b) "The most significant impact of World War Two in Europe was it brought about

the Cold War." How far do you agree with the statement? EYA. [13]
Besides bringing about the Cold War, WWII also brought about massive
destruction, death and sufferings. After WWII, both Axis and Allied powers
suffered from heavy losses, physically, socially and economically. {is this the
best place for the highlighted statement ? or take it out?} WWII saw millions of
both civilian and military deaths worldwide. The greatest death toll was
9,750,000 military deaths and 23,954,000 civilian deaths in USSR. The western
countries also suffered from 4 million deaths due to the bombing campaigns
employed by both the Allied and Axis powers. The bombing raids on the German
city Darmstadt killed 123,000 people, and the London Blitz resulted in 20,000
deaths. The holocaust also saw a death of 6 million Jews. Also, many European
countries were left in ruins after WWII. Large numbers of industries and factories
were targeted and destroyed, as well as the houses and communities. In USSR,
50% of urban and 75% of rural living space were destroyed, resulting in 25,000
Russians found themselves homeless in 1945. USSR also suffered from the
destruction of 31,850 industrial enterprises and 40,000 miles of railroad track,
leading to great economic losses and communicating inconvenience. Hence,
WWII resulted in millions of deaths and homeless, as well as destruction of
economy and industrial infrastructure in Europe. As a result of these destruction
and loss of lives... impact on Europe/people of Europe.
Besides the Cold War, another impact of WW2 was the Holocaust and its impacts,
including major death and destruction [of what?] and the formation of Israel.
From 1933 onwards, the Nazis implemented discriminatory policies against
German Jews, most infamously under the 1935, the Nuremberg Laws, which
stripped them of German citizenship. The Nazi Party's anti-Semitist ideology, led
to the orchestration of the "final solution to the Jewish question in Europe" in
which 6 million Jews were killed. After Germany conquered Poland in 1939, the
persecution reached terrifying new levels. The implementation of death camp
operations began in December 1941 and the Nazis began transporting Jews to
concentration and extermination camps, including the largest and most notorious
Auschwitz, where a total of 1.1 million people were murdered in the gas
chambers. The holocaust had an overwhelmingly decisive impact on the Jewish
world and beyond. The Second World War left the surviving Jews in Central
Europe as refugees and 95% wanted to migrate to Palestine, an area that the
Jews believed was their promised land, and form their own nation. Between 1945
and 1948, about 100,000 Jews left Poland. The British were sympathetic towards
the Jews' plight and decided to handle the situation by establishing a Jewish
state, later known the state of Israel. This thus shows that the Holocaust had led

to many deaths and even after that, it led to many major events such as the
formation of Israel. The formation of Israel also then means that the Arabs who
had been staying in Palestine became displaced. This caused tension between
Israel and the Muslim countries surrounding it as these countries were
sympathetic towards their Muslim brothers i.e. Palestinians who had been
displaced. Therefore, it was a significant impact of World War Two in Europe, as it
affected the future stability of the Middle East.
Other than the Cold War, another significant impact of WW2 is the raise in
statues of women. This is due to the women's involvement in WW2, as a result of
the large workforce demand. The war provided an opportunity for women to get
involved in the world of work that would not have otherwise been available. In
the US, with a large majority of men having to fight in Europe, there was a
drastic shortage of men to work in the factories. This was solved by the women
who were available to work. By 1945, 1/3 of all industrial workers were women,
as opposed to 1/4 before the war. This is also evident in the European countries
and the USSR who were heavily involved in the war. Propaganda images (such as
'Rosie the Riveter' in the US) began to symbolize the change from the women
working at home to the women working in factories. By working in the factories
they gained a higher income. As the war progressed, these women developed
their self-confidence and gained a strong sense of independence. By the time the
fighting ended and the men returned, some of the women even refused to give
up their jobs; as they enjoyed making their own living and not having to depend
on their husbands or brothers or sons for money. This was the women's first
major taste of full independence, which led to their rise in statuses in the
workforces. The numbers were as high as 18,000 female workers in industry by
1945 in the US. Thus, WW2 elevated the status of women in America, USSR and
Europe, and was a big step towards gender equality in the world.
Another significant impact of WW2 besides the Cold War was the formation of the
United Nations (UN). After the League of Nations failed to prevent WW2 (ideals of
self-determination), the UN was established to replace it in 1945 in order to
maintain international peace and promote cooperation in solving international
economic, social, and humanitarian problems. The Allies made sure to improve
the UN by splitting the power among five major countries - UK, China, US and the
USSR) instead of two or three countries [4 permanent member, get your facts
right!], as in the League of Nations. The United Nations had since played a
significant role in maintaining world peace and there has not been a major war
since WW2 in the world so far. In addition to keeping world peace, the United
Nations later set up different organizations and committees on different aspects.
Some examples are United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund

(UNICEF) and the Worlds Health Organisation (WHO). UNICEF was set up on 11
December 1946, and was established to respond to the millions of displaced and
refugee children deprived of shelter, fuel and food in the aftermath of WW2. The
WHO was set up in 1948 to promote and protect good health worldwide.
Therefore, it can be seen that a more peaceful and harmonious world order has
been established largely due to UN and its countries' efforts. Thus an important
impact of World War 2 was the establishment of the United Nations.