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55 Cards in this Set
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Alliance System
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what: new system of int'l relations under Bismarck; meant to restrain Russia and Austria-Hungary, prevent conflict btwn them, isolate France after loss of Alsace-Lorraine; started with 3 Emperor's League, then Triple Alliance,
when: 1871 where: Europe (eastern monarchies) significance: Bismark was able to maintain German leadership in int'l affairs for a generation; successfully managed conflicts regarding Austria-Hungary and Russia |
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Triple Alliance
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who: Italy, Germany, Austria
what: alliance motivated by tensions with France when: 1882-1914 significance: example of Bismark's alliance system before WWI |
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Triple Entente
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what: alliance between Great Britain, France, Russia
when: August 1914-1918 significance: acted as a counterweight to the Triple Alliance during the war; victories started bringing neutral countries into the war and strengthened either side; after the sinking of Lusitania, US joined Triple Entente (1917) tipping war in their favor |
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Assassination of Archbishop Ferdinand
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who: heir to Austrian/Hungarian thrones
what: Ferdinand and wife were killed by Serbian revolutionaries, specifically Gavrilo Princip where: Sarajevo, Bosnia when: June 28, 1914 significance: led to Austria-Hungary declaring the "Third Balkan War" on Serbia; Germany unconditionally supported A-H in hopes that Austria and Russia would go to war, ended up invading France, which brought in Great Britain, and the WWI was started |
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Gavrilo Princip
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who: Serbian revolutionary who assassinated Archbishop Ferdinand and his wife
where: Sarajevo, Bosnia when: June 29, 1914 significance: sparked chain of events that led to WWI |
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Battle of the Somme
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what: French and British army vs German army;
where: France, on both banks of Somme River; WWI; 1.5 million casualties when: July 1 - November 18,1916 significance: one of the bloodiest military operations ever recorded; 1st use of the tank; large percentage of Newfoundland men who volunteered died; Britain and France penetrated 6 miles into German territory but it wasn't as demoralizing as anticipated |
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Trench Warfare
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what: type of warfare which occurred in WWI in which stalled armies dig trenches for protection; eventually shelling to "soften up" enemy before "going over the top" to attack
where: Belgian ports to Northern France and into Switzerland when: started after Battle of the Marne, September 6, 1914- November 1914, a ton of trenches significance: new type of warfare in which many lives are lost, but not a lot of territory is gained; "shattered an entire generation of young men;" many survivors = shell-shocked/disillusioned |
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Treaty of Versailles
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what: peace treaty between the Allies and Germany after WWI; terms: G's colonies given to France, Britain, Japan, new Polish state (in line with nat'l self-determination), G had to limit army to 100,000 and no military fortifications in Rhineland, blamed G for war and mandated reparations
where: Versailles, France when: June 28, 1919 significance: ended WWI, cited Germany as the cause; would later directly lead to WWII |
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National self-determination
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what: principle in international law, that nations have the right to freely decide on their sovereignty and international political status without external compulsion or outside interference; revived by Wilson during WWI
significance: mindset that was taken into account when working on peace settlements after WWI; ppl saw Congress of Vienna as "old" and self-determination/nationalism as "new" |
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Fourteen points
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who: Woodrow Wilson
what: peace proposal which helped to influence the Treaty of Versailles after WWI; stressed national self-determination and also the rights of small countries where: Paris peace conference when: January 1918 significance: influenced the Treaty of Versailles, helped form the new Polish state on the basis of nat'l self-determination; strengthened Europeans general optimism and idealism about the peace treaty and the Allies |
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Balfour Declaration
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what: British declaration that Britain favored a "Nat'l Home for Jewish People" in Palestine but that it would not prejudice other groups in the country; infuriated Arabs b/c they saw a Jewish state incompatible with majority rule
