SS- 4th test

SS

Aim: Europe at war

In the 1930s, several nations began getting aggressive and they formed an alliance.

In 1938, Germany demanded the Sudetenland- part of Czechoslovakia. They wanted to add it to Germany because many Germans lived there. Czechoslovakia asked Britain and France for help. Britain and France requested that Hitler come to the table to discuss Germany’s demand of the Sudetenland.

They had the Munich Conference. The participants were:
1. Germany- Hitler
2. Italy- Mussolini
3. Britain- Chamberlain
4. France- Deladier

The result of the conference was that Germany can take the Sudetenland, but Hitler must stop right there. Hitler promised to abide by the Munich agreement. Why did they believe him? Britain and France were desperate to avoid war. Chamberlain told people, “ I give you peace in our time”. Only a few months later, this comment would be proven so untrue.

In March 1939, Germany seized the rest of Czechoslovakia. It became clear that Hitler couldn’t be trusted. Britain and France didn’t do anything- they were hoping to avoid war.

In the summer of 1939, the Nazi- Soviet Non Aggression Pact was proposed by Hitler to Stalin- they won’t fight if war breaks out. Stalin was in no shape to go to war in the near future. Hitler was hoping he could avoid 2 front war. .

On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. At dawn, the Germans began bombing Poland. The powerful German Luftwaffe (air force) bombed Polish cities for days; the buildings were reduced to rubble. Poland had no way to fight back. This kind of war is known as “ Blitz Kreig”- lightning war- war that is swift and brutal.

On September 3, 1939, Britain and France declare war on Germany because they know that they are next. Italy and Japan joined also, making this a 6-country war.

By the end of September, Poland surrendered to the Germans. Germany took over all the government buildings. Poland is now German territory, and the war against the Jews begins.

In September 1939, the German army is divided in 2:
1. Wehrmact- to take care of the government.
2. SS- to deal with the Jews.

In Germany, the Holocaust begins now. The Germans first spent weeks determining who was Jewish. They forced all the Jews to put on yellow stars. Many Polish gentiles helped find Jews.

Next came the establishment of ghettos in major cities such as:
1. Warsaw- had over a million Jews
2. Lodz
3. Krakow
They condensed all the Jews into small areas. The Germans gave the Jews 24-48 hours to get into the ghettos. The people were terrified. The Germans surrounded the ghettos with barbed wire. There were horrible conditions in the ghettos. Hitler was hoping all the people would die out, which many did. Throughout all this, there were still yeshivas and schools.

No one else in the world knew what was happening.

From October to March, Germany didn’t take one country in Europe. Many people began thinking this was a “phony war”.

In April 1940, the Germans took over:
1. Denmark
2. Norway
3. Netherlands
4. Luxemburg
5. Belgium- now that the Germans have Belgium, they can go into France.

Aim: WWII: Spring 1940- fall 1941

In every country when they tried to find Jews, the gentiles helped the Germans. In Denmark however, the king put on a yellow star as well and many of his people followed. The Danish Jews were sent to safety in Sweden.

Now, in May 1949, the Germans invaded France. They came through the N where the French had few troops because they were all at the other border. Germany invaded France with little resistance. The Germans gained more territory now then they gained in the whole WWI. The French and British troops realized that they couldn’t fight, so they ran away to protect themselves. They ran to Britain along with the French president, Charles de Gaulle, who became the president in exile.

By June of 1940, the people of Paris surrendered to Germany- it was very humiliating for France. The Germans set up Vichy government in France- Nazi government. The Vichy government began to single out Jews and made ghettos. Many Jews sent their children to churches and monasteries to save them, because at this time, the church was very strong.

Britain is next- stands alone. There was no one else left to help fight the Germans. In August 1940, Germany launched a blitz on Britain- bomb day and night. This attack was also known as Operation Sea Lion.

The British had a prime minister- Sir Winston Churchill. He was the right type of leader needed in a situation like this.

In Britain, all the children were sent to the safe countryside areas. This was a traumatizing experience for the children. Some parents sent their kids to Ireland because it wasn’t involved in the war.

The British were attacked for 3 months. Why didn’t they surrender?
1. Churchill- “Blood and toil, sweat and tears”- but we will survive. He told the people never to surrender and gave them morale.
2. RAF (Royal Air Force)- the British sent their own planes up in the sky to battle with the Germans.
3. Radar- at this time, radar was invented. It helped detect when planes were coming.

Aim: WWII: Fall 1940- winter 1942/43

In summer of 1940, Britain was bombed. The bombing lasted for 3 months. The British didn’t give up because of Churchill, the radar and the air force system. Hitler became impatient- he didn’t think it would take so long. Germany got help from Italy, and in fall of 1940, they began taking over territory in N Africa. The British and Germans fought in Egypt, a British mandate. The Germans wanted Egypt because it had the Suez Canal. Hitler sent Erwin Rommell, aka the desert fox, to Egypt, telling him to get Egypt and the land around it. The British and Egyptians fought the Italians and Germans in November of 1942 in the battle of El Alemein. The British and Egyptians won.

