World Theme: Common peace and development

cctv.com 05-09-2005 12:21

60 years ago, the Soviet Red Army conquered Berlin, and Adolf Hitler's collapsing Reich was cut in two. However, it took a long time and immense cost to beat the Nazi regime. The war left massive deaths and destruction, and devastated Europe.

During the Second World War, the US, Britain and the Soviet Union buried the hatchet and sought common ground, reserving their differences to fight the common foe. The three powers formed a stable anti-fascist alliance and went from victory to victory. Even before 63-year-old President Franklin Roosevelt died of a massive cerebral hemorrhage, he believed Hitler could be defeated if the allies fought side by side on the basis of common interests. The 63-year-old US president died several minutes after complaining of a severe headache. On hearing the news, Hitler went into raptures, believing his Third Reich could survive. He wanted to stop the war with the US and Britain, in order to focus on defeating the Soviet Red Army. But the US and Britain's stern refusal to abandon the Soviet Union destroyed his dream. The three powers united, and together won the devastating war in Europe.

American and Soviet forces met on a ruined bridge over the Elbe River in Germany on April the 25th, 1945. May 8th is "V-E Day" or "Victory in Europe" Day, and marks the day the Allies defeated Germany. With it came the end of six years of misery, suffering, courage and endurance, and the start of a new era for humanity, and civilization.

Meanwhile, the United Nations was founded in San Francisco of the US. Representatives from 46 countries met there to draw up the United Nations Charter. The United Nations officially came into existence when the Charter had been ratified by the big five; China, France, the Soviet Union, Britain and the United States.

The dignified UN tower has stood on the East River in Manhattan, New York City for dozens of years, calling the peoples of the United Nations to unite for a better world. The UN has addressed itself to maintaining international peace and security. All of this was born of the bloodshed of World War Two.

President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Marshal Joseph Stalin met at Yalta in the southern Soviet Union in 1945. The agreement reached at the conference was the blueprint for the Yalta Order, which sought international cooperation and world peace. The Bretton Woods Agreement also came out of World War Two, helping stabilize the world economy.

Newly independent countries sprang up and started a new era of Third World development. Colonialism became an outdated concept. Before the Second World War, outposts of Britain's empire stretched across every continent and ocean, described as "the empire on which the sun never sets". Within 30 years of the end of World War Two, 89 Asian and African colonies declared independence through national liberation movements, and became members of the United Nations. A new era had begun, where all countries, big or small, should be equal. And the time of a handful of powerful nations ruling the world came to an end.

Editor:Hu Hang  Source:CCTV.com