Adolf Hitler
(German: [ˈadɔlf ˈhɪtlɐ] (listen); 20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Germany from 1933 until his suicide in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party,[a] becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then taking the title of Führer und Reichskanzler in 1934.[b] During his dictatorship, he initiated World War II in Europe by invading Poland on 1 September 1939. He was closely involved in military operations throughout the war and was central to the perpetration of the Holocaust: the genocide of about six million Jews and millions of other victims.
Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn in Austria-Hungary and was raised near Linz. He lived in Vienna later in the first decade of the 1900s and moved to Germany in 1913. He was decorated during his service in the German Army in World War I. In 1919, he joined the German Workers' Party (DAP), the precursor of the Nazi Party, and was appointed leader of the Nazi Party in 1921. In 1923, he attempted to seize governmental power in a failed coup in Munich and was imprisoned with a sentence of five years. In jail, he dictated the first volume of his autobiography and political manifesto Mein Kampf ("My Struggle"). After his early release in 1924, Hitler gained popular support by attacking the Treaty of Versailles and promoting pan-Germanism, anti-Semitism and anti-communism with charismatic oratory and Nazi propaganda. He frequently denounced international capitalism and communism as part of a Jewish conspiracy.
By November 1932, the Nazi Party held the most seats in the German Reichstag but did not have a majority. As a result, no party was able to form a majority parliamentary coalition in support of a candidate for chancellor. The former chancellor Franz von Papen and other conservative leaders persuaded President Paul von Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as chancellor on 30 January 1933. Shortly after, the Reichstag passed the Enabling Act of 1933 which began the process of transforming the Weimar Republic into Nazi Germany, a one-party dictatorship based on the totalitarian and autocratic ideology of Nazism. On 2 August 1934, Hindenburg died and Hitler replaced him as the head of state and government. Hitler aimed to eliminate Jews from Germany and establish a New Order to counter what he saw as the injustice of the post-World War I international order dominated by Britain and France. His first six years in power resulted in rapid economic recovery from the Great Depression, the abrogation of restrictions imposed on Germany after World War I, and the annexation of territories inhabited by millions of ethnic Germans, which initially gave him significant popular support.
Hitler sought Lebensraum (lit. 'living space') for the German people in Eastern Europe, and his aggressive foreign policy is considered the primary cause of World War II in Europe. He directed large-scale rearmament and, on 1 September 1939, invaded Poland, resulting in Britain and France declaring war on Germany. In June 1941, Hitler ordered an invasion of the Soviet Union. In December 1941, he declared war on the United States. By the end of 1941, German forces and the European Axis powers occupied most of Europe and North Africa. These gains were gradually reversed after 1941, and in 1945 the Allied armies defeated the German army. On 29 April 1945, he married his longtime lover, Eva Braun, in the Führerbunker in Berlin. Less than two days later, the couple committed suicide to avoid capture by the Soviet Red Army. Their corpses were burned as Hitler had commanded.
The historian and biographer Ian Kershaw describes Hitler as "the embodiment of modern political evil".[4] Under Hitler's leadership and racist ideology, the Nazi regime was responsible for the genocide of about six million Jews and millions of other victims, whom he and his followers deemed Untermenschen (subhumans) or socially undesirable. Hitler and the Nazi regime were also responsible for the killing of an estimated 19.3 million civilians and prisoners of war. In addition, 28.7 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of military action in the European theatre. The number of civilians killed during World War II was unprecedented in warfare, and the casualties constitute the deadliest conflict in history.
1939
World War II
or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a global conflict that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries, including all of the great powers, fought as part of two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. Many participants threw their economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind this total war, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and the delivery of the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war.
World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in history; it resulted in an estimated 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, massacres, and disease. In the wake of the Axis defeat, Germany and Japan were occupied, and war crimes tribunals were conducted against German and Japanese leaders.
The causes of World War II are debated, but contributing factors included the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, Spanish Civil War, Second Sino-Japanese War, Soviet–Japanese border conflicts, the rise of fascism in Europe, and European 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 subsequently 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 with Italy, Japan and other countries called the Axis. Following the onset of campaigns in North Africa 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 war in the Balkans, the aerial Battle of Britain, the Blitz of the United Kingdom, and the Battle of the Atlantic. On 22 June 1941, Germany led the European Axis powers in an invasion of the Soviet Union, opening the Eastern Front, the largest land theatre of war in history.
Japan, which aimed to dominate Asia and the Pacific, was at war with the Republic of China by 1937. In December 1941, Japan attacked American and British territories with near-simultaneous offensives against Southeast Asia and the Central Pacific, including an attack on the US fleet at Pearl Harbor which resulted in the United States and United Kingdom declaring war against Japan. The European Axis powers declared war on the United States in solidarity. Japan soon captured much of the western Pacific, but its advances were halted in 1942 after losing the critical Battle of Midway; later, Germany and Italy were defeated in North Africa and at Stalingrad in the Soviet Union. Key setbacks in 1943—including a series of German defeats on the Eastern Front, the Allied invasions of Sicily and the Italian mainland, and Allied offensives in the Pacific—cost the Axis powers their initiative and forced them into strategic retreat on all fronts. In 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained its territorial losses and pushed Germany and its allies back. During 1944 and 1945, Japan suffered reversals in mainland Asia, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy and captured key western Pacific islands.
The war in Europe concluded with the liberation of German-occupied territories and the invasion of Germany by the Western Allies and the Soviet Union, culminating in the Fall of Berlin to Soviet troops, Hitler's suicide, and the German unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945. Following the refusal of Japan to surrender on the terms of the Potsdam Declaration (issued 26 July 1945), the United States dropped the first atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima on 6 August and Nagasaki on 9 August. Faced with an imminent invasion of the Japanese archipelago, the possibility of additional atomic bombings, and the Soviet Union's declared entry into the war against Japan on the eve of invading Manchuria, Japan announced on 10 August its intention to surrender, signing a surrender document on 2 September 1945.
World War II changed the political alignment and social structure of the globe and set the foundation for the international order of the world's nations during the Cold War and into present day. The United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts,[1] with the victorious great powers—China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States—becoming the permanent members of its Security Council. The Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the nearly half-century-long Cold War. In the wake of European devastation, the influence of its great powers waned, triggering the decolonisation of Africa and Asia. Most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery and expansion. Political and economic integration, especially in Europe, began as an effort to forestall future hostilities, end pre-war enmities, and forge a sense of common identity.
Original color transparency of FDR taken at 1944 Official Campaign Portrait session by Leon A. Perskie, Hyde Park, New York, August 22, 1944. Gift of Beatrice Perskie Foxman and Dr. Stanley B. Foxman. August 22, 1944
Original color transparency of FDR taken at 1944 Official Campaign Portrait session by Leon A. Perskie, Hyde Park, New York, August 22, 1944. Gift of Beatrice Perskie Foxman and Dr. Stanley B. Foxman. August 22, 1944
Karsh called this picture "The Roaring Lion"
Karsh called this picture "The Roaring Lion"
A cropped section of a photograph of Stalin taken in 1937. The original image depicts Molotov to his left, and Voroshilov to his right
A cropped section of a photograph of Stalin taken in 1937. The original image depicts Molotov to his left, and Voroshilov to his right
Chiang during a visit to an air force base in 1945
Chiang during a visit to an air force base in 1945
Emperor Shōwa , Official photograph, 1935
Emperor Shōwa , Official photograph, 1935
Portrait of Benito Mussolini as dictator of Italy (between 1922 and 1943), published in 1943 for conmemorate his 60th birthday.
Portrait of Benito Mussolini as dictator of Italy (between 1922 and 1943), published in 1943 for conmemorate his 60th birthday.
On 25 October 1936, an alliance was declared between Italy and Germany, which came to be known as the Rome-Berlin Axis.
On 25 October 1936, an alliance was declared between Italy and Germany, which came to be known as the Rome-Berlin Axis.
Mussolini with Adolf Hitler in Berlin, 1937
Mussolini with Adolf Hitler in Berlin, 1937
From left to right: Chamberlain, Daladier, Hitler, Mussolini, and Italian Foreign Minister Count Ciano, as they prepare to sign the Munich Agreement
From left to right: Chamberlain, Daladier, Hitler, Mussolini, and Italian Foreign Minister Count Ciano, as they prepare to sign the Munich Agreement
Mussolini and Hitler in 1940
Mussolini and Hitler in 1940
Mussolini rescued by German troops from his prison in Campo Imperatore on 12 September 1943.
Mussolini rescued by German troops from his prison in Campo Imperatore on 12 September 1943.
Unity of Strength Chiang-Kai-Shek and Winston Churchill heads, with Nationalist China flag and Union Jack ,The text is written from right to left. So the first line is One for All and the second is All for One.
