Post World War II

World War II created great instability and tension throughout Europe. As a result, the goal of the European countries was to create protective ties among countries, to serve "justice", and to decolonize.

Unions and treaties were created to establish stability in safety and economy. First the Organization for European Economic Cooperation was created to monitor the money given by the United States in the Marshall Plan. The European Coal and Steel Community combined the steel and coal resources of France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxemburg. Similar to the Zollverein, the ECSC was made to regulate economic policies without a political union. From this the European Economic Community was created who lifted all trade restrictions among the countries in the Community. The EEC would eventually be named the European Union who establishes the Euro as the common currency and further cooperation in environmental affairs and defense justice.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a military alliance between the Unites States, Great Britain, France, Canada, Denmark, Belgium, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Norway. This is a defense alliance that agrees to work and defend together if an outside party attacks. This was created for collective security and stability. In response to the creation of NATO, Russia created the Warsaw Pact. This was the collective power of the eight communist states to defend if attacked. Europe and Russia believed of safety in numbers, apparent in the multiple alliances in economy and military aspects.

To break tension between Germany and the rest of Europe, the Nuremburg Trials began. In these trials, active Nazis were persecuted in court concerning their actions in World War II. Though reprimands were served to Germany, only 11 men were prosecuted out of the thousands who participated in the world. But only 11 men were necessary in satisfying the revenge wanted from Europe. The real threat that was growing was Communism.

Decolonization was a period where many great powers pulled their authority from other countries they had ruled. In 1947, Britain had decided to take their troops out of Israel and Palestine. A dislocated people because of the Holocaust, the Jews found a homeland in Israel. Zionism grew and the United Nations gave land to the new Jewish State from the local Arabs. As soon as this was established the state was attacked by Arabic land nearby. This constant fight over the homeland will last until today's news. In Africa, Great Britain still held control until Abdul Nasser declared the Suez Canal nationalized. Eventually, Great Britain allowed Egypt its own leadership. In Sub-Saharan Africa, many countries began to declare their independence from Britain, inspired by Egypt. Even with retaliation of white supremacy, that had grown in Africa, the indigenous people were able to keep their land. For France and the Netherlands, the colonies were more important to reestablish their importance and prestige in Europe. The Netherlands lost Indonesia and France lost Algeria. France eventually splits North and South Vietnam into Communist and Republic as a result of fighting with the nationalist leader Ho Chi Minh.

Post World War II was a time where Europe wanted to return from the destruction to old times but needed new methods in order to achieve those dreams. Alliances were needed to be created while decolonization would help strengthen mother countries. Europe had become too ambitious in its endeavors and a return to the quiet time before the World Wars was wanted by all.

Cold War

The period after World War II was awkward even for the Allies. Events in World War II led to tensions between the Soviet Union and the other Allies. The main reason for this was that the Allies did not help the USSR fight against Hitler and open another front to help the the Soviet Union.

At the Yalta conference Stalin agreed to allow free elections in Eastern Europe, of course he did not keep his promise and instead took control of most of the governments in Eastern Europe.

Yalta

Tito, the dictatorial leader of Yugoslavia, did resist Soviet power to an extent. Despite abiding by many of their rules, he occasionally sought independent policies. He made Yugoslavia the most liberal of the Communist countries, but that is not saying much.

The first major "conflict" of the Cold War was the division and governance of Germany. After WWII, the Allies: the UK, US, France and the USSR, occupied four different zones of Germany. 

The Allies began to realize that Stalin would not obey his promise of letting the other Eastern European countries rule on their own. This was seen in the Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia and Poland in the mid 1940s. Winston Churchill described it as if "an iron curtain had descended across Europe".

After WWII, the Marshall Plan helped provide vital aid for Western European countries (and Yugoslavia) to help them recover in 1948.

The antagonism between powers grew and came to a head in Berlin. Berlin was in an awkward position quite literally. It was firmly in Eastern Germany (what would become the German Democratic Republic), but there was a Western portion of the city. The Soviet Union did not like this and so they blockaded the city in 1948.

