Friday, May 22, 2009

Term Definitions - Cold War

1. Potsdam Conference- This was held at Cecilienhof in Potsdam occupied Germany. The Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and the United States was there. They had this conference to discuss how to administer the defeated Nazi Germany. Some other goals include peace treaty issues and countering the effects of war.
2. Long Telegram (X Article)- This was published in July 1947 in Foreign Affairs magazine, and it was written by the Deputy Chief of Mission of the United States, who was George F. Kennedy. It showed the U.S. how the Soviet Government viewed themselves in international community.
3. Iron Curtain- This is the physical boundary of Europe that divided it into two parts between the end of World War II and the end of the Cold War. It became border defenses between Eastern and Western Europe, and one of the main symbol was the Berlin Wall.
4. GDR- It stands for the German Democratic Republic and it was a socialist state. It later combines with the Federal Republic of Germany to form the present state of Germany.
5. Satellite Nations- The refers to a country who is independent, but is under heavy influence or control by another country or state.
6. Containment- This was a policy of the United States to prevent the spread of Communism. Also, it wanted to prevent the "domino effect", which is the thought that if one region turns toward Communism, then the regions or countries nearby that region would follow as in a domino effect.
7. Brezhnev Doctrine- This was a Soviet Union foreign policy that stated, "When forces that are hostile to socialism try to turn the development of some socialist country towards capitalism, it becomes not only a problem of the country concerned, but a common problem and concern of all socialist countries." This means that socialist countries stick by each other.
8. Occupation Zones- The Allied Powers of World War II divided Germany up into four parts, also known as occupation zones. The countries who it was divided among was the United States, Britain, French, and the Soviet Union.
9. Berlin Blockade- It was one of the first major crises of the Cold War and it was when the Soviet Union blocked off supplies of the Western forces by road in Berlin. Because of this, the Western Allies came up with the Berlin Airlift. The blockade was lifted because the Soviets were deeply embarrassed and humiliated since they were getting in more supplies by air than they were by land.
10. De-Stalinization- Refers to the time in which the eliminating of the cult of personality and Stalinist ways took place. It also ended forced labor.
11. Hungarian Revolution- It took place in 1956 and it was a revolt against the Stalinist government of the People's Republic of Hungary. It started as a student demonstration and turned into a revolution in Hungary.
12. Arms Race- This is a competition between two parties for military control. Each party tries to create more weapons than the other party. The Nuclear Arms Race was a competition between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War in order to see who had more nuclear power.
13. Détente- A French term that means easing. This term is used to describe the time when the Cold War had a shortening in tension, and it involved the United States and the Soviet Union.
14. Nikita Khrushchev- He was a general of the Soviet Union and also he was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He was in charge of the de-stalinization process.
15. Viet Cong- It was an army in South Vietnam and Cambodia and they fought the United States and South Vietnamese during the Vietnam War. The Viet Cong used Guerrilla tactics and they defeated the United States.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

SAQ's Chinese Revolution

1. Japan was in a position of power over China during WW1 because they were more industrialized and also they had a stronger military. This enabled the Japanese mindset for their move into Manchuria because they felt more confident about themselves and also they knew they had a stronger military.

2. Communism was so appealing to the masses in China because of propaganda and other means. Mao Ze Dong lead the Communist Party in the battle against the KMT in the Chinese Civil War. Mao gained much of his support from the Long March because people were impressed with him.

