Western Civ Final

Front 1

Russo-Japanese War

Back 1

1904-1905
Japan is industrializing, and pushing into China and Korea. This brings them into competition with the Russians for territory. They argue over Port Arthur, leading to the war. Russia asks France for help, but France thinks Japan's small size and inexperience will make this an easy victory for Russia, and they stay out of it. England is a strong trading partner of Japan, so they stay out of it. Japan destroys the Russian army, sinks the Russian fleet, and altogether crushes Russia in the war and humiliates them.
Significant because it demonstrates just how far Japan has come. Europeans now recognize the power & influence of Japan. Russians are very angry with their allies (the French). The French now basically make the commitment to the Russians that if there is ever another major war, France will go no matter what (to keep the alliance). Increases tension, because now Germany knows that if they ever go to war with one, they'll go to war with both.

Front 2

Bolsheviks

Back 2

20th century
A Marxist communist group in Russia. Lenin is the leader. He's been living in exile in Switzerland. While abroad, he continued to lead the movement, writing and encouraging people to fight for better wages, standards of living, and to overthrow the government. The Germans find him, give him money, and sneak him back into Russia. Once he's back, he takes control of the movement and leads the rebellion against the Duma with his right-hand man, Leon Trotsky. By 1921, the Bolsheviks are firmly in control of the government in Russia. Promises of land, bread, and peace. Peace was delivered, but the bread and land were a different story. Lenin takes land away from the wealthy, but instead of distributing it to the poor, it now belongs to the government, and to the people "through" the government. The government provides seed, says "you'll grow 8 tons, you'll get to keep 2". If the villagers only manage to grow 5, the government takes all 5. This leaves people starving. About 7-10 million people died due to these policies. Dramatic and oppressive system.
Significant because it was the ruling group in Russia after overthrowing the government. Rumors about this system leave Russia, and feed the fear of communism.

Front 3

Nicholas II

Back 3

1868-1918
Last Emperor of Russia. Cousin of Wilhelm II (Kaiser of Germany) and George (King of England). Nicknamed Bloody Nicholas because of the anti-Semitic pogroms, Bloody Sunday, and his overall violent and oppressive regime. Under his rule, Russia was humiliated in the Russo-Japanese war. Executed in 1918. An incompetent ruler whose weakness paved the way for the revolution.

Front 4

Soviets

Back 4

20th century
Organizations of workers in Russia (similar to labor unions). The Duma made a deal with them - if you get your people back to work and you stop them from rioting and striking, we will do our best to restore order. Soviets initially agree, but the Duma stays in the war and the Soviets strike again.

Front 5

Franz Ferdinand

Back 5

20th Century
The Austrian Heir - oldest male relative of Franz Joseph. He is modern, young, and a bit of a rebel. Married Sophie, even though she was not arranged or part of the major nobility. He believed that the people of Serbia and Bosnia should rule themselves, and was willing to let them go when he became Emperor. "He visited Sarajevo (capital of Bosnia) in 1914 and was assassinated. Very significant because his death was used as an excuse for invading Serbia, launching the world into WWI.

Front 6

Lusitania

Back 6

May 1917
A British ship traveling from New York to England, carrying over 1,000 people. A German U-Boat sinks it, and about half of the passengers die. Germans claim that the US was smuggling ammunition and war materials to England, and that it was illegal, breaking the conventions of neutrality. US claimed this was wrong, and that there were no ammunitions - that it was just a civilian ship. Claimed the Germans were in fact breaking the conventions of war by sinking a civilian ship. In fact, there were war materials aboard, but this wasn't found until many years later. Significant because the incident fueled propaganda - posters depicting innocent people drowning, and it changes public opinion. At first, Americans wanted to stay away from the war, but now, they want to get involved against the Germans.

Front 7

Schlieffen Plan

Back 7

Early 20th century
Developed by and named after a German general. The plan was to attack both France and Russia through a sweeping and aggressive move that would end things within 2-3 months at the most. Sweep through Belgium, France, and go straight to Russia. The plan leaks out and people are very upset. Germany apologizes. Belgium goes to England and reminds them of their alliance in which England agreed to protect Belgium's neutrality in case of war. England agrees to guarantee Belgian neutrality. Significant because even though everyone knows about this plan, Germany tries to implement it. They encounter intense resistance in Belgium, as the army fights back. They end up stuck in Belgium for several weeks and become very angry, committing all sorts of atrocities - raping women, killing children, etc. Because it's taking so long, they decide to just try to travel to Paris. France has already prepared for this. As the French are retreating, the British start arriving to provide support. Significant as an example of the weakness of Germany and the conduct of war.

Front 8

League of Nations

Back 8

20th Century
One of Wilson's proposed 14 points. It would serve as a world body to solve all major arguments. All the countries would agree to join and abide by the decisions made by the group. France and England accept the League of Nations, but Wilson & Congress are from different parties, and Congress will not accept it, so the US doesn't join. The League of Nations ultimately failed in preventing another world war.

