World War II: Consequences and Cultural Shifts (1919-1945)

The Consequences of the War

The conflict caused:

• 55 million deaths
• A huge number of wounded military personnel
• Civilian victims

In 1945, conferences were held at Yalta (February) and Potsdam (July-August) at which the leaders of the Allies discussed the redrawing of the frontiers of Europe.

• Germany was divided into occupation zones. Berlin was divided into four military territories (British, French, Soviet, and American).
• Italy was occupied by Anglo-American armies.
• Japan was occupied by the United States.
• The USSR enlarged its frontiers and occupied various countries in Eastern Europe.

Europe’s prewar hegemony was replaced by a new international order led by the two main powers, the USA and the USSR. The UN (United Nations) was created to maintain international peace and protect human rights. The cruelty of the war, the genocide, and the nuclear threat left a profound mark on the conscience of humanity.

Culture and Art Between 1919 and 1945

Cultural Changes

Advances in science provided a new understanding of reality:

• Quantum theory (Max Planck)
• Theory of relativity (Albert Einstein)

The idea of relativity or relativism was used in different areas. Cultural relativism is an anthropological principle which states that Western culture is not an absolute and universal example to follow. It is only an inherited set of beliefs, different and not necessarily better than those of other cultures.

Artistic Changes

In Literature

The First World War left a legacy of pessimism and pacifism (Ernest Hemingway’s Farewell to Arms). Some of the most experimental works are also written in this period, such as James Joyce’s Ulysses.

Music and Cinema

Cinema developed from silent pictures in black and white to pictures with sound and later color.

Architecture

Architecture became functional and rational. The principle was that “form follows function,” so architects used geometrical styles with minimal decoration. The main representatives were:

• Le Corbusier
• The Bauhaus school, which combined architecture with interior decoration and furniture
• Frank Lloyd Wright, who integrated buildings with nature in what he called organic architecture. Example: Fallingwater, a house built over a waterfall.