In 1942, Italy and Germany took over countries such as:
1. Romania
2. Bulgaria
3. Yugoslavia
4. Hungary
Eventually, together with Greece, these lands, along with Greece, will become part of the German empire.

In June of 1941, Hitler broke the Nazi- Soviet NAP and went into Russia. This was known as operation Barbarossa. Why did the Nazis want Russia?
1. It’s enormous
2. Resources-
a. Coal
b. Iron
3. Ukraine was the breadbasket of Russia- it had lots of grain.
Why did the Nazis specifically want to go into Russia in June? June has good weather. By the time winter arrives, the Nazis will be well entrenched in Moscow.

3 million German troops marched into the Ukraine. Stalin was in a state of shock. In the first few weeks, a couple million Russian soldiers were killed. The Germans were advancing quickly. The Russians decided to use their scorched earth policy. It slowed the Nazis, but didn’t stop their advancing.

By the fall of 1941, the Germans reached the cities of:
1. Moscow
2. Stalingrad
3. Leningrad
These 3 cities were crucial and if the Germans got these cities, they would own the whole Russian empire.

Just as the intense fighting broke out, the winter came. The Germans were not prepared and were freezing.

In Leningrad, the Germans surrounded the city so that no food could enter. Most people didn’t survive. In Moscow and Stalingrad, the Russians put up a big fight.

By winter of 1942, the Russians gained an advantage and began driving the Germans out. The Germans began marching back in defeat. In December of 1941, the US joined, adding pressure to the Germans.

Aim: The Holocaust

The Holocaust has numerous experiences:
1. The people who escaped and fought as partisans in the forest
2. The death camps
3. The people who disguised themselves and worked in gentile homes
4. The people sent into the forest and then shot into mass graves

The most popular Holocaust book is Anne Frank, but it is not a usual Holocaust experience.

The Holocaust began in 1935, with the Nuremberg laws and Hitler’s rise to power. Next came Kristellnacht- Hitler felt he could do what he wanted to the Jews and no one would stop him. Then came the Evian Conference and the invasion of Poland. After that came the yellow stars and the ghettos.

The 1st death camp was established in December of 1941- Chelmno. It was in Poland. It had small tools of killing. Hitler began with small steps- he deported a few people at a time. The people thought they were going to better air. 3 people escaped from Chelmno and everyone thought they were crazy.

In January of 1942, Hitler and the top Nazis got together and held the Wannsee conference. They said if Chelmno is such a success, let’s just kill all the Jews in the “Final Solution”. After this conference, death and concentration camps sprung up all over Poland. Many concentration camps had small death camps on the side.

Deportations- cattle car trains were loaded with people from the ghettos. At first, the people were happy to go, but then they realized they weren’t going anywhere good.

People were dehumanized in the concentration camps.

The Germans used systematic slaughter in the death camps. The Germans decepted people- they made the people think they were going to a regular train station, then they divided the men and woman and sent people to the right and left.

Aim: The Holocaust: 1943-1944

Einsatzgruppen- a group of SS men. When the Germans entered Russian territory, they commanded all the Jews to go into the forest. The Einsatzgruppen then shot all the people into mass graves. The SS men had to be replaced every few days because they couldn’t do such labor for so long.

The killing was a triangular system-
1. The Nazis killed
2. The collaborators helped find Jews, and turned them in
3. The free world was indifferent- thousands of people were being put in the crematorium daily, and what was the rest of the world doing about it? At first, the world didn’t know, but by 1943, the world knew, but they didn’t care. For example, in the US, there were Jews in the government, but they didn’t put pressure on the government to let the Jews come.

Aim: Victory in Europe/ Liberation in camps

1942-1943 was the turning point in the war- the Allies and the 40 other nations on their side begin to win and the Axis powers began to lose. Why?
1. Because Russia begins to defeat the Axis powers.
2. The US joins the war on December 7, 1941. In the morning, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor- the US navy was there. The Japanese kamikaze pilots rammed their planes into the ships, killing thousands of people. The US didn’t actually join until June of 1944, when the US invaded France. Why did it take so long for the US to join? They had to draft and put together an army- the US wasn’t equipped for war.
2000 US troops went to England. They planned a secret invasion of France to get the Germans out. On June 6 (aka D-Day), the US troops reached the beaches of Normandy, France. Britain, France and Canada also sent troops. The Germans didn’t have a large army, but they did have enough troops to fight back. Within a few weeks, the US troops reached Paris, and released France from its German occupation.
Next was Germany. The US was coming from the west, and at the same time, the Russians were advancing toward Germany from the east. The Russians passed through Poland and liberated the death camps. The US reached the concentration camps and liberated everyone. The Germans realized they were being closed in on, so they emptied all the camps on death marches. The liberation was bittersweet- the people were in such a state of shock and were so depleted.

