User:Millertime/Books/WWII/Effects of World War II
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The effects of World War II had far-reaching implications for most of the world. 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 Eastern Europe, the creation of Israel, and the division of Germany and Korea and later of Vietnam. In addition, many organizations have roots in the Second World War; for example, the United Nations, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, and the International Monetary Fund. Technologies, such as nuclear fission, the electronic computer and the jet engine, also appeared during this period.
A multipolar world was replaced by a bipolar one dominated by the two most powerful victors, the United States and Soviet Union, which became known as the superpowers.