Front 9

Virginia Woolf

Back 9

1882-1941
Virginia Woolf considers the implications of the historical exclusion of women from education and from economic independence. She was bisexual. She focused on the psychology of her characters. She was a pacifist and anti-fascist. She was severely depressed and committed suicide by wading into water with rocks in her pockets. She changed the shape of the novel despite the prejudice toward female writers. One of the most important Modernist writers.

Front 10

Weimar Republic

Back 10

Early 20th century
Germany became the Weimar Republic, named after the city where the new constitution was drawn up, which is now the capital. It was a Moderate Social Democrat government, but many officials in the bureaucracy, judiciary, and army were the same people who had occupied these positions before. Nationalists and right-wing parties looked on the new system with contempt. It faced numerous problems, like constant opposition and hyperinflation. Came to an end in the 1930s. Significance because the weaknesses of this government and the public dissatisfaction created a public that was very open and receptive to the ideas of Hitler.

Front 11

Joseph Stalin

Back 11

1928-1953
Winner of the Soviet power struggle. He takes control and rules the Soviet Union until he dies. He continues with many of the same ideas that Lenin tried. Also lets villagers die, taking the grain they grow. Mostly sells abroad. He created "Five Year Plans" to help industrialize Russia, but most countries don't want to sell them machinery, and if they do, it's low level and small machinery. This leads to rapid but inferior industrialization. Responsible for the death of 40-50 million people through starvation, assassination, and imprisonment. Complete reversal of the promises of Bolshevism.

Front 12

Fascism

Back 12

Early 20th Century
Radical authoritarian nationalism. Anti-communist. In Italy, Mussolini came into power with his Fascist party. Through intimidation, they get their candidates elected to Parliament. They abolish all other political parties. Mussolini creates the Fascist youth, brainwashing. Destroys labor unions. The centralization of power inherent in this ideology, combined with military dominance, made it an ideal vehicle for leaders like Hitler, and Mussolini to propel their own agendas

Front 13

Mein Kampf

Back 13

1925
Hitler's autobiography. "My Struggle". In this book, he outlines the entire Nazi ideology - how they see the world as operating. They claimed the Jews were behind all other countries. Twisted and false. The party begins to promote Hitler. People who knew Hitler presented a very different picture of him and his upbringing than he presents in the book. Significant because it was the manifesto from which all of Hitler's atrocities stemmed.

Front 14

Lebensraum

Back 14

20th century.
Means "living space". The idea that Germany was destined to create an empire in the East. Nazis claimed it was best for them to spread to the East because it was populated by inferior races. They felt they needed more resources to serve their master race, and these could be found by spreading their Empire. Significant because it was used as a justification for attacking nations populated by what the Nazis deemed "inferior races".

Front 15

Ghandi

Back 15

1869-1948
Led an independence movement in India. Educated in Britain. Middle class Hindu. He used passive resistance and civil disobedience to pressure British officials to grant Indian independence. He achieved this in 1947.

Front 16

D-Day

Back 16

On June 6th, 1944, commonly known as D-Day, American, British, and Canadian troops invaded northern France. Part of this operation was to convince Hitler that the landings would be at various locations, keeping the real landing location secret to distract German forces. Hitler’s forces were divided between Russia, the Mediterranean, and France, limiting the level of strength they had in each zone. Initially, the Allies suffered huge amounts of casualties, but they eventually pushed the Germans out of France with steady attacks by the American and British air forces. D-Day was significant because this attack resulted in Germany’s largest defeat in the war. It pushed Germany out of France and also distracted German forces from the Eastern front, shortening the conflict there.

Front 17

Holocaust

Back 17

The Holocaust was the policy of genocide adopted by Hitler in 1942. Hitler wanted to “cleanse” Germany of “unwanted” peoples low on his racial hierarchy. The Jews were the lowest ranking on the racial hierarchy, and after considering a forced emigration of Jews, Hitler settled on genocide as a method of ridding his empire of Jews. Many methods were used to exterminate the Jews, beginning with firing squads, but eventually large gas chambers, which killed thousands of Jews at a time, became the primary method because they were very efficient. Women and children were frequently killed first because they could not fulfill the work that the Nazis desired. The majority of Nazi death camps were in Poland, and Jews and other “unwanted” peoples were gathered all over Europe and transported to these camps. While the number of deaths resulting from the Holocaust is a subject of contention, many estimate that around six million Jews died. The Holocaust is significant because this massive amount of anti-Semitism and persecution seriously affected the world’s view of Germany and was a major factor in the creation of Israel.