3. The Cultural Revolution was a period of widespread social and political upheaval from 1966 through 1976. It was started by Mao Ze Dong. I think he labeled the "Cultural Revolution" as such, even though the events didn't really warrant it because he wanted it to sound like something good was going to come out of it. This time period can compare to The Great Purge because many died and also it was an upheaval.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Term Definitions- World War II

1. Invasion of Poland- This was the event that started World War II. It is when German forces invaded Poland and it was a brutal since they used their military. This made Poland's allies mad and therefore the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939.
2. Blitzkrieg- This is a word that describes a military tactic that the Germans used in WWII. It means lightening war in German and it included surprise attacks.
3. Nazi-Soviet Non Aggression Pact- In 1939, Hitler was getting ready for war, but did not want to make the same mistakes that Germany did in WWI so he signed a pact with the Soviets. This agreement that was between Stalin and Hitler was important because it made Germany and Russia neutral between each other.
4. Tripartite Pact- This was an agreement signed on September 27, 1940 in Berlin, Germany. Saburo Kurusu of Japan, Adolf Hitler of Germany, and Galeazzon Ciano of Italy signed it and it made the Axis Powers of WWII.
5. Anti Comintern Pact- It was signed on November 25, 1936 between Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It was directed to go against the Soviet Union.
6. Operation Barbarossa- Code name for Nazi Germany's attack on the Soviet Union that took place on June 22, 1941.
7. Winston Churchill- British Politician and Prime minister of the United Kingdom. He was known for leading the United Kingdom during World War II.
8. Atlantic Charter- It was the blueprint for the world after WWII. It is also used for the foundation of many treaties in the world today.
9. Pearl Harbor- This is a harbor on the island of O'ahu where the Americans took on a surprise attack by the Japanese. It took place on December 7, 1941 and this is what caused the Americans to get militarily involved in WWII. This is also where the headquarters for the U.S. Pacific Fleet is.
10. D-Day- Took place on June 6, 1944 when the Allied forces landed on French coastline called the Normandy coast to fight Nazi Germany.
11. Stalingrad- A battle between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in order to gain control of Stalingrad, Russia. This was the bloodiest battles in modern history and a turning point of WWII.
12. Midway- This is a major naval battle that took place between June 4-7, 1942. The Americans destroyed four aircraft carriers of the Japanese and this is what destroyed Japan's military strength.
13. Hiroshima & Nagasaki- The United States's nuclear attacks on the Empire of Japan at the end of WWII. They took place on August 6th and 9th in 1945. The nuclear weapon, "Little Boy", was dropped on Hiroshima and the nuclear weapon, "Fat Man", was dropped on Nagasaki.
14. Robert Oppenheimer- He was an American physicist and he is best known for his role in the Manhattan Project, which is the effort to try and create the first nuclear weapon for World War II. He is also called "The Father of the Atomic Bomb."
15. Yalta Conference- It was a wartime meeting involving Franklin Roosevelt from the United States, Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom, and Stalin from the Soviet Union to discuss what to do with the nations from Germany. It took place between February 4th to February 11th in 1945.
16. F.D.R- These are the initials of Franklin D. Roosevelt who was the 32nd president of the United States. He was the president during WWII and is the only president to have been elected more than two terms.
17. Dwight D. Eisenhower- He was the 34th president of the United States and during WWII he served as Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe. He became the first Supreme Commander of NATO in 1951.
18. NATO- It stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which is a military alliance from the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on April 4, 1949. The headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium.
19. Warsaw Pact- This was an organization of communist states in Europe's central and Eastern parts. The treaty was signed on May 14, 1955 in Warsaw, Poland and it was in response of West Germany joining the NATO.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Term Definitions