In April 1945, Hitler killed himself. Mussolini was killed by some Italians who hated him.

The Battle of the Bulge was the last attempt of Germany to prevent the Allies from coming into their territory. It lasted for 10 days, and then the Allies marched into Berlin. This day, March 7, was know as VE-Day (victory in Europe).

Aim: VJ-Day/ Costs of the war

VJ-Day- there was no victory in Japan yet. The US was on their own in Japan because it was a personal war. As the US was starting to mobilize to go to France, they sent troops to the islands near Japan, using Australia as their base- their goal was to reach Japan (they went island hopping). Battles were held on these islands:
a. Battle of Olcinawa
b. Battle of Midway
c. Battle of Iwo Jima- was a difficult battle, but the US won.

By summer of 1945, the US troops were poised to go into Japan, which was very risky and difficult.

In July 1945, the atomic bomb was invented based on Einstein’s theory of relativity. Many scientists were involved in the making of the atomic bomb, but the main one was Robert Oppenheimer. The bomb was secretly being invented during WWII. The project was called “Manhattan project”. The bomb was tested in N. Mexico- saw it was destructive.

At this time, President Harry S. Truman had to decide what to do about Japan- soldiers or the atomic bomb? He really didn’t want to mix Japanese civilians into the war, but he was told he would lose a million men if he sent soldiers in to Japan, so he decided to use the bomb.

Japan was givin a warning but the emperor refused to surrender, so on August 6, 1945, the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in the early morn. Anyone within a 4-mile radius saw a blinding white light. There was an enormous explosion- buildings crumbled, people who were hit by the bomb’s skin slipped off. In the first few seconds, 10s of 1000s of people died. The survivors lost their hair and got sick. The people gathered in schools and parks and drank contaminated water, causing them to die. The radiation was so harmful.

After the destruction, the emperor Hirohito was warned and said he still won’t surrender. On August 10, the US dropped another bomb on Nagasaki. Hirohito realized he had to surrender. VJ-Day is September 2.

The war lasted for 6 full years. 75 million people were killed worldwide.

Aim: Nuremberg trials

After the war, there was the Yalta Conference, held with the “big 3” in February 1945. The meeting was to discuss basics. The “big 3” were:
1. Russia- Stalin
2. Britain- Churchill
3. USA-Roosevelt
They decided here that they would try the Nazis for crimes during the Holocaust- charged for “crimes against humanity”.

The trials were held in November 1945 in Nuremberg. Many Nazis had run away from April to November. Some big Nazis were caught. In court, the Nazis said they weren’t guilty and that they were following orders. The judges said that that is not an excuse- individuals are responsible for their own actions. Many Nazis ended up getting hanged. Many Nazis ran to S. America where they were welcomed.

Simon Wiesenthal died a year ago- his goal was to hunt down Nazis. He founded the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which found about 11,000 Nazis.

Aim: End of Fascism/ Preventing totalitarism

When people saw what fascism did, it lost all popularity. It became seen as very dangerous. A lot of this had to do with the Allied occupation of Germany and Japan. It was decided at the Yalta Conference that the Allies would occupy these countries and change them so that future governments would be different that the governments of WWII.

The US occupied Japan and set up a democratic government with a constitution. The system of education was revised, telling people that war is bad and not glorious. Japan wasn’t allowed to build up an army- the US will defend them if they need it. Japan began to build themselves up economically, and by the 1980s, Japan was the richest country in Asia. Japan also lost all their colonies- went back to the original owners.

Russia, Britain, France and the US all wanted a big say in the occupation of Germany. It was decided at the Yalta Conference that these 4 countries would occupy Germany. The problem was that all the countries were democratic, aside from Russia, which was communist. Germany and its capital both had to be split in half.
Aim: The UN

How will another WW be prevented from happening? They need the US involved in the UN. The UN was supposed to be an enormous peace keeping organization.

Goals of the UN:
1. Prevent war- how? Using collective action to stop aggression. (political)
2. Fight hunger, disease, poverty, illiteracy (soci-economic)
3. Get people human rights (soci-economic)

The UN is located in Manhattan on 1st Street. About 200 nations belong to the UN. It has many large meeting rooms.

Branches of the UN:
1. General Assembly- the largest room in the UN is for the general assembly- everyone has a seat. The General Assembly is the largest section of the UN. Everyone can get together and vote.
2. Security Council- the Security Council is a smaller group of leaders who are above the rest and they have more of a say. US, France, Britain, China and Russia all have permanent seats in the Security Council. Sometimes, important decisions will only be offered to the Security Council.
3. Secretariat- president of the UN. He supervises and makes some decisions.
4. International Court of Justice- in case 2 nations can’t agree on something.
5. Trusteeship Council- helps nations get independence.
6. Economic and Social Council- established UNESCO (UN Education Scientific Cultural Organization)- helps disadvantaged people worldwide.

The UN started off as an organization to prevent war. That that the US joined gave them more strength.