Front 18

Iron Curtain

Back 18

The Iron Curtain was described in Winston Churchill’s speech at a small college in Missouri in 1945. He described the communist regimes in Eastern Europe and the division it created between the communist East and the capitalist West. The countries west of the Iron Curtain formed NATO, while the countries on the east side formed the Warsaw Pact. The Iron Curtain was not only representative of the ideological divisions – it took the form of border defenses, including the Berlin Wall. Churchill warned that Stalin would destroy everything that was loved by the west – capitalism, freedom, culture, etc. While the warnings that WWIII was coming proved incorrect, Churchill’s warnings about the Iron Curtain were very accurate. The Iron Curtain was significant as a physical entity because it prevented people from crossing borders and the border zones often became highly militarized. The term symbolized efforts by the Soviet Union to block itself and its dependent and central European allies off from open contact with the west and non-communist areas.

Front 19

Containment

Back 19

1946
George Kennan - United States policy using numerous strategies to prevent the spread of communism abroad. A component of the Cold War, this policy was a response to a series of moves by the Soviet Union to enlarge communist influence in Eastern Europe, China, Korea, and Vietnam. The goal was to stop and prevent the domino effect. Significant because it led to US intervention in Vietnam.

Front 20

State of Israel

Back 20

1940s
Israel is created as a home for the Jews fleeing persecution. When the Arab nations are defeated by Israel, the Soviet Union comes to them and offers to sell modern tech and weapons. The US sees this as a spreading of influence - creating a soviet-friendly area. We support Israel to counter this. This leads to a proxy war in the middle east, with the Soviet Union and US vying for spheres of influence. Significant because of that and because the creation of Israel leads to an enormous amount of conflict between the Palestinian Arabs and Jews.

Front 21

NATO

Back 21

NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is a military alliance created in 1949 between most of Western Europe, the United States, and Canada. NATO states that an attack on one member is an attack on them all. While Stalin was alive, he did not do anything to counteract NATO, but as soon as he died, the Soviet Union entered the Warsaw Pact, a military alliance in Eastern Europe. NATO guaranteed that US troops would be stationed in Europe, protecting them from the Soviet Union. In exchange, America was guaranteed that Western Europe would not become communist. NATO is significant because it states that an attack on one member is an attack on all, which could easily escalate into WWIII.

Front 22

Berlin Airlift

Back 22

1948-1949
Soviet Union blocks everything off so people cannot get out of West Berlin. An attempt to convince people to leave and come to East Berlin. People panic, but Britain & US just airlift stuff. If the Soviet Union shot down a plane, it could have started a war. Stalin realizes this is making communism look bad, so he stops it, and it is a victory for the US & British.

Front 23

Vietnam War

Back 23

1955-1975
When Germany had taken over France, this land had been given to Japan. When the war is over, the French want their land back. The local population is pretty tired of foreigners – had enough of the French and of the Japanese. So they begin fighting to attack the French. By the 1950s, the French are done and begin to withdraw. As the French are withdrawing, we become aware that one of the groups taking over northern Vietnam is financed by the Soviet Union and China…and communist. Led by Ho Chi Minh. We see this as more of the same, where you have the Soviet Union and China using Vietnam as a puppet, trying to spread Communism. We decide that we cannot allow this. Part of us stopping the spread of Communism, not allowing the Domino Effect. By the 1960s, we begin to escalate this. It becomes a full-fledged war. We win every single battle in Vietnam, killing at a ratio of 20-1. They lose over 2 million, we lose 60,000. The problem is this – the majority of the people in the South actually support the communist regime. Why? Because Ho Chi Minh had taken land away from the wealthy landowners, and unlike other communist leaders, he distributed it amongst the poor. Here in the South, the majority of the population is peasants, but the majority of the land is in the hands of the wealthy landowners. The government was oppressive, corrupt, very cruel, and the people in the South didn’t want them. This is why when we come in, we have such a difficult time winning anything – because every single village we go to does not want us and shelters the Viet Cong. With this situation, it was impossible for us to win the war. We dropped more bombs on North Vietnam than we did in WWII on Germany. It did not make a single dent. They know we’re coming and scatter whenever we’re bombing villages. The villages are made of wood and straw, so they rebuild them very quickly. The really bad thing we do is drop agent orange and other chemicals, making a real mess. We couldn’t destroy any infrastructure. An impossible war to win. Incredibly costly and unpopular. A humiliating defeat. When we leave, and the people of the South support the communist regime, we think this is just a Soviet victory. The Soviet expects to be able to build bases there, but the Vietnamese threaten them and say they’ll attack them if they do. Vietnam wanted their own system and freedom from imperial powers.

Front 24

Glasnost

Back 24

1980s
Gorbachev introduced this. A policy calling for openness and transparency in the government. He hoped it might help reduce the corruption at the top of the Communist Party and the Soviet government, and moderate the abuse of administrative power. Frequently paired with Perestroika - the economic restructuring. Unfortunately, this was all too little, too late. Significant because the new transparency exposed the horrors of the Russian systems that had been hidden for so long, contributing to the demise of the Soviet Union.