1. Appeasement- This is the settling of international problems by negotiation and compromise. Neville Chamberlain, who is the British Prime Minister, is known for this because of his policy towards Nazi Germany.
2. League of Nations- This is an organization which was founded because of the Treaty of Versailles. The goals of this League was to keep the peace between countries through collective security, negotiation, and diplomacy.
3. Collective Security- This was a compromise between world government and a nation-state based balance of power. The latter is destructive and therefore not good enough for peace and it is then that the first one is unacomplishable at that time.
4. Neville Chamberlain- He was the British Prime Minister from 1937 to 1940. He is well-known for his appeasement policy. He signed the Munich Agreement in 1938, which gave Germany Sudetenland.
5. Remilitarization of the Rhineland- This took place in March 7, 1936 by the German Army. Hitler originally was going to re-militarize it in 1937, but decided to make it a year sooner. He did this because of the Olympics and the ratification of the Franco-Soviet pact by the French National Assembly in 1935. Not to mention the fact that Hitler was becoming very impatient.
6. Anschluss- This was when Austria was incorporated into Greater Germany by Nazi Germany. This happened on March 12, 1938. However, before this happened... Nazi Germany gave support to the Austrian National Socialist Party. Also, Kurt Schuschnigg tried to hold a vote in order to see if the Austrian people wanted to become apart of Germany or remain independent.
7. Lebensraum- This means "living space". This was motivation for Nazi Germany. In Hitler's book, Mein Kamp, he said how the Germans needed this. It was the killing of the Polish, and later to come, the Russians and other Slavic peoples in order to replace them with the Germans. They would do this through starvation.
8. Austrian Nazi Party- Austrian police after Austria gave into Hitler's demands. This was beneficial to Hitler because there was now a party in Austria who was also convincing Austrians to go along with him.
9. Austrian Plebiscite- The vote in Austria to show Hitler that Austrians wanted to stay independent and Austrians, not Germans. The vote was limited to people over the age of 24, so that younger people who might want change were excluded.
10. Kurt Schuschnigg- He became the chancellor of Austria after Dollfuss was assassinated. He was the person who gave into Hitler's demands, and was later imprisoned by the Nazis.
11. Abyssinia Crisis- began with the Walwal incident, which resulted from the conflict between Italy and Ethiopia. The effects of the Abyssinia Crisis include encouraging Italy to ally with Germany, and the League of Nations proved once again to be helpless.
12. Sudetenland- This was the western regions of Czechoslovakia. This is land that was given to Germany in the Munich Agreement.
13. Munich Agreement- This was an agreement in regards to Sudetenland. The agreement took place in Munich, Germany and had all the major powers of Germany except Czechoslovakia. It was signed by Italy, Britain, and France on September 30, 1938 and it gave the Sudetenland to Germany.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Fascism Vs. Nazism

Five similarities include:
1. They both led up to fascism. Even though Germany went about doing it differently than Italy... they both had fascism in the end.

2. Germany and Italy both got the bad end of the Versailles Treaty and therefore they were both ready for a change and this helped contribute to fascist ideas.

3. The Natzis were very powerful and everyone feared them just like everyone feared Mussolini.

4. Even though Mussolini got his ideas across through his newspaper, and Hitler got his ideas of fascism across through his speeches... they both got their ideas out.

5. Last but not least, they are both similar because Mussolini and Hitler both had to overcome something in order to be in charge. For Mussolini, he had to come up with his own newspaper and for Hitler he had to overcome the Weimar Republic.

Questions:
1. The ideology that I believe would more appeal to adolescents would be Fascism. Adolescents like to have freedom and not be controlled in everything they do. A little boundaries is good, but Nazism in my opinion, is to controlling. An example of this would be Hitler and the Nazis banning the labor unions... this is taking it too far. Now the people can not even voice their opinions.

2. Looking at the Fascist ideal, I think the hardest part of getting the populations acceptance would be getting the ideas out in the open. Mussolini had to make his own newspaper in order to share his ideas with others. Once, he got his ideas shared, the people agreed with him for two reasons in my opinion. First, he was very powerful and no one wanted to stand up to him.. not even the king. Also, Italy as a whole believed they did not get their fair share in the Versailles Treaty and they were now ready to change things around.

3. Looking at the Nazi ideal, I think the hardest part of getting the populations acceptance would be accepting the fact that one can not do anything about it since they banned the labor unions and trade unions. Their civil rights were being diminished, but if one accepted that then they could gain the positives of it, which include the building of roadways and other ways of transportation such as highways. Also, positive corporations were being established.

