Decolonisation

The third point of the Atlantic Charter, a declaration signed by members of the anti-Hitler coalition in 1941 worded: “The signatories recognise the right of all nations to choose the form of their own government; they want restoration of independence and independent governance in all those countries that have been deprived of their independence”. The signing of the Atlantic Charter, the United Nations Declaration (1942) and the creation of the United Nations (1945) all resulted in a decolonisation process. Individual colonies began to regain their independence, and people supported by the USSR or the US often competed for power in the countries that emerged from their independence. Red guerrillas began their activity in Asia, and in the 60s they began to appear also in Africa.

The first great victory of the communists over the colonial country was the defeat of France in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in Indochina in 1954. The partisans, led by Ho Chi Minch, created their own country in North Vietnam which a few years later became the scene of the most important conflict since the Second World War. Overcoming the French showed the other colonial nations that it was possible to fight for independence.