the aim of incapacitating RAF Fighter Command; 12 days later, it shifted the attacks to RAF airfields and infrastructure. As the battle progressed, the Luftwaffe also targeted factories involved in aircraft production and strategic infrastructure. Eventually, it employed terror bombing on areas of political significance and on civilians. 

The most severe part of the attack on Great Britain occurred from 8 August to 17 September 1940, The Germans bombarded the British seaports, airports , aeroplane manufacturing units, various Industrial establishments, residential house, etc. Most of the German attack was conducted on the city of London. The German attack was so severe that about 20,000 people died in the city of London alone. Many nearby cities and towns also were completely razed to the ground as a result of recurring German bombardments. In retaliation, England also resorted to a violent counter offensive against Germany and made heavy and repeated bombing on the capital city of Berlin. 

Germany’s failure to destroy Britain’s air defences to force an armistice (or even an outright surrender) was the first major German defeat in the Second World War and a crucial turning point in the conflict.[17] The Battle of Britain takes its name from the speech given by Prime Minister Winston Churchill to the House of Commons on 18 June: “What General Weygand called the ‘Battle of France’ is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin.”

Q 3. Briefly narrate the history of German attack on soviet Russia.

Ans: With 134 divisions at full fighting strength and 73 more divisions for deployment behind the front, German forces invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941. The invasion began less than two years after the German-Soviet Pact was signed. Three army groups attacked the Soviet Union across a broad front. These groups included more than three million German soldiers. The soldiers were supported by 650,000 troops from Germany’s allies (Finland and Romania). These troops were later augmented by units from Italy, Croatia, Slovakia, and Hungary. The front stretched from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south.

The history of German attack on Soviet Russia is discussed below: 

(i) First invasion of Russia: Hitler’s military offensive against Russia was cod named the ‘Operation Barbarossa’. The attack on Russia began on 22 June 1941 and continued up to 1943 in different stages. 

Adolf Hitler had congratulated himself on the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact of 1939 as a matter of expediency, anti-bolshevism had remained his most profound emotional conviction as World War II entered its second year. Following the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states and of Bessarabia and northern Bukovina in June 1940, which put Soviet forces in proximity to the Romanian oil fields on which Germany depended, Hitler’s long-standing interest in overthrowing the Soviet regime was heightened. He became acutely suspicious of the intentions of the Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin, and he began to feel that he could not afford to wait to complete the subjugation of western Europe, as he had originally planned, before dealing with the Soviet Union.

(ii) Second and third invasion of Russia: The second attempt started in April-May 1942. This time too the German were able to achieve some success. A severe battle for stalingrad was fought. During this attack, Germany lost 30,000 soldiers and thousands were wounded and crippled for life nearly 1,40, 000 men Surrendered to the red Army.

The third attempt started in the middle of 1943. The Germans were defeated in the Battle if kursk with a loss of 5,00,000 soldiers. Thus, the third attempt of Hitler in conquering Russia ended in failure. 

War permeates the broader culture, he says. Take the biggest holiday in Russia, Victory Day on May 9, which commemorates the end of World War II. In ceremonies throughout the country—across its 11 time zones—millions of people parade with photos of their relatives who fought in that war, in which Russia suffered an estimated 14 million military and civilian deaths. It’s more than a veterans day ceremony—television stations play war movies throughout the week—it takes over the popular consciousness.

This focus on the national consciousness of war has been used by political leaders for their own ends, particularly since the 19th century, with the rise of nationalism. “This pattern is too frequent to ignore,” says Carleton, who teaches Russian literature and the courses Warrior Nations, about U.S. and Russian exceptionalism, and War Stories, about the rise of modern war. Putin is no exception. “He is following a pattern that has been established for centuries now.”

Q 4. Discuss the course of the second world war in Africa and Mediterranean Region between the Axis powers and the Allies.

Ans: World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world’s countries, including all of the great powers, participated in the conflict, and many invested all available economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities in pursuit of total war, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and delivery of the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. It was by far the deadliest conflict in history, resulting in 70-85 million fatalities. Millions died due to genocides, including the Holocaust, as well as starvation, massacres, and disease. In the wake of Axis defeat, Germany, Austria, and Japan were occupied, and war crime tribunals were conducted against German and Japanese leaders.