In response to this the Allies formed the famous Berlin Airlift which provided supplies and food to the citizens of West Berlin until the Soviet Union lifted their blockade in 1949.

The Soviet Union kept trying to test the boundaries that had been set out for it. Earlier the Truman Doctrine said that the US would help any country resist Communism and had helped Greece and Turkey.

President Eisenhower of the US described how different countries might fall like "dominoes" in his Domino Theory. The US wished to contain Soviet influence, but the USSR thought otherwise. The North Atlantic Treaty (NATO) was formed in 1949 with the US, Canada, Britain and other European countries to provide collective security. In response to this the USSR formed the Warsaw Pact with the Eastern European countries in 1954.

The issue of the Aswan dam also showed Cold War tensions and had the USA and Britain withdrawing their help when Nasser, president of Egypt, also asked the USSR for money.

In 1961 the Berlin Wall was constructed to prevent Eastern German citizens from escaping.

Meanwhile things got very hot in the Cold War with the Cuban missile crisis. President Kennedy and Khrushchev reached an agreement and the Soviets agreed to not put nuclear missiles in Cuba. This showed the extent to which the arms race and the construction of the atomic and later hydrogen bombs had changed foreign relations between nuclear powers.

The Soviet Union also had to deal with many revolutions against their rule in Eastern Europe. One of these included Imre Nagy, a Hungarian who revolted against Soviet rule. The revolt was crushed with Soviet and Warsaw pact troops in 1956. Later on in 1968 the Prague Spring, a revolt led by Alexander Dubcek against Soviet government was crushed again by Soviet and Warsaw troops.

Finally, the revolution that arguably broke the USSR was the Solidarity movement in Poland. Led by Lech Walesa, the Solidarnosc challenged Soviet power. Along with support from Pope John Paul II and Reagan, the USSR began to show signs of weakness. 

The new leader of the USSR, Gorbachev (the previous leader was Brezhnev) brought about two new policies of glasnot (openness) and perestroika (reform) to the USSR. 

Soon large amounts of demonstrations and revolts in Eastern bloc countries forced the Soviets from power. Walesa was made president of Poland, and in Czechoslovakia the Velvet Revolution put Vaclav Havel and Alexander Dubcek in power through a bloodless takeover.

The Berlin Wall was finally torn down in in 1989 after Honecker was forced to resign in East Germany.

  Other  revolutions occurred in countries. By 1990s the Soviet Union had collapsed. 

LENin STALin PUTin

During the years between the first and the second World Wars, Russia was a political mess to say the least. Because of the total inadequacy of the Russian army and supplies during World War I, eyes were opened to the complete incompetence of the tsarist regime. As a result of this dissatisfaction with the old rule, two revolutions occurred in Russia in the year 1917. A provisional government was established, with the hope that it would institute a constituent body that would write a constitution for a new Russian Republic. However, these revolutions eventually led to the triumph of the Bolsheviks, which included the dangerous Vladamir Lenin. His establishment of the Russian Socialist Republic marks the world's first ever constitutionally socialist state.

Immediately afterwards, the new government under Lenin's leadership proceeded to implement socialist reforms, specifically political and economic reforms. During the Civil War, Lenin's party imposed "war communism," extremely tight control over all aspects of the economy. In 1921, however, opposition to this practice led to Lenin's NEP or "New Economic Policy." This policy placed major industries and banks in government hands, but also allowed a significant degree of private enterprise. Surprisingly, this was a "small scale" version of capitalism. 

See.... Lenin wasn't always....

In terms of political reforms, Lenin reorganized Russia into a multitude of self-governing republics under the control of one central government. This can also be called the birth of the Soviet Union (USSR).... Dun Dun Dun! *dramatic animals*

After Lenin died in 1924, the question still remained as to how to build a successful socialist state. This issue became intertwined with the picking of Lenin's successor.

Choices:

Trotsky-leader of "Left Opposition" : believed communism could not survive unless it spread to other lands, favored the spread of the revolution to the industrialized nations of western Europe.

Bukharin-leader of "Right Opposition" : advocated the building of communism within the Soviet state

The new leader turns out to be Joseph Stalin. 