Did the UN really help prevent war? In its early years it did, but in the past few decades, the UN was more effective on soci-economic issues. Private countries have stepped in to prevent wars.

The Declaration of Human Rights was added because it was right after WWII- nations should aspire to be like this.

Aim: The Cold War begins

As WWII ended, a new war emerged. This was a different form of war- it’s not actual fighting, just tremendous tension. This war occurred between 2 superpowers:
1. US
2. Russia

It began in the 1940s and ended in 1989. The last years of the war were the least stressful.

After WWII, the superpowers changed drastically- the new superpowers are:
1. US- was responsible for most of the fighting with Germany, didn’t fight on their soil and came out of WWII with the atomic bomb.
2. Russia- had the largest territory. The Soviet Union contains 14 countries aside from Russia.

As WWII ended, the SU got more territory- during WWII, Germany invaded the SU. The SU chased the Germans back to Germany, and as they were marching through the eastern European countries that Germany took over, the SU took them. The Russians should’ve liberated them. The Russians made these countries into communist countries, thereby establishing a buffer zone of satellite nations.

Once Stalin made this area into communist countries, he cut all communication with the West, because he thought all the western countries were contaminated. Churchill called this cutting of communication the “iron curtain”. Churchill gave the Iron Curtain Speech- we need to respond to Russia with toughness.

The US played a crucial role in doing anything possible to stop the spread of communism. In 1947, the Truman Doctrine was issued- Russia wanted Greece (who at this time was experiencing a civil war). Russia gave a small group of Greek communists aid, and the US gave the democrats aid. The Truman Doctrine said that the US would give Greece anything they need. It was very successful. The Truman Doctrine also helped Turkey. The Truman Doctrine was such a success, that the Marshall Plan followed it. The Marshall Plan said that every country could have help if they want to be democratic. The Marshall Plan pumped up our economy.

Aim: Cold War events of the 1940s

The Marshall Plan is an example of containment- the US wants to keep communism in Russia and its satellites, and not spread anymore.

Cold War events:
1. Berlin airlift- this was the 1st major challenge of the cold war. It occurred in 1948. Germany was divided between the US and SU. Berlin was in E Germany, which was SU territory, but it was also divided into W and E. There was a little spot of democracy in a sea of communism.
The people in E Germany realized that life in W Germany is better because after WWII, the Allies did their best to build up Germany so they were focusing on the economy and not on war. The people of W Germany were free and began to get successful. The Russians couldn’t care less about building up Germany- the Russians took gravel and other resources from the rubble in Germany and sent it to Moscow. There was also a strict communist government.
Pretty soon, people from the E began escaping to the W. They couldn’t take anything with them so as not to look suspicious. The Russians couldn’t take it that W Berlin was in their territory- people in E Berlin could clearly see how good life was in the W.
The Russian response was to build a blockade around W Berlin. This blockade meant that no one could go in or out of W Berlin. Soon, the people in W Berlin began to get hungry and it was dangerous for them. The US responded with the airlift- they dropped packages from the sky. The US dropped these packages for about a year, and then the Russians lifted the blockade.
2. Alliances form- 1949. The forming of alliances is a prelude to war. The US realized that with the tension mounting, it was possible that war could occur, and they needed to be prepared. NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was formed- Canada, US and 9 W European nations. Russia formed their own alliance group in 1955- Warsaw Pact- USSR and its satellites.
3. Arms race- symbolized the start of the cold war. The US and the SU tried outdoing each other with weapons.
In 1945, the US had the atomic bomb. Russia was desperate and sent troops to the US to find out how the atomic bomb was made. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, 2 Russian secular Jews, are accused of giving Russia information that helped them make the atomic bomb. They were killed by the electric chair. Such a harsh punishment was used because there was a “red scare”.

Churchill called this a “balance of terror”. The arms race was mutually assured destruction- built weapons that could destroy the whole world.

Aim: Cold War competition

1. Arms race- there was terror during the nuclear war. In 1970, arms limitation talks began. The toughest years of the cold war were the 50s-60s.
2. Space race- the Russians were the 1st to have a major triumph during the space race. In 1957, the Russians launched Sputnik- a rocked that could travel around the earth. The US began to concentrate in science- had to compete with Russia. In July 1967, Neil Armstrong (US) landed on the moon. He said, “ 1 small step for man, 1 giant leap for mankind”.

Which superpower will get more nations on their side- communist or non- communist? Don’t most nations know what they want to be? The African nations that were colonized during the age of imperialism are now getting their freedom, and they have to decide what kind of government they want.

Aim: China becomes Communist

After the war, in 1949, China became communist. China had been taken over by spheres of influence in the 1800s. This led to hatred of W governments. After the Manchu dynasty, a civil war developed, and Sun Yixuan took over. He was replaced by Jiang Jieshi vs. Mau Zedong. Mau Zedong got the support of the peasants. During WWII, there was a pause in the civil war because Japan attacked China and took over. After WWII, Japan lost the land and the civil war continued. Jiang Jieshi was a nationalist- he favored the rich. The peasants were upset that they weren’t remembered.

