From Hot War to Cold War

 Even while World War II war still being fought, leaders of the Allied powers began thinking about how to reconstruct Europe after the war. Winston Churchill of Britain, Franklin Roosevelt of the United States, and Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union agreed first of all, that they would need to root out fascism entirely. This meant they would not only need to defeat Germany but also need to "denazify" Germany by punishing those who were responsible.

After the war, the highest-level Nazi leaders were put on trial in the city of Nuremberg. There, evidence presented by the prosecution proved the full extent of the horror. More importantly, the Nazi leaders were tried, convicted and sentenced not under German law (since after all, they had been following German laws!) but under international law. (Learn more about the Nuremberg trials and international law in the enhancements to this unit.)

Even while World War II war still being fought, leaders of the Allied powers began thinking about how to reconstruct Europe after the war. Winston Churchill of Britain, Franklin Roosevelt of the United States, and Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union agreed first of all, that they would need to root out fascism entirely. This meant they would not only need to defeat Germany but also need to "denazify" Germany by punishing those who were responsible.

After the war, the highest-level Nazi leaders were put on trial in the city of Nuremberg. There, evidence presented by the prosecution proved the full extent of the horror. More importantly, the Nazi leaders were tried, convicted and sentenced not under German law (since after all, they had been following German laws!) but under international law. (Learn more about the Nuremberg trials and international law in the enhancements to this unit.)