where: Middle East when: November 1917 significance: basically an example of the opposite of national self-determination; Britain and France wanted to expand their power and influence and agreed to split up much of the area - angering Arab nationalists, led to the announcement of Iraq and Syria's independence and British and French attacks |
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(February) March Revolution
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what: women calling for bread in Petrograd began riots, spreading to factories and across cities, eventually joined by soldiers as well; due to bad leadership; tsar did not have good relationship with citizens and (under 1905 constitution) was in control of bureaucracy and army; ended up joining war and had wife Alexandra take control (crazy woman, love affair with Rasputin) who attempted absolute rule
where: Russia when: 1917 significance: ended with declaration of a provisional gov't which established equality before law, freedom of religion, speech, assembly, the right to unions, etc.; abdication of tsar Nicholas II |
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Bolsheviks/Lenin
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who: middle-class, obsessed with revolution from early age, "priest of socialism"
what: coupled revolution with Marxian socialism, had a following; 3 main ideas: a) Communist Manifesto as basis, b) revolution is possible even in a backwards country like Russia b/c peasants could join in with working class c) necessity of a highly disciplined, elitist workers party which would not stop til revolution brought it to power; Russian Party of Marxist Socialism challenged (2 camps, Bolsheviks [majority], Mensheviks [minority]); Bolsheviks eventually became Lenin's elitist group where: Russia when: 1870-1924; 1917? significance: roots of the civil war in Russia |
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Kornilov rebellion
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what: attempted coup d'etat by Commander in Chief Lavr Kornilov against Russian Provisional Gov't (Kerensky); at first people were supportive of Provisional Gov't but grew more distraught during WWI b/c of economic ramifications; July Days (demonstration of their distress) motivated ppl to ask for more disciplined/stronger gov't- led by Kornilov; Kornilov led troops to advance on Petrograd - coup avoided (by workers and soldiers) and no blood shed
where: Russia when: August 1917 significance: Kornilov removed from Commander and Chief and put in jail; Bolshevik party gained support and strength b/c Kerensky's plea for Soviet support led to rearmament of Bolshevik Military Org. and release of prisoners such as Trotsky; weapons eventually used in Bolsheviks October revolution; Kerensky and military on bad terms which affected the October revolution - they didn't listen when he asked for help |
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October/November Revolution
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what: Trotsky, revolutionary orator and radical Marxist, convinced Petrograd Soviet to make him leader of newly formed military-revolutionary committee, giving Bolsheviks thus gain military power; committee members and Bolshevik army join to seize gov't bdgs, provisional gov't members
where: Petrograd, Russia when: November 6, 1917 significance: declared that all power had been passed on to soviets; named Lenin head of the new gov't; monumental accomplishment b/c they actually kept the power and built a dictatorial socialist society |
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Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty
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what: one of the most humiliating treaties of all time; Germany and Russia; Lenin was among the minority to agree with this (acknowledged that Russia lost war)
when: March 1918 significance: Russia forced to give back 1/3 of population/areas gained over 3 centuries (inhabited by Poles, Finns, Lithuanians; helped Lenin escape continued; opportunity to pursue absolute political power for Bolsheviks (Communists) in Russia; Trotsky becomes very important and creates Red Army |
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Civil War (Reds vs. Whites)
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what: after Bolsheviks disbanded the democratic Constituent Assembly and agreed to Brest-Litovsk, people noticed dictatorship; officers of old army = Whites (many different groups/areas, united by hatred of Reds); seemed as if Whites would win for awhile, but eventually Reds defeated them
where: Russia when: 1918-1920 significance: one of the reasons why WWI was a turning point in history; encouraged worldwide revolution; new type of gov't in Europe - socialism and one party dictatorship - that actually succeeded |
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War Communism
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what: application of total war concept to a civil conflict; Red Army seized grain from peasants, introduced rationing, nationalized all banks and industry and required that people work
where: Russia when: Russian Civil War 1918-1920 significance: kept the Red Army supplied; contributed to a break down of economic activity; maintained labor discipline; contributed to the Communists' victory in the war |
