Daniel’s posterous

 



May 15, 2009

Capitalism, Communism & the Domino Theory

Two different ideologies are Capitalism and Communism. An ideology is "a set of beliefs, aims and ideas, especially in politics."
 
Capitalism is every man for themself - in countries such as UK and the USA, every man has freedoms - such as the freedom of speech. They can do what they want, get what job they want, and make money, or lose money.
 
Commmunism is the extreme of a left wing ideology, based on Karl Marx's beliefs. The country is seen as more important than the individual, and everybody has to do what the government says. Any profits made are used for the "greater good" and people cannot voice their thoughts on the govenment for fear of persecution.
 
The Cold War was a war between the USA and the USSR, where no fighting actually went on. After World War II, even though they had been allies in the war, the USA and the USSR were angry at each other for their different idealogys and mistrust for one another. Although they did not actually fight each other, they did via proxy (indirectly) in the Vietnam war.
 
The Vietnam war was fought because the country had turned Communist. Because of the Domino Theory, the USA thought that Vietnam was the start of other countries turning communist, so they fought against them. The USSR supplied the other side. President Dwight D. Eisenhower said this about the Domino Theory:
 
"Finally, you have the broader considerations of what might follow what you would call the 'falling domino' principle. You have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go over very quickly. So you could have the beginning of a disintegration that would have the most profound influences."
Links for further reading:
  • BBC Bitesize: ideological differences - Stalin vs Truman
  • HistoryLearningSite - What was the Cold War?
  • Spartacus - The Domino Theory

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    May 9, 2009

    What were the social, economic and political effects of WW2?

    I have made a page on Wallwisher about the effects of WW2. To view this page, go to http://wallwisher.com/wall/SvqmKEV00p.

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    May 1, 2009

    Neville Chamberlain has been accused of being directly responsible for the Second World War. Would you agree that he is guilty of this?

    http://www.easypedia.gr/el/images/shared/archive/4/4b/20080524235236!Arthur-Neville-Chamberlain.jpg
    In one way Neville Chamberlain could be held responisble for WW2. This mainly because of him using far too much appeasement. Appeasement is giving in to a bully's demands, even though you definately don't want to, in the hope that they will be happy with that and stop. However this rarely works, as it is the nature of tyrants like Hitler to stop at nothing on the path to world domination - appeasement is generally not a very good idea.
     
    Chamberlain, along with the French leader of the time, appeased Hitler on many occasions. This meant that Hitler was basically doing what he wanted, with no fear of being stopped. After Hitler had been appeased once, he knew he could get away with more and more, and that nobody would try and stop him (until he invaded Poland). Many opportunities to stop Hitler before he became too powerful were missed, and he was gaining more and more of this power every day.
     
    However there were also other factors that could be considered to be the most important leading up to the war - one of these being Hitler himself. Hitler was a fascist tyrant, with many powerful views, such as that he thought Germans were the master race. He always planned to take over Europe, and would have leaped at any opportunity that presented itself.
     
    Another reason for WW2 that could be considered is the Nazi-Soviet Pact. Even though the USSR and Germany had reasons to hate each other (USSR was Communist, the Nazis were fascist) they agreed not to fight each other and to divide up Poland between them. This was because they didn't want to fight each other just yet. This was a major reason because it allowed Germany to attack Poland without resistance, as the USSR had agreed to stand down.

    In conclusion, I believe that although Neville Chamberlain did appease Hitler and begin to bring about the war, there were many other key factors that weren't down to him, that would have meant that the war would have started anyway, such as Hitler's aggresion and the Nazi-Soviet pact.

    Links for further reading:

    JohnDClare.net - Appeasement

    Spartacus Schoolnet - Appeasement

    BBC Bitesize - Chamberlain and Appeasement

    Comments [1]

    May 1, 2009

    Some have said that the Nazi-Soviet Pact was the single most important reason for the start of the Second World War. Would you agree with this judgement? Explain your answer.

    http://www.johndclare.net/images/Roadto2.gif
    In some ways, the pact was the most important cause of WW2 because of a few reasons. Firstly it directly influenced Hitler and his decisions. It meant that he could invade Poland without the threat from the Soviet Union to undermine him, that he would be able to take it without any interference from anyone; as Britain and France were too far removed to actually protect Poland or impose their will in that part of the world.
     
    Aswell as this, it now meant that the two most powerful nations were now allied, that the Soviet Union would not help the Allies, and so Europe had lost a powerful partner; this encouraged Hitler to start the war and invade Poland, as at that time Russia would stand down, and Hitler wasn't sure how long that would last.