Stalin was completely uninterested in ideological debates; he wanted to establish his own power within the Soviet system. He deceivingly ousted both Bukharin and Trotsky from his party, thus placing himself in a position of undisputed authority. Stalin adopted the policy of the Left Opposition and its program to rapidly turn Russia into an industrial nation.

On this note.... the end!

Age of Anxiety

After WWI the age of anxiety, also known as the age of Katie Coyne (just kidding), erupted. Because the war was so destructive, people began viewing the world as a cruel and violent reality. Men were seen as violent animals that were capable of destroying another human and their rights. Everyone became more anxious during this time for social and economic reasons. There was a lot of unemployment after the war because weapons were not necessary anymore. Also, people's faith in government altered because of the incapability to prevent the tragedy of war and the control it had over them. People like Chaplin, Nietzsche, Orwell, Rutherford, Freud, and Picasso all expressed the feelings of anxiety and distraught people were dealing with at this time.


Nietzsche really started out the age of anxiety with his lack of religion and his influence with others . His most famous quote is "God is dead". People began to believe this as the tragedy of WWI set in. With the death of God, what hope was there? Many resorted to depression and confusion.

Although religion was nonexistent according to Nietzsche, it was not all eliminated. Some people actually strengthened their religion interest by focusing on the sin of man and the forgiveness of God.

Another in depth thinker was Freud. He believed strongly in the Oedipus complex causing mental disorders. People were very disturbed by his theory because obviously it was very out of the box and too general. It is a matter of Norman Bates and his mother versus Leonardo Dicaprio in Shutter Island. Both are insane, but Freud thought the only reason would be the Oedipus complex but in fact, Dicaprio was insane because of his wife being a murderer. Freud was wrong.

VS....

Next we have Orwell, author of 1984. His book shows the distrust of government and how it will eventually take control over the world. This was a reflection of the war because of the control the governments had on the people such as making everyone work in war benefit factories. He revealed his fears which caused his readers great anxiety. They believed, for good reason, that this would eventually result.
   <-- No wonder people were scared.




Along with the arts came Picasso! His new style of art was able to express the anxiety happening at this time rather than just meaningless objects.
 
This picture as you can see is very confusing and depressing. This was the age of anxiety in a nutshell.


On a less depressing note is Rutherford who discovered the splitting of the atom! This was a new invention so people began questioning its validity. It was such a mindboggling invention. This furthered people's confusion of reality vs. illusion. Everything they knew were true was changing because of the war.

Last and not least was Chaplin! As people became depressed and anxious, they were looking for something to cheer them up and Chaplin was that person. He created silent comedies and mocked war and the politics at the time (see below). It was a good way for people to escape the realities WWI created. It created hope. As Chaplin said, "Nothing is permanent in this wicked world, not even our troubles."



THE END!

The War to End All Wars...for about 21 years

Why was World War I “great”?

Beginning in 1914, World War I engulfed the most powerful nations in the world, including all of Europe, the United States, and parts of Asia. Due to misunderstood modern weapons, coupled with old techniques, the war was destructive to the point that the world was unrecognizable by 1918.

 

This war saw the end of established monarchies (the Romanov family of Russia, the Kaisership of Germany), the destruction of ancient empires (the Ottomans, the Hapsburgs), and the slaughter of essentially an entire generation (the lost generation).

Because of the utter devastation, World War I became known as the “war to end all wars”.  However, as we all know, quite the opposite occurred.  The terms of the Treaty of Versailles reorganized the borders of many countries, especially in Europe, and placed much of the blame and responsibility on Germany. Understandably, Germany was not amused, and their newfound debt gave rise to Nazism and eventually to *spoiler alert* World War II. But remember: sequels are never better than the original. For that reason, WWI is “great”, whereas WWII is just “bad”. 

Why did World War I begin?