Unity of Strength Chiang-Kai-Shek and Winston Churchill heads, with Nationalist China flag and Union Jack ,The text is written from right to left. So the first line is One for All and the second is All for One.
Manhattan Project emblem (unofficial)
Manhattan Project emblem (unofficial)
Enrico Fermi, John R. Dunning, and Dana P. Mitchell in front of the cyclotron in the basement of Pupin Hall at Columbia University
Enrico Fermi, John R. Dunning, and Dana P. Mitchell in front of the cyclotron in the basement of Pupin Hall at Columbia University
March 1940 meeting at Berkeley, California: Ernest O. Lawrence, Arthur H. Compton, Vannevar Bush, James B. Conant, Karl T. Compton, and Alfred L. Loomis
March 1940 meeting at Berkeley, California: Ernest O. Lawrence, Arthur H. Compton, Vannevar Bush, James B. Conant, Karl T. Compton, and Alfred L. Loomis
Different fission bomb assembly methods explored during the July 1942 conference
Different fission bomb assembly methods explored during the July 1942 conference
Manhattan Project Organization Chart, 1 May 1946
Manhattan Project Organization Chart, 1 May 1946
Oppenheimer and Groves at the remains of the Trinity test in September 1945, two months after the test blast and just after the end of World War II. The white overshoes prevented fallout from sticking to the soles of their shoes.[49]
Oppenheimer and Groves at the remains of the Trinity test in September 1945, two months after the test blast and just after the end of World War II. The white overshoes prevented fallout from sticking to the soles of their shoes.[49]
Groves confers with James Chadwick, the head of the British Mission.
Groves confers with James Chadwick, the head of the British Mission.
Physicists at a Manhattan District-sponsored colloquium at the Los Alamos Laboratory on the Super in April 1946. In the front row are Norris Bradbury, John Manley, Enrico Fermi and J. (Jerome) M. B. Kellogg. Robert Oppenheimer, in dark coat, is behind Manley; to Oppenheimer's left is Richard Feynman. The Army officer on the left is Colonel Oliver Haywood.…
Physicists at a Manhattan District-sponsored colloquium at the Los Alamos Laboratory on the Super in April 1946. In the front row are Norris Bradbury, John Manley, Enrico Fermi and J. (Jerome) M. B. Kellogg. Robert Oppenheimer, in dark coat, is behind Manley; to Oppenheimer's left is Richard Feynman. The Army officer on the left is Colonel Oliver Haywood.…
The majority of the uranium used in the Manhattan Project came from the Shinkolobwe mine in Belgian Congo.
The majority of the uranium used in the Manhattan Project came from the Shinkolobwe mine in Belgian Congo.
Schoepite-curite-uraninite, huge old specimen. Very heavy, as matrix is pure uraninite (steel-gray). Shinkolobwe is the type locality for schoepite and curite. Ex-Carnegie Museum of Natural History, removed from display for being "too hot"(radioactive). Size: 14.0 x 10.0 x 7.2 cm.
Schoepite-curite-uraninite, huge old specimen. Very heavy, as matrix is pure uraninite (steel-gray). Shinkolobwe is the type locality for schoepite and curite. Ex-Carnegie Museum of Natural History, removed from display for being "too hot"(radioactive). Size: 14.0 x 10.0 x 7.2 cm.
Uranophane in malachite specimen from the Shinkolobwe mine
Uranophane in malachite specimen from the Shinkolobwe mine
A "bomb" (pressure vessel) containing uranium halide and sacrificial metal, probably magnesium, being lowered into a furnace
A "bomb" (pressure vessel) containing uranium halide and sacrificial metal, probably magnesium, being lowered into a furnace
Aerial view of Hanford B-Reactor site, June 1944
Aerial view of Hanford B-Reactor site, June 1944
Allied soldiers dismantle the German experimental nuclear reactor at Haigerloch.
Allied soldiers dismantle the German experimental nuclear reactor at Haigerloch.
A billboard encouraging secrecy among Oak Ridge workers
A billboard encouraging secrecy among Oak Ridge workers

1939
The Manhattan Project
was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Nuclear physicist Robert Oppenheimer was the director of the Los Alamos Laboratory that designed the actual bombs. The Army component of the project was designated the Manhattan District as its first headquarters were in Manhattan; the placename gradually superseded the official codename, Development of Substitute Materials, for the entire project. Along the way, the project absorbed its earlier British counterpart, Tube Alloys. The Manhattan Project began modestly in 1939, but grew to employ more than 130,000 people and cost nearly US$2 billion (equivalent to about $24 billion in 2021).[1] Over 90 percent of the cost was for building factories and to produce fissile material, with less than 10 percent for development and production of the weapons. Research and production took place at more than thirty sites across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
The project led to the development of two types of atomic bombs, both developed concurrently, during the war: a relatively simple gun-type fission weapon and a more complex implosion-type nuclear weapon. The Thin Man gun-type design proved impractical to use with plutonium, so a simpler gun-type called Little Boy was developed that used uranium-235, an isotope that makes up only 0.7 percent of natural uranium. Because it is chemically identical to the most common isotope, uranium-238, and has almost the same mass, separating the two proved difficult. Three methods were employed for uranium enrichment: electromagnetic, gaseous and thermal. Scientists conducted most of this work at the Clinton Engineer Works at Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
In parallel with the work on uranium was an effort to produce plutonium, which researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, discovered in 1940. After the feasibility of the world's first artificial nuclear reactor, the Chicago Pile-1, was demonstrated in 1942 at the Metallurgical Laboratory in the University of Chicago, the project designed the X-10 Graphite Reactor at Oak Ridge and the production reactors at the Hanford Site in Washington state, in which uranium was irradiated and transmuted into plutonium. The plutonium was then chemically separated from the uranium, using the bismuth phosphate process. The Fat Man plutonium implosion-type weapon was developed in a concerted design and development effort by the Los Alamos Laboratory.
The project was also charged with gathering intelligence on the German nuclear weapon project. Through Operation Alsos, Manhattan Project personnel served in Europe, sometimes behind enemy lines, where they gathered nuclear materials and documents, and rounded up German scientists. Despite the Manhattan Project's tight security, Soviet atomic spies successfully penetrated the program.
The first nuclear device ever detonated was an implosion-type bomb during the Trinity test, conducted at New Mexico's Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range on 16 July 1945. Little Boy and Fat Man bombs were used a month later in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively, with Manhattan Project personnel serving as bomb assembly technicians and weaponeers on the attack aircraft. In the immediate postwar years, the Manhattan Project conducted weapons testing at Bikini Atoll as part of Operation Crossroads, developed new weapons, promoted the development of the network of national laboratories, supported medical research into radiology and laid the foundations for the nuclear navy. It maintained control over American atomic weapons research and production until the formation of the United States Atomic Energy Commission in January 1947.
1940
churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill[a] (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955. Apart from two years between 1922 and 1924, he was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1900 to 1964 and represented a total of five constituencies. Ideologically an economic liberal and imperialist, he was for most of his career a member of the Conservative Party, which he led from 1940 to 1955. He was a member of the Liberal Party from 1904 to 1924.
Of mixed English and American parentage, Churchill was born in Oxfordshire to a wealthy, aristocratic family. He joined the British Army in 1895 and saw action in British India, the Anglo-Sudan War, and the Second Boer War, gaining fame as a war correspondent and writing books about his campaigns. Elected a Conservative MP in 1900, he defected to the Liberals in 1904. In H. H. Asquith's Liberal government, Churchill served as President of the Board of Trade and Home Secretary, championing prison reform and workers' social security. As First Lord of the Admiralty during the First World War, he oversaw the Gallipoli Campaign but, after it proved a disaster, he was demoted to Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. He resigned in November 1915 and joined the Royal Scots Fusiliers on the Western Front for six months. In 1917, he returned to government under David Lloyd George and served successively as Minister of Munitions, Secretary of State for War, Secretary of State for Air, and Secretary of State for the Colonies, overseeing the Anglo-Irish Treaty and British foreign policy in the Middle East. After two years out of Parliament, he served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Stanley Baldwin's Conservative government, returning the pound sterling in 1925 to the gold standard at its pre-war parity, a move widely seen as creating deflationary pressure and depressing the UK economy.
