Notes, Terms & Concepts
THE 20TH
CENTURY: 1914-1945
WORLD WAR I:
1.
Rival alliances: Triple Alliance
vs. Triple Entente
a. 1870: Balance of power of
b. Bismarck feared French revenge;
negotiated treaties to isolate France; also feared Russia
c.
1881-1887: Alliance
of the Three Emperors—Germany, Austria, and Russia in a mutual defense pact
concerning Balkans (Russia refused to renew in 1887)
2. Triple
a.
Russian-German
Reinsurance Treaty of 1887: promised neutrality if other was attacked
b.
Kaiser Wilhelm refused to renew reinsurance
treaty after removing
c.
d.
e.
"Splendid
Isolation": After 1891,
f.
Anglo-Japanese
g. Entente Cordial (1904): In the face of Anglo-German naval arms race,
h.
Triple
Entente, 1907:
3. Anglo-German arms race
a. Militarism
led to a belief in the inevitability of European war.
b.
c. British
policy was have their fleet larger than combined fleets of any two rival
nations
d. 1898,
Kaiser Wilhelm II began expansion of German navy to protect a growing
international trade and colonialism
e. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz
led the naval buildup for
f.
Bertha
von Suttner (Austrian) – first woman to win Nobel
Peace Prize; opposed arms race
g. Lay Down Your Arms
(1889) contributed to founding of Peace Societies in
h.Haldane
4.Imperialism
led to increased tensions between the
Great Powers over
a. Berlin
Conference, 1885:
b.
Kruger
Telegram (1902): triggered British anger at
c. 1906:
d. Kaiser
had urged Moroccan independence despite it being a French colony
e.
f.
g.
h. Cried
"encirclement" by other powers to block
i.
Second
Moroccan Crisis (1911)
j.
German gunboat sent to
k.
5. Nationalism created a
"powder keg" in the Balkans
a. The
b. Pan-Slavism, a nationalist movement to
unite all Slavic peoples, encouraged the Serbs, Bosnians, Slovenes, and Croats
to seek a single political entity in
c. As
southern Slavs’ “big brother” to the east,
d. First
Balkan Crisis
e. Young Turks set up parliamentary gov't in
f.
g. 1911-12,
h. First Balkan War (1908)
Serbia,
Greece, and Bulgaria allied to drive the Turks out of the Balkans
1. Serbia sought spot on the Adriatic;
rebuffed when Austria created Albania to deter Serbia.
i. Second Balkan War (1913)
1. Serbia
defeated Bulgaria over Macedonia and gained Albania; Russia backed Serbia
2. Austria,
with German support against Russia, prevented Serbia from holding Albania
3.
j. "Third
Balkan War" between
2. Kaiser Wilhelm II pledges unwavering support to Austria to punish Serbia: "the blank check"
3. July 28, Austria declares war on
Serbia
4. Russia
mobilizes against Austria & Germany; France mobilizes on Germany's western
border
5. Aug
1, German declares war on Britain and France
6. Aug.
3, Germany invades Belgium; France declares war on Germany
7. Aug 4, Britain declares war on Germany
Two opposing alliances
1. Central Powers (Triple Alliance):
Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire (also Bulgaria)
2. Allies (Triple Entente): Britain,
France, Russia (later, Japan, Italy and U.S.)
Western Front
2. Battle of the Marne (Sept. 1914): After
Germans came within sight of Paris, French and British forces pushed German
forces back. Led by General Joseph Joffre
3. Trench warfare developed after Battle
of the Marne; lasted four bloody years
4. 1916: Battle of Verdun and Battle of the Somme; horrific
casualties; neither side could break through
5. Erich Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front (1929) illustrated horrific
trench warfare.
6. Technological
advancements in war: machine gun, tanks, airplane, poison gas, Zeppelins,
U-boats
Eastern Front
2. Gallipoli
Campaign: British and Australian forces failed to take Dardanelles as a
step toward taking Constantinople and defeating the Turks
3. Treaty
of Brest-Litovsk (Dec. 1917): Lenin took Russia out of the war but forced
to give Germans 1/4 of Russian territory
4. T.E.
Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia): scored major victories in the middle east to weaken the Turks
British and
Allied Naval Blockade: Goal was to
strangle Central Powers
1.
Starting in 1914, used superior fleet & sea
mines to cut Central Powers off from overseas trade and caused
2. Germany responded by sinking Allied
vessels
3. Lusitania,
1915: U-boats sank passenger liner killing 1,200 including 124 Americans
4. Germany
began unrestricted submarine warfare
in 1917 sinking all ships with its U-boats
5. Most important reason for U.S. entry
into the war
6. Allies “unknown war” against
7. Sought
to prevent Bolshevik victory during Russian civil war by invading from Murmansk
8. Allies also sent troops into Siberia
"Total war": involved mass civilian populations in the
war effort
1. Massive
conscription drafted most able-bodied men in their youth
2. News
was censored; propaganda lionized the men at the front and dehumanized the
enemy
3. Economic
production was focused on the war effort
4. Women
replaced male factory workers who were now fighting the war.
5. 43% of the labor force in Russia
6. Changing
attitudes about women resulted in increased rights after the war (Britain,
Germany, Austria and U.S.)
7. Rationing of food and scarce commodities was instituted.
8. People
financed the war by buying bonds.
9. Each side aimed at “starving out” the enemy by cutting off
vital supplies to the civilian population.
10. In France, Georges
Clemenceau created a dictatorship during the war
11. Germany
became the world's first totalitarian regime in order to control the war effort
12. British
economy was largely planned and regulated
13. Labor
unions: saw increased influence and prestige due to increased demand for labor
14. War
promoted greater social equality, thus blurring class distinctions and
lessening the gap between rich and poor
1. 1915:
Neutral Italy entered the war against the Central Powers (its former allies)
with the promise of Italia Irredenta (“unredeemed Italy”)
and some German colonies and Turkish territories.
2. Zimmerman Note:
3. Balfour Note (1917) Arabs & Jews in
4.
5. New policy seemed to contradict British support for Arab
nationalism.
6. Wilson’s 14 Points (Jan. 1918) -- plan to
end the war along liberal, democratic lines
Provisions:
a. Abolish
secret treaties
b. Freedom
of the seas
c. Remove
economic barriers (e.g. tariffs)
d. Reduction
of armament burdens
e. Promise
of independence (“self-determination”)
to oppressed minority groups (e.g. Poles, Czechs), millions of which lived in
f.
Adjustment of colonial claims in interests of
both native peoples and colonizers
g. German
evacuation of
h. Adjustment
of
i.
