3. Love and Hate

In your IB History class, you have studying the immediate post-World War II era and how the Cold War was started.The United States dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9 of 1945 respectively. The bombs ended the most devastating global war in the human history with the Japanese acceptance of the unconditional surrender.

What did the United States then do from 1945 until the late 1950s - the era the Cold War was triggered?

The United States sent and stationed a massive amount of troops in Japan and started the rebuild of the economy, industry and society - what now we call the democratization and demilitarization of the Axis powers. This took place in Germany too (although Germany was split in half). The United States paid billions and billions of dollars to rebuild Japan and Germany, although they were the major enemies during the global war.

There are many historical reasons behind the US rebuild of Japan. For example, the US wanted a military base in Asia. However, for instance, there was civil war going on in China (which later made the communists to takeover the country), the Philippines was about to gain its independence, and India (by then the British colony) was too far away from the Soviet Union. Thus, Japan - who was defeated and was close to the communist states - was the only country where the US could station their armies and suppress the rises of communism in Asia.

Okay. Enough study of the history. I will not go too beyond.

My point is the action of the US right after the global war somehow reminds me of the “love and hate” theory of one of my English teachers. He said love and hate are just like the head and tail of a coin. Love and hate seem so different, but as a whole, they share similar aspects.

It is true that the US ‘hated’ Japan for many reasons during the war (sorry, hate is not an appropriate word).

Japan was a fascist, imperial, anti-democratic and authoritarian state. However, once the war was over, the US went to Japan and all of the sudden started to rebuild what they had destroyed. The US also made Japan an ally (- what our history teacher calls ”hugs and kisses” of countries).

To help the rebuild of a country that was once an enemy.

Despite the fact that the US feared the further spread of communism, it still sounds awkward. The Americans bombed so many cities in Japan and also in Germany, killing millions of people, and once the war ended, they came to help and spent so much money.

This could be considered that this took place because the US ‘knew’ Germany and Japan in depth. In other words, through the war, the Americans naturally knew how Germany and Japan were organized as a country. Thus, they could successfully dominate the two countries after the war.

“Love and Hate” theory may not fit in in this case. However, it is still possible to consider that we hate or hate somebody because we know him/her/them in depth. The US rebuild of Japan and Germany was similar. It is possible to consider since they fought a massive war over 4 years in total, they knew each other and led the Americans to know how Japan and Germany were organized as a country.