Out of government during his so-called "wilderness years" in the 1930s, Churchill took the lead in calling for British rearmament to counter the growing threat of militarism in Nazi Germany. At the outbreak of the Second World War he was re-appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. In May 1940, he became Prime Minister, succeeding Neville Chamberlain. Churchill formed a national government and oversaw British involvement in the Allied war effort against the Axis powers, resulting in victory in 1945. After the Conservatives' defeat in the 1945 general election, he became Leader of the Opposition. Amid the developing Cold War with the Soviet Union, he publicly warned of an "iron curtain" of Soviet influence in Europe and promoted European unity. Between his terms as Prime Minister, he wrote several books recounting his experience during the war. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953. He lost the 1950 election, but was returned to office in 1951. His second term was preoccupied with foreign affairs, especially Anglo-American relations and preservation of what remained of the British Empire with India now no longer part of it. Domestically, his government emphasised housebuilding and completed the development of a nuclear weapon (begun by his predecessor). In declining health, Churchill resigned as Prime Minister in 1955, remaining an MP until 1964. Upon his death in 1965, he was given a state funeral.
Widely considered one of the 20th century's most significant figures, Churchill remains popular in the Anglosphere, where he is seen as a victorious wartime leader who played an important role in defending Europe's liberal democracy against the spread of fascism. He has been criticised for some wartime events and also for his imperialist views.
Logo of the Fourth International
Logo of the Fourth International
Lev Bronstein photographed as a student in Odessa, 1888.
Lev Bronstein photographed as a student in Odessa, 1888.
Police mugshots of Trotsky in 1905 after Soviet members were arrested during a meeting in the Free Economic Society building
Police mugshots of Trotsky in 1905 after Soviet members were arrested during a meeting in the Free Economic Society building
Trotsky with Lenin and Kamenev
Trotsky with Lenin and Kamenev
Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Lev Kamenev motivate the troops to fight in the Soviet-Polish war. 1 May 1920
Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Lev Kamenev motivate the troops to fight in the Soviet-Polish war. 1 May 1920
Kalinin and Stalin bearing the coffin of Felix Dzerzhinsky on 22 July 1926. Trotsky can be seen over Kalinin's left shoulder.
Kalinin and Stalin bearing the coffin of Felix Dzerzhinsky on 22 July 1926. Trotsky can be seen over Kalinin's left shoulder.
Trotsky reading The Militant, a socialist newsweekly, circa 1936
Trotsky reading The Militant, a socialist newsweekly, circa 1936
Trotsky arrives in Mexico, January 1937 with his wife. Artist Frida Kahlo behind them.
Trotsky arrives in Mexico, January 1937 with his wife. Artist Frida Kahlo behind them.
Trotsky with American comrades, including Harry DeBoer (left) in Mexico, shortly before his assassination, 1940
Trotsky with American comrades, including Harry DeBoer (left) in Mexico, shortly before his assassination, 1940
The study where Leon Trotsky was assassinated with an ice axe on 20 August 1940
The study where Leon Trotsky was assassinated with an ice axe on 20 August 1940
Trotsky's house in Mexico City from April 1939 until his assassination in August 1940
Trotsky's house in Mexico City from April 1939 until his assassination in August 1940
A Diego Rivera mural depicts Trotsky with Marx and Engels as a true champion of the workers' struggle
A Diego Rivera mural depicts Trotsky with Marx and Engels as a true champion of the workers' struggle
1940
assassination of Trotsky
Lev Davidovich Bronstein[b] (7 November [O.S. 26 October] 1879 – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky[c] (/ˈtrɒtski/),[2] was a Russian revolutionary, political theorist and Soviet politician. Ideologically a Marxist, his developments to the ideology are called Trotskyism.
Born to a wealthy Jewish family in Yanovka (now Bereslavka, Ukraine),[3] Trotsky embraced Marxism after moving to Nikolayev in 1896. In 1898, he was arrested for revolutionary activities and subsequently exiled to Siberia. He escaped from Siberia in 1902 and moved to London, where he befriended Vladimir Lenin. In 1903, he sided with Julius Martov's Mensheviks against Lenin's Bolsheviks during the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party's initial organisational split. Trotsky helped organize the failed Russian Revolution of 1905, after which he was again arrested and exiled to Siberia. He once again escaped, and spent the following 10 years working in Britain, Austria, Switzerland, France, Spain, and the United States. After the 1917 February Revolution brought an end to the Tsarist monarchy, Trotsky returned from New York via Canada to Russia and became a leader in the Bolshevik faction. As chairman of the Petrograd Soviet, he played a key role in the October Revolution of November 1917 that overthrew the new Provisional Government.
Once in government, Trotsky initially held the post of Commissar for Foreign Affairs and became directly involved in the 1917–1918 Brest-Litovsk negotiations with Germany as Russia pulled out of the First World War. From March 1918 to January 1925, Trotsky headed the Red Army as People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs and played a vital role in the Bolshevik victory in the Russian Civil War of 1917–1922.[4] He became one of the seven members of the first Bolshevik Politburo[5] in 1919.
After the death of Lenin in January 1924 and the rise of Joseph Stalin, Trotsky gradually lost his government positions; the Politburo eventually expelled him from the Soviet Union in February 1929. Trotsky also led the Left Opposition from 1923-27 and advocated a programme of mass industrialisation with an extension of worker's democracy which preceded the establishment of the First Five-Year Plan in the Soviet Union.[6][7][8]
He spent the rest of his life in exile, writing prolifically and engaging in open critique of Stalinism.[9][10] In 1938 Trotsky and his supporters founded the Fourth International in opposition to Stalin's Comintern. After surviving multiple attempts on his life, Trotsky was assassinated in August 1940 in Mexico City by Ramón Mercader, an agent of the Soviet NKVD.[d] Written out of Soviet history books under Stalin, Trotsky was one of the few rivals of Stalin to not be rehabilitated by either Nikita Khrushchev or Mikhail Gorbachev.[12] Trotsky's rehabilitation came in 2001 by the Russian Federation.
1942
The V-2
 (German: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit. 'Retaliation Weapon 2'), with the technical name Aggregat 4 (A-4), was the world's first long-range[4] guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was developed during the Second World War in Nazi Germany as a "vengeance weapon" and assigned to attack Allied cities as retaliation for the Allied bombings of German cities. The V-2 rocket also became the first artificial object to travel into space by crossing the Kármán line (edge of space) with the vertical launch of MW 18014 on 20 June 1944.[5]
Research of military use of long-range rockets began when the graduate studies of Wernher von Braun were noticed by the Wehrmacht. A series of prototypes culminated in the A-4, which went to war as the V-2. Beginning in September 1944, more than 3,000 V-2s were launched by the Wehrmacht against Allied targets, first London and later Antwerp and Liège. According to a 2011 BBC documentary,[6] the attacks from V-2s resulted in the deaths of an estimated 9,000 civilians and military personnel, and a further 12,000 forced laborers and Nazi concentration camps prisoners died as a result of their forced participation with the production of the weapons.[7]
The rockets travelled at supersonic speed, impacted without audible warning, and proved unstoppable, as no effective defense existed. Teams from the Allied forces—the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union—raced to seize major German manufacturing facilities, procure the Germans' missile technology, and capture the V-2's launching sites. Von Braun and more than 100 important V-2 personnel surrendered to the Americans, and many of the original V-2 team ended up working at the Redstone Arsenal. The US also captured enough V-2 hardware to build approximately 80 of the missiles. The Soviets gained possession of the V-2 manufacturing facilities after the war, re-established V-2 production, and moved it to the Soviet Union.
Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun
 (US: /ˌvɜːrnər vɒn ˈbraʊn/ VUR-nər von BROWN, German: [ˌvɛʁnheːɐ̯ fɔn ˈbʁaʊ̯n]; 23 March 1912 – 16 June 1977) was a German and American aerospace engineer[3] and space architect. He was a member of the Nazi Party and Allgemeine SS, as well as the leading figure in the development of rocket technology in Nazi Germany and later a pioneer of rocket and space technology in the United States.[4]
As a young man, von Braun worked in Nazi Germany's rocket development program. He helped design and co-developed the V-2 rocket at Peenemünde during World War II. The V-2 became the first artificial object to travel into space on 20 June 1944. Following the war, he was secretly moved to the United States, along with about 1,600 other German scientists, engineers, and technicians, as part of Operation Paperclip.[5] He worked for the United States Army on an intermediate-range ballistic missile program, and he developed the rockets that launched the United States' first space satellite Explorer 1 in 1958. He worked with Walt Disney on a series of films, which popularized the idea of human space travel in the US and beyond between 1955 and 1957.[6]
In 1960, his group was assimilated into NASA, where he served as director of the newly formed Marshall Space Flight Center and as the chief architect of the Saturn V super heavy-lift launch vehicle that propelled the Apollo spacecraft to the Moon.[7][8] In 1967, von Braun was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering, and in 1975, he received the National Medal of Science.
Von Braun is widely seen as the "father of space travel",[9] the "father of rocket science"[10] or the "father of the American lunar program".[11] He advocated a human mission to Mars.
Wernher von Braun
Wernher von Braun
A V-2 launched from Test Stand VII in summer 1943.
A V-2 launched from Test Stand VII in summer 1943.