Autonomy for non-Turkish parts of the
j.
14th point:
International organization to supply collective security
k. Foreshadowed
End of the War
1.
2.
3. Central Powers sought peace based on 14 Points (believing they would get
fair
treatment)
4.
Germany
and
5. Austria
surrendered on Nov. 3
6. Germany
surrendered on Nov. 11; Wilhelm II abdicates and flees to
1. Big
Four: Lloyd George (
2. Central powers excluded from
negotiations;
3.
1. mandates
for former colonies and territories of the Central Powers
2. Article 231: placed sole blame for war
on
3.
4. German army and navy severely reduced
5.
6.
7.
Results of WWI
1. Massive
casualties: 10 million soldiers dead; 10 million civilians dead, many from
influenza epidemic; 15 million died in Russian Revolution
2. End
to political dynasties
3. Hapsburg
dynasty removed in
4. Romanov
dynasty removed in
5. Hohenzollern
dynasty removed in
6.
7. Political
map of
8.
9. Russian
Revolution resulted in world's first communist country
10. German
nationalist resentment of harsh Versailles Treaty doomed the
11. German
anger with treaty partially responsible for rise of Hitler in early 1930s
12. The U.S. became the world’s leading creditor and
greatest producer due to the drain of
13. Unresolved
differences lead to WWII
RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
1. Nicholas II (1868-1918), last of the Romanov dynasty;
2. Russo-Japanese
war, Revolution of 1905, staggering economic problems
3. Birth of socialism in
4. 1898--Social Democratic Worker's
party founded in
5.
Lenin became the heir to Marx in socialist thought
A. 3 basic ideas central to Lenin’s
philosophy.
1.
Capitalism could be destroyed only by violent revolution; he denounced
revisionism
2. Socialist revolution possible under
certain conditions, even in relatively backward
3. Peasants were poor and thus potential revolutionaries.
4. Necessity of a highly disciplined workers’ party, strictly
controlled by a dedicated elite of intellectuals and full-time
revolutionaries (he differed from Marx in this regard).
5. 1903,
Social Democrats (Social Democratic Worker’s Party) split into two factions
6. Mensheviks
(the "minority"): Wanted to await the evolution of capitalism and the
proletariat; sought a more democratic party with mass membership.
7. Bolsheviks
(the "majority"): Followed Lenin's ideas
1.
Duma was weak
and ineffective but increasingly critical of Czar's poor leadership
2.
Bolsheviks in exile planned a revolution: Lenin and Trotsky formed
workers' Soviets (councils of workers, soldiers and intellectuals)
3. Influence of Socialists,
soldiers Soviets, & other parties and soldiers’ increased before WWI
World War I became the
major cause of the Russian Revolution
1. Massive
Russian casualties, food shortages
2. February
Revolution overthrew the Czar and
instituted the Provisional Government
3. Revolution started by women
rioting for bread in
4. Duma
responded by declaring a provisional gov’t on
5. Provisional gov't
wanted to continue the war; Soviets control the army
Alexander Kerensky becomes leader of
the Provisional Gov’t
1.
Implements liberal program: equality before the law; freedom of religion,
speech, and assembly; right of unions to organize & strike; election of
local officials; 8-hr work day
2. Rejects social revolution: doesn't confiscate large landholdings and give them to peasants
3. Provisional Gov't
had to share power with Petrograd Soviet of Workers’ & Soldiers’ Deputies
4. Army Order #1: stripped officers of their authority and placed power in the hands of elected committees of common soldiers (soldiers afraid in the future they might be liable for treason against the czar)
a.
Led to collapse of army discipline
Kerensky's
refusal to end the war and prevent anarchy leads to fall of Provisional Gov't
D. Rise of Vladimir
I. Lenin
1.
Germany arranged for Lenin to be transported back to
2.
"April Theses": Lenin
rejected all cooperation with the “bourgeois” provisional gov’t
3. Called for a "Socialist revolution" and
establishment of a Soviet republic
4. Nationalization of banks and landed estates
5. “All
Power to the Soviets”; “
6. Kornilov Affair: military coup by General Kornulov failed Kerensky lost all
credit with army.
7. October
Revolution (actually in November) results in a communist dictatorship
8.
Politburo formed to organize
revolution: includes Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, Zinoviev,
Kamenev, Bukharin
9. Leon Trotsky, leader of the Petrograd Soviet (the Red Army), led Soviet overthrow and arrest of the provisional gov’t
10. New elections: Bolshevik's lost
(only 25% of vote) but overthrew new gov't with Red Army
11.
Lenin: "Peace, Land,
Bread"
12.
Lenin gave land to peasants (although peasants already took it, like
French Revolution)
13.
Lenin gave direct control of individual factories by local workers’
committees.
14. Signed Treaty of
Brest-Litovsk in March 1918 to take
15.
Bolsheviks renamed "communists"
16.
These actions lead to opposition to Bolsheviks and the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
1. Reds
(Bolsheviks) vs “Whites”
(included officers of old army, and 18 groups proclaiming
themselves the real gov't of
2. Allies sent troops to help
"Whites" (Archangel Expedition;
3. By 1921, the communists had
defeated their opponents
4.
Communists extremely well organized (Trotsky); Whites were poorly
organized
5. “war
communism”: Bolsheviks mobilized the home front for the civil war
6. Earliest form of socialism in
the
7. Applied "total war"
concept to a civil war
8. Cheka: Secret police formed to hunt down and execute thousands of real
or supposed opponents, such as
the tsar and his family and other “class enemies.”
9. Results of the Russian Revolution:
10. Costs: 15 million dead, economy ruined, international trade gone, millions of workers fled
11.Creation of world's first
communist society: one of the monumental
events of 20th century
1. Many people felt themselves increasingly adrift
in a strange, uncertain, and uncontrollable
world.
2. People saw themselves living in an age of
continual crisis (until at least the early
1950s)
1. Before 1914 most people
still believed in progress, reason and the rights of the individual.
2. Optimistic
view was the result of progress of the past two centuries.
3. After the war, new and upsetting ideas began to
spread through the entire population
Critics of the pre-war world anticipated many of the
post-war ideas.
1. Rejected
the general faith in progress and the power of the rational human mind.
Friedrich Nietzsche:
1.
"God is Dead"
-- Claimed Christianity embodied a ““slave morality,” which glorified
weakness, envy, and mediocrity.
2. Believed that only the creativity of a few
supermen could successfully reorder the world.
Henri Bergson: 1890s, convinced many young people that immediate experience and intuition were as important as rational and scientific thinking for understanding reality.
