It was US President Franklin Roosevelt who persuaded Churchill to commit to the agreement known as the Atlantic Charter – the terms of which effectively made it impossible for Britain to return to its imperial status quo after the war – and thereby triggered the global wave of 20th-century decolonisations, starting with Indian independence. British wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill actually saw the preservation of Empire as a war aim. Decolonisation was not a given at the beginning of the war. The formation of the United Nations, and the grant of permanent Security Council membership to five named countries, the victors of that war, make up one set of such consequences.Īnother, perhaps unintended, is Indian independence – which the war undoubtedly hastened. Its political, economic and social consequences are still being played out today. The Second World War was unequivocally the most pivotal global event in 20th-century history. Most countries treat this global war, and their involvement in it, as defining episodes in their history and identity. Both will probably be occasions for lengthy recognition and commemorative events across the world. And the next year will see the 75th anniversary of the end of the war. The 80th anniversary of the start of the Second World War falls on September 1, 2019.
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