Meillerwagen
Meillerwagen
A V-2 launched from Test Stand VII in summer 1943.
A V-2 launched from Test Stand VII in summer 1943.
Joseph Goebbels and Albert Speer at Peenmünde 1943
Joseph Goebbels and Albert Speer at Peenmünde 1943
Von Braun with Fritz Todt, who utilized forced labor for major works across occupied Europe. Von Braun is wearing the Nazi party badge on his suit lapel.
Von Braun with Fritz Todt, who utilized forced labor for major works across occupied Europe. Von Braun is wearing the Nazi party badge on his suit lapel.
First rank, from left to right, General Dr. Walter Dornberger (partially hidden), General Friedrich Olbricht (with Knight's Cross), Major Heinz Brandt, and Wernher von Braun (in civilian dress) at Peenemünde, Province of Pomerania, in March 1941
First rank, from left to right, General Dr. Walter Dornberger (partially hidden), General Friedrich Olbricht (with Knight's Cross), Major Heinz Brandt, and Wernher von Braun (in civilian dress) at Peenemünde, Province of Pomerania, in March 1941
Von Braun, with his arm in a cast, Walter Dornberger (on the left) and Bernhard Tessmann (on the right) surrendered to the Americans just before this 3 May 1945 photo.
Von Braun, with his arm in a cast, Walter Dornberger (on the left) and Bernhard Tessmann (on the right) surrendered to the Americans just before this 3 May 1945 photo.
US test launch of a Bumper V-2.
US test launch of a Bumper V-2.
The first photo of Earth from space was taken from V-2 No. 13 launched by US scientists on 24 October 1946.
The first photo of Earth from space was taken from V-2 No. 13 launched by US scientists on 24 October 1946.
Walt Disney and von Braun, seen in 1954 holding a model of his passenger ship, collaborated on a series of three educational films; among other things, this suggests that von Braun himself had enough free time to popularize astronautics due to the fact that priority in the design of a space rocket was given to other people.[93]
Walt Disney and von Braun, seen in 1954 holding a model of his passenger ship, collaborated on a series of three educational films; among other things, this suggests that von Braun himself had enough free time to popularize astronautics due to the fact that priority in the design of a space rocket was given to other people.[93]
Wernher von Braun at a meeting of NACA's Special Committee on Space Technology, 1958
Wernher von Braun at a meeting of NACA's Special Committee on Space Technology, 1958
Von Braun with President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1960; after the loss of the US space race in 1957, the American leadership agreed to von Braun's main role in the design of space rockets
Von Braun with President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1960; after the loss of the US space race in 1957, the American leadership agreed to von Braun's main role in the design of space rockets
Von Braun with President Kennedy at Redstone Arsenal in 1963; President Kennedy was the initiator of the American lunar program in 1961, and von Braun was appointed its technical director
Von Braun with President Kennedy at Redstone Arsenal in 1963; President Kennedy was the initiator of the American lunar program in 1961, and von Braun was appointed its technical director
Von Braun during the Apollo 11 launch, with binoculars to watch it
Von Braun during the Apollo 11 launch, with binoculars to watch it
Von Braun with the F-1 engines of the Saturn V first stage at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center
Von Braun with the F-1 engines of the Saturn V first stage at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center
Dr. Wernher von Braun served as Marshall Space Flight Center's first director from July 1, 1960 until January 27, 1970, when he was appointed NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Planning. Following World War II, Dr. von Braun and his German colleagues arrived in the United States under Project Paperclip to continue their rocket development work. In 1950, von Braun and his rocket team were transferred from Ft. Bliss, Texas to Huntsville, Alabama to work for the Army's rocket program at Redstone Arsenal and later, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. Under von Braun's leadership, Marshall developed the Saturn V launch vehicle which took Apollo astronauts to the moon.
Dr. Wernher von Braun served as Marshall Space Flight Center's first director from July 1, 1960 until January 27, 1970, when he was appointed NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Planning. Following World War II, Dr. von Braun and his German colleagues arrived in the United States under Project Paperclip to continue their rocket development work. In 1950, von Braun and his rocket team were transferred from Ft. Bliss, Texas to Huntsville, Alabama to work for the Army's rocket program at Redstone Arsenal and later, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. Under von Braun's leadership, Marshall developed the Saturn V launch vehicle which took Apollo astronauts to the moon.
Still with his rocket models, von Braun is pictured in his new office at NASA headquarters in 1970
Still with his rocket models, von Braun is pictured in his new office at NASA headquarters in 1970
In 1970, Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama, honored von Braun's years of service with a series of events including the unveiling of a plaque in his honor. Pictured (l–r), his daughter Iris, wife Maria, U.S. Sen. John Sparkman, Alabama Gov. Albert Brewer, von Braun, son Peter, and daughter Margrit.
In 1970, Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama, honored von Braun's years of service with a series of events including the unveiling of a plaque in his honor. Pictured (l–r), his daughter Iris, wife Maria, U.S. Sen. John Sparkman, Alabama Gov. Albert Brewer, von Braun, son Peter, and daughter Margrit.
Operation Backfire V-2 rocket on Meillerwagen (SI Negative #76-2755).
Operation Backfire V-2 rocket on Meillerwagen (SI Negative #76-2755).
Peenemünde Museum replica of V-2
Peenemünde Museum replica of V-2
R-1 rocket (V-2 rebuilt by the Soviet Union) on a Vidalwagen at Kapustin Yar
R-1 rocket (V-2 rebuilt by the Soviet Union) on a Vidalwagen at Kapustin Yar
Studio photograph of Mahatma Gandhi, London, 1931.
Studio photograph of Mahatma Gandhi, London, 1931.
Gandhi in 1942, the year he launched the Quit India Movement
Gandhi in 1942, the year he launched the Quit India Movement
Discussing the "Quit India" movement with Nehru, 1942
Discussing the "Quit India" movement with Nehru, 1942
Gandhi talking with Jawaharlal Nehru, his designated political heir, during the drafting of the Quit India Resolution in Bombay, August 1942
Gandhi talking with Jawaharlal Nehru, his designated political heir, during the drafting of the Quit India Resolution in Bombay, August 1942
A 2017 stamp sheet dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Quit India Movement. It features the Martyr's Memorial Patna (bottom-left), Gandhi delivering his "Do or Die" speech on 8 August 1942 (3rd stamp), and a part of it: "The mantra is 'Do or Die'. We shall either free India or die in the attempt; we shall not live to see the perpetuation of our slavery." (1st stamp).
A 2017 stamp sheet dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Quit India Movement. It features the Martyr's Memorial Patna (bottom-left), Gandhi delivering his "Do or Die" speech on 8 August 1942 (3rd stamp), and a part of it: "The mantra is 'Do or Die'. We shall either free India or die in the attempt; we shall not live to see the perpetuation of our slavery." (1st stamp).
1942
The Quit India Movement
, also known as the Bharat Chhodo Andolan, was a movement launched at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee by Mahatma Gandhi on 8th August 1942, during World War II, demanding an end to British rule in India.
After the British failed to secure Indian support for the British war effort with Cripps Mission, Gandhi made a call to Do or Die in his Quit India movement delivered in Bombay on 8 August 1942 at the Gowalia Tank Maidan.[5] Viceroy Linlithgow remarked the movement to be "by far the most serious rebellion since 1857".[6][7]
The All India Congress Committee launched a mass protest demanding what Gandhi called "An Orderly British Withdrawal" from India. Even though it was at war, the British were prepared to act. Almost the entire leadership of the Indian National Congress was imprisoned without trial within hours of Gandhi's speech. Most spent the rest of the war in prison and out of contact with the masses. The British had the support of the Viceroy's Council, of the All India Muslim League, the Hindu Mahasabha, the princely states, the Indian Imperial Police, the British Indian Army, and the Indian Civil Service. Many Indian businessmen profiting from heavy wartime spending did not support the Quit India Movement. The major outside support came from the Americans, as President Franklin D. Roosevelt pressured Prime Minister Winston Churchill to give in to some of the Indian demands.[8]
Various violent incidents took place around the country against the British regime. The British arrested tens of thousands of leaders, keeping them imprisoned until 1945. Ultimately, the British government realised that India was ungovernable in the long run, and the question for the postwar era became how to exit gracefully and peacefully.
