World War II

• German invasion of Poland was considered the beginning of the war
• Britain told Germany to withdraw, but Hitler did not respond.  They officially went to war when the ultimatum expired.
• Germany conquered Poland by bombing them and sending in tanks
• 1940- German troops went into France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.  Denmark and Norway had already fallen.
• German officers that were victorious lived like kings
• That last of the British Allies left France because of heavy fire from the Germans
• France is split up; German supporters were put in positions of power
• Heavy bombing of British cites (the Blitz) started September 1940 and ended May 1941
• Germans didn't want to invade England anymore, and decides to invade the Soviet Union instead, breaking his pact with Stalin
• Operation Barbarossa: the invasion to invade the Soviet Union
• The German advance was very rapid
• Over 3 million Soviet soldiers were killed
• German tanks started to go to Moscow
• They failed to take Moscow because of the Russian's defense 

US Entrance Into the War

• Pearl Harbor started the US involvement in the war
• Japanese were discriminated against (similar to Middle Eastern people now) 
• Roosevelt made the Japanese go into camps, similar to ghettos
• American convoy to Britain supplied them with what they were missing when Germans shut down industrialization 
• Hitler said that the convoy was the reason for going to war with the US
• The US and Britain planned to send paratroopers behind enemy lines and bomb the defense from ships
• The paratroopers missed and the bombs were in the wrong place

Stalingrad

• The Red Army surrounded the city after the Nazis had captured it, so the Nazis were trapped
• The Germans were trapped, but they had better weapons
• Both Stalin and Hitler said no surrender and no prisoners

Dropping Bombs

• 70,000 died in Hiroshima
• 97% of the buildings in the city were destroyed

Nuremberg Trials

• Laid down a foundation for world politics in the way that wars were waged and the rights of civilians
• Also talked about genocide

DBQ: World War I

I. Introduction
II. Racism 3
III. Bad alliances 1,2
IV.Lack of international law/rights of the countries 4,5,6
V. Conclusion


Austro Hungary
Germany
Bulgaria
Ottoman Empire
Turks


Serbia
Russia
Italy
England 
France


World War I, the first war that was called "the war to end all wars," was one that was most devastating to our world.  Eight million soldiers died, and ten major European countries fought.  However, this war did not come out of nowhere.  Rampant racism and racial tension between European countries, along with faulty alliances made by some countries, lack of international laws, and assumed rights of the people built up to the assassination of Franz Ferdinand; the ultimate cause of World War I. 

Racism was prevalent in every European country at this time, but Germany was the main offender.  They had always hated and blamed Jews, but they started to extend judgment onto other countries as well. Much of this came from their strong sense of nationalism and the idea that you could not possibly be better than a German. A strong belief of the time can be summed up by saying, "the Germanic races belong to the most highly gifted group, the group usually termed Aryan….Physically and mentally the Aryans are pre-eminent among all peoples; for that reason they are by right, as the Stagirite expresses it, the lords of the world," (Document 3).  The very statement "lord of the world" proves the overall superiority complex of the Germans.  The racism towards each other created a great amount of tension between the various un-allied countries of Europe.


Alliances, powerful political tools, were being made with poor judgment at this time.  For example, the only reason for the alliance between France and Britain, who had formerly hated each other, was because they both hated Germany more.  Another example was Austro-Hungary and Germany allying because of their fear of Russia.  The contract etween them stated, "Should, contrary to their hope, and against the loyal desire of the two High Contracting Parties, one of the two Empires be attacked by Russia the High Contracting Parties are bound to come to the assistance one of the other with the whole war strength of their Empires."  Because of their mutual hatred for Russia, they were now legally bound to fight against Russia together.  Germany and Austro-Hungary also allied with Italy against France, forming the Triple Alliance.  In the contract, "In case Italy, without direct provocation on her part, should be attacked by France for any reason whatsoever, the two other Contracting Parties shall be bound to lend help and assistance with all their forces to the Party attacked.  This same obligation shall devolve upon Italy in case of any aggression without direct provocation by France against Germany," (Document 2).  While this allows a greater chance of winning, it also brings in more tension.  With more and more allies building against other countries, there is the expectation of a war between them.  