Fascism in Germany & Italy

Germany-
  • they were ready for change since they were in a depression
  • they had financial & political problems
  • the Weimar Republic is weak- it was set up in a way that it would be easy to overthrow
  • it set up the Parliamentary Government
  • chancellor was under the president
  • Hitler becomes chancellor and after president dies he becomes the president
  • the Nazis exploited the Weimar Republic
  • Natzis (once in power) made it illegal to make another political power
  • Education, media, and propaganda was starting to get controlled by the Natzis
  • they break the Versailles of Treaty agreements
  • banned labor and trade unions
  • Hitler wanted to reunite German people under one ruler which is called Anschluss
  • Lebensraum-German for "living space" and it was the philosophy that justified accusation of claiming of land.
  • the philosophy did not work because it did not account for human greed
  • the negatives include women's rights not getting better, and civil rights getting more diminished
  • positives include the building of more roadways, highways etc.
  • also corporations were starting to begin

Italy-

  • Mussolini was smart, and he started as a newspaper editor
  • he wanted to do things his own way so he got fired
  • he started his own newspaper
  • used this newspaper to get his fascism ideas out
  • he believed they did not get their fair share of the Versailles Treaty since they were one of the "winners"
  • Italy thought they deserved much more
  • The Mussolini Black Shirts were the secret police for Mussolini
  • Since Mussolini had a powerful allie named Vadtkin, the king did not want to stand up to Mussolini and therefore he became in control of the government

5 Major Differences-

1. Germany was ready for change since they were in a depression, while Italy wanted a strong leader since they got the "raw end" of the Versailles Treaty and needed leadership.

2. Mussolini put his thoughts in the newspaper while Hitler made influencing speeches.

3. Mussolini had the Black Shirts which were his secret police while Hitler did not have a secret police.

4. Hitler overthrew the Weimar Republic while Mussolini did not have to overthrow anything.

5. The Natzis banned labor and trade unions while Mussolini did not ban anything.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Lenin's Death & Aftermath

Task One:
1. Lenin was such an important part of the Communist Rise in Russia because he was the leader of the Bolsheviks. The February Revolution opened the door for the Bolsheviks and after the October Revolution they were officially in power. Lenin led the way to the Communist Rise and he studied the Revolutionary change in Russia, which led to the importance of the elite group leading the uneducated.

2. After Lenin's death on January 21, 1924, the Revolution would face the Russian Civil War. This was the attempt to remove the Bolsheviks from power. There were two groups, The Red Army and the White Army. The Reds, also known as the Bolsheviks, won the Russian Civil War.

3. Lenin's death and the continuance of the Russian Revolution relates to the death of Robespierre and the outcome of the French Revolution because they both progressed into something more. After Lenin's death the Russian's had their Civil War, while the French Revolution had the White Terror after the death of Robespierre.

4. If Lenin was not there to lead the revolution, I do not believe it would have been such a success. If Trotsky or Stalin lead it then I think it would not have been a success at all. I believe things would have gone the total opposite way with them leading it.

Task Two:
1. Lenin is most afraid of the downfall of the two parties if they do not come to an agreement because of its instability when relying on two classes.

2. Lenin thought Trotsky was one of the most capable men in the C.C. Lenin says this about Trotsky: "He has displayed excessive self-assurance and shown excessive preoccupation with the purely administrative side of the work." I believe Trotsky would have been a very organized leader and with much pride if he was the leader of the Bolshevik Party.

3. Lenin knows that Stalin has unlimited authority in his hands because he became the Secretary-General. However, Lenin does not think he will use his authority wisely, but instead abuse the authority he has. I believe that Stalin would have been the opposite of Trotsky and would have been a bad leader that made bad decisions and abused the authority he had if he was the leader of the Bolshevik Party.

4. I believe Lenin was leaning toward Trotsky to take the reigns of the Bolshevik Party and Communist Russia because he talks very highly of him. I would have picked Trotsky because I believe Stalin would be too bossy and I believe he would not be as organized as Trotsky. Lenin states, "Stalin is too rude and this defect, although quite tolerable in our midst and in dealing among us Communists, becomes intolerable in a Secretary-General."