In 1949, the communists were victorious and the nationalists fled to Taiwan. The US announced that for them, “red China” isn’t an official country and doesn’t get a seat in the UN- this lasted until 1971. Taiwan got the seat.

Communism effected China culturally- Confucisim vs. communism. Confucisim valued family- ancestors were honored. Communism states that loyalty to the state surpasses one’s loyalty to his family.

Now, the Chinese people went through brainwashing:
1. Chinese people moved into cities- not in family houses anymore.
2. Mothers now began going to work- the children went to school and got brainwashed. Everyone had to work hard. Collectives were also set up.

Aim: China under Communism

In 1958, there was a great leap forward- Mau Zedong completely transformed China. China was influenced by Russia- Mau copied Stalin in his ideas, and that’s how he ran China.

Mau decided that China needs its own 5- year plan. It focused on agriculture- the great leap forward. As in Russia, farms were merged into collective farms- communes. Thousands of people had to give up their farms and share. Each commune had its own city, factory… They wanted to double their output. The factories were known as backyard industries.

What went wrong? The people had no incentive to work hard, there was bad weather and there was less food. This lead to famine. The great leap forward was a failure because Mau promised food that didn’t happen. Why? Because Mau used too many people for factories.

Mau suffered a loss of popularity. Mau began to worry that because he’s a failure, maybe he’ll lose his job. He felt threatened.

In 1966, Mau introduced the great proletarian culture revolution- solution so Mau could continue ruling China. He organized a revolution of workers to force people to like communism. It was to get rid of anti- communism. The goal was to rejuvenate China over Mau and communism.

How can Mau turn China over to reach his goal?

Aim: Mau Zedong and the Cultural Revolution

Mau formed an army called the red guards. He ordered schools to close and students had to be a part of the Cultural Revolution army. These soldiers were called red guards. They had to find the anti- communists.

They had a book called “The Little Red Book” about communism. The upper class was seen as suspicious and suspects. The biggest mistake was that educated Chinese no longer were in a position to continue.

Mau made the 1 child per family policy- control of government over family.

In the 1970s, Mau died and China changed.

Aim: Korean war- 1950- 1953

During WWII, Japan occupied Korea. After WWII, when Japan lost the war, they also lost Korea. The countries didn’t know what to do with Korea- the US wanted it to be non- communist and the SU wanted it to be communist. The UN offered a compromise: divide Korea. The N will be communist, headed by Sung, and the S will be non- communist and ruled by Rhee. Korea was divided at 38˚ latitude.

In 1950, the N Korean troops invaded S Korea. Their goal was to make the whole Korea communist. The N had a very strong army because they worked on building up their army. This was the 1st real test for the UN- there’s aggressive action. The UN organized an international army and sent to S Korea. They chased the N Koreans up to the border of China; up to the Yalu River. Over 50,00 US died. The Chinese troops helped the N Korean troops. There was a stalemate for several years.

The UN army was headed by General McArthur. McArthur said let’s get the whole China. Truman said no. McArthur went to Congress, thinking they would override Truman, and he was fired.

In 1953, both sides agreed to an armistice- Korea will be divided.

Aim: Russia after Stalin

Stalin died in 1954. In 1956, Khrushchev became the new leader. He was from a peasant family and made his way up. He was a tough person. His challenge was replacing Stalin- the people thought Stalin was everything. Khrushchev told the people that Stalin was bad. He began destalinization- he closed the prison camps.

In 1956 was the Hungarian revolution- Hungary, a soviet satellite, decided to break away from Russia. They established a new government, headed by Imne Nagy. The SU came a few weeks later and crushed the revolt. This showed that Khrushchev was also a tough leader.

In 1961, the SU (under Khrushchev) put up the Berlin wall to stop people from going from E Germany to W Germany. 1st it was made of barbed wire, then they put cinder block. The Berlin wall became a symbol of the Cold War because the Cold War was all about division.

In 1962 was the Cuban missile crisis. This showed that the Cold War was still a tense situation.

In 1964, Brezhnev took over. Khrushchev had resigned because the economy was bad and he had wasted all Russia’s money trying to make Siberia good for planting. Brezhnev was a hard line communist.

In 1968, Czechoslovakia revolted and Dubcek took over. This period in Czechoslovakian history is known as Prague Spring. Within a few weeks, Brezhnev sent half a million troops to Czechoslovakia.

Aim: Cuban missile crisis

This was the closest point the world ever got to WWIII. In 1959, Cuba became communist. The US got scared because Cuba is so close, and maybe other nations in Latin America will also become communist.

Communism was like a dream for the Cuban people. They were under the cruel and corrupt tyranny of Batista. Fidel Castro came along and promoted communism. There was a communist revolution in 1959. For the 1st few years, the people liked communism. It took them a long time to realize that communism wasn’t as good as they thought.