    On the other hand, Hitler's aggresion played a key role in the start of WW2. Without his desire for expansion (or Lebensraum) the war never would have started and no conflict's (or very few would have occured), as a rational politician would never have started a war against the rest of the world. Though this could have been partly added to by the harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles, which angered the country and Hitler particularly.
     
    Aswell as this, Neville Chamberlain could have been the most important factor as his appeasement constantly left Hitler wanting more territory, thus goading him into trying to acquire more land (Poland in this place, which triggered the declaration of war), if Neville had stood up to Germany earlier then the war could have been contained and a full world war may not have happened.

    In conclusion, I believe that the Nazi-Soviet Pact was not the most important reason the start of WW2. Rather, I think it was a mixture of the factors I have explained (especially Hitler's tyrantism)  that all contributed to the war, and if one of them had not occured, the war may not have happened.

    Links for further reading:

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    April 24, 2009

    Appeasement Presentation

    (download)

    This is a delightful presentation.

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    April 21, 2009

    The Munich Agreement

    These are a selection of newspaper headlines for 30th September 1938, the day after the Munich Agreement:

    1. Pro-Appeasement British Newspaper - Appeasement Prevents War!
    2. Anti-Appeasement British Newspaper - More land awarded to Germany - who will be next?
    3. A Neutral American Newspaper - Germany takes Sudetenland
    4. A German Newspaper - Groβ Lebensraum!
    5. A Czech Newspaper - German foreigners steal our land!
    6. A Polish Newspaper - Hitler takes Sudetenland - will we be next?

    This is a short article that could go with the headline "Groβ Lebensraum"

    Our great Fuhrer, Hitler, has entered an agreement today that will make sure that we have much more Lebensraum, that is rightfully ours, and now belongs to us!

    Yesterday, our Fuhrer had a conference with 3 other European powers – Italy, Britain and France. Britain and France have grown weak since Hitler came to power, and they are obviously terribly afraid of what Germany can do with its new power we have gained in recent years.

    Britain and France saw that the only way they can be spared from our wrath is to grant us our wishes, so they agreed that we can take back the Sudetenland. Neville Chamberlain and Edouard Daladier are cowards, and desperate to avoid a war they know they can't possibly win. They keep appeasing us, in the hope that we will stop, but our country is one that will never stop! This is one more step on Germany's road to creating an empire, that will last for 1000 years!

    Germany needs more Lebensraum for the people, as our race is Arian, and should be hailed above all others. The Fuhrer knows this, and has always done his best to support the German people in every way possible. He is leading Germany on the path to greatness, and he is the best leader our great country has ever had!

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    April 3, 2009

    Annotated links on websites relating to Hitler and the policy of Appeasement

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    March 27, 2009

    How Hitler Came to Power

    How Did Hitler Come to Power?
    • Hitler lost his nerve, and when the march happened police fired and Hitler and the Nazis ran away. Hitler was later arrested.
    • Hitler recieved a 5 year prison sentence, but prison was comfortable and he was let out after a year. He wrote the book Mein Kampf.
    He had to destroy democracy by first using democracy to be elected, then making the country a dictatorship afterwards.
    The Nazi party was the biggest in the Reichstag. In November 1932, the Nazi vote dropped back again.
    "I can use Hitler's popularity to my advantage. Other experienced politicians can easly control him, and the Nazi Party will be under my control."
    The Reichstag is the German parliament building. It was set on fire just before the election in 1933.
    People became more afraid of Communism and were therefore more likely to vote for the Nazi Party.
     
    Why Did People Support Hitler?
     
    He promised them what they wanted and needed to hear.
    He blamed all of Germany's problems on them, and was uniting everyone by providing explanations for Germany's problems.
    He offered Farmers higher prices for their produce, making up for their losses during the Depression.
    He offered Unemployed workers jobs building roads and stadiums.
    He offered the Middle Class profits and savings, and to end the Communist threat.
    Nazi Beliefs
     
    To rearm Germany and retake what they lost when the Treaty of Versialles was made after Germany lost the war.
    The German Race was a master race - everybody else was racially impure.
    The master race needed more living space.

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    March 20, 2009

    Presentation on The Abyssinian Crisis

    (download)

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    March 11, 2009

    The Abyssinian Crisis Video

    Get the Flash Playerto see this player.
    (download)

    This is a video I have made on the Abyssinian Crisis using Jaycut, an online video mixer.

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