·      Imperialism

o   The rush to colonize the globe seized Europe in the late 1800s.

o   As you recall, the stronger European nations, namely France and Britain, obsessively spread their influence, usually through warfare, through much of Africa and Asia. Lesser powers, such as Germany, Russia, and Italy, also sought colonies, but there was not much valuable land left to seize. This led to some antagonism among the powers of Europe.

o   Furthermore, colonies were sources of considerable, natural wealth (diamonds in Africa, spices in India). This strengthened and fueled industry in Europe, and the colonies served as markets. Moreover, Europe’s increase in wealth funded an augmentation in arms.

o   The extreme increase in wealth and power in respective European nations led to great national pride. This, in turn, caused distrust and dislike of other countries.

o   The competition for lands around the world also incited various, complicated military alliances.

·      Pre-war Alliances

o   Otto Von Bismarck, the genius that he was, was responsible for many alliances that temporally kept the peace among the nations. He created the Three Emperors’ League, which included Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Russia. Despite this alliance, Bismarck maintained good relations with Britain and Italy. OVB kept France isolated after the Franco-Prussian War. In a detrimental move, the navy-loving Wilhelm II impetuously fired Bismarck. Oh no.

o   Kaiser Willy, the Nemo of history for his gimpy arm and inherent need to spite his father, or OVB (I am aware they are not actually related), refused to renew the Russian-German Reinsurance Treaty, which ensured neutrality between Russia and Germany obviously.

o   Offended by Germany’s actions, Russia formed a military alliance with France, Germany’s enemy.

o   Because of Germany’s rapid naval expansion (Kaiser Willy always wanted to emulate Britain’s navy), relations became tense between Germany and Britain. Meanwhile, Britain improved relations with the US, Japan, and France. Wow, age old enemies coming together for like the first time ever.

o   Finally, after the Moroccan crisis, in which Germany attempted to encroach on French land in Morocco, Germany became increasingly isolated, in terms of diplomacy, by Britain and France. 

o   Basically, without OVB, Kaiser Willy was causing a lot of drama and most major powers were not okay with it.

·      Assignation of Franz Ferdinand

o   Due to the decline of the Ottoman Empire, which had been around forever (literally), the rise of nationalist, Balkan states, and Austria’s attempts to colonize those lands, caused tension between Austria-Hungary and the Russian-backed Serbia.

o   On June 28, 1914, Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip, assassinated the Austrian Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Hapsburg throne, a family who had also been around forever. This was essentially the “straw that broke he camel’s back”, meaning it was the event that officially began the war after years of tension.

·      WWI Alliances

o   Entente Powers: Britain, France, Belgium, Russia, USA, Italy  (yay!)

o   Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria (boo, hiss)

o   After Franz Ferdinand’s death, Austria-Hungary called for war with Serbia. Germany allied with Austria, as their enemy Russia sided with Serbia.

o   Germany took this opportunity to once again attack France. First, however, they invaded Belgium. This invasion incited war with Britain.

o   Initially, Italy sided with Germany, but eventually joined Britain. (Good choice, Italy).

o   Eventually, the US would enter the war in response to unrestricted German submarine warfare, despite Woody Wilson’s effort for neutrality.

Why was World War I so devastating?

·      Arms race

o   As Europe industrialized, armies fueled by modern weapons were hugely increased in every country. The increase in weapons and armies caused extensive casualties and destruction. For example, Kaiser Willy attempted to surpass Britain’s navy, which was arguably the strongest in the world. In doing so, he allowed unrestricted submarine warfare, which would inevitably bring the US into the war.

·      Modern technology used with antiquated techniques

o   The armies attempted to apply modern weapons to old military techniques. This led to disaster. For example, the invention of the machine gun allowed a soldier to shoot numerous rounds at a time. Armies still marched in a line during battle, allowing the other side to essentially obliterate the men on the line. One soldier noted that, “you didn’t even have to aim”.

o   Moreover, trenches were used, which were depressing cesspools of disease and despair that apparently reeked of decaying flesh. (ew)

·      Civilians were involved

o   This was the first time civilians were directly involved in war. For example, German submarines often attacked passenger ships.

o   Additionally, Europe enlisted soldiers from their colonies, solidifying it as an actual world war. Ex. Britain enlisted thousands of Indians into its army.