In 1961, the US invaded Cuba in the Bay of Pigs invasion, but it was unsuccessful.

In 1962 was the Cuban missile crisis- the SU liked Cuba because it was so close to their enemy, the US. The SU sent missile to Cuba, who pointed them at the US.

Aim: US backs anti- communism in Latin America

Kennedy (the president of the US at this time) told Khrushchev to take the missiles out of Cuba or they’ll fight. Russia listened to the US.

The US helped fight the communist groups of Chile, Guatemala and Nicaragua.

Aim: Suez Canal crisis

There was a tense political situation in the Middle East. The US wanted to be friends with the Middle East because the Middle East has oil. The Middle East has 2 sides:
1. Israel- US
2. Arab nations- SU
The UN’s first major vote was over the formation of Israel in 1948.

A few weeks later, Egypt declared war on Israel and Israel won, getting them some territory.

Israel was a democracy- it became a US ally. The US gave and still continues to give Israel millions of dollars. The Arab nations joined the SU. Egypt was anti-Israel and became an ally of the SU.

The US offered Egypt the Aswan High Dam if they joined the US. The leader of Egypt, Nasser, said he could get the money without the US. In 1956, he nationalized the Suez Canal. Nasser said Israel couldn’t use the canal.

Britain, France and Israel said they need to go to war with Egypt. Israel figured they’ll invade through the Sinai Desert and Britain and France would invade from the canal. The SU said that they would help Egypt. Britain and France asked the US to join them, and the US said they condemn the invasion and won’t help because they don’t want another world war. A cease-fire was arranged.

Now, war was on the brinkmanship.

In 1979, Egypt and Israel signed the Camp David agreement- made peace.

Aim: The Vietnam War

This was the longest running Cold War event- it lasted from the 50s- 70s.

In the late 1800s, France imperialized Vietnam. During WWII, Vietnam was owned by Japan. The Japanese were brutal to the Vietnamese. The Japanese lost WWII, and as a result, they also lost Vietnam. Vietnam went back to France.

In Vietnam, there were very strong feelings of nationalism. They also had a nationalistic, communist leader by the name of Ho Chi Minh. Minh wanted a strong, unified, communist country.

He began fighting the French. He fought many battles, one of which was the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. After this battle, the French decided that the fighting wasn’t worth their time and they gave Vietnam its independence.

In 1954, the SU and US had the Geneve Conference to decide what to do about Vietnam. They agreed to a divided Vietnam. The dividing line was at 17˚- very close to the equator. The area had a thick and jungle-like climate.
1. N Vietnam was communist and headed by Minh
2. S Vietnam was non-communist and led by Diem. The S had a corrupt government. In the 1950s, there was a demonstration in S Vietnam by Buddhist monks to show the world how bad the government was- they burnt themselves alive.
Minh knew that the new government was problematic, so in 1959, he decided to invade S Vietnam and make it communist.

The US got hysterical because they knew the S Vietnam government wasn’t strong enough to withstand the N Vietnam government. The US thought there would be a domino effect, and then many other Asian countries would become communist.

The US decided to send help to S Vietnam. At first they send assistance and money. In 1964, President Johnson sent troops. To get the US people riled up, Johnson told them that the Vietnamese sunk 2 US ships in the Gulf of Tonkin.

The US troops faced many difficulties in Vietnam:
1. The N Vietnamese booby-trapped S Vietnam.
2. Some S Vietnamese helped N Vietnam, so the US didn’t really know who was on which side.
3. The US weren’t used to the jungles and it was hard for them to get around.

After the people in the US saw what was happening, they told Johnson to bring the troops home. Johnson refused, making him very unpopular. Next, President Nixon took over, and in 1972, he brought the troops home.

After the US left Vietnam, the N was successful in getting the capitol of S Vietnam, and Vietnam became united under communism.

The Domino Theory didn’t play out- Laos and Cambodia became communist but the other Asian countries didn’t.

Aim: Decolonization

Post WWII, African and Asian colonies got their independence. Why now?
1. Nationalism was rising in the colonies.
2. European nations were weak from war.
3. US pressured nations to give their colonies independence.

India was colonized in the 16th century, well before the scramble for Africa in 1885.

India had many attempts at getting the foreign rule out:
1. Sepoy rebellion
2. INC headed by Mohandas Gandhi

In August 1947, India was givin independence and divided- ½ Muslim and ½ Hindu. Now, a refugee crisis emerged- about 10 million people found that they were living in the wrong country. They had to walk to the other side. 1/10 of these refugees died. During this time, Mohandas Gandhi was killed by a Hindu who blamed Gandhi for his problems.

Nehru became the prime minister of India. India had to set up a new government. They set up a democracy that wasn’t so democratic in the beginning. They got a new constitution, which:
1. Gave woman the right to vote.
2. Gave woman the right to own property.
3. Made discrimination against untouchables (harijans) illegal.