The causes of the war are debated; contributing factors included the rise of fascism in Europe, the Spanish Civil War, the Second Sino-Japanese War, Soviet-Japanese border conflicts, and tensions in the aftermath of World War I. World War II is generally considered to have begun on 1 September 1939, when Nazi Germany, under Adolf Hitler, invaded Poland. The United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany on 3 September. Under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union had partitioned Poland and marked out their “spheres of influence” across Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania. From late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe in a military alliance called the Axis with Italy, Japan, and other countries. Following the onset of campaigns in North and East Africa, and the fall of France in mid-1940, the war continued primarily between the European Axis powers and the British Empire, with the war in the Balkans, the aerial Battle of Britain, the Blitz of the UK, and the Battle of the Atlantic. In June 1941, Germany led the European Axis powers in an invasion of the Soviet Union, opening the Eastern Front.

Japan aimed to dominate East Asia and the Asia-Pacific, and by 1937 was at war with the Republic of China. In December 1941, Japan attacked American and British territories with near-simultaneous offensives against Southeast Asia and the Central Pacific, including an attack on Pearl Harbor which resulted in the United States and the United Kingdom declaring war against Japan. The European Axis powers declared war on the US in solidarity. Japan soon conquered much of the western Pacific, but its advances were halted in 1942 after losing the critical Battle of Midway; Germany and Italy were defeated in North Africa and at Stalingrad in the Soviet Union. During 1944-1945, Japan suffered reversals in mainland Asia, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy and captured key western Pacific islands.

Q 5. Give brief resume of the history of the second World War in the far East following the Japanese attack on pearl Harbour.

Ans: In accordance with Yamamoto’s plan, the aircraft carrier strike force commanded by Admiral Nagumo Chuichi sailed eastward undetected by any US reconnaissance until it had reached a point 275 miles north of Hawaii. From there, on Sunday, December 7, 1941, a total of about 360 aircraft, composed of dive-bombers, torpedo bombers, and a few fighters, was launched in two waves in the early morning at the giant US naval base at Pearl Harbor. The base at that time was accommodating 70 US fighting ships, 24 auxiliaries, and some 300 planes. The Americans were taken completely by surprise, and all eight battleships in the harbour were hit (though six were eventually repaired and returned to service); three cruisers, three destroyers, a minelayer, and other vessels were damaged; more than 180 aircraft were destroyed and others damaged (most while parked at airfields); and more than 2,330 troops were killed and over 1,140 wounded. Japanese losses were comparatively small. The Japanese attack failed in one crucial respect, however; the Pacific Fleet’s three aircraft carriers were at sea at the time of the attack and escaped harm, and these were to become the nucleus of the United States’ incipient naval defense in the Pacific. Pearl Harbor’s shore installations and oil-storage facilities also escaped damage. The Pearl Harbor attack, unannounced beforehand by the Japanese as it was, unified the American public and swept away any remaining support for American neutrality in the war.

On the day of the attack, December 8 by local time, Formosa-based Japanese bombers struck Clark and Iba airfields in the Philippines, destroying more than 50 percent of the US Army’s Far East aircraft; and, two days later, further raids destroyed not only more U.S. fighters but also Cavite Naval Yard, likewise in the Philippines. Part of the US Asiatic Fleet, however, had already gone south in November; and the surviving major ships and bomber aircraft, which were vulnerable for lack of fighter protection, were withdrawn in the next fortnight to safety in bases in Java and Australia.

Japanese forces began to land on the island of Luzon in the Philippines on December 10. The main assault, consisting of the bulk of one division, was made at Lingayen Gulf, 100 miles north-northwest of Manila, on December 22, and a second large landing took place south of Manila two days later. Manila itself fell unopposed to the Japanese on January 2, 1942, but by that time the US and Filipino forces under General Douglas MacArthur were ready to hold Bataan Peninsula (across the bay from Manila) and Corregidor Island. The Japanese attack on Bataan was halted initially, but it was reinforced in the following eight weeks.