Georges Sorel: Syndicalism (a manifestation of anarchism)
1. Believed socialism would come to power through a great, violent strike of all working people.
2. Ideas foreshadowed the Bolshevik Revolution; control by an elite few
3. Post-war thinkers expanded on earlier pessimism
Paul Valéry: “cruelly injured mind”
besieged by doubts and suffering from anxieties due to economic, political ,and social disruptions of the 1920s.
Logical empiricism (logical positivism) -- took root in English-speaking universities
1. Developed by Ludwig Wittgenstein (part of
2. Philosophy is only the logical clarification of thoughts
3. Abstract concepts regarding God, freedom, morality, etc, are senseless since they can neither be tested by scientific experiments nor demonstrated by the logic of mathematics.
4. Only experience is worth analyzing.
Existentialism took root in Continental countries.
1. Saw life as absurd
2. Viewed a world where the individual has to find his own meaning; most were atheists
3. Jean-Paul Sartre: Humans simply exist
4. Martin Heidegger, Karl Japers and Albert Camus also prominent
5. Christian Existentialists shared the loneliness and despair of atheistic existentialists.
6. Stressed human beings’ sinful nature, need for faith, and the mystery of God’s forgiveness
7. Broke with Christian "modernists" of late 19th century who reconciled Bible & science
8. Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855): rediscovery of his 19th century works led to revival of fundamental Christian belief after WWI.
9. Believed Christian faith could anchor the individual caught in troubling modern times.
10. T.S. Eliot T.S. Eliot created his work within a perceived traditional Christian framework.
11. Advocated literary
allegiance to tradition.
Science
1. By the late 19th
century, science was a major pillar supporting Western society’s optimistic and rationalistic view of the world.
2. "New Physics," much popularized after WWI, challenged
long-held ideas and led to
uncertainty
3. Max Planck: developed basis for quantum
physics in 1900
4. Postulated matter & energy might be
different forms of the same thing.
5. Shook foundations of 19th
century physics that viewed atoms as the stable, basic building blocks of
nature, with a different kind of unbreakable atom for each element.
6. Albert Einstein (1879-1955):
7. 1905, Theory
of relativity of time and space challenged traditional ideas of Newtonian physics (E=MC2)
8. United apparently
infinite universe with incredibly small, fast-moving subatomic world.
9. Matter and energy are interchangeable and
that even a particle of matter contains enormous levels of potential energy
10. Ernest
11. 1927,
Werner Heisenberg: “principle of
uncertainty”-- as it is impossible to know
the position and speed of an individual election, it is therefore impossible to
predict its behavior.
12. Heisenberg’s principle: The dynamics of
an experiment alters the state of the subject.
Impact of “new physics” on the common mind
1. The new universe seemed strange
and troubling.
2. Universe
was now “relative,” dependent on the observer’s frame of reference.
3. Universe
was uncertain and undetermined, without stable building blocks.
4. Physics
no longer provided easy, optimistic answers, or any answers for that matter.
Freudian psychology was first developed in the late 1880s by Sigmund Freud
1. Freud
one of three most important thinkers of 19th century (along with
Marx and Darwin)
2. Traditional
psychology assumed a single, unified conscious mind processed sense experiences in a rational and logical
way.
3. Freudian
psychology seemed to reflect the spirit of the early 20th century,
with its emphasis on men and
women as greedy, grasping, irrational creatures.
4.
Became an international movement by 1910 and received popular attention after 1918, especially in Protestant
countries of
5.
Freud asserted that because the human unconscious (ID) is driven by sexual, aggressive,
and pleasure-seeking desires, humans are therefore NOT rational! ID battles Ego & Superego
6. Ego:
Rationalizing conscious mediates what a person can do.
7. Superego:
Ingrained moral values specifies what a person should
do.
8. Shattered
enlightenment view of rationality and progress.
9. Freud agreed with Nietzsche that
mechanisms of rational thinking and traditional morals values can be too strong
on the human psyche
10. They can repress sexual desires
too effectively, crippling individuals and entire peoples with guilt and
neurotic fears
11. Many opponents and some
enthusiasts interpreted Freud as saying that the first requirement for mental
health is an uninhibited sex life
12. After WWI, the popular
interpretation of Freud reflected and encouraged growing sexual
experimentation, particularly among middle-class women.
A. Literary figures such as Marcel Proust,
T.S. Eliot, and James Joyce (Ulysses)
experimented with language in an attempt to reflect the dynamics of society.
1. “Stream-of-consciousness” developed by Virginia Woolf (1882-1941)
2. Entire novel seen through mind of a single character
3. Erich
Maria Remarque: All Quiet on the Western Front
Anti-utopian
authors
1.
Oswald Spengler
(1880-1936) – The Decline of the West
2. Every culture experiences a life cycle of growth and decline;
Western civilization was in its old age, and death was approaching in the form
of conquest by the yellow race.
3. T.
S. Eliot, "The Wasteland": Depicted a world of growing
desolation.
4. Franz
Kafka: Portrays helpless individuals crushed by inexplicably hostile
forces.
The Trial; The Castle; The Metamorphosis
5. George
Orwell (1903-1950) – 1984: "Big Brother"
(the dictator) & his totalitarian state use a new kind of language,
sophisticated technology, and psychological terror to strip a weak individual
of his last shred of human dignity.
Art
1. Functionalism in
architecture
2. Late
19th century
3. In
1905, architectural leadership shifted to German-speaking countries (until Hitler in 1930s)
4. Bahaus movement: Walter Gropius
broke sharply with the past in his design of the Fagus
shoe factory at
5. Clean, light,
elegant building of glass and iron.
·
· Represented a jump into the middle of the 20th
century.
·
· Painting
·
· Modern
art grew out of a revolt against French
impressionism (firmly established in 1890s)
·
· Impressionists
like Monet, Renoir, and Pissaro sought to capture the momentary
overall feeling, or impression, of light falling on a real-life scene before
their eyes.
·
· Post-impressionists (also known as Expressionists) in 1890s were united in their desire to
know and depict worlds other than the visible world of fact.
·
· Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890): Starry Night
·
· Paul Gauguin (1848-1903)
· · Paul Cézanne (1839-1906)
· · Henri Matisse (1869-1954): most important French artist of 20th century
· · Pioneered the Fauves movement ("the wild beasts")
· · Painted real objects, but primarily concern was the arrangement of color (often primitive), line, and form as an end in itself.
·
· Pablo Picasso (1881-1973): most
important artist of the 20th century
·
· Developed
cubism along with Georges Braque
·
· Cubism
concentrated on a complex geometry of zigzagging lines and sharply angled,
overlapping planes.
