30 short questions on Post Second World War for history students

1. Where was the Atlantic Charter signed and when?

The Atlantic Charter was signed on a battle ship in an unknown place of the Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Charter was signed in 1941.

2. When was the Atlantic Charter signed? Why the Charter became an important document?

The Atlantic Charter was signed in 1941.

The Atlantic Charter became an important document when Stalin of UJSR put his signature later.

3. Mention two of the principles stated in the Atlantic Charter?

The Atlantic Charter contained plans for the post-War world.

One of the principles stated was the right of all peoples to choose their own governments.

Second principle was the right of the people to live free from fear and war.

4. Mention two principles of the United Nations.

There are certain principles laid down in the UN Charter for the proper implementation of the objectives of the UNO. One principle is that the members of the UN are all equals.

Another principle is that all the members of the UN shall settle the disputes peacefully and justly.

5. Mention two objectives of the United Nations. (l+l)

The two objectives of the UNO were: (1) To maintain international peace and security.

(2) To allow every nation of the world, whether big or small, to enjoy the status of ‘nation’.

6. Where was laid the plans for the establishment of the UNO? Name the members who prepared the draft for the United Nations Charter?

At the Dumbarton Oaks Conference the plans were laid for the establishment of the UNO.

The representatives of the Big Four-USA, Britain, USSR and China-prepared the draft for the United Nations Charter.

7. When was the San Francisco Conference held? Who was the Origi al Members of the UNO?

The San Francisco Conference was held in 1945.

At the San Francisco Conference as many as 51 representatives of different countries of the world signed a document known as the United Nations Charter.

These 51 signatory-states are the Original Members of the UNO

8. Wherefrom the name ‘United Nations’ selected? Who made this selection?

The name United Nations was taken from Lord Byron, the English poet’s famous poem Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage.

Franklin Roosevelt, the then US President, made the selection of the name UNO.

9. What was the composition of the UN Security Council?

The Security Council consists of two categories of members, namely, Permanent Members and the Non-permanent Members.

Of the total number of 15 Members 5 are Permanent and 10 are Non- permanent.

10. What is NATO?

NATO is a military alliance of the Western Powers under the leadership of the USA.

A provision of the treaty states that an armed attack against one or more members shall be considered an attack against them all.

11. When was the Truman Doctrine announced? What was the real purpose of it?

The Truman Doctrine was announced on 12 March 1947.

The real purpose of the assistance, as provided for in the Truman Doctrine, was to bring neutral countries closer to the USA.

12. Who declared the Truman Doctrine? What was the immediate objective of the Truman Doctrine?

Harry Truman, the then President of the USA, announced the Doctrine that came to be known as the Truman Doctrine.

The immediate objective of the declaration of the Truman Doctrine was to prevent the Soviet influence in the Balkans and the Middle East.

13. When was the Marshall Plan announced? What was stated to be the objective of the Plan?

The Marshall Plan was announced on June 5 1947.

It was stated that the Plan was launched to render financial assistance to the European countries devastated by the World War II.

14. What is ‘Apartheid’?

It was he official policy that the South African government had before the end of apartheid.

This is a policy of racial segregation. In South Africa, the non-whites were discriminated against the privileged whites.

15. When did Burma (Myanmar) attain her independence? Which was the first modern political party of Burma?

Burma attained her independence in 1948.

The first modern political party of Burma, present Myanmar, was the Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League (AFPFL).

16. When was the Independent Indonesia born? Who was the first President of the Indonesian Republic?

Finally Indonesia became independent and a republic on 27 December 1949.

Sukarno was the first President of the Republic of Indonesia.

17. In Sri Lanka which party began the freedom movement against the British? Under whose leadership Sri Lanka achieved her independence?

In Sri Lanka it was the Ceylon National Congress that first began the political movement against the British.

It was Senaniyeke and his United National Party that succeeded in making Ceylon an independent nation

18. When was the People’s Republic of China established? How was the People’s Republic of China established?

The People’s Republic of China was established on 1 October 1949.

In a fight between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China ultimately the Communists were successful.

They occupied all the territories of the mainland of China, and thus the People’s Republic of China was established.

19. Who led the Long March in China? What was the Long March?

Mao Zedong led the famous Long March.

Long March was the migration of the Chinese Communists in the course of the civil war with the Kuomintang.

In the March the Communists, under the leadership of Mao Zedong, moved from Kiangsi to Shensi.

20. When was Korea divided into two parts? Why is Korea divided even now?

Korea was divided into two parts at 38 parallel in 1953.

Korea has remained divided even now because the question has to be decided first under whose leadership-North Korea and South Korea-Korea would be united.

21. What was Cold War?

The term Cold War was applied to the post-World War II international situation.

The atmosphere of artificial tension due to mistrust between two Superpowers-USA and USSR came to be known as the Cold War.

In this Cold War there was no scope for ‘warm war’, only the tension was emphasized.

22. Which two countries came to be divided in the wake of the Cold War?

In the wake of the Cold War the countries that came to be divided were Korea and Vietnam.

Both the countries were divided in the middle making two divisions, Northern and Southern.

23. Which year was declared to be the Africa Year? What is meant by it?

The year 1960 in the history of Africa came to be known as the Africa Year.

1960 was called the Africa Year because of the fact that as many as seventeen African countries achieved their independence in 1960.

24. When South Africa became a republic? What problem persisted in South Africa till 1991?

In 1961 South Africa became a republic.

The South African government followed a policy of racial segregation. This was the policy of apartheid.

The apartheid laws were abolished by South African government in 1991.

25. What was SWAPO?

Namibia virtually became a colony of South Africa after the end of the Second World War.

South-West African People’s Organization (SWAPO) started intense movement.

26. Who was the first Prime Minister of India in charge of foreign affairs? Mention two features of India’s foreign policy.

Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of India in charge of the foreign affairs.

The two features of India’s foreign policy were: (1) To promote world peace and (2) Non-alignment.

27. What is Non-alignment?

The policy of maintaining equal distance from the two superpowers is the basic principle of the non-alignment.

That is to say the principle is not to take side either of the USA or erstwhile USSR.

28. Mention two features of the policy of Non-alignment.

Of the two features of the policy of Non-alignment one was to pursue an independent foreign policy remembering at the same time the mutual dependence amongst different countries.

The second was complete freedom of political manoeuver in formulating foreign policy.

29. What is Third World?

Third World may be regarded as a group of countries outside the purview of the First World and Second World.

The First World signifies the developed capitalist countries and the Second World means socialist countries.

There are, of course, other explanations of the Third World.

30. What is understood by the term PanchsheeI?

Panchsheel is the five principles agreed upon by the members attending the Bandung Conference.

The five principles or Panchsheel included peaceful co-existence, mutual non-aggression, etc.