Ep 56: Ronald H. Spector and the Chaos of Postwar Asia

Ronald H. Spector, Professor Emeritus of History at George Washington University and author of A Continent Erupts: Decolonization, Civil War, and Massacre in Postwar Asia, 1945-1955, joins the show to discuss the fall of Japan, the spread of Communism, and the role of the United States in postwar Asia. ▪️ Times  • 01:34 Introduction • 05:57 No clear plan • 08:30 The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere • 10:51 The Indian National Army  • 12:12 Marines in North China  • 15:49 Levels of violence • 17:24 Was 1949 preventable? • 22:32 U.S. attitudes towards Korea  • 26:25 Kim Il-sung • 28:17 Ho Chi Minh goes to Moscow • 31:08 Stopping the spread of communism  • 33:03 Reconstruction  • 35:09 Post 1955