·
· Often
tried to portray all perspectives simultaneously
·
· Non-representational
art
·
· Some
expressionists like Wassily Kandinsky
sought to evoke emotion through non-figural painting
·
· Dadaism: "Dada" was a nonsensical
word that mirrored a post-WWI world that no longer made sense.
·
· Attacked all accepted standards of art and behavior,
delighting in outrageous conduct.
·
· e.g., Mona
Lisa painted with a mustache;
·
· Surrealism:
·
· After 1924, painted a fantastic world of wild dreams and
complex symbols, where watches melted and giant metronomes beat time in
impossible alien landscapes.
Music
·
· Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971): Most
important composer of the 20th century
·
· "Rite
of Spring" experimented with new tonalities (many of them dissonant) and
aggressive primitive rhythms
·
· Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951):
pioneered "12-tone" technique (atonality)
·
· Moving
pictures first shown as a popular novelty in naughty peepshows and penny
arcades in the 1890s, esp. in
·
· Charlie Chaplin (1889-1978),
Englishman, became the king of the “silver screen” in
·
· German
studios excelled in expressionist dramas—e.g., The Cabinet of Dr., Caligari (1919).
·
· Advent
of “talkies” in 1927 resulted in revival of national film industries in 1930s,
esp.
·
· Motion
pictures became the main entertainment of the masses until after WWII.
·
· Motion
pictures, like radio, became powerful tools of indoctrination, esp. in
countries with dictatorial regimes.
·
· Lenin
encouraged development of Soviet film making leading to epic films in the
mid-1920s.
·
· Most
famous directed by Sergei Eisenstein (1898-1948) brilliantly
dramatized the communist view of Russian history.
·
· In
Radio:
·
· Guglielmo Marconi developed transatlantic
“wireless” communication in 1901 (used in WWI)
·
· Not
until 1920 were first major public
broadcasts of special events made in
·
· Most
countries established direct control of radio by the gov’t
(only in
·
· British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
·
· Radio
became used effectively for political propaganda (e.g. Hitler, Mussolini and
FDR)
1919ism – fear
of Bolshevism swept through
1. “Spartacists” : Karl Liebknecht & Rosa
Luxemburg took over
1. To Germans of all political
parties, the Versailles Treaty
represented a harsh, dictated
peace, to be revised or repudiated as soon as possible.
2. France was most eager to punish
3. Britain believed a healthy
German economy was essential to a healthy British economy.
4.
John Maynard Keynes (most
significant economist of 20th century) criticized Versailles Treaty
declaring its punishing of
New Constitution
created in August 1919
1. Reichsrat: upper
chamber represented the Federal states.
2. Reichstag: lower house elected by
universal suffrage supplied the Chancellor and Cabinet.
3. President elected for a 7-year term.
4. Problems
faced the new gov't
5. Its forced acceptance of “the dictated
peace” (Versailles Treaty) undermined its prestige.
6. Communist rebellions in various parts of the
country created climate of instability.
7. Ruhr
Crisis, 1923
8. reparations: Allies announced in 1921
9. Germany's economy weak and it could not pay
all the reparations.
10.
1923, France, led by Raymond Poincarč, occupied industrial
11.
German gov’t ordered
12.
Runaway inflation occurred when
13.
Brought about social revolution in
Beer Hall Putsch, 1923: Adolf Hitler failed to take overthrow state
Gustav Stresemann
assumed leadership in 1923
1. Called off passive resistance in
2. Streseman
restored
3.
Dawes Plan, 1924:
Restructured Germany's debt with
4. Young Plan (1929):
continuation of Dawes Plan (moot when Great Depression hit)
5.
Locarno Pact, 1925:
6.
Germany joined
7.
Kellogg-Briand
Pact, 1928: Renounced war as "illegal" except for self-defense;
signed by 62 nations but had no real enforcement mechanism
Economic problems
(similar to
1.
Death, devastation, and debt of WWI created economic chaos and political
unrest
2. Throughout the 1920s, the gov’ (multi-party system) dominated by the parties on the
right (conservatives), which supported status quo and had backing of business,
army, and Church.
3. 1926,
Raymond Poincaré recalled to office while prime minister Briand replaced but
remained minister of foreign affairs.
4. Gov’t
slashed spending and raised taxes, restoring confidence in the economy.
Attracted artists worldwide
1.
Gertrude Stein: writer,
leader of the large colony of American expatriates living in
2. Josephine
Baker: brought an exotic African eroticism to French music halls in 1925.
Wartime trend toward greater social equality continued, helping maintain social harmony.
1. Representation of the Peoples Act (1928): women over 21 gained the right to vote. (Representation of Peoples Act of 1918 had given women over 30 the right to vote).
2. Unemployment was
3. Did not recover from economic losses
suffered during WWI
4. 1926, General Strike: support of miners
who feared a dramatic drop in their low wages swept the country.
5. Gov’t
outlawed such labor actions in 1927
6. Gov’t
provided unemployment benefits of equal size to the unemployed and supplemented
those payments with subsidized housing (200,000 units), medical aid, and
increased old-age pensions.
7. Labour party rose as a champion of
the working classes and of greater social equality and took power briefly
(9 months); led by Ramsay MacDonald
8. Came to replace Liberal Party as main
opposition to conservatives.
9. Conservatives
under Stanley Baldwin (1867-1947)
ruled
10. Showed the same compromising spirit on
social issues: female suffrage, expanded pensions to widows, orphans and the
aged.
The Irish Question
1. After Easter
Rebellion (1916) the extremist Sinn
Fein faction gained prominence in
2. Prompted a civil war between the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the
Black and Tan,
3. October 1921,
4. In 1922,
Foreign Policy
1.
End of protectorate in
2.
Equality of British Dominions –
The Great
Depression (1929-1933)
1. Shattered the fragile optimism of political
leaders in the late 1920s
Causes
1.
Long-term problems with the
2.
Stock Market Crash (1929) may
have triggered
Impact
on
1. Decline of production occurred in every
country (except
2. Mass unemployment resulted:
3. In 1931,
4. 1930,
5. New
6. Mass unemployment
7. Franklin Roosevelt's "New Deal" in
8.
Influenced certain European countries
9. Keynesian
approach (developed by John Maynard Keynes) used after 1938 to permanently prop
up the economy through public works programs and subsidies.