Aim: India post independence

Nehru’s challenges:
1. Fighting with Pakistan over the border area of Kashmir.
2. Establishing a stable government- for the 1st 20-30 years, the government was shaky. India was a democratic country that didn’t do democratic things. (Ex. voting booths)
3. Uniting the many diverse peoples of India- there are a lot of minority groups in India- it’s hard to unite them all as 1. There are over 1000 languages in India.
4. Establishing an economy- set up a mixed economy- some businesses are owned by the government and some businesses are owned by the people.
5. Trying to end discrimination- had to enforce equality for untouchables.

Nehru died in the 1960s and his daughter Indira Gandhi took over. She was elected because the people felt insured to have someone from Nehru’s family ruling.

Her main challenge was dealing with the diversity in India, especially the Sikhs. The Sikhs were nationalistic and wanted their own state- Punjab. There was an enormous Sikh demonstration in the golden temple in Amritsar in the 1980s- the Sikhs demanded their own state. Indira commanded her guards to fire into the crowd. Her own bodyguards were Sikhs and they killed her.

Indira’s son, Raju Gandhi was elected next. He had to deal with the Tamil people, who were separatists. They wanted their own country. (Eventually, they got a piece of Srilanka.) Gandhi used violence to crush the violent Tamil, so they killed him.

After the first several years, India got better.

Aim: Asian post independence case studies

The Philippines and Indonesia are both archipelagos- chains of islands.

1. Philippines- during the Spanish- American war in 1898, the Philippines became an American colony. In 1946, the Philippines got their independence. By doing this, the US was hoping to be an example for other countries.
The Philippines attempted a democracy, but the leaders were corrupt and there were many dissatisfied people. As a result, many different groups formed.
In 1965, Marcos launched a military coup and overthrew the government. He had realized that the government needed someone with more strength, so he became the dictator. The US gave Marcos a lot of help.
Marcos was constantly on the lookout for people who were against him. Under Marcos, people would disappear. The Philippines was under martial law- the country was run by the army. Marcos stole billions of dollars from the government.
Aquino wanted to take over the government. He was more of the democratic type. Marcos told Aquino to run away, or he’d disappear. Aquino ran to the US, but then decided to return. As soon as he stepped off the airplane, he was shop.
In 1986, the people pressured Marcos to hold elections. Carazan Aquino, Aquino’s widow, won the elections. Marcos said that he’s still ruling. A revolution broke out known as People’s Power Revolution. Marcos ran for his life- he went to Hawaii. In the airport, he was caught with 24 bags of diamonds and gold. The US sheltered Marcos. Aquino struggled. She was taken over by Ramus.
Now, the Philippines are closer to democracy.
2. Indonesia- it’s right near the Indian Ocean. They had a tsunami a few years ago.
It was formerly a Dutch colony, which was primarily Muslim. During WWII, the Japanese took over. After WWII, Indonesia declared its independence.
The biggest challenge was diversity- there were many diverse peoples.
President Sukarno was the first president. He was weak and didn’t last too long. Suharto took over and set up a democratic (supposedly) government. It was really a dictatorship and was against communism, killing communists with the help of the CIA. Indonesia had a rigid, not free government.
Challenges today:
a. Diversity- geographically
b. Terrorist groups
c. Tsunami

Aim: Decolonization- African case studies

During the late 1800s, almost the whole Africa was colonized- Scramble for Africa. Britain and France both got the lion’s share of Africa.
1. Britain- E Africa
2. France- W Africa

After WWII, the nations decided to break away because they figured their mother countries were probably tired from war and wouldn’t care about them enough to fight for them.

1. Ghana- was the first colony to win independence. Ghana was aka the Gold Coast colony. Ghana was owned by Britain before WWII. The Gold Coast colony was ruled by nationalistic leader Kwame Nkrumah, who was already starting to work for the independence of the Gold Coast colony.
In 1957, the Gold Coast was givin independence and Kwame Nkrumah became the leader and renamed it Ghana- an old African kingdom and a name of pride because Kwame Nkrumah wanted to restore African pride to Ghana. He wore typical African garb and changed his name from Joseph to Kwame Nkrumah.
Following independence was years of government instability.
2. Algeria- in N Africa. Algeria was owned by France. There was a strong connection between them- there were many intermarriages. Over a million French people settled in Algeria.
The people of Algeria wanted their independence and a nationalistic group was formed- NLF (National Liberal Front). They used guerilla warfare.
The French sent troops to Algeria. Why?
a. Many French lived in Algeria- maybe the Algerians will be mean to them.
b. There was oil in Algeria
In the 1950s, the French killed half a million Algerians. The French fought really long and hard and in 1962, they gave Algeria up.
3. Congo- located in the heart of Africa. The Congo was owned by Belgium.
The Belgians got many resources from the Congo. They thought that if they would give the Congo independence, they would still benefit from the resources.
In the 1960s, the Congo was givin its independence.
The first leader of the Congo was Lumumba. He had connections with the SU, which made the US feel threatened so when Mobutu Sese Soko tried to overthrow Lumumba, the US helped him.
Sese Soko led the Congo for over 30 years. He was a military dictator, and the Congo didn’t do well under him.
After Sese Soko came a leader who was shot in the head.
The Congo is a terrible country to live in. People are constantly trying to leave.
4. Kenya- in E Africa. Kenya was owned by Britain. Many British people went to live in Kenya. It’s one of the most beautiful colonies to live in. Kenya has an easy climate.
When the British settled in Kenya, the people of Kenya resented them because the government allowed them to take large tracts of land.
The largest tribe in Kenya, the Kikuyu, was the most instrumental in fighting colonization. The head of the Kikuyu tribe was a nationalistic leader- Jomo Kenyatta. He organized a terrorist style war against the British. The Mau Mau were the guerilla fighters led by Kenyatta. Kenyatta was arrested by the British. The British killed many of the Kikuyu tribe.
Eventually, Kenya got its independence and Kenyatta became the dictator.
Kenya was a stable country until about 4 years ago, when fighting broke out among the tribes. Presently, there is lots of fighting going on in Kenya and it’s not a safe place to visit.