Overall, World War I marked the transition of war from a glorious rite of passage to a manifestation of the cruelty of man. In simpler terms, it sucked. Also, I blame Kaiser Willy.

Here's John Green's summary of World War I:

Russia at the Beginning of World War I

On the eve of World War I, Russia was feeling rather inadequate. Nicholas II's reign as tsar had been plagued by failure. He had lost the Russo-Japanese War quite embarrassingly to the brand-new Japan. Defeat here was so shocking because a major Western power had been beaten by an Eastern power. Loss in this war disillusioned the Russian people of his power and thus in 1905 a Revolution ensued in Russia. The suppression of protesters with armed troops only incited it more. Finally, Nicholas II gave into their demands in the October Manifesto, which granted power to the Duma, which was a Parliament, but then later he took this back.
Nicholas II believed in his divine right to rule Russia, and desperately wanted to prove the might of Russia. Thus when World War I started, Russia was on of the first countries to join in against the Germans. However, Russia did not prove itself to be militarily competent in this war. Additionally, the people's fear of the influence of Rasputin over the Tsar and his queen put even more mistrust into the hearts of the Russia people. Finally the Russian people revolted against the tsardom in the March Revolution. This was supported by the vast majority of Russians. It was led by the people in the cities, and then the peasants in the country gladly contributed. However, this revolution, after overthrowing the tsardom and forcing Nicholas II to abdicate his power did not have fully realized goals. A provisional government was set up, but would prove to be unstable. Kerensky's decision to not leave World War I would doom any chances it had of surviving. At this time the Socialist movement in Russia, ironically a movement designed for the worker, but whose teaching had found meaning among the peasants, was incredibly varied, but Lenin would change this with his Bolshevik Revolution. Russia had gone to war in World War I, only to find itself at war with itself.

British India

 The relationship between Britain and India started in 1600, when Queen Elizabeth signed the East India Trading Company into existence. At this time, Britain was mainly  interested in India for the potential for highly profitable trade for goods such as spices. As such, the East India Trading Company (EITC) was responsible for maintaining British ports and encouraging trade. However, they grew in influence over the years in India. British influence became supreme in India in 1757 when Robert Clive with an army of British and sepoy, or native Indians trained in European styles of fighting,  defeated the Bengali army at the Battle of Plassey. The Bengal, along with the French whose interest in India was also stopped, was the last challenger to British control.

British India

Despite being basically the ruler of India, Britain ruled through the EITC, who in turn many times ruled through Indian princes. At this time, the East India Trading Company had also gained a governor, whose controlled how Britain treated the Indians. Some were respectful of native customs and tried learning about their culture, while others believed strongly in the superiority of the British over the Indians. Tensions in India increased as Christian missionaries became more prevalent in India, clashing with local religions, and  as industrialization challenged the traditional ways of life for the Indians.

Allegorical Representation of 1857 Revolution

Finally, in the Sepoy Mutiny or the Great Revolution  in 1857, there was a release of anger towards the British government. Ostensibly started because of sepoys thinking they had to bit into cartridges that were coated in fat from animals abhorrent to their religions, the Revolution turned into a violent attack on British people living in India. In response to this, the English suppressed the revolt with sepoys who had not mutinied and put India under the Crown Rule of Queen Victoria. England still sometimes ruled through local princes, but the power of native rulers in India decreased greatly.

Queen Victoria (now) of India

India would continue its struggle for independence from Britain into the 20th century. Many of the Indian elite saw Britain as a "knife of sugar." While Britain had helped industrialize India and had improved human rights issues, such as education of both genders and the abolition of suttee, they recognized that Britain was extracting materials from India and preventing India from developing its own industrial economy to the fullest. Many of the elites from India were unhappy with the institutionalized racism and the prohibition of Indians from achieving high up government jobs.

As the European countries would begin to trend toward decolonization and an acknowledgment of nationalism, India would strive for its independence. However, problems caused by the incredible diversity in India would cause problems.



Also, here is the powerpoint Alison and I presented:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1anysPPqxAmwLXTimEBo9mgt31FkFxZFN13AHNRPIZJs/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000