Timeline of events following World War II


This is a timeline of the events that stretched over the period of the aftermath of World War II, with the inclusion of the Cold War, from 3 September 1945 to December 1991.

November 1945

; Nuremberg
; Elsewhere

December 1945

; Nuremberg
; Elsewhere

Aftermath

January 1946

; Nuremberg

February 1946

; Nuremberg

March 1946

; Nuremberg
; Elsewhere

April 1946

; Nuremberg
; Tokyo

May 1946

; Nuremberg
; Elsewhere

June 1946

; Nuremberg

July 1946

; Nuremberg
; Elsewhere

August 1946

; Nuremberg

September–October 1946

; Nuremberg
; Elsewhere

December 31, 1946

U.S. President Truman declares: "Although a state of war still exists, it is at this time possible to declare, and I find it to be in the public interest to declare, that hostilities have terminated. Now, therefore, I, Harry S. Truman, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the cessation of hostilities of World War II, effective twelve o'clock noon, December 31, 1946."

February 10, 1947

The United Nations signs the Paris peace accords with Italy, Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary, and Romania, technically ending World War II for them.

December 23, 1948

Japanese "Class A" war criminals, including two former prime ministers, are put to death.

October 19, 1951

End of state of war with Germany was granted by the U.S. Congress, after a request by President Truman on 9 July. In the Petersberg Agreement of November 22, 1949.

April 28, 1952

The Treaty of San Francisco ends the US and the British Commonwealth's state of war with Japan.

January 20, 1953

President Truman's term ends, and he is replaced by Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe during World War II.

March 5, 1953

Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union, dies of a stroke. He is replaced by Nikita Khrushchev, who began a period of De-Stalinization.

May 5, 1955

End of occupation of West Germany. West Berlin remained as a special territory. The Eastern quarter of Germany remained annexed by the Allies, but Germany would not legally accept this as a fact until 1970 when West Germany signed treaties with the Soviet Union and Poland recognizing the Oder-Neisse line between Germany and Poland.

1955

Last major repatriation of German Prisoners of War and German civilians who were used as forced labor by the Allies after the war, in accordance with the agreement made at the Yalta Conference. Most Prisoners of War held by the U.S., France, and the U.K. had been released by 1949.

October 19, 1956

Japan and the USSR agree to sidestep territorial disputes over the Kuril Islands and issue a joint declaration, restoring diplomatic relations and ending de facto hostilities.

December 18, 1974

The last known Japanese holdout, Private Teruo Nakamura, a Taiwan-born soldier is discovered by the Indonesian Air Force on Morotai, and surrenders to a search patrol.

August 17, 1987

Rudolf Heß, the last prisoner held by the UN under the Nuremberg protocols, is found hanged in his room. Spandau Prison, where he was held alone for many years and one of the few remaining Four Power institutions in Germany, is demolished the same year.

January 7, 1989

Emperor Shōwa, known in life as Hirohito, dies; and is the last Axis head of state to die. He is succeeded by Akihito.

September 12, 1990

The United States, the USSR, the United Kingdom, and France, together with the governments of East and West Germany, sign the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany, paving the way for German reunification on 3 October. The Four Powers renounce all rights they formerly held in Germany, including those regarding the city of Berlin.

March 15, 1991

The Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany goes into effect. The nominal military occupation of Germany by the Four Powers ends, and full German sovereignty is restored.

Into the 21st century

The last Belgian forces departed the Vogelsang Training Area, the last remaining vestige of military occupation in Germany, on December 31, 2005.
Unexploded ordnance, such as mines and bombs, still turn up from time to time, and have, on rare occasions, caused death and injury. As of the 80th anniversary of the end of the war in 2025, tens of thousands of veterans of the conflict are still alive.