Aim: African case studies

Africa is a massive continent consisting of over 50 countries.

Pan Africanism- effort among African leaders to work together because they recognized that there were going to be so many differences and problems. The main goal was to help colonies get independence. It didn’t work that well, but it was better than nothing.

1. Tanzania= Tanganyika + Zanzibar- got independence from Germany when Germany lost WWII. It was taken over by Britain for a small amount of time. They received independence in 1960.
Tanzania tried socialism, but realized early on that it wasn’t working- food production went down. Because of this, they moved away from socialism and towards capitalism.
2. Nigeria- has the largest population in Africa. Its capital city is Lagos- one of the most populated cities.
Nigeria has many tribes:
a. Ibo- Christian
b. Yoruba- Christian. A large part of the Yoruba claim to be Bnei Yissoschor. In 1492, they went from Spain to Morocco, and then moved to Nigeria. Many assimilated.
c. Hausa- Fulani- Muslim
Nigeria got their independence from Britain in 1960. Britain gave them their independence easily. It was a peaceful transition.
Of all the countries in Africa, Nigeria has the most oil- should’ve become rich. Instead, after they gained independence, there was a civil war- the Ibo with help from the Yoruba (gave help because they were both Christian) against the Hausa.
The Ibo broke away and formed Biafra. It became a terrible country to live in. It went from one government to the next and after a few years, Biafra was lost to the Hausa and the Hausa became the strongest tribe.
Nigeria became a military dictatorship. The government took oil money for themselves. About 8-9 years ago, Nigeria began free elections. Now, Nigeria has a shaky democracy with free elections.

Cause and effect in African nations-

Typical challenge- tribal warfare (ex. Rwanda- Hutus vs. Tutsis- cut arms off)



African leaders became dictators



Have enemies- military coup



Democracy spreading (recently)- AU (African Union) to help spread democracy in Africa.

Aim: S Africa- apartheid struggle

S Africa got independence from Britain in 1910. By the early 1900s, the was a large white population in S Africa because for over hundreds of years, British were moving to S Africa because of its favorable climate and easy way of living. It was for this reason that the British felt comfortable giving S Africa its independence.

S Africa was a white controlled country. It was under a system of apartheid- segregation of blacks and whites. The whites had and easy life, while the blacks worked for the white population.

After WWII, many African colonies got their independence, and were controlled by blacks. In S Africa, the blacks never really got their independence and they felt very resentful. Nationalism among the blacks grew and the ANC (African National Congress) was formed, led by Nelson Mandela. Its goal was to get blacks to have a say in the government and end apartheid.

As a result, the white government became more rigid and made stricter laws to keep the blacks and whites separate:
1. Homelands Act- set aside various areas in S Africa where the blacks could live. The whites got the majority of the land and the good land. This caused lots of resentment.
2. Pass laws- if a black wanted to leave the homeland areas, he needed a pass.

In 1960, there was a huge demonstration known as the Sharpeville Massacre. Many blacks came with their families. The white police officers opened fire. Mandela was held responsible for the demonstration and was put in jail for about 20 years. While he was in prison, Mandela became a martyr.

In the 1980s, international pressure was put on S Africa to end apartheid. Bishop Desmund Tutu sent messages around the world telling countries to put pressure on the S African government:
1. Many nations boycotted the Olympics in the 1980s that were held in S Africa.
2. Many nations put economic sanctions on S Africa.
S Africa began to feel the pinch.

In 1994, President F.W. Deklerk ended apartheid. Blacks were givin the right to vote and Mandela was released from prison. Mandela was voted in as the next president.

S Africa underwent enormous transformation, and it wasn’t easy. The first few months after apartheid ended were very violent. The blacks took revenge on the whites.