The Collapse Of Communism

The collapse of Communism was a slow yet expected. It was expected to be known as the "perfect" government policy. As you can already tell, this was not the case. Communism collapsed because of many reasons. One of them was the president named Mikhail. (you can read about him in the blog before this one) He refused to send any of his troops to their rescue because of all the opposition. The government was also losing a ton of its money as well as its power. Not only that but organizations that had the help of the United States greatly discouraged communism. NATO especially was one of them. They helped the communist people see just how good capitalism was. They showed how we got all types of products in so much variety and things of the sort.
One thing that really got in the was of spreading capitalism was the Berlin Wall. It separated the communism countries from the capitalist countries. It was considered an iron curtain to ward off the opposition. Finally it went down and Eastern Europe was able to spread its capitalism influence elsewhere.
Once capitalism started spreading and communism collapsed, the Soviet Union was no more. Since communism was no longer there there was no need for the Soviet Union. It changed the world because as soon as it was gone more and more countries around the world that were communist changed to a capitalism system.

Mikhail Gorbachev and the Collapse of Communism

Mikhail Gorbachev was able to clear up a path to the end of communism. He was praised for his youth and his strong political experience. After a while, he was voted as the the political secretary. All pulitboro gave their support for mild reform in the Soviet Union. At age 54 he became voted as one of the youngest Soviet leaders. He lived during the time of Stalins harsh rule. When he became voted as the newest leader, he had no intention of continuing Stalin's "useless" way of rule. He decided to pursue new ideas. He wanted to encourage the citizens to give him new ways of improving their society. Because of this, many new changes were made. Churches were able to open, Dissidents were realeased from prison and books that were once banned were put in bookshelves. Many of the citizens were finally able to complain about all the economic problems. These were some of the different ways that Mikhail Gorbachev was able to pave the road to ending communism. Its about time that it happened as well. The government was very unfair to its people.

Glasnost was a policy created by Mikhail. It was another word for "openness". It was a way to get the citizens of the Soviet Union to tell them any ways they could try to improve their society. This is what brought a lot of change to society. Some good, some of it bad.

Peristrokia was the idea of economic reconstructing. Mikhail wanted to find new ways to revive the Soviet economy. Local managers finally gained greater authority over factories and farms. They were also able to open up their own small business .

Nelson Mandela and Apartheid

The Apartheid is the racial segregation policy of South America. All people who were considered non-whites did not have the same rights as those who where "white". For example, African Americans were not allowed to vote in the parliament. Public bathrooms and certain places were also reserved for one race only. It literally meant "seperate development of races". Government prohibited mixed marriages. Many of those who opposed Apartheid were banned. It got so bad that even some of the opposition leaders were killed.

Nelson Mandela was one of those blessed people that opposed the horrible rule of the Apartheid. He grew up in the streets of South America, where drinking out of the wrong water fountain could get u in jail. He started out as a leader in the African National Congress. Unfortunately his work was cut short when he was sentenced to death. He continued to give his people hope. After 27 years, he was released from jail and the Apartheid was over. Nelson was awarded the nobel peace prize and voted as president of South America. He is admired greatly for the hope he gave his people while he was in jail. They were happy for the freedom they received from the Apartheid.

African Independence

According to the map that is shown, Africa has changed tremendously in only 20 years. In 1955, Africa was practically overthrown by the European nations. Almost all its countries were ruled by the European people. The only countries that were not under European rule were Libya, Egypt, Ethiopia, as well as South Africa. By the time 1975 came rolling in, Almost all the countries that were ruled over, were free from European rule. Before all these countries gained their independence, Europeans marched in to take all the natural resources that Afreica was naturally known for. Many of the Africans were angry that their own homeland was taken over. They wanted to either chase all the Europeans away. If they had to, they also resorted to killing. A few of the Africans did not really mind the Europeans taking over because the Europeans gave them many new thing. They built hospitals, schools and other helpful places for the Africans. Eventually, the Africans grew tired and worked really hard to gain their independence. They succeeded very well too.

One of the most memorable leaders of African independence was Jomo Kenyatta. He grew up studying very hard and gaining a proper education. He eventually became a carpenter but continued studying politics. When the Europeans invaded his homeland, he realized how unfair they were treating his people. He also realized that they were trying to change their government into that of communism. He went to Europe to try to persuade them to give his people their well deserved freedom. He was put in jail for 7 years. When he got out of jail, Africa was soon freed from the European influence. He was voted as the president of Kenya.

Film Lesson: "The Right Stuff"

This was has to honestly be one of my favorite films i have watched. This was about the space race to space and into the moon. The United States and Russia were the two countries competing to get into space first. As i was watching this film, i realized that Russia was the one who initially won this space race.The first race was to get the first man into space. We succeeded with sending a monkey into space but a few weeks later (i think it was 2) Russia got the first man into space. It was then that we lost this first race. The second race was to get someone on the moon. This was where we claimed our first victory. We got the first man on the moon so we won right there!

