Atomic Bomb Hiroshima.docx

ATOMIC BOMB HIROSHIMA

August 6, 1945 The US atomic bombs of 1945, devastated the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The devastation finally brought the Japanese to surrender, bringing to an end a fierce and costly Pacific war. The surrender of Japan had at one time seen unthinkable. But, the atomic bomb hastened the Japanese surrender. The atomic bomb had implications beyond just the end of the Second World War. It showed the world the potential devastation a third world war could cause. Even now the legacy of Hiroshima and the threat of nuclear war hangs over the world.

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INDIAN INDEPENDENCE 1947

Nehru’s Trust with destiny speech, 1947 15 August 1947 India had stood as the crowning jewel in the crown of the British Empire. It was the second most populous nation in the world. After many years denying Indian calls for independence, Britain finally agreed to full Indian independence in 1947. Indian independence was accompanied by a painful separation and the birth of a new nation – Pakistan. The separation led to painful incidences of sectarian violence and killing; it led to the migration of many millions of people who found themselves on the wrong side of the border. The independence of India also created a newly independent nation which claimed allegiance to neither the US or the Soviet Union – but a third way as Nehru called it. With economic development, India has the potential to become a new superpower in the coming century.

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THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MAOIST CHINA

October 1, 1949 In the aftermath of the Second World War, China was involved in a bitter civil war between the Communists led by Mao Tse Tung, and the Nationalists by Chiang Kai-shek. On October 1st, 1949, the triumphant Communist Party established the People’s Republic of China. This created another powerful Communist State in the most populated country in the world. The Communist hold on power profoundly influenced the lives of the Chinese who suffered under the great famine of the 1960s and Cultural Revolution of the 60s and 70s. Even now, the Chinese Communist party retains strong political power – even if it has adapted its economic policies.

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