The movement ended in 1945 with the release of jailed freedom fighters. Martyrs of this freedom movement include Mukunda Kakati, Matangini Hazra, Kanaklata Barua, Kushal Konwar, Bhogeswari Phukanani and others.[9] In 1992, the Reserve Bank of India issued a 1 rupee commemorative coin to mark the Golden Jubilee of the Quit India Movement.[10]
1943
The Tehran Conference
 (codenamed Eureka[1]) was a strategy meeting of Joseph Stalin, Franklin Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill from 28 November to 1 December 1943, after the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran. It was held at the Soviet Union's embassy at Tehran in Iran. It was the first of the World War II conferences of the "Big Three" Allied leaders (the Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom) and closely followed the Cairo Conference, which had taken place on 22–26 November 1943, and preceded the 1945 Yalta and Potsdam conferences. Although the three leaders arrived with differing objectives, the main outcome of the Tehran Conference was the Western Allies' commitment to open a second front against Nazi Germany. The conference also addressed the 'Big Three' Allies' relations with Turkey and Iran, operations in Yugoslavia and against Japan, and the envisaged postwar settlement. A separate contract signed at the conference pledged the Big Three to recognize Iranian independence.
Mount Washington Hotel
Mount Washington Hotel
Bretton Woods Conference room
Bretton Woods Conference room
Keynes in 1933
Keynes in 1933
White in 1939 while working for the U.S. Treasury.
White in 1939 while working for the U.S. Treasury.
The Gold Room where the International Monetary Fund and World Bank were established during the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference
The Gold Room where the International Monetary Fund and World Bank were established during the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference
1944
The Bretton Woods Conference
, formally known as the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, was the gathering of 730 delegates from all 44 allied nations at the Mount Washington Hotel, situated in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States, to regulate the international monetary and financial order after the conclusion of World War II.[1]
The conference was held from July 1 to 22, 1944. Agreements were signed that, after legislative ratification by member governments, established the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD, later part of the World Bank group) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This led to what was called the Bretton Woods system for international commercial and financial relations.
1944
The World Bank Group (WBG)
is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and best-known development bank in the world and an observer at the United Nations Development Group.[6] The bank is headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It provided around $98.83 billion in loans and assistance to "developing" and transition countries in the 2021 fiscal year.[7] The bank's stated mission is to achieve the twin goals of ending extreme poverty and building shared prosperity.[8] Total lending as of 2015 for the last 10 years through Development Policy Financing was approximately $117 billion.[9] Its five organizations are the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The first two are sometimes collectively referred to as the World Bank.
The World Bank's (the IBRD's and IDA's) activities focus on developing countries, in fields such as human development (e.g. education, health), agriculture and rural development (e.g. irrigation and rural services), environmental protection (e.g. pollution reduction, establishing and enforcing regulations), infrastructure (e.g. roads, urban regeneration, and electricity), large industrial construction projects, and governance (e.g. anti-corruption, legal institutions development). The IBRD and IDA provide loans at preferential rates to member countries, as well as grants to the poorest countries. Loans or grants for specific projects are often linked to wider policy changes in the sector or the country's economy as a whole. For example, a loan to improve coastal environmental management may be linked to the development of new environmental institutions at national and local levels and the implementation of new regulations to limit pollution.[10]
The World Bank Group headquarters building in Washington, D.C.
The World Bank Group headquarters building in Washington, D.C.
The World Bank Sign on the building
The World Bank Sign on the building
A young World Bank protester in Jakarta, Indonesia
A young World Bank protester in Jakarta, Indonesia
This is the logo for International Monetary Fund.
This is the logo for International Monetary Fund.
IMF "Headquarters 1" in Washington, D.C., designed by Moshe Safdie
IMF "Headquarters 1" in Washington, D.C., designed by Moshe Safdie
Board of Governors International Monetary Fund (1999)
Board of Governors International Monetary Fund (1999)
Plaque Commemorating the Formation of the IMF in July 1944 at the Bretton Woods Conference…
Plaque Commemorating the Formation of the IMF in July 1944 at the Bretton Woods Conference…
First page of the Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund, 1 March 1946. Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs archives…
First page of the Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund, 1 March 1946. Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs archives…
On 28 June 2011, Christine Lagarde was named managing director of the IMF, replacing Dominique Strauss-Kahn.…
On 28 June 2011, Christine Lagarde was named managing director of the IMF, replacing Dominique Strauss-Kahn.…
Anarchist protest against the IMF and corporate bailout
Anarchist protest against the IMF and corporate bailout
1944
The International Monetary Fund (IMF)
 is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world."[1] Formed in 1944, started on 27 December 1945,[9] at the Bretton Woods Conference primarily by the ideas of Harry Dexter White and John Maynard Keynes,[10] it came into formal existence in 1945 with 29 member countries and the goal of reconstructing the international monetary system. It now plays a central role in the management of balance of payments difficulties and international financial crises.[11] Countries contribute funds to a pool through a quota system from which countries experiencing balance of payments problems can borrow money. As of 2016, the fund had XDR 477 billion (about US$667 billion).[9] The IMF is regarded as the global lender of last resort.
Through the fund and other activities such as the gathering of statistics and analysis, surveillance of its members' economies, and the demand for particular policies,[12] the IMF works to influence the economies of its member countries.[13] The organization's objectives stated in the Articles of Agreement are:[14] to promote international monetary co-operation, international trade, high employment, exchange-rate stability, sustainable economic growth, and making resources available to member countries in financial difficulty.[15] IMF funds come from two major sources: quotas and loans. Quotas, which are pooled funds of member nations, generate most IMF funds. The size of a member's quota depends on its economic and financial importance in the world. Nations with greater economic significance have larger quotas. The quotas are increased periodically as a means of boosting the IMF's resources in the form of special drawing rights.[16]
The current managing director (MD) and Chairwoman of the IMF is Bulgarian economist Kristalina Georgieva, who has held the post since October 1, 2019.[17] Indian-American economist Gita Gopinath, who previously served as Chief Economist, was appointed as First Deputy Managing Director, effective January 21, 2022.[18] Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas replaced Gopinath as Chief Economist on January 24, 2022.[19]
1944
The World Bank
 is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects.[5] The World Bank is the collective name for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and International Development Association (IDA), two of five international organizations owned by the World Bank Group. It was established along with the International Monetary Fund at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference. After a slow start, its first loan was to France in 1947. In the 1970s, it focused on loans to developing world countries, shifting away from that mission in the 1980s. For the last 30 years, it has included NGOs and environmental groups in its loan portfolio. Its loan strategy is influenced by the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, as well as environmental and social safeguards.
As of 2022, the World Bank is run by a president and 25 executive directors, as well as 29 various vice presidents. IBRD and IDA have 189 and 174 member countries, respectively. The U.S., Japan, China, Germany and the U.K. have the most voting power. The bank aims loans at developing countries to help reduce poverty. The bank is engaged in several global partnerships and initiatives, and takes a role in working toward addressing climate change. The World Bank operates a number of training wings and it works with the Clean Air Initiative and the UN Development Business. It works within the Open Data Initiative and hosts an Open Knowledge Repository.
The World Bank has been criticized as promoting inflation and harming economic development, causing protests in 1988 and 2000. There has also been criticism of the bank's governance and response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The World Bank Group headquarters building in Washington, D.C. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox.
The World Bank Group headquarters building in Washington, D.C. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox.
The World Bank Group headquarters building in Washington, D.C.
The World Bank Group headquarters building in Washington, D.C.
Harry Dexter White (left) and John Maynard Keynes, the "founding fathers" of both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)[6]
Harry Dexter White (left) and John Maynard Keynes, the "founding fathers" of both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)[6]
Eugene Isaac Meyer (October 31, 1875 – July 17, 1959) was an American financier and newspaper publisher. Through his public career, he served as the 5th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1930 to 1933 and was the first president of the World Bank Group from June to December 1946. Meyer published The Washington Post from 1933 to 1946, and the paper stayed in his family throughout the rest of the 20th century. His daughter, Katharine "Kay" Graham, took the Post over in 1963 and remained its titular head until her death in 2001.
Eugene Isaac Meyer (October 31, 1875 – July 17, 1959) was an American financier and newspaper publisher. Through his public career, he served as the 5th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1930 to 1933 and was the first president of the World Bank Group from June to December 1946. Meyer published The Washington Post from 1933 to 1946, and the paper stayed in his family throughout the rest of the 20th century. His daughter, Katharine "Kay" Graham, took the Post over in 1963 and remained its titular head until her death in 2001.
Robert McNamara President of the World Bank Group 1968–1981
Robert McNamara President of the World Bank Group 1968–1981
Gold prices (US$ per troy ounce) with a line approximately marking the collapse of Bretton Woods
Gold prices (US$ per troy ounce) with a line approximately marking the collapse of Bretton Woods
The price of gold, as denominated in dollars, was steady until the collapse of the Bretton Woods system in the mid-1970s.
The price of gold, as denominated in dollars, was steady until the collapse of the Bretton Woods system in the mid-1970s.
Cordell Hull, U.S. Secretary of State 1933–44
Cordell Hull, U.S. Secretary of State 1933–44
Roosevelt and Churchill during their secret meeting of 9–12 August 1941, in Newfoundland resulted in the Atlantic Charter, which the U.S. and Britain officially announced two days later.