10. Scandinavia's
response to depression was most successful under socialist gov't
British recovery
1. Orthodox economic theory followed after 1929:
went off gold-standard, reorganized industry, increased tariffs, reformed
finances, cut gov’t spending, balanced budget
(although unemployed workers received barely enough welfare to live on)
2. Economy recovered considerably after 1932.
a. Years after 1932 actually better than in the
1920s.
b. Like the U.S. Britain came out permanently from
depression due to rearmament for
WWII
1. Felt impact of depression later as it
wasn't as highly industrialized as
2. The depression increased class
tensions and gave birth to a radical right that supported gov’t
reorganization along fascist lines.
3. Popular
Front: Threat of fascism prompted coalition of republicans, socialists,
communists and radicals; led by Leon
Blum
4.
“French New Deal”: Inspired by US New Deal, encouraged union
movement and launched far-reaching program of social reform, complete with paid
vacations and a 40-hr work week.
5. Failed due to high inflation and
agitation from fascists and frightened conservatives in the Senate.
6. French
divisions resulting from Spanish Civil War destroyed Popular Front in 1936
7. France
remained divided as
TOTALITARIANISM
1. Contrast totalitarianism
with conservative authoritarianism
2. Conservative authoritarianism:
traditional form of antidemocratic government
in
3. (e.g.,
Metternich, Catherine the Great)
4. Prevented major changes undermining
existing social order
5. Popular participation in government
forbidden or severely limited
6.
Limited in power and in objectives (usually sought status quo)
7. Lacked modern technology and communications and could not
control many aspects of their subjects’ lives.
8. Usually limited demands to taxes, army recruits, and passive
acceptance of the regime
9.
Conservative Authoritarianism revived after WWI, especially in
less-developed
10. Great Depression ended various levels of democracy in
11. Totalitarianism: dictatorship that tried to control every aspect of
the lives of the people.
12.
New technology made this possible: radio, automobile, telephone
13.
Tools of totalitarianism: censorship, indoctrination, terror
14.
Existed first in
A. Under Vladimir I. Lenin
1.
Marxist-Leninist philosophy
2. Theory
of imperialism: imperialism is the highest form of capitalism (haves vs. have nots)
3. "New
type of party": cadre of educated professional revolutionaries to serve development of political class
consciousness & guidance of the "Dictatorship
of Proletariat"
4. Comintern (Third Communists International) --created in 1919
5. Was to serve as the preliminary step of
the
7.
Ruthless oppression: secret police (Cheka) liquidated about 250,000 opponents
8. war communism: The socialization (nationalization) of all means of production &
central planning of the economy
9. First mass communist
society in world history
10. Purpose was to win the
Russian Civil War
11.
Bolsheviks destroyed the economy: mass starvation from crop failures,
decrease in industrial output
Kronstadt Rebellion (1921)
1.
Mutiny by previously pro-Bolshevik sailors in March at Kronstadt naval base had to be crushed with machine gun
fire.
2. Caused by impact of the economic disaster
and social upheaval of the Russian Civil War.
3.
Major cause for Lenin instituting NEP
NEP – New Economic Policy, 1921-28
1. Sought to eliminate harsh aspects of War
Communism: response to peasant revolts, military mutiny, and economic ruin
2.
Some Capitalist measures allowed (Lenin: "necessary step
backwards")
3. Gov't not to seize surplus grain;
peasants could sell grain on the open market
4. Small manufacturers allowed to run own businesses
5. Gov't still in control of heavy
industry, banks and railroads.
Results: economy improved
1.
Industry and agricultural output back to pre-WWI levels
2.
Workers shorter hours/better conditions
3.
Temporary relaxing of terror and censorship
Power struggle ensued after Lenin’s
death in 1924: he left no chosen successor
1. Joseph Stalin believed in "Socialism
in one Country": first,
2. Establishment of a Socialist
economy without the aid of the West
3. Leon Trotsky believed in "permanent revolution":
continuing a world revolution
4. Party leaders believed Trotsky
was too idealistic;
5. Stalin gained control in
1927 and had total control by 1929; Trotsky exiled
1.
Entire Politburo from Lenin's time was eventually purged leaving Stalin
in absolute control.
2.
The 5-year plans
3. "Revolution from
above" (1st Five Year Plan), 1928; marked end of NEP
Objectives:
1.
Total industrial output to increase by 250%; steel by 300%; agriculture
by 150%
2.
1/5 of peasants were scheduled to give up their private plots and join
collective farms
3.
“We
are 50 or 100 years behind the advanced countries. We must make good this
distance in 10 years. Either we do it or we shall go under.”
Results: steel up 400% (now 2nd largest steel producer
in
1. Costs: quality of goods
suspect; standard of living did not rise
2. Collectivization was the greatest of all costs
Purpose: bring peasantry under absolute control of the communist
state
1.
Consolidation of individual peasant farms into large, state-controlled
enterprises.
2. Farmers paid according to amount of work; portion of harvest paid to gov't
Goals
1. Use of machines in farm production,
to free more people to work in industry
2.
Gov't control over production
3.
Extend socialism to countryside
Results:
1. Opposed by farmers as it placed
them in a bound situation like the mirs.
2. Kulaks, wealthiest
peasants, offered greatest resistance to collectivization
3. Stalin ordered party workers to "liquidate them as a
class."
4.
10 million dead due to collectivization (7 million in forced starvation
in
5.
Agricultural output no greater than in 1913
6.
By 1933, 60% of peasant families were on collective farms; 93% by 1938.
7.
Eventually, the state was assured of grain for bread for urban workers
who were more important politically than the peasants.
8. Collective farmers first had to meet grain quotas before
feeding themselves.
Structure of gov't
1.
Central Committee was the
apex of Soviet power (about 70 people in 1930s)
2.
Politburo: About a dozen
members; dominated discussions of policy and personnel
3.
General Secretary: highest
position of power; created by Stalin
Stalin's propaganda campaign
1. Purpose: To glorify work to soviet people--an attempt
to encourage worker productivity
2.
Used technology for propaganda
a. Newspapers (esp. Pravda), films, and radio broadcasts emphasized socialist
achievements and capitalist plots.
b. Sergei Eisenstein: patriotic Russian
filmmaker
c. Writers
& artists expected to glorify Stalin and the state; work was closely
monitored
3. Religion was
persecuted: Stalin hoped to turn churches into "museums of atheism"
4. Benefits for workers:
a. Old-age pensions, free
medical services, free education, and day-care centers for children
b. Education was key to improving one’s position: specialized skills and technical education.
c. Many Russians saw
themselves building world’s first socialist society while capitalism crumbled during the Great Depression
d.
Women
2.
In 1920s divorce and abortion made easily available.
3.