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Stalin's purges
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what: series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin
where: Soviet Union; purge of Communist Party and officials, repression of peasants, Red Army leadership; Stalin's wife complained about state of people and died that night, Stalin's #2 man mysteriously murdered; sent message that no one was secure where: Soviet Union when: 1936-1938 significance: new socialist party is represented by terror; all-in-all 8 million people arrested executed/sent to labor camps; 1.5 million new members take place of those purged - new generation of Stalin-formed Communists served Stalin til his death and governed til 1980's |
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Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
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who: military man; great leader who became an inspiration for modernizing reformers; after Balfour Declaration and occupation of Turkey by Great Britain, France, Italy and Greece, he revived the state; directed successful defense of Dardanelles against British; unified resistance
where: Turkey when: 1881-1938 significance: brought Turkey to independence against the Allies (Treaty of Lausanne); established a republic in Turkey (presidential one-party system); reformed religion and culture - limited religion in daily affairs (separation of church and state); made Turkey closer to European ideals, eventually so that they could join the EU |
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Turko-Greek Population Exchange (1923)
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This exchange, facilitated by a signed bilateral accord between Turkey and Greece, resulted in close to 1/5 million Greeks moving to Turkey and about 500000 turks moving to Greece. The exchange was based upon religious identity and involved the Greek orthodox citizens of Turkey and the Muslim citizens of Greece. It was a compulsory exchange, but it was also mutually agreed upon. This is significant because it is another example of the national self determination principle being opposed in some ways by this tpe of movement, insteado f trying to reconcile differing populations within one country, they just homogenize them through a treaty.
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Existentialism
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what: inspired by Nietzche; did not believe in supreme being/meaning of life; human beings simply exist and only then do they seek to define themselves; honest human beings are alone (no God) hounded by despair and meaninglessness of life; there is possibility of creating meaning through actions/choices
when: 1920s Germany, revived during and after WWII in France significance: symbolic of how war affected view/approach to life; (book talks about people turning to existentialism regarding Hitler - page 917) |
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Stream of consciousness
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what: refers to the flow of thoughts in the conscious mind; literary mode to explore the psyche (ex: Jacob's Room, Sound and the Fury, Ulysses)
when: 20th century significance: represented the pessimism, relativism, and alienation felt by intellectuals at the time; novelists depicted this by using confused viewpoints showing (like Freud) complexity of human mind; scrambled feelings, etc. |
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The Weimar Republic
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what: parliamentary republic which replaced the imperial gov't; liberal democracy-new constitution written; ended with Hitlers ascension when Nazi power took measures saying that it could create laws contrary to the constitution
where: Germany when: 1919-1933 significance: basically the way in which Hitler was able to come to power; illustrative of his power when he was able to overrule the Republic |
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Totalitarianism
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what: political system where the state, usually under the control of a single political person, faction, or class, recognizes no limits to its authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever feasible; maintain political power through an all-encompassing propaganda disseminated through the state-controlled mass media, a single party that is often marked by personality cultism, control over the economy, regulation and restriction of speech, mass surveillance, and widespread use of state terrorism; two most powerful examples=Hitler and Stalin
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Benito Mussolini
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who:
what: where: when: significance: |
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Fascism
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radical/authoritarian nationalist political ideology; corporatist perspectives, values, systems; founded in Italy during WWI; Fascists believe that a nation is an organic community that requires strong leadership, singular collective identity, and the will and ability to commit violence and wage war in order to keep the nation strong.
