The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated in 1948 in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The Games were the first to be celebrated after World War II; it had been 12 years since the last Winter Games in 1936. From the selection of a host city in a neutral country, to the exclusion of Japan and Germany, the political atmosphere of the post-war world was inescapable during the Games. The organizing committee faced several challenges due to the financial and human resources consumed by the war.