Women urged to work outside the home and liberate themselves
sexually.
4.
Many women worked as professionals and in universities.
5.
Women still expected to do household chores in off hours as Soviet men
considered home and children women’s responsibility.
6.
Men continued to monopolize the best jobs.
7.
Rapid change and economic hardship led to many broken families.
Great Terror (1934-38)
1.
First directed against peasants after 1929, terror used increasingly on
leading Communists, powerful administrators, and ordinary people, often for no
apparent reason.
2.
The "Great Terror"
resulted in 8 million arrests
a. Show trials used eradicate "enemies of the people"
(usually ex-party members)
b. Late
1930s, dozens of Old Bolsheviks tried
and executed (Lenin's closest followers)
c. Purges: 40,000 army officers were expelled or liquidated (weakened
d. Millions
of citizens were killed, died in labor camps, or simply disappeared
Fascist
A. Causes for rise
of fascism
1.
In early 20th century,
2.
Versailles Treaty: Italian nationalists angry that
3.
Depression in 1919 caused nationwide strikes and class tension
a. Wealthy classes fearful of communist
revolution looked to strong anti-communist leader
4.
By 1921 revolutionary socialists, conservatives and property owners were
all opposed to liberal parliamentary government.
5.
Fascism in
Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) rises to power
("Il Duce")
1.
Editor of a socialist newspaper yet was a nationalist.
2.
Organized the Fascist party
a. Combination of socialism and
nationalism: territorial expansion, benefits for workers, and land reform for
peasants.
b. Named after fasces: the rods carried by Imperial Roman officials as symbols of
power.
c. Initially, failed to succeed
because of competition from well-organized Socialists.
d. 1920, Mussolini gained support
of conservative classes and frightened middle class for anti-Socialist
rhetoric; abandoned his socialist programs.
Blackshirts (squadristi):
Paramilitary forces attacked Communists, socialists, and other enemies of the
fascist program (later, Hitler's "Brown Shirts" followed this
example)
March on
1. Mussolini demanded resignation of existing gov’t and his own appointment by the king.
2. Large group of Fascists marched on
3. Government collapsed; Mussolini received right to organize a new cabinet (government).
4.
Victor Emmanuel III gave him dictatorial powers for 1 year to end
nation’s social unrest.
1. “Everything
in the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state.”
2. By 1928, all
independent labor unions organized into government- controlled syndicates
3. Established organizations of workers and employers and outlawed strikes and walkouts.
4. Created corporations which coordinated activities between worker- employer syndicates.
5. Authority from the top,
unlike socialist corporate states where workers made decisions.
6. Right to vote
severely limited.
7. All candidates for Italian parliament
selected by Fascist party.
8. Gov’t
ruled by decree.
9. Dedicated fascists
put in control of schools.
10. Created fascist youth movement, labor unions, and other fascist
organizations:
Dopolavoro (After Work) and Balilla
(Fascist Youth Organization) failed to regulate leisure time.
Mussolini never became all-powerful
1.
Failed in attempt to “Fascistize” Italian
society by controlling leisure time
2.
Old power structure of conservatives, military, and church remained
intact.
a. Mussolini never attempted to
purge conservative classes.
3.
He propagandized and controlled labor but left big business to regulate
itself.
4.
No land reform occurred
5.
Did not establish ruthless police state (only 23 political prisoners
executed bet. 1926-1944)
6.
Racial laws not passed until 1938 and savage persecution of Jews not
until late in WWII when
Women
1.
Divorce abolished and women told to stay home and procreate.
2. Decreed a special tax on bachelors in
1934.
3.
1938, women limited by law to a maximum of 10% of better-paying jobs in
industry & gov't
Fascist
accomplishments
1.
Internal improvements made such as electrification and roadbuilding.
2. More efficient municipal governing.
3.
Suppression of the Mafia
4.
Improvement of the justice system (except for “enemies of the state”)
5.
Lateran Pact, 1929, resulted in
reconciliation with the papacy
a.
b. In return, Pope Pius XII recognized legitimacy of the Italian state.
Fascist failures
1. Italian democracy destroyed
2. Terrorism became a state policy.
3. Poor industrial growth due to militarism and colonialism.
4. Disastrous wars resulted from attempt to recapture imperialistic glories of Ancient Rome.
NAZI
1. Roots of Nazism:
Extreme nationalism + racism = Nazism
2. Adolf Hitler became leader of National German Workers Party (NAZI) after WWI
a.
b. Beer Hall Putsch, 1923: Hitler failed
to overthrow
1.
Hitler realized he'd have to take control of
c. Mein Kampf, 1923 written
while in jail: became the blueprint for Hitler's future plans
1.
lebensraum (“living space”):
Germans should expand east, liquidate the Jews and turn the Slavs into slave
labor
2.
anti-Semitism: Hitler blamed the Jews for
3.
Leader-dictator, Fuhrer,
would have unlimited arbitrary power
3.
Fall of
a. Unemployment reached 43% by end
of 1932
b. Hitler began promising German
voters economic, political, and military salvation.
1.
Hitler promised big business leaders he would restore the economy by
breaking
2.
Hitler assured top army leaders that the Nazis would reject the
Versailles Treaty and rearm
3.
Nazis also appealed to German youth: 40% of party under age 30 in 1931;
67% under 40
c. 1930, Chancellor gained
permission from President Hindenburg for emergency rule by decree
d. Struggle between Social
Democrats & Communists contributed to breakdown of gov't.
e. Nazi's won largest percentage
of votes in the Reichstag in 1933 elections
f. Hitler becomes Chancellor on
Third Reich
(1933-1945)
1. Hitler consolidates power
a. Reichstag fire occurred during violent electoral
campaign: used by Nazis to crack down on communists
b. Enabling Act (March 1933) passed by Reichstag – Gleichschaltung (“coordination”)
1. Gave Hitler absolute dictatorial power for
four years
2. Only the Nazi party was legal
c. Hitler
outlawed strikes and abolished independent labor unions.
d. Publishers,
universities, and writers brought into line
1. Democratic, socialist, and Jewish
literature put on blacklists.
2.
Students and professors burned forbidden books in public squares.
3.
Modern art and architecture was prohibited ("degenerate art")
e. Joseph Goebbles: minister of propaganda effectively glorified
Hitler and the Nazi state
f. “Night of Long Knives” (June 1934)
1.
Hitler realized the army and big business were suspicious of the
2.
Hitler’s elite personal guard—the SS—arrested
and shot without trial about 1,000 SA leaders and other political enemies.
g. S.S. grew dramatically in influence as
Hitler's private army and secret police
1.