Mussolini |
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Great Depression
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who:
what: where: when: significance: |
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Adolf Hitler/Nazism
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Adolf Hitler was the leader of the Nazi (Nationalist Socialist German Workers’ Party) that rose to extreme power just before and through WWII—ultimately being the cause
of the war itself because of the party’s, and Hitler’s, aggressive expansionist policy. The party was seen as a revolutionary one when it first came onto the political scene, and it also improved the daily lives of Germans—at first. The party’s main tenets were the same as Italy’s fascism under Mussolini, but with the addition of this aggressive expansionist party, total control of all of Germany (including its economic sector which it mobilized), and racist rhetoric. Hitler would attempt to take total power of Europe during WWII, and while doing so would commit the first recognized genocide, the Holocaust, but he ended up committing suicide when he had clearly lost. |
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Nuremberg Laws
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This set of restrictive laws enacted in 1935 made all the Jewish people of Germany
essentially second-class citizens in their own country. All German Jewish people were stripped of their civil rights, but were still technically citizens. Just three years later in 1938 over 150000 Jews emigrated out of the country, but many still stayed believing that Nazi racist policy could not possibly get any worse. |
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Kirstallnacht
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In late 1938, this was a well-organized wave of violence by the S.S. (Hitler’s personal
elite guard combined with the political police) on the Jewish population of Germany. The word translates to “night of broken glass” and that was literally what happened: windows of Jewish shops were smashed and their goods looted, synagogues and homeswere destroyed. This was a clear example of Nazi Germany’s flagrant anti-Semitism. |
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Hitler's occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938)
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Following the adoption of an appeasement policy by Britain with the hope that Hitler would stop his aggressive expansion if he was given what he wanted and avoid war altogether, Hitler moved first into Austria, then began demanding the Sudetenland be turned over to Nazi Germany. This area of Czechoslovakia contained a minority of pro-Nazi, German speaking people, with a majority of Slavic people otherwise. In this case it seemed that war was imminent—as France was a Czech ally and Russia had pledged to go to war should France go—but instead Britain’s prime minister Chamberlain stepped in with the appeasement policy. Shortly after this appeasement Hitler would continue on into Poland, officially starting WWII.
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Neville Chamberlain
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Britain’s prime minister prior to WWII, he is best known for adopting the appeasement (1937-1939) policy in order to deal with Hitler and hope to avoid war. Unfortunately his diplomatic moves backfired terribly and gave Hitler more power and territory that enabled him to enter the war far more powerful and wide reaching than anyone could have imagined.
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Hitler's invasion of Poland (September 1939)
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Hitler invaded Poland after capturing the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia and signing a Non-Aggression Pact with Stalin in the USSR. After the non-Aggression Pact, Hitler could confidently move into Poland from three sides. This act was the beginning of
WWII as France and Britain finally stepped in causing a domino effect of countries entering the war on their respective sides. |
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Battle of Stalingrad
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In 1942, the Soviet Army completely decimated the German troops at Stalingrad in this
battle. Hitler had refused a retreat order and instead suffered enormous casualties and was left completely defeated at this battle. Its significance lies in the clear power of the Soviet Army, and the importance of their entrance in the war as an enemy of Germany. The Soviet Union’s powerful, and massive army, was an incredibly important factor in taking down Hitler’s Germany in WWII. |
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Battle of Berlin
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This was the final major offensive battle of the European front during WWII and happened in 1945. The Soviet Army penetrated the German front and advanced toward Berlin, ending in attacks on both the east and south sides of Berlin by the Soviet Army against Nazi Germany. While the battle only lasted a little over a week, it is considered one of the bloodiest in history. This battle is particularly famous because it is during this one that Adolf Hitler, and many other Nazi elites, committed suicide.
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The Holocaust
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The systematic and horrific destruction of the Jewish population of Germany and the surrounding German-held territories during WWII. The Holocaust was executed in slave labor and death camps throughout German territory with the most infamous of the camps probably being Auschwitz-Birkenau. People were forced to work until exhaustion and death unless they were sent to death immediately in massive gas chambers disguised as showers.
