Most Allied nations and peoples were optimistic after World War II. They believed that the devastation of the war had finally made the people of the world realize that the time had come to put an end to war itself. In the rubble of Europe and Asia, people could see the pointless destruction of modern warfare and its huge toll on soldier and civilian alike. Now all people could work together to create a lasting peace.

A monument to Stalin in Soviet-occupied East Berlin in 1945.

The Soviet Union felt differently. It saw the war as an opportunity to gain territory in Europe and become a superpower in the East like the U.S. was now a superpower in the West. The Soviets were willing to create conflict and even go to war to expand and protect their nation. Nations that wanted peace could be exploited and forced to give up territory to the Soviet Union rather than go to war. The Soviets staked their claim to, and tried to stamp their mark on, post-war Europe.

The Japanese people were doubly devastated by the war and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They submitted to U.S. military occupation and focused on trying to rebuild their shattered land without the raw materials and natural resources that their empire had once provided. Their view of the future was bleak: They felt their small nation would be ignored and would grow poor in the post-war world run by the winners of World War II. But they decided to embrace U.S. influence in hopes of being protected by the U.S.

The Potsdam Conference embodied all these contradictions. It called for free elections, but allowed rigged elections in Soviet-occupied countries. It called for the sovereignty of all nations, but sacrificed Poland to the Soviet Union. It promised not to destroy Japan, but included the Potsdam Declaration, which threatened Japan's "utter destruction" if it did not surrender to the Allies. The Potsdam Conference and agreements were signs that the post-war world was not united in its quest for peace, but divided between two different worldviews: American and Soviet.

Answer these questions to check your understanding of the post-war world.