At the end of World War II the Allies were left with the decision of creating post-war policies. They did not want to recreate the treaties of the past which lead to the wars afterward. Germany and Japan gave unconditional surrender, leaving the Allies in the full control of their futures.
After the defeat of the Nazis, most countries returned to their pre-war governments, such as Belgium, Holland, Denmark, and Norway. However, Germany, France, and Italy were left in political ruin. Communsist support rose in France and Italy. They made great gains in post-war elections. They began to speed up Communist takeover by launching violent strikes. Anti-communists in these countries quickly began to vote for other parties, leading to the decline of their influence. As the communist influence decreased, the economies rose.
The Allies felt that those responsible should be punished, so a crime like this would never reoccur. In 1946, a International Military Tribunal made up of people from 23 nations made charges against 22 Nazi leaders. They were accused of crimes against humanity, violation of the laws of war, and the waging of a war of aggression. The three major leaders, Hitler, Himmler, and Goebbels escaped trial by committing suicide. Of the 22 accused, 12 were sentenced to death. They were hanged on October 1946, and later cremated in the same ovens which they used to murder many of their victims.
When the Japanese surrendered, General Douglas MacArthur lead the US occuption of Japan. He began with a process of demilitarization. He achieved this quickly leaving Japan with a small police force. He then brought war criminals to trial. Out of the 25 defendants, 7 were put to death. He then turned his focus to the democratization of Japan. MacArthur and his political advisers drew up a constitution for a new government. It changed the government to a constitutional monarchy, leaving the divine emperor of Japan with no power.