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The Wanssee Conference
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This was a meeting of Nazi elite officials in Berlin in 1942. The conference was intended
to decide the action to be taken agains the Jewish people, aka the Final Solution. It was at this meeting htat Final Solution was presented and approved by Hitler, leading to the infamous Holocaust that ravaged Europe and an entire ethnic group. |
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Adolf Eichmann
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Sometimes referred to as the “architect of the Holocaust,” Eichmann was one of the highest and most powerful members of the Nazi Party in Germany under Hitler during the WWII period. Known for his obsession with rising through the ranks of bureaucracy, he also implemented the Final Solution plan directed toward Jewish people. The implementation included the creation, building, and infrastructure of the Holocaust. After the War he escaped to Argentina and was not caught until the 1960s, he would be tried in Israeli court and eventually executed.
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Percentages Agreement (Churchill-Stalin, October 1944)
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This was an agreement between Britain and the Soviet Union regarding spheres of
influence in the world following WWII. Churchill, representing Britain, clearly believed that Eastern Europe would surely go Communist following the war, signifying not only the influence of communism and Soviet Russia at the time, but also Churchill’s acceptance of communism as a reality in the world. |
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Yalta (February 1945)
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This was a meeting between FDR, Churchill, and Stalin with the purpose of discussing
Europe’s postwar reorganization. It was also meant to reestablish the nations that were torn apart by WWII, and by Hitler in particular. A significant result of this conference was the decision that Nazi Germany would unconditionally surrender, and that the state itself would be split among the “Big Three.” This would set the stage for later Cold War frustrations and the battle between communism and democratic states dividing western and eastern Europe. |
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Nuremberg Trials/Eichmann Trial
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The Nuremberg Trials were held from October of 1945 to October of 1946. These trials were the first of their kind, trying elite members of political organizations responsible for war crimes—in this case the elite Nazis of Germany. A hypocritical aspect of these trials was the Soviet Union’s very presence, as while they were trying one group for crimes against humanity they were clearly committing them on their own turf. The Eichmann trial did not happen until the early 1960s following his capture in Argentina. He was tried in Israel and sentenced to death.
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De-Nazification Policy
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This was an Allied plan to get rid of any remnants of the Nazi regime and its
practices from Germany and Austria following WWII. In order to accomplish this, all Nazi officials were removed from office and the party was completely de- legitimized through disbanding and destroying the organization through and through. |
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Marshall Plan
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A series of no strings attached grants (rather than loans) given to Germany in 1947 by the US government. Prior to the plan’s establishment, Germany in 1947 was having a bad year and there were serious resurgences of pro-Nazism in the form of nostalgia in the
face of Germany’s then present reality. The way that the plan worked was that requests needed to be submitted and the materials, and sometimes services, were provided so that the request could be fulfilled but would also generate a country’s own currency rather than flooding their market with American money. Within ten years the American government had spent billions on this program. significance: stimulated total political reconstruction of Western Europe; economies of participants surpassed pre-war levels |
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United Nations
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This is an international organization created in 1945 after the end of WWI with the aims of facilitating cooperation between the states of the world. The organization is made up of the permanent members (United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China) who make up the Security Council and then the General Assembly. The intention with the permanent five was to create a stable, and fair, council with more power then others (signaling those states influence in the world) but comes with the caveat that each has the right to veto any act forwarded by the United Nations.
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The welfare state
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This was the general move in Europe following WWII as far as political involvement
in society (in each government’s respective state) went. Under this type of society, the government is charged with the protection and well being of its citizens. It signifies the move of governments being responsible to their citizens following the travesty of WWII and Nazi Germany. |
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Churchill's iron curtain speech
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This was a speech given in 1946 in Missouri by the former prime minister of Britain. The speech consisted of Churchill’s conception of post WWII freedom, which was power by constitutional action, and a spirit of taking action in accordance with the Truman Doctrine. In this speech the concept of the iron curtain was first used, denoting the divide between the democratic western Europe and the Soviet and communist influenced eastern Europe. In this speech it was also clear that Churchill wanted the UN to have a great enforcement power, suggesting a united air force for example. The significance of the speech laid in its political influence and Churchill’s symbolic power over people and his ability to create a mobilizing force for his political ideas.