Q 6. Mention the principle events leading to the defeat of the Fascists.

Ans: The principle events leading to the defeat of the Fascists were: 

(i) Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943): The Battle of Stalingrad was a turning point on the Eastern Front, where the Soviet Union inflicted a decisive defeat on the German Army. The German failure to capture Stalingrad and the subsequent encirclement and surrender of the German Sixth Army marked a significant shift in momentum, signaling the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany’s offensive capabilities in the East.

(ii) Allied Invasion of Italy (1943): In July 1943, Allied forces launched an invasion of Sicily, followed by mainland Italy. The fall of Mussolini’s regime in Italy in September 1943 and the subsequent surrender of Italy to the Allies weakened the Axis powers and led to the eventual collapse of Fascist control in Italy.

(iii) Day and the Liberation of Western Europe (1944): On June 6, 1944, Allied forces launched Operation Overlord, the largest amphibious invasion in history, landing on the beaches of Normandy in France. The successful D-Day landings opened a second front in Europe and marked the beginning of the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi occupation.

(iv) Soviet Offensive on the Eastern Front (1944-1945): Following the victory at Stalingrad, the Soviet Union launched a series of offensives that pushed the German forces back across Eastern Europe. The Soviet advance culminated in the capture of Berlin in April-May 1945, leading to the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany.

(v) Battle of the Bulge (1944): In December 1944, Nazi Germany launched a massive counteroffensive in the Ardennes region of Belgium and Luxembourg, known as the Battle of the Bulge. Despite initial gains, the German offensive was ultimately repulsed by Allied forces, further weakening the German military and hastening their defeat.

(vi) Strategic Bombing Campaigns: The Allied strategic bombing campaigns, particularly the bombing of German cities and industrial targets, inflicted significant damage on Germany’s war production capabilities and infrastructure. The bombing raids disrupted transportation networks, destroyed factories, and undermined civilian morale, contributing to the eventual collapse of the Nazi regime.

(vii) Surrender of Japan (1945): While not directly related to the defeat of Fascism in Europe, the surrender of Japan in August 1945 following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki marked the end of World War II. The defeat of Japan further underscored the global defeat of the Axis powers and the triumph of the Allied forces.

Q 7. How was japan forced to surrender to the USA and with what results?

Ans: The president of the USA, Harry S. Truman was apprehensive of the role of the Soviet Russia in the war in the Far East. so, to take the control of the war in the Far East. Truman ordered to attack Japan by dropping two Atom Bombs consecutively on 6 and 9 August 1945, on Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively. 

America had been determined to stay out of World War II until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 ignited the country with patriotism and the ideals that would characterize the war era. However, the road to victory was a long one and many Americans doubted the war would ever end. Spirits were buoyed by the surrender of Germany on May 8, 1945, now known as V-E Day for Victory in Europe. But as eyes shifted toward an attack on the Japanese mainland, the war seemed to be far from over. It was the deployment of a new and terrible weapon, the atomic bomb, which forced the Japanese into a surrender that they had vowed never to accept. 

Q 8. Discuss the immediate consequences of the Second World War.

Ans: The Second World War began on 1 September 1939 with the German invasion of Poland. The war continued for nearly six years and concluded with the dropping of atoms bombs on Japan in August, 1945. 

The immediate consequences of the second world war: 

(i) Formation of the United Nations Organisation and other institutions: UN was formed after the end of the war with the focus on preserving world peace, respect for human rights, maintaining international law and social progress across all countries.

(ii) The start of the Cold War: The world got divided into two political camps one led by the Communist USSR and the other by Capitalist leader America. The USSR had gained prestige after it built its post war economy and helped eastern European countries and China rebuild their economies as well.

(iii) New World Order: Post the war the world saw changes in the status of countries. Many colonies got freedom from their colonial masters and others such as Russian and Turkish empires broke.

(iv) Division of Germany: At the end of the war, Germany was divided into two parts; The Eastern German Democratic Republic (GDR) which went under USSR’s authority and the western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) which went under the supervision of the allied forces.

(v) The Marshall Plan: US and the allied powers produced the Marshall plan to help the defeated countries revive their economies in both Japan and Germany.

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