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.

Film Lesson- "Gandhi"

Gandhi did many things to help India gain Independence from Great Britain. One thing Gandhi did was to encourage Indians to boycott British goods and buy Indian goods instead. An example of this boycott is when Gandhi encouraged all the Indian people to weave their own clothing from their cotton instead of buying British-made clothing. Gandhi also led a march to the sea collecting and making their own salt, which helped revitalize local economies in India.
Gandhi preached passive resistance, believing that acts of violence against the British only provoked negative reactions.
I think that Gandhi's acts of perseverance helped India gain independence from Great Britain, but I dont think he was the only person that helped achieve this goal. Jawaharlal Nehru, a man that became the lynchpin in the negotiations that took place between the British and the Congress over independence, also helped. In my opinion, I think that India would have eventually gained independence from Great Britain, but India's independence was helped move by the actions Ganhi took.