Roosevelt and Churchill during their secret meeting of 9–12 August 1941, in Newfoundland resulted in the Atlantic Charter, which the U.S. and Britain officially announced two days later.
Blue plaque, 46 Gordon Square
Blue plaque, 46 Gordon Square
The Bretton Woods system
 of monetary management established the rules for commercial and financial relations among the United States, Canada, Western European countries, Australia, and Japan after the 1944 Bretton Woods Agreement. The Bretton Woods system was the first example of a fully negotiated monetary order intended to govern monetary relations among independent states. The Bretton Woods system required countries to guarantee convertibility of their currencies into U.S. dollars to within 1% of fixed parity rates, with the dollar convertible to gold bullion for foreign governments and central banks at US$35 per troy ounce of fine gold (or 0.88867 gram fine gold per dollar). It also envisioned greater cooperation among countries in order to prevent future competitive devaluations, and thus established the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to monitor exchange rates and lend reserve currencies to nations with balance of payments deficits.[1]
Preparing to rebuild the international economic system while World War II was still being fought, 730 delegates from all 44 Allied nations gathered at the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States, for the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, also known as the Bretton Woods Conference. The delegates deliberated from 1 to 22 July 1944, and signed the Bretton Woods agreement on its final day. Setting up a system of rules, institutions, and procedures to regulate the international monetary system, these accords established the IMF and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), which today is part of the World Bank Group. The United States, which controlled two-thirds of the world's gold, insisted that the Bretton Woods system rest on both gold and the US dollar. Soviet representatives attended the conference but later declined to ratify the final agreements, charging that the institutions they had created were "branches of Wall Street".[2] These organizations became operational in 1945 after a sufficient number of countries had ratified the agreement. According to Barry Eichengreen, the Bretton Woods system operated successfully due to three factors: "low international capital mobility, tight financial regulation, and the dominant economic and financial position of the United States and the dollar."[3]
On 15 August 1971, the United States terminated convertibility of the US dollar to gold, effectively bringing the Bretton Woods system to an end and rendering the dollar a fiat currency.[4] Shortly thereafter, many fixed currencies (such as the pound sterling) also became free-floating,[5] and the subsequent era has been characterized by floating exchange rates.[6] The end of Bretton Woods was formally ratified by the Jamaica Accords in 1976.
1945
The Yalta Conference
 also known as the Crimea Conference, held 4–11 February 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union to discuss the postwar reorganization of Germany and Europe. The three states were represented by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and General Secretary Joseph Stalin, respectively. The conference was held near Yalta in Crimea, Soviet Union, within the Livadia, Yusupov, and Vorontsov palaces.[1]
The aim of the conference was to shape a postwar peace that represented not only a collective security order but also a plan to give self-determination to the liberated peoples of Europe. Intended mainly to discuss the re-establishment of the nations of war-torn Europe, within a few years, with the Cold War dividing the continent, the conference became a subject of intense controversy.
Yalta was the second of three major wartime conferences among the Big Three. It was preceded by the Tehran Conference in November 1943 and was followed by the Potsdam Conference in July of the same year, 1945. It was also preceded by a conference in Moscow in October 1944, not attended by Roosevelt, in which Churchill and Stalin had spoken of Western and Soviet spheres of influence in Europe.[2]
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin met at Yalta in February 1945 to discuss their joint occupation of Germany and plans for postwar Europe. Behind them stand, from the left, Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke, Fleet Admiral Ernest King, Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy, General of the Army George Marshall, Major General Laurence S. Kuter, General Aleksei Antonov, Vice Admiral Stepan Kucherov, and Admiral of the Fleet Nikolay Kuznetsov. February 1945. (Army) Exact Date Shot Unknown NARA FILE #: 111-SC-260486 WAR & CONFLICT BOOK #: 750"
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin met at Yalta in February 1945 to discuss their joint occupation of Germany and plans for postwar Europe. Behind them stand, from the left, Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke, Fleet Admiral Ernest King, Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy, General of the Army George Marshall, Major General Laurence S. Kuter, General Aleksei Antonov, Vice Admiral Stepan Kucherov, and Admiral of the Fleet Nikolay Kuznetsov. February 1945. (Army) Exact Date Shot Unknown NARA FILE #: 111-SC-260486 WAR & CONFLICT BOOK #: 750"
Soviet, American and British diplomats during the Yalta conference
Soviet, American and British diplomats during the Yalta conference
Yalta American Delegation in Livadia Palace from left to right: Secretary of State Edward Stettinius, Maj. Gen. L. S. Kuter, Admiral E. J. King, General George C. Marshall, Ambassador Averell Harriman, Admiral William Leahy, and President F. D. Roosevelt. Livadia Palace, Crimea, RSFSR
Yalta American Delegation in Livadia Palace from left to right: Secretary of State Edward Stettinius, Maj. Gen. L. S. Kuter, Admiral E. J. King, General George C. Marshall, Ambassador Averell Harriman, Admiral William Leahy, and President F. D. Roosevelt. Livadia Palace, Crimea, RSFSR
A Big Three meeting room
A Big Three meeting room
Leaders of the Big Three at the negotiating table at the Yalta conference
Leaders of the Big Three at the negotiating table at the Yalta conference
The eventual partition of Germany into Allied Occupation Zones: British zone French zone (two exclaves) and beginning in 1947, the Saar Protectorate American zone, including Bremen Soviet zone, later the GDR Polish and Soviet annexed territory
The eventual partition of Germany into Allied Occupation Zones: British zone French zone (two exclaves) and beginning in 1947, the Saar Protectorate American zone, including Bremen Soviet zone, later the GDR Polish and Soviet annexed territory
Partition plan from Winston Churchill: North German state South German state, including modern Austria and Hungary West German state
Partition plan from Winston Churchill: North German state South German state, including modern Austria and Hungary West German state
Morgenthau Plan: North German state South German state International zone Territory lost from Germany (Saarland to France, Upper Silesia to Poland, East Prussia, partitioned between Poland and the Soviet Union)
Morgenthau Plan: North German state South German state International zone Territory lost from Germany (Saarland to France, Upper Silesia to Poland, East Prussia, partitioned between Poland and the Soviet Union)
From left to right: Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin. Also present are Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov (far left); Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Andrew Cunningham, RN, Marshal of the RAF Sir Charles Portal, RAF, (standing behind Churchill); General George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff of the United States Army, and Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy, USN, (standing behind Roosevelt).
From left to right: Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin. Also present are Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov (far left); Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Andrew Cunningham, RN, Marshal of the RAF Sir Charles Portal, RAF, (standing behind Churchill); General George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff of the United States Army, and Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy, USN, (standing behind Roosevelt).
37mm Gun fires against cave positions at Iwo Jima
37mm Gun fires against cave positions at Iwo Jima
Location of Iwo Jima
Location of Iwo Jima
Lieut. Gen. Tadamichi Kuribayashi
Lieut. Gen. Tadamichi Kuribayashi
The battleship USS New York firing its 14 in (360 mm) main guns on the island, 16 February 1945 (D minus 3)…
The battleship USS New York firing its 14 in (360 mm) main guns on the island, 16 February 1945 (D minus 3)…
Admiral Raymond A. Spruance
Admiral Raymond A. Spruance
Vice Adm. Richmond Kelly Turner
Vice Adm. Richmond Kelly Turner
Lt. Gen. Holland M. Smith
Lt. Gen. Holland M. Smith
Maj. Gen. Harry Schmidt
Maj. Gen. Harry Schmidt
Maj. Gen. Keller Rockey
Maj. Gen. Keller Rockey
LVTs approach Iwo Jima.
LVTs approach Iwo Jima.
19 February 1945 air view of southern part of Iwo Jima
19 February 1945 air view of southern part of Iwo Jima
19 February 1945 air view of Marines landing on the beach
19 February 1945 air view of Marines landing on the beach
Marines landing on the beach
Marines landing on the beach
U.S. Army Soldiers engaging heavily fortified Japanese positions
U.S. Army Soldiers engaging heavily fortified Japanese positions
U.S. Marines of the Second Battalion, Twenty-Seventh Regiment, wait to move inland on Iwo Jima, soon after going ashore on 19 February 1945. An LVT(A)-5 amphibious tractor is in the background. Red Beach One.
U.S. Marines of the Second Battalion, Twenty-Seventh Regiment, wait to move inland on Iwo Jima, soon after going ashore on 19 February 1945. An LVT(A)-5 amphibious tractor is in the background. Red Beach One.
Members of the 1st Battalion 23rd Marines burrow in the volcanic sand on Yellow Beach 1. A beached LCI is visible upper left with Mount Suribachi upper right.
