What came to an end after world war 2?

Answer 1

Following the Second World War, there were a number of changes that effectively brought several previous states to an end. Most notably, the nationalist, highly authoritarian forms of government in both Germany and Japan were eliminated. Through a lengthy process of occupation and reconstruction, both Japan and West Germany were reorganized under forms of representative democracy. In Japan, the Emperor's status as ruler was replaced with a primarily ceremonial role while political power was divided between a Prime Minister, the executive head of the government, and a Diet, composed of two legislative bodies. Likewise, in Germany, Hitler's regime was replaced by a sharing of power between a Prime Minister and and two legislative bodies: the Bundestag and Bundesrat. In both Japan and Germany, judicial systems were created that, as in the United States, were intentionally autonomous from the executive and legislative entities.

A second thing that came to an end at the conclusion of World War II was the existence of a unified Germany. The German state would be divided between Western Europe and its allies on one side, and the Soviet Union on the other. The result was the creation of two German states: East and West. This would remain the case until, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, West Germany would assume the integration of an economically starved East Germany and form a reunified whole.

Finally, as is often repeated, where one reality ends, another begins. The Second World War brought an end to conflicts within Europe that had inspired countless wars over previous centuries. The major nations of Western Europe contributed to the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949 and thereby agreed to resolve future conflict diplomatically. The creation of NATO also served as a means to unify western powers in opposing the expansion of Communism globally and assuring that a threat to any NATO member could result in a response from all members. In this way, the military might of the United States could be leveraged to protect the interests and sovereignty of Western European nations that had been ravaged by the preceding war.