THE
EFFECTS OF WORLD WAR II
v INTRODUCTION
The Second
World War destroyed innumerable human lives and paralyzed the normal life of
people all over wither world. The war
created a greatest dent in the financial reserves of England. She lost her supreme position in the global
politics as the use and Russia became the two greatest powers in the
world. The concept of the welfare state
was a post-war necessity and England concentrated on internal growth and
rehabilitation.
v LABOR GOVERNMENT
In the
general elections in 1945, the labor party won and formed the government with
clement Attlee as the prime minister.
The government passed a number of acts to ensure social security and
welfare of the helpless section of the society security and welfare of the
helpless section of the society and make England a welfare state. Private business was brought under public
control. Industries, banks, coal mines,
railways and the iron and steel industries were nationalized. Two major problems faced by the labor
government were housing and inflation.
Many houses were destroyed during the war. The government took steps to rebuild
them. Due to shortage of goods, the prices
of goods were raised. Increased the cost
of production that resulted in the rise in prices again. It was very difficult to solve these problems
v SHORTAGE OF FOOD
All over
the world there was a general shortage of food.
So the prices of wheat, meet and sugar were very high, Britain continued
wartime rationing of food and even bread was rationed.
v COMMONWEALTH
After the
end of Second World War, many colonies under England demanded independence and England
gave independence to India, Ceylon, Burma, the republic of Ireland, and south Africa.
Britain changed her colonial policy and the new commonwealth came into
existence.
v COLD WAR
The cold
war began between America and Russia at the end of world warier. The countries of the world were divided into
eastern bloc and western bloc. England
became a part of the western bloc.
v SOCIAL CHANGES
One of
the effects of the war was social leveling up.
The class consciousness disappeared from the society. The mass production of clothes enabled the
workers wives to dress like fashionable ladies.
The improved purchasing power allowed the worker to buy ready made suited. The workers and miners sons entered oxford
and Cambridge along with the sons of the middle class and upper class people. So the educational institutions paved the way
for a class less society. The wide gap
between the three classes of society was narrowed, as the condition of the
working class improved and the middle and upper classes were taxed heavily. But the upper class was not wiped out
completely and the working class remained as a distinct class.
v FAMILY LIFE
The war had
disturbed family life land so divorce became very common after the war.
v LITERATURE
A group
of young writers expressed in their writings, their dissatisfaction with the
traditional English politics, education and literature. This group was called angry young men. John Osborne and john Braine belonged to this
group. George Orwell, earnest Hemingway,
William Golding, CP Snow, Anthony Powell, W.H. Auden and graham Greene were the
popular writers.
v ENTERTAINMENT
Cinema
was the popular entertainment. Television
came in during the fifties. Football was
the favorite game of the nineteen fifties.
v CONCLUSION
As a
result of the two world wars England was unseated from her supreme position.
Nevertheless, she plunged into a plan of action to stabilize her position and
regain her lost glory.
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