Members of the 1st Battalion 23rd Marines burrow in the volcanic sand on Yellow Beach 1. A beached LCI is visible upper left with Mount Suribachi upper right.
U.S. Marines pose with a captured Japanese flag on top of enemy pillbox.
U.S. Marines pose with a captured Japanese flag on top of enemy pillbox.
Marines from the 24th Marine Regiment during the Battle of Iwo Jima
Marines from the 24th Marine Regiment during the Battle of Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima cemetery entrances built by the 133rd Seabees, with the 3rd Marine Division foreward and the 4th Marine Division opposite.
Iwo Jima cemetery entrances built by the 133rd Seabees, with the 3rd Marine Division foreward and the 4th Marine Division opposite.
Harry Truman congratulates Marine Corporal Hershel Williams of the Third Marine Division on being awarded the Medal of Honor, 5 October 1945.
Harry Truman congratulates Marine Corporal Hershel Williams of the Third Marine Division on being awarded the Medal of Honor, 5 October 1945.
The 60th anniversary reunion at the Japanese part of the memorial
The 60th anniversary reunion at the Japanese part of the memorial
The 67th anniversary ceremony sponsored by the U.S. Marine Corps, the government of Japan, and the Iwo Jima Associations of America and Japan
The 67th anniversary ceremony sponsored by the U.S. Marine Corps, the government of Japan, and the Iwo Jima Associations of America and Japan
1945
The Battle of Iwo Jima
(19 February – 26 March 1945) was a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and United States Navy (USN) landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) during World War II. The American invasion, designated Operation Detachment, had the purpose of capturing the island with its two airfields: South Field and Central Field.
The Japanese Army positions on the island were heavily fortified, with a dense network of bunkers, hidden artillery positions, and 18 km (11 mi) of tunnels.[f] The American ground forces were supported by extensive naval artillery and had complete air supremacy provided by U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aviators throughout the battle.[12] The five-week battle saw some of the fiercest and bloodiest fighting of the Pacific War.
The Japanese combat deaths numbered three times the number of American deaths, but uniquely among Pacific War Marine battles, the American total casualties (dead and wounded) exceeded those of the Japanese.[13] Of the 21,000 Japanese soldiers on Iwo Jima at the beginning of the battle, only 216 were taken prisoner, some of whom were captured only because they had been knocked unconscious or otherwise disabled.[g] Most of the remainder were killed in action, but it has been estimated that as many as 3,000 continued to resist within the various cave systems for many days afterwards until they eventually succumbed to their injuries or surrendered weeks later.[2][10] Despite the fighting and severe casualties on both sides, the American victory was assured from the start. Overwhelming American superiority in numbers and arms, air supremacy, the impossibility of Japanese retreat or reinforcement, and sparse food and supplies for the Japanese, permitted no plausible circumstance in which the Japanese could have won the battle.[14]
The action was controversial, with retired Chief of Naval Operations William V. Pratt stating that the island was useless to the Army as a staging base, and useless to the Navy as a fleet base.[15] The Japanese continued to have early-warning radar from Rota island, which was never invaded, and Iwo Jima's captured air field was barely used.[16] Experiences with previous Pacific island battles suggested that the island would be well-defended and thus casualties would be significant. Joe Rosenthal's Associated Press photograph of the raising of the U.S. flag at the top of the 169 m (554 ft) Mount Suribachi by five U.S. Marines and one Navy corpsman became a famous image of the battle and the American war effort in the Pacific.[17]
1945
Trinity
was the code name of the first detonation of a nuclear weapon. It was conducted by the United States Army at 5:29 a.m. on July 16, 1945, as part of the Manhattan Project. The test was conducted in the Jornada del Muerto desert about 35 miles (56 km) southeast of Socorro, New Mexico, on what was then the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range, now part of White Sands Missile Range. The only structures originally in the vicinity were the McDonald Ranch House and its ancillary buildings, which scientists used as a laboratory for testing bomb components. A base camp was constructed, and there were 425 people present on the weekend of the test.
The code name "Trinity" was assigned by J. Robert Oppenheimer, the director of the Los Alamos Laboratory, inspired by the poetry of John Donne. The test was of an implosion-design plutonium device, informally nicknamed "The Gadget", of the same design as the Fat Man bomb later detonated over Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, 1945. The complexity of the design required a major effort from the Los Alamos Laboratory, and concerns about whether it would work led to a decision to conduct the first nuclear test. The test was planned and directed by Kenneth Bainbridge.
Fears of a fizzle did lead to the construction of a steel containment vessel called Jumbo that could contain the plutonium, allowing it to be recovered, although ultimately this was not used in the test. A rehearsal was held on May 7, 1945, in which 108 short tons (98 t) of high explosive spiked with radioactive isotopes were detonated. The Gadget's detonation released the explosive energy of about 25 kilotons of TNT (100 TJ). Observers included Vannevar Bush, James Chadwick, James Conant, Thomas Farrell, Enrico Fermi, Hans Bethe, Richard Feynman, Leslie Groves, Robert Oppenheimer, Frank Oppenheimer, Geoffrey Taylor, Richard Tolman, Edward Teller, and John von Neumann.
The test site was declared a National Historic Landmark district in 1965, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places the following year.
Time-lapse detonation of Gadget, Trinity nuclear weapons test, July 16 1945
Time-lapse detonation of Gadget, Trinity nuclear weapons test, July 16 1945
Trinity Site obelisk. The black plaque on top reads: Trinity Site Where The World's First Nuclear Device Was Exploded On July 16, 1945 Erected 1965 White Sands Missile Range J. Frederick Thorlin Major General U.S. Army Commanding The gold plaque below it declares the site a National Historic Landmark, and reads: Trinity Site has been designated a National Historical Landmark This Site Possesses National Significance In Commemorating The History of the United States of America 1975 National Park Service United States Department of the Interior
Trinity Site obelisk. The black plaque on top reads: Trinity Site Where The World's First Nuclear Device Was Exploded On July 16, 1945 Erected 1965 White Sands Missile Range J. Frederick Thorlin Major General U.S. Army Commanding The gold plaque below it declares the site a National Historic Landmark, and reads: Trinity Site has been designated a National Historical Landmark This Site Possesses National Significance In Commemorating The History of the United States of America 1975 National Park Service United States Department of the Interior
Trinity Site (red arrow) near Carrizozo Malpais
Trinity Site (red arrow) near Carrizozo Malpais
The Trinity test base camp
The Trinity test base camp
Jumbo arrives at the site
Jumbo arrives at the site
The Jumbo container after the test
The Jumbo container after the test
Norris Bradbury, group leader for bomb assembly, stands next to the assembled Gadget atop the test tower. Later, he became the director of Los Alamos, after the departure of Oppenheimer.
Norris Bradbury, group leader for bomb assembly, stands next to the assembled Gadget atop the test tower. Later, he became the director of Los Alamos, after the departure of Oppenheimer.
Mockup of the Gadget physics package at the Nuclear Weapons Instructional Museum, Kirtland Air Force Base
Mockup of the Gadget physics package at the Nuclear Weapons Instructional Museum, Kirtland Air Force Base
Basic nuclear components of the Gadget. The uranium slug containing the plutonium sphere was inserted late in the assembly process.
Basic nuclear components of the Gadget. The uranium slug containing the plutonium sphere was inserted late in the assembly process.
Louis Slotin and Herbert Lehr with the Gadget prior to insertion of the tamper plug (visible in front of Lehr's left knee)[67]
Louis Slotin and Herbert Lehr with the Gadget prior to insertion of the tamper plug (visible in front of Lehr's left knee)[67]
The Gadget is unloaded at the base of the tower for the final assembly
The Gadget is unloaded at the base of the tower for the final assembly
Close-up view of Gadget device detonation and subsequent fireball, with estimated yield of 25 kilotons of TNT.
Close-up view of Gadget device detonation and subsequent fireball, with estimated yield of 25 kilotons of TNT.
The Trinity explosion, 16 ms after detonation. The viewed hemisphere's highest point in this image is about 200 metres (660 ft) high.
The Trinity explosion, 16 ms after detonation. The viewed hemisphere's highest point in this image is about 200 metres (660 ft) high.
Closeup of plaque on obelisk, 2018
Closeup of plaque on obelisk, 2018
Remnants of Jumbo, 2010
Remnants of Jumbo, 2010
Trinity Site Historical Marker, 2008
Trinity Site Historical Marker, 2008
1945
The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
 were the detonation of two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945 by the United States. The two 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. Japan surrendered to the Allies on 15 August, six days after the bombing of Nagasaki and the Soviet Union's declaration of war against Japan. The Japanese government signed the instrument of surrender on 2 September, effectively ending the war.