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Truman Doctrine
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This was a policy set forth by President Truman in 1947 under which the United
States would support free people who are suffering from attempted subjugation by outside forces—namely totalitarian regimes. The policy would evolve later into one of containment in regard to Soviet expansion, particularly in Eastern Europe but also throughout the world. Its significance lies in the new international community formed after the end of WWII and the United States involvement in other country’s politics in order to promote democratic freedoms. |
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Expulsion of Yugoslavia from Cominform 1948
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Cominform, the Communist Information Bureau, was the first official forum of the international communist movement in Europe and included the creation of an Eastern Bloc. Yugoslavia, then under the leadership of Josip Tito, refused to take further dictates from the Soviet Union and was thus expelled from the international communist group.
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Berlin Wall
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The Berlin Wall was a barrier erected by Eastern Germany through Berlin to divide eastern and western Germany along what essentially was the metaphorical Iron Curtain. Though the reasons that the wall was constructed were said to be mainly about protecting Eastern Germany from fascist forces, it was really to prevent the mass emigrations and defections of eastern Germans to western, democratic, Germany. The wall was built in 1961 and would not come down until the late 1980s under President Reagan.
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Kruschev's "cult of personality" speech 1956
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This was a speech in which Khruschev criticized Stalin for giving himself such an elevated place in his leadership that he was essentially god-like, and that this action was not typical of true Marxist-Leninism, but instead an aberration. He also blamed Stalin for the atmosphere for fear which had overtaken Russia. He was careful to praise communism as an ideology throughout the speech, and the speech itself was not made public until 1989. The significance of this speech lies in the faith in communism, but the first public denunciation of Stalin as essentially a dictator.
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Gorbachev/perestroika, glasnost
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1990-1991; Gorbachev was the last premier of the Soviet Union, and was a communist, but also a
dove as far as military action went. He was a reformer who wanted a social democracy and a more moderated form of communism. He brought an energy to the party that would ultimately destroy the party, and his rule was a short term reason for the fall of communism. The term perestroika refers to independence in the work place (aka independent from government involvement) and glasnost refers to an open arena for airing problems within the society. |
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Fall of Berlin Wall November 1989
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The fall of the Berlin Wall can be viewed as the symbolic end of communism in Europe and the fall of the Soviet Union, though it is important to note that the disintegration of the Soviet Union had already been arranged essentially without this action. The fall of the Berlin Wall also symbolized the power of people and in a sense democracy because of the power of people rather than government.
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Slobodan Milosevic
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He was the Serbian president with the aim of “uniting all the Serbs” in the late 80s and
early 90s. His actions strengthened the cause of separatism and helped fuel Slovenia and Croatia’s move to declare independence. During his rule, genocide was committed among non-Serbs in his attempt to eradicated ethnic multinationality within Yugoslavia. Ultimately he was tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Netherlands but died before conviction. |
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War in Bosnia/Srebrenica Genocide July 1995
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The elections in Bosnia in 1990 resulted in ethnic polarization because each respective group voted for the politician from their group. This tension from the polarization led to Bosnia declaring independence from Yugoslavia in 1992. The problem with this was that within Bosnia there’s a sizable Serbian population who were not interested in ceding with Bosnia and wanted to remain with Yugoslavia. The significance of this war is the influence of an ethnically multi-cultural nation and how to reconcile that with the right to self-determination. The Srebrenica Genocide began, in a way, in 1993, when Srebrenica was made a “safe area” by the United Nations. In 1995 General Mladic (Bosnian Serb) decided to take Srbrenica despite its safe area status but unfortunately the troops stationed there couldn’t do anything about their massacre because they were not directly mandated by the UN to do anything—showing the crippling nature of UN’s bureaucracy. The Dayton Peace agreement set forth by President Clinton ended the genocide and also set up the international war crimes tribunal (the Hague).
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