Led by Heinrich Himmler
2.
SS joined with the political police,
the Gestapo, to expand its network of special courts and concentration
camps.
Persecution of Jews
1.
By the end of 1934, most Jewish lawyers, doctors, professors, civil
servants, and musicians had lost their jobs and the right to practice their
professions.
2.
Nuremburg Laws of 1935
deprived Jews of all rights of citizenship.
3.
By 1938, 25% of German Jews had emigrated (many were the "cream of
the crop")
4.
Kristallnacht
(“The Night of Broken Glass”) -- 1938
a. Using assassination of
a German diplomat in
b. Well-organized wave of violence destroyed homes, synagogues, and businesses.
c. Thousands of Jews were arrested and made to pay for the damage.
5. Holocaust: 6 million European Jews eventually killed during WWII ("Final Solution")
6. Other victims of persecution included Slavs, Gypsies, political prisoners, Jehovah’s Witnesses, communists, homosexuals, mentally handicapped, and political opponents (totaled 7 million by 1945) estimates reach 13 million total
Hitler Youth: Nazis indoctrinated German youths along
1. Children encouraged to turn in teachers or even their parents if they seemed disloyal to the Reich
A. German economic recovery contributed to Hitler's soaring popularity
1. Hitler delivered on his economic promise of “work and bread.”
2. Large public works program started to get
a. Included superhighways (autobahn), offices, gigantic sports stadiums, and public housing.
3. 1936,
Results:
1. Unemployment dropped from 6 million in January 1933, to about one million in late 1936.
2. 1938, shortage of workers; women took many jobs earlier denied by antifeminist Nazis.
3. By 1938 standard of living for the average employed worker increased moderately.
4. Profits of business rose sharply.
Nazi society: was
there really a social revolution?
A. Quantitative studies show that
well-educated classes held on to most of their advantages.
B. Only a modest social leveling
occurred.
C. Like
1.
Only in wartime were large numbers of women mobilized for work in
offices & factories.
WORLD WAR II
· · Failure of collective security
·
· Treaty of Versailles did not create an
enduring peace by severely punishing Germany and triggering future resentment
against the "dictated peace."
·
·
·
· Washington Naval Conference, 1921-22:
did not stop naval arms race
·
· Five
Power Treaty: created a 5-5-3 battleship ratio between U.S., Britain and Japan
·
· Four
Power Treaty replaced Anglo-Japanese Alliance of 1902: Bound Br., Japan,
France, and U.S. to preserve status quo in the Pacific, a concession to Japan’s
favor.
·
· Nine
Power Treaty agreed to uphold the Open Door in China
·
· Locarno Pact, 1925: "spirit of Locarno" no longer relevant once Hitler took power
·
· Kellogg-Briand
Pact, 1928: "war is illegal"; not enforceable
·
· Great
Depression resulted in the rise of fascism in Japan and Germany
·
· Japanese invasion of Manchuria, 1931:
League did little; Japan pulled out of League
·
· Hitler
withdrew from League of Nations, 1933: secretly begins rearmament
·
· Stresa Front, 1935: Mussolini and others
concerned Hitler withdrew from Versailles Treaty
· · Italy, France, and Britain protested strongly, understanding the danger; agreed to use force to maintain status quo.
·
· However
only a year later, Mussolini allied with Hitler to help fascists win in Spain
·
· Italian invasion of Ethiopia, 1935:
League of Nations ineffective in its actions and protests
·
· Spanish Civil War, 1936: Mussolini and
Hitler use conflict as a testing ground for their military forces: Italy's
army; Germany's airforce -- Luftwaffe
·
· Fascism
prevails under Francisco Franco;
also known as Falangists
(or Royalists)
·
· League
ineffective in helping republicans (Loyalists) against Franco.
·
· Rome-Berlin Axis formed )"Fascintern"): an alliance between fascist Italy and
Germany
·
· German reoccupation of the Rhineland,
1936: violated Versailles Treaty and Locarno Pact
·
· France
unwilling to enforce the treaty without British aid; British didn't want
another war
·
· Anti-Comintern
Pact, 1937: Italy signed with Germany to oppose communism in Europe.
·
· Japan
invades China, 1937: world watches the "rape of Shanghai" but does
little
Road to World War
II
·
· Hitler
repudiates Versailles Treaty and begins massive rearmament in mid-1930s
·
· Anschluss:
Germany annexes Austria, 1938
·
· Sudetenland: Hitler demanded the
German-speaking province in Czechoslovakia or else there would be war
·
· Munich Conference, 1938 arranged by
British Prime Minister Neville
Chamberlain
·
· Attended
by Britain, France, Italy & Germany; Czechoslovakia or Russia not invited!
·
· British
Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain
adopted a policy of appeasement
·
· Appeasement: making concessions to an
aggressor in order to achieve peace
·
· Pacifism is prevalent in Britain and
France: memories of horrors of WWI; don't want war
·
· Agreement:
Czechoslovakia forced to give away Sudetenland
·
· Chamberlain
returns to Britain a hero: "peace
in our time"
·
· German invasion of Czechoslovakia,
spring1939: Hitler double-crosses Chamberlain
·
· Hitler
makes demands on port city of Danzig in the Polish
Corridor
·
· Chamberlain
says if Germany attacks Poland there will be war
·
· Hitler
does not want a two-front war against France & Britain in west and Russia
in east
·
· Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact, Aug.
1939
·
· World
shocked that archenemies Hitler and Stalin would make such an agreement
·
· Hitler
sought assurances USSR would not attack Germany if Germany invaded Poland
·
· Public
agreement: nonaggression treaty
·
· Private
agreement: Germany and USSR would invade Poland and split the country in half.
·
· Germany invades Poland, Sept. 1, 1939:
marks beginning of World War II
·
· September
3, Britain & France declare war on Germany
World War II
·
· Blitzkrieg
("lightning war"): new form of warfare used by Germany to quickly
defeat an enemy by poking a hole in enemy line and cutting off front lines from
the rear thus surrounding enemy.
·
· Used
coordinated attack on one part of enemy line with airforce,
tanks, and artillery
·
· Poland
defeated in about a month; partition occurred when USSR attacked from east
·
· Stalin
invades Finland (1939) and annexes Estonia, Latvia, & Lithuania (1940) to
create a buffer zone, believing Hitler
will one day invade Soviet Union
·
· sitzkrieg (“phony war”): After Poland, a 7-month
lull ensued, causing some to say WWII was a myth. The world waited to see where
Hitler might strike next.