In the final year of World War II, the Allies prepared for a costly invasion of the Japanese mainland. This undertaking was preceded by a conventional and firebombing campaign that devastated 64 Japanese cities. The war in the European theatre concluded when Germany surrendered on 8 May 1945, and the Allies turned their full attention to the Pacific War. By July 1945, the Allies' Manhattan Project had produced two types of atomic bombs: "Fat Man", a plutonium implosion-type nuclear weapon; and "Little Boy", an enriched uranium gun-type fission weapon. The 509th Composite Group of the United States Army Air Forces was trained and equipped with the specialized Silverplate version of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, and deployed to Tinian in the Mariana Islands. The Allies called for the unconditional surrender of the Imperial Japanese armed forces in the Potsdam Declaration on 26 July 1945, the alternative being "prompt and utter destruction". The Japanese government ignored the ultimatum.
The consent of the United Kingdom was obtained for the bombing, as was required by the Quebec Agreement, and orders were issued on 25 July by General Thomas Handy, the acting Chief of Staff of the United States Army, for atomic bombs to be used against Hiroshima, Kokura, Niigata, and Nagasaki. These targets were chosen because they were large urban areas that also held militarily significant facilities. On 6 August, a Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima, to which Prime Minister Suzuki reiterated the Japanese government's commitment to ignore the Allies' demands and fight on. Three days later, a Fat Man was dropped on Nagasaki. Over the next two to four months, the effects of the atomic bombings killed between 90,000 and 146,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,000 and 80,000 people in Nagasaki; roughly half occurred on the first day. For months afterward, many people continued to die from the effects of burns, radiation sickness, and injuries, compounded by illness and malnutrition. Though Hiroshima had a sizable military garrison, most of the dead were civilians.
Japan surrendered to the Allies on 15 August, six days after the Soviet Union's declaration of war and the bombing of Nagasaki. The Japanese government signed the instrument of surrender on 2 September, effectively ending the war. Scholars have extensively studied the effects of the bombings on the social and political character of subsequent world history and popular culture, and there is still much debate concerning the ethical and legal justification for the bombings. Supporters claim that the atomic bombings were necessary to bring an end to the war with minimal American casualties; critics believe that the bombings were unnecessary and a war crime, and highlight the moral and ethical implications of the intentional nuclear attack on civilians.
U.S. Army propaganda poster depicting Uncle Sam preparing the public for the invasion of Japan after ending war on Germany and Italy
U.S. Army propaganda poster depicting Uncle Sam preparing the public for the invasion of Japan after ending war on Germany and Italy
Situation of the Pacific War on 1 August 1945. White and green: Areas still controlled by Japan included Korea, Taiwan, Indochina, and much of China, including most of the main cities, and the Dutch East Indies Red: Allied-held areas Grey: Neutral Soviet Union
Situation of the Pacific War on 1 August 1945. White and green: Areas still controlled by Japan included Korea, Taiwan, Indochina, and much of China, including most of the main cities, and the Dutch East Indies Red: Allied-held areas Grey: Neutral Soviet Union
A B-29 over Osaka on 1 June 1945
A B-29 over Osaka on 1 June 1945
The Operation Meetinghouse firebombing of Tokyo on the night of 9–10 March 1945, was the single deadliest air raid in history;[36] with a greater area of fire damage and loss of life than either of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima or Nagasaki.[37][38]
The Operation Meetinghouse firebombing of Tokyo on the night of 9–10 March 1945, was the single deadliest air raid in history;[36] with a greater area of fire damage and loss of life than either of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima or Nagasaki.[37][38]
Leslie Groves, Manhattan Project director, with a map of Japan
Leslie Groves, Manhattan Project director, with a map of Japan
The "Tinian Joint Chiefs": Captain William S. Parsons (left), Rear Admiral William R. Purnell (center), and Brigadier General Thomas F. Farrell (right)
The "Tinian Joint Chiefs": Captain William S. Parsons (left), Rear Admiral William R. Purnell (center), and Brigadier General Thomas F. Farrell (right)
Aircraft of the 509th Composite Group that took part in the Hiroshima bombing. Left to right: Big Stink, The Great Artiste, Enola Gay
Aircraft of the 509th Composite Group that took part in the Hiroshima bombing. Left to right: Big Stink, The Great Artiste, Enola Gay
The mission runs of 6 and 9 August, with Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Kokura (the original target for 9 August) displayed
The mission runs of 6 and 9 August, with Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Kokura (the original target for 9 August) displayed
General Thomas Handy's order to General Carl Spaatz ordering the dropping of the atomic bombs
General Thomas Handy's order to General Carl Spaatz ordering the dropping of the atomic bombs
The Enola Gay dropped the "Little Boy" atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Paul Tibbets (center in photograph) can be seen with six members of the ground crew.
The Enola Gay dropped the "Little Boy" atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Paul Tibbets (center in photograph) can be seen with six members of the ground crew.
Strike order for the Hiroshima bombing as posted on 5 August 1945
Strike order for the Hiroshima bombing as posted on 5 August 1945
Left picture : At the time this photo was made, smoke billowed 20,000 feet above Hiroshima while smoke from the burst of the first atomic bomb had spread over 10,000 feet on the target at the base of the rising column. Six planes of the 509th Composite Group participated in this mission: one to carry the bomb (Enola Gay), one to take scientific measurements of the blast (The Great Artiste), the third to take photographs (Necessary Evil), while the others flew approximately an hour ahead to act as weather scouts (08/06/1945). Bad weather would disqualify a target as the scientists insisted on a visual delivery. The primary target was Hiroshima, the secondary was Kokura, and the tertiary was Nagasaki. Right picture : Atomic bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, taken by Charles Levy.
Left picture : At the time this photo was made, smoke billowed 20,000 feet above Hiroshima while smoke from the burst of the first atomic bomb had spread over 10,000 feet on the target at the base of the rising column. Six planes of the 509th Composite Group participated in this mission: one to carry the bomb (Enola Gay), one to take scientific measurements of the blast (The Great Artiste), the third to take photographs (Necessary Evil), while the others flew approximately an hour ahead to act as weather scouts (08/06/1945). Bad weather would disqualify a target as the scientists insisted on a visual delivery. The primary target was Hiroshima, the secondary was Kokura, and the tertiary was Nagasaki. Right picture : Atomic bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, taken by Charles Levy.
The Hiroshima atom bomb cloud 2–5 minutes after detonation[137]
The Hiroshima atom bomb cloud 2–5 minutes after detonation[137]
Hiroshima in the aftermath of the bombing
Hiroshima in the aftermath of the bombing
Ruins of Hiroshima
Ruins of Hiroshima
Direct, thermal flash burns
Direct, thermal flash burns
22-year old victim Toyoko Kugata being treated at the Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital (6 October 1945)
22-year old victim Toyoko Kugata being treated at the Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital (6 October 1945)
Hiroshima before the bombing
Hiroshima before the bombing
Hiroshima after the bombing and subsequent firestorm
Hiroshima after the bombing and subsequent firestorm
The Bockscar and its crew, who dropped a Fat Man atomic bomb on Nagasaki
The Bockscar and its crew, who dropped a Fat Man atomic bomb on Nagasaki
Nagasaki before and after the bombing, after the fires had burned out.
Nagasaki before and after the bombing, after the fires had burned out.
1945
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC)
is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN)[2] and is charged with ensuring international peace and security,[3] recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly,[4] and approving any changes to the UN Charter.[5] Its powers include establishing peacekeeping operations, enacting international sanctions, and authorizing military action. The UNSC is the only UN body with the authority to issue binding resolutions on member states.
Like the UN as a whole, the Security Council was created after World War II to address the failings of the League of Nations in maintaining world peace. It held its first session on 17 January 1946 but was largely paralyzed in the following decades by the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union (and their allies). Nevertheless, it authorized military interventions in the Korean War and the Congo Crisis and peacekeeping missions in Cyprus, West New Guinea, and the Sinai Peninsula. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, UN peacekeeping efforts increased dramatically in scale, with the Security Council authorizing major military and peacekeeping missions in Kuwait, Namibia, Cambodia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Security Council consists of fifteen members, of which five are permanent:[6] China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These were the great powers that were the victors of World War II (or their successor states). Permanent members can veto (block) any substantive Security Council resolution, including those on the admission of new member states to the United Nations or nominees for the office of Secretary-General. This veto right does not carry over into any General Assembly or emergency special sessions of the General Assembly[citation needed] matters or votes. The other ten members are elected on a regional basis for a term of two years. The body's presidency rotates monthly among its members.
Resolutions of the Security Council are typically enforced by UN peacekeepers, which consist of military forces voluntarily provided by member states and funded independently of the main UN budget. As of November 2021, there have been 12 peacekeeping missions with over 87,000 personnel from 121 countries, with a total budget of approximately $6.3 billion.[7]
UN Security Council Chamber in New York City

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