This movie showed a lot of great scenes. One of my favorite scenes was when they broke the sound barrier. America accomplished such a feat that day. This goes to show how advanced our technology was. The other scenes were when both the United States and Russia tried to send different rockets into space. America really failed at sending those rockets up to space. Once Russia sent up their rocket, America tried so hard to send rockets up to space until they finally succeeded. Eventually they caught up and won the space race.

NATO and The Warsaw Pact

NATO stood for North Atlantic Treaty Organization. This group included countries in both North America and Europe. The main reason for this group was defense. If one of the countries were to be attacked by a nation the other NATO countries could come to their aid. Europe still had many economic problems so the United States were able to help them out and give them supplies. This could help both countries, if their is good cooperation between the two, to rebuild ther cities faster. Many of them felt threatened by an attack from the Soviet so the importance of the NATO grew.

The Warsaw Pact included the Soviet Union and its satllite countries. It was supposed to be another defensive group but was created in response to NATO. Here, they dominated the alliance. They kept their military personnel and kept on running socialist governments. They renewed in 1985 for another 20 years. In the 1980's the organization weakened severely. Troops were being withdraw from countries.In 1991 the Pact decided to disperse.

Film Lesson: "Night and Fog"

"Night and Fog"was also another powerful movie about the holocaust. I found this film to be powerful when it came to describing what took place in the death camp of Auchwits.
It was very similar to the the other film called "Schindler's List". Both of these films are actually very similar. Some scenes are even almost actually alike. There was this one scene where the people were being loaded onto the train. Inboth films, we see the Jews slowly being loaded onto the train by the Nazi guards. Their faces are all filled with a sense of hopelessness. That alone was enough to simply bring tears to ones face.
As powerful as this film was, I must admit that the other film I watched was way more powerful. "Schindler's List" showed how the holocaust took place a lot more effectively. That filmed showed what happened to the Jews when they were being brutally tortured by th Nazis. Innocent people were being shot just for running away from them or disobeying a single stupid order. What really tugged at me the most was the children. They were being taken away from their mothers and families. These children didn't even know that they were being taken away to be killed. Their mother's knew this but not the children. Some children were smart enough to find a secure place to hide. Unfortunately many never made it out alive. I hope something like this will never happen again.

Film Lesson: "Schindler's List"

"Schindler's List" has to be one of the most influencial movies I have ever watched. It sends such a powerful message to those who watch it. This movie displayed the Holocaust perfectly. You saw the Nazis round up all the Jews and take them away to concentration camps. Those who were not needed or disobeyed the Nazi orders were shot on the spot. The others that couldn't work were taken away to be shot, gased, and burned. It was such a horrific sight to see.
For me, the most powerful scene was when they loaded up the useless people and children into the vans to be taken away. They never knew that this would be the last time they would see the light of day. What really pained me the most was when all the mothers saw the children being taken away from them. They desperately tried to reach their children but were held back.
I think all the images i have seen from the movie will stay with. After watching such cruelty unfold, it is really difficult to let any of those images go. Some of the very grusonme images are kind of glued to my head. Just the thought of seeing someones head getting pierced by a bullet is enough to make me want to puke.
This film is way more powerful to me than "Night Of Fog". I say this, because "Night Of Fog" was simply a documentary. It only showed us pictures of those who died and how the death camps looked like. This movie shows people getting shot, burned, and tortured. "Schindler's List" shows so much power that it's hard to even describe.

The Treaty of Versailles (ended WW I)

After the end of World War I, Germany suffered the heaviest burden. Since their side lost the war, Germany had no choice but to sign the horrible Treaty of Versailles. This Treaty declared that everything that happened during the war was Germany's fault. This meant that Germany had to pay for all the damages done to the allies. Germany also lost 10% of their land. The loss of both land and massive amounts of money completely destroyed the economy. One thing that really destroyed Germany is that all the lands they conquered overseas were taken away from them. Everything that belonged to them was taken a divided among the the allies. Since they lost so much land after the war, 12.5% of the German population found themselves outside the German border.

I think this has to be the most unfair treaty i have ever heard of. Come on people! Why the heck would you blame just one country for a whole war. Sure, Germany caused a lot of casualties to the allies and all its supporting troops but they didn't cause all the casualties. The allies also called just as much damage as the Germans. They also killed thousands of innocent German lives. I say they should both be equally punished. They both deserve severe consiquences, not just one.

They say it was the Treaty of Versailles that caused the rise of Hitler. I agree. After such a horrible loss, Germany wanted to redeem themselves. They needed a strong leader. It was Hitler who showed them that. They easily let him grab power and brought them up again but never realized how insane he was until it was to late.

Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) and the Modernization of Turkey

Mustafa was a very famous young man who led his people to victory and independence . It was him who founded the Turkish Republic and became its first president. Many of his people were surprised with how much he was able to accomplish in such a short amount of time. He was a military hero when he came back from the Dardanelles in 1915. It was then that he decided to lead his nation to liberation. A powerful leader, he crushed all those who opposed them. He put an end to the power of the Ottoman empire. He was president of his nation for an impressive 15 years.

Mustafa's main goal for Turkey was to modernize his nation. He didn't want his people to follow the same old ways of the surrounding lands. He wanted to give his nation a new sense of dignity, equality and happiness. One of the most important things he did was make religion an individual conscience. Christians and Jewish people were free to practice their faith as much as they pleased. He also gave his people modern equality. Even peasants, who were greatly ignored in the Ottoman Empire, were considered important. Even the sense of style became different. They wore European hats instead of the Fez.(which was now prohibited) Citizens even got their own surnames. They even produced their own Western Calendar.

Mustafa created a secular civilization. This meant that everything was based on worldly things instead of the usual worshipping of the church. They distinguished themselves from the usual faith.

Film Lesson: "Gandhi"

Gandhi was a very important figure throughout history. He was the most important person to the Indian nation. It was Gandhi who helped India get its own independence from Great Britain. Some of the things he did to oppose british rule were always acts of non-violence. Gandhi would lead a march to some near factory of some sort. There, he would protest in a peaceful way, with his followers right behind him. Another thing Gandhi did was produce his own supplies. In India, both salt and clothes were costing the people a whole bunch. To save themselves from this, Gandhi declared that all the Indian people would make their own clothes. They should not buy them. He even marched a whole lot of miles to collect his own salt by the ocean. The trip took days but he still managed.
As written above, Gandhi was a peacemaker. He was not one to shoot back at the British with violence. All of his protest were in peace. If any of his people ended up using violence, Gandhi would fast. His people were afraid that he would die so they stopped the violence on their own. Non-violence worked very well against the British. If the British attacked them while they did their peaceful protests, it would make the British look bad and the Indians look good.
I don't think India's independence was based all on Gandhi though. If i remember right, Great Britain was also fighting in another war at the time. Great Britain was getting hammered all over the place. Eventually Great Britain would give India their independence because they had to start worrying about their own country. They could no longer worry about anyone else.

The Russian Revolution

The Russian Revolution was a time of much turmoil. The Czar, or the leader as they are more commonly referred to, was assassinated. Instead Russian was taken over by a group called the Bolsheviks. There could only be one reason that the Russians wanted a revolution so badly. It was because their government was screwed up! People don't want change unless they are desperate. All the Czars (kings) that ruled Russia were not very bright. There were famines, diseases and a whole bunch of other problems. The Russians were absolutely tired of what these "kings" had to offer. They did not want them anymore, so they all revolted.
This revolution was all about bringing back the peace and order in Russia. This meant giving back the land that belonged to the rightful people. This also meant restoring the peace by making it much easier for people to get whatever they needed. Some major causes of this revolution was the influence of WWI. Also bring in mind that Russia was a communist country (and still is). Another cause sould have been that their government was horrible and they wanted change.
The leader of this Revolution was a young man named Lenin. He had a small group of followers called the Bolsheviks. It was he who overthrew the Russian government and ecame its new leader. Like a dictator running his country, Lenin ruled and once again brought peace to the people of Russia.
The Bolsheviks also had a very famous quote called "Peace land and bread". I believe it meant the peace that Lenin wanted to make Russia have. Once Lenin was in rule, peace started to slwly flourish in the land. Famers were able to get new farm lands and property. Everyone could finally get a bite to eat. It was truely a good sign for more things to come.

Causes of WWI

World War I was an extremely deadly war. Many innocent people were killed. The improvement of machine guns, poison gas, and other deadly weapons of war contibuted to the massive killings. One of the most important questions we ask ourselves is that how did the war start? There are many answers.
One of the biggest causes of this world war, was nationalism. Nationalism was the love for one's country. Because of this love, it fueled the hatred that one ocountry had for another. Countries would make speeches or hang posters to show which side they supported. Countries who supported one another would do their best to support and defend their friends. Those who were enemies would do everything in their power to kill the other.
Another cause of the world war was militarism. It was how each country was able to keep their own military up to standards. This meant that they kept their military ready for war at all times. The european countries all had powerful armies. Each one had their own plan to dominate the other civil authorities. Before even going to war, armies would have a full scale battle plan drawn out.
Another cause of the world war was the assassination of king Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary. He was killed by someone from Surbia. Austria-Hungary realized they had a right to blame Surbia for the killing of their leader. Becaus of this they decided to declare war. This event leaded to the start of World War I. One of the most deadliest wars in the world. I have to admit its hard to believe.