·
· Spring
1940: Hitler invaded Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium &
Luxembourg
·
· Fall of France, June 1940 occurred in
less than six weeks
·
· Dunkirk: thousands of French and
British soldiers trapped on beaches of France
·
· Before
Germans came in for the kill, thousands were rescued by armada of British
vessels
·
· Vichy
France: Hitler did not wish to waste time subduing all of France
·
· Puppet
gov't created in southern France
·
· “Free
French” led by General Charles De
Gaulle, who fled to Britain
·
· Battle of Britain: one of most critical
battles of the war
·
· Hitler
sought to soften Britain up for an invasion ("Operation Sealion")
·
· Luftwaffe
(led by Herman Goring, one of
Hitler's inner circle) sent to destroy Royal
Air Force (RAF)
·
· Winston Churchill emerged as
inspirational war leader of Britain
·
· After
almost defeating RAF, Hitler ordered bombing of London: fatal error
·
· RAF
recovered and ultimately defeated Luftwaffe:
Hitler forced to call off invasion of Britain
·
· Significance:
Hitler had to guard against a future two-front war; D-Day launched from Britain
·
· Tripartite Pact, 1940: Japan added to
Rome-Berlin axis for mutual defense and military support.
·
· German invasion of Soviet Union, June
1941: Hitler's attempt at "lebensraum"
·
· "Scorched Earth": Soviets
destroyed anything of value as they withdrew to deprive German army of
resources; 1,000's of towns disappeared!
·
· By
winter, Germans at the gates of Moscow; lay siege to Leningrad (lasted two
years)
·
· In
Soviet Union, WWII became known as “Great
Patriotic War of the Fatherland”
·
· Atlantic Charter: Churchill and FDR
meet secretly after invasion of Soviet Union
·
· Decide
once Axis Powers defeated, there would be no territorial changes contrary to
the wishes inhabitants
(self-determination)
·
· Called
for “a permanent system of general security”: later became the United Nations
·
· Stalin
endorsed the agreement soon thereafter
·
· U.S.
neutrality
·
· Neutrality
Acts in 1930s prevented FDR from drawing U.S. into the conflict earlier
·
· Lend-Lease Act (1941) gave large amounts of money and
supplies to help Britain and Soviets; effectively ended U.S. neutrality
·
· Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7,
1941, resulted in U.S. entry into the war
·
· Hitler
declared war on U.S.: another fatal blunder!
Instead of focusing on Japan, U.S. (along with Britain) would instead
focus on defeating Germany first.
·
· The Grand Alliance formed in 1942: Britain, Soviet Union and U.S. and 2
dozen other countries
·
· Turning
points in the war
·
· Stalingrad, Dec. 1942: first Nazi
defeat on land; Soviets began the 2.5 year campaign of pushing the German army
back to Berlin
·
· “Operation Torch”, 1943: U.S. and
British forces landed on North Africa
·
· El Alamein: British
drove the Germans out of Egypt
·
· Germany
eventually defeated and suffered mass casualties and surrenders.
·
· Invasion
of Sicily and Italy, 1943
·
· D-Day, Operation Overlord, June 6, 1944:
invasion of Normandy (northern French coast)
·
· Western
front established; spelled end of Nazi domination of Europe; Paris liberated 1
month later
·
· Hitler
now fighting on three fronts: east against Russians, west against U.S. and
Britain (& France) and Italy against U.S. and Britain
·
· Battle of the Bulge, Dec. 1944:
Hitler's last gasp offensive to drive Allies away from western German border;
after it failed, Allies quickly penetrated deep into Germany in 1945.
·
· V-E Day, May 8, 1945: Germany
surrenders (Hitler committed suicide a few days earlier)
·
· Diplomacy
during the war
·
· Casablanca Conference, 1943:
·
· FDR
and Churchill declared a policy of unconditional surrender for “all enemies”
·
· Italy
would be invaded first before opening 2nd Front in France (to Stalin's dismay)
·
· Moscow Conference: 1943: US obtained
Soviet agreement to enter the war against Japan after Germany was defeated and
to participate in a world organization after the war was over.
·
· Tehran Conference, 1943: First meeting
of the “Big Three”: Roosevelt,
Churchill, Stalin
·
· Allies
agreed to an invasion of the Western Europe in 1944.
·
· Stalin
reaffirmed the Soviet commitment to enter the war against Japan
·
· Stalin
insisted on Soviet control of Eastern Europe and the carving up of Germany
·
· Churchill
demanded free governments in Eastern Europe and a strong Germany after the war
to preserve a balance of power in Europe.
·
· Roosevelt
acted as a mediator and believed he could work with Stalin to achieve a
post-world peace within the construct of the United Nations.
·
· Yalta Conference, 1945: "Big
Three" met again
·
· Stalin
agreed to enter Pacific war within 3 months after Germany surrendered
·
· Stalin
agreed to a “Declaration of Liberated Europe” which called for free elections.
·
· Called
for United Nations to meet in U.S. beginning in April 1945
·
· Soviets
would have 3 votes in General Assembly
·
· U.S.,
Britain, USSR, France & China to be permanent members of Security Council.
·
·
·
· U.S.S.R.
allowed to keep its pre-1939 territory.
·
· FDR
accepted Soviet control of Outer Mongolia, the Kurile
Islands, the southern half of Sakhalin Island, Port Arthur (Darien), and
partial operation of the Manchurian railroads.
·
· Potsdam Conference, July 1945: Stalin,
Harry Truman and Clement Atlee
·
· Issued
warning to Japan of unconditional surrender or face utter devastation
·
· Stalin
reversed his position on eastern Europe stating there would be no free
elections
·
· Approvals
given to concept of war-crimes trials and the demilitarization and denazification of Germany.
·
· Reparations
from Germany could be taken from each respective zone.
·
· During
conference Truman ordered dropping of
atomic bomb on Japan
·
· End
of the war against Japan: U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Results of the war
·
· About
55 million dead (including missing); 22 million in USSR alone
·
· Holocaust resulted in deaths of 6
million Jews and 6 million others
·
· Hitler's
"Final Solution" to the
Jewish problem
·
· Formal
plan came at Wanasee Conference in 1942
·
· Six
death camps built in Poland in addition to hundreds of concentration camps
·
· Auschwitz was most notorious
·
· Millions
homeless and millions relocated (especially Germans living outside Germany)
·
· Much
of Europe lay in ruins: would take years to rebuild economy
·
· Women
played even larger role in the war economy than in WWI (gained more rights
after war)
·
· The
U.S. and Soviet Union emerged as the two dominant powers in the postwar world.