African Idependence

During 1955 to 1975 many of the European colonies in Africa changed and became independent. After WW II the countries of Africa were unwilling to return to colonial domination , however, independence was complicated by the way the European impiriaslist divided up the continent. The Europeans plundered Africa's resources, and left the countries unprepared for independence. Africa was divided by the colonialist who imposed borders having to do with the areas where ethnic groups actually lived. These borders seperated culturally similar people and also enclosed traditional enemies. Today there are only three remaining countries in Africa that have not gained independence, they are Ethiopia, Western Sahara, and Liberia.

Film Lesson: "The Right Stuff"

In the movie "The Right Stuff", the film depicts the competition between the US and the USSR. The movie is based on the Cold War, which was going on between the two superpowers competing over supremacy. "The Right Stuff" is about the US and the USSR fighting in the space race, a race to see who could send the first astronauts to space. In the movie it showed Russia beating the US into space on many occasions, like launching rockets into space. Another example of Russia winning against the US is the fact that they sent the first man into outer space while the US sent chimpanzees. I think the scene that will help me remember this event in the Cold War is when the US astronauts were being questioned over the choice to send the chimps instead of them.

NATO and The Warsaw Pact

During the Cold War two alliances were formed, NATO(North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and the Warsaw Pact. NATO is the alliance formed by the US and Eastern Europe nations to prevent the spread of communism, it was officially established on April 4,1949. Eastern Europe was economically and politically weak at the end of WW II, the agreement helped with economic aide under the Marshall Plan. The Soviet Union responded by creating the Warsaw Pact on May 14,1955 in Warsaw,Poland. The Warsaw Pact mainly consisted of the Soviet Union which dominated the alliance and its satellite countries. The Soviet Union keeping military personnel in other countries of the alliance and kept them running socialist governments. As the US's relationship with the Soviet Union worsened NATO's importance grew, with Western leaders felt threatened. The Soviet Union spread communism throughout Eastern Europe and started to reach the military capability of the Western Powers. An ever-worsening crisis began in the 1980's but was stopped by the signing of the Intermediate Nuclear Treaty in 1987 which began the breakdown of the Warsaw Pact. In March of 1991 all of the joint military functions ceased and in July of 1991 the leaders of the six countries still in the Pact decided to dissolve.

Film Lesson: Schindler's List

The film Schindler's List is a 1993 film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand Polish Jews during the Holocaust. The film showed many scenes depicting the things that occured in the concentration camps in Krakow. In my opinion one of the most powerful scenes in the film is the part where the Jews were being taken to Auschwitz and it was raining ashes. I think that this scene was the most powerful because it showed the amount of killings being done at Auschwitz.

Film Lesson: Night and Fog

The film documentary "Night and Fog" is about the Nazi concentration camps, which was shot at Auschwitz. I think that the documentary was a sad and moving film because it showed all the horrible things done to the Jews at the concentration camps. One scene from the documentary, was shot by the allies, shows the footage of concentration camp staff carrying the bodies of dead victims for burial in a mass grave. "Night and Fog" also had some similar scenes with the film "Schindler's List." Even though "Schindler's List" was a biographical film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand Polish Jews during the holocaust by employing them in his factories, I think that it portrayed the holocaust more effectively. I say this because the film showed more graphic images than the documentary did. "Night and Fog" was also graphic but I think that "Schindler's List" emphasized the things that were happening more.

The Treaty Of Versailles (ended WWI)

The Treaty Of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I, signed on 28 June 1919. The treaty which was signed at the Palace Of Versailles ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. Germany had been blamed entirely for the first world war and forced to pay compensation to the allies under the war guilt clause of the treaty. The war guilt clause of the war not only made the Germans accept the responsibility for the war but also cost them 10% of German lands. All of Germany's overseas colonies were taken away and shared between the allies and 12.5% of the German population found itself living outside of the new German borders.
I don't think that the Treaty Of Versailles was fair because Germany was blamed for the entire war. Germany faced economic problems because they had to send most of the produce and profit to the allies as reparation payments, which meant that the German economy was unable to recover itself. The treaty led to a situation in Germany where the people felt let down and a lack of food and jobs, this eventually led to the German hyperinflation of the mid twenties. I think that historians say that the Treaty of Versailles led to the rise of fascism and Adolph Hitler because the Germans wanted to find a way out of the struggles they faced with the Treaty of Versailles.

Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) and the Modernization of Turkey

Mustafa Kemal (aka: Ataturk) was the founder of the Turkish Republic and its first President. His goal was to modernize Turkish life in order to give his nation a new sense of dignity, equality, and happiness. In his program of modernization, secular government and education played a major role. The secular system he created in Turkey meant that the vast majority of Muslim and the small Christian and Jewish minorities to practice their faith. He led his country out of the crumbling past modernizing Turkey and making it more secular.
A vast transformation took place in the urban and rural life in Turkey. Mustafa Kemal introduced many reforms to give his nation a modern outlook. European hats replaced the fez; women stopped wearing the veil; all citizens took surnames; and the Islamic calendar gave way to the Western calendar. It can be said that few nations have ever experienced anything comparable to the social change in Atatuk's Turkey.