The lack of international laws and the feelings of superiority of each individual country fueled World War I immensely.  The Germans believed that "where States are too feeble to put their territory to the best possible use, it is the manifest destiny of those who can and will do so to take their places," (Document 4).  The feeling of arrogance and entitlement was everywhere, and there were no international laws to curb the hunger for foreign soil.  "What was called "international law" was not in fact binding on them, being backed by no more than a moral or customary sanction..More and more people had acquired a larger stake in defending the state," (Document 5).  Without a law that everyone had to abide by, all European nations only had to have their own interests at heart.  The Black Hand was a perfect example of those who wanted to assemble in order to bring their people together at any cost to other countries.  In their by-laws, "Beyond the frontiers of Serbia, fight with all means the enemies of the Serbian national idea…" (Document 6).  This included killing Austro-Hungarian Franz Ferdinand, thus starting World War I.


All of the causes of World War I have something in common: the feeling of entitlement and wanting to protect oneself at all costs.  Racial tension was all about feeling better than other countries, alliances were about winning over other countries, and all of the countries thought that they were better off making their own laws.  World War I could have been avoided by simple humility.

Chapter 20: Age of Mass Politics

Many results from the Industrial Revolution
Anti-Semitism Grows
Many in the Bourgeois feel threatened by Marxism
Many of the liberal middle-class become more conservative as a movement against socialism


3rd French Republic
Bismark insisted that a new French government would be put in place in order to end the Franco-Prussian War
New Natl. Assembly were people who were willing to give into demands from Prussia
The Paris Commune were returning to the ideas of the French Revolution
Natl. Assembly took on the Paris Commune
Battled in Paris
Natl. Assembly won, and the Commune was broken up
Natl. Assembly favored a new monarchy in France
The was disagreement over who would be the monarch
The Republicans won, and they decided to elect a president and put in place a bicameral government
The president could be overruled by the electors
In one house was Chamber of Deputies and a Senate
President Marshall MacMahon tried to out one of the senators that he didn't like that had the support of the Chamber of Deputies
He tried to get him voted out twice, but failed both times
This increased the power of the legislature and Prime Minister, but decreased the power of the president

RIGHT WING
Monarchists
Leaders

LEFT WING
Liberals
Socilaists

THREATS
de Lesseps Scandal- They had headed the construction of the Suez Canal.  They wanted to build another, the Panama Canal.  It caused huge problems.  The company itself went bankrupt on a huge government loan.  Many of the bankers involved in the loan were Jewish, which sparked a lot of Anti-Semitism.  They didn't actually do anything wrong.
General Boulanger Affair- He was very popular among the people.  The monarchists wanted to get him elected, pay him off, and overthrow the republic in favor of a monarchy.  Boulanger was elected, but the plan was found out, and accused of treason.  He fled, and committed suicide.
Dreyfus Affair- He was a Jewish military officer.  He was accused of selling military secrets to Germany.  He was found guilty and imprisoned.  The guilty verdict was reached by a secret council, and no one was allowed to see the evidence.  Chief of Intelligence Piquart found out that it wasn't Dreyfus.  He turned over his findings to the government, but they didn't want the scandal, so they didn't let him go.  Zola, a novelist, wrote an expose of the whole deal.  The right wingers call for all the Jews in France to lose their citizenship.  The Catholic Church supported them.  When they asked for a retrial, the government forged documents.  Dreyfus is again pronounced guilty.  The president pardons it. (total cop-out).  ULTIMATE RESULT: The Catholic Church was blatantly Anti-Semitic, and screwed themselves by being so obvious.  Pushes French Politics to the left.  Separation of church and state.

GERMANY
Bismark was the chancellor
Middle class was compliant and loyal
The Pope publishes the Syllabus of Errors: it pretty much said that anything new was immoral
Bismark thought that this was anti-Nationalistic; against the idea of German nationhood
The Church issued the Papal Infallibility