9.5 Mass Atrocities Since 1945

1 min read•june 11, 2020

Sharii Liang

AP European History 🇪🇺

335 resources

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While the creation of the United Nations was a clear example of a push towards peace by the entire world, nationalist and separatist movements arose from the ashes of the war and led to many atrocities. It was the beginning of the end of colonial empires.

Nationalism & Separatism

The end of WWII saw a push from native populations for independence. The European countries were much too focused on rebuilding themselves to deal with their colonies, and this caused an increasing sense of nationalism from conquered peoples. These would lead to nationalistic, violent conflicts that can be seen today between groups like Ireland and England.

Other groups after WWII wanted greater autonomy and even sovereignty. These became known as separatist movements. Groups like India and England or France and Indochina would be the icons for these types of movements.

Ethnic Problems

The rise of a stronger national identity also gave rise to racism and prejudice during this time. Many groups resorted to ethnic cleansing to get rid of unwanted ethnicities.

Notable examples:

the Holocaust during WWII
the massacre of Armenians by Turks after WWI
the expulsion of ethnic Germans from parts of Eastern Europe after WWII
the genocide of Bosnian Muslims and Albanian muslims in Kosovo by Bosnian Serbs after WWII

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