Mikhail Gorbachev and the collapse of communism

Mikhail Gorbachev was the youngest leader of the Soviet Union since Joseph Stalin. He gained many supporters not only with his age, but with his social skills and overall aura. He started making improvements and changes with his forms soon after he took office. You can say that Gorbachev lead the way for the defeat of communism. Glasnost,was openess and freedom in the Soviet Union. Glasnost brought many changes and amazing things. "Peristrokia," was an economic reform that tried to reconstruct and revive the Soviet economy that took a dip during the war.

Collapse of Comunism

Communism started to collapse in Eastern Europe because there was a lack of support. Everyone who lived in a communist nation comprehended that things would never be unfair, but those who were wealthy started to not like the fact you got the same check as everyone else. The goverment also started to turn communism into a dictatorship. No one thought that communism would ever become anything like this. Many countries were on the brink of leaving behind communism. The news of this soon reached germany, leading to the demolition of the Berlin wall. this was an act to symbolize Germany's abolition of communism. With communism nearning a reputation, reforms were put in place. One popular person known, for his reforms was Mikhail Gorbachev. They were called perestroika and glasnost. He was also known for broadcasting the Russian elections on TV for the first time. After Gorbechev signed all his reforms, communism finally fell.

Nelson Mandela and Apartheid.

Apartheid was a raciast policy that segragated not only blacks and whites but mixed and indian natives.Nelson Mandela was a man that fought for Africa to be unified. He wanted to stop all the , whether it be white on black or interacial. He was tired of all theracism. Nelson Mandela, went to jail for 27 years fighting for his beleifs. Throughout his time in prison, he thought about the freedom he wanted for his country. These thoughts led to many more ideas. He used civil disobedience and served as president, for the countries he freed. He risked his life for thousands of african citizens to have the rights they deserve. He is looked upon as a insperational leader and a great man.

African Independence

Africa changed alot between the 1960's and the 80's. The people of Africa began to study and become more inteligent people. More and more people began to go to college and ge there education. The african people started to rise up and become a nation. Cultures started to emerge and the nations of Africa were finally being recognized. In the result of this there were many different leaders that sprang out of this uprising. Some leaders would be Leopold Senghor, who leaded Sengal and later became president, Kwame Nkrumah who was Ghana's first prime minister, Marcus Garvey, whos goal was to lead Europeans out of Africa and have Africa ruled by Africans. Jomo Kenyatta led Kenya through a very hard earned independence.

The Cuban Missle Crisis

During the Cold War, their was a time where nuclear war seemed inevitable. This was called the Cuban Missile Crisis. During this time, Russia knowing their missiles would never reach the U.S, placed land-based missiles in Cuba. Cuba is only a few hundred miles away from American beaches, leaving their medium ranged missiles in perfect range to launch an attack. This was allowed by Cuban dictator Fidel Castro because this was a perfect way to protect his island from a U.S. invasion. To confront this very lethal threat, President John F. Kennedy made a deal with Russia to remove all missiles and weapons in Cuba if The U.S. guaranteed not to attack Cuba and remove missiles from Turkey, which is relatively close to Russia. This was known as the hottest part of the Cold War because this was the closest eather side came to launching an offensive move.

NATO and the Warsaw Pact

After World War II and the collapse of Germany, The United States and The Soviet Union, once allies, bumped heads. The reason for the conflict was due to military advancements and governmental disputes. After the war, The U.S and The Soviet Union competed for technological superiority. These advancements lead to the mass production of nuclear weapons and to the creation of hydrogen bombs, a deadlier nuclear weapon. Reckognizing the powers of both sides, no weapons were actually fired. This is why this time was called the Cold War. Also, the opposing sides disagreed on veiws on government. The U.S. beleived in capitalism and democracy while Russia beleived in communism. Because the U.S. wants the world to be free and democratic, it formed NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Orginization. This was a treaty that stated that any member of NATO would be joined in arms if attacked by outside members. The pact included The U.S., Canada, and Western European countries including Great Britain. Six years later the Warsaw Pact was formed in Eastern Europe. This was formed in response to NATO by Russia with other eastern euopean countries.

Film Lessons " Schindlers List"

In Schindler's List, the director displayed the Holocaust in a very realistic way. Even though this movie was made in Hollywood, the movie was far from fake. All of Speilberg's scenes gave you a different look at what happened during the genocide. Some scenes really stood out to me. For example, the scene where the german soldiers found around a dozen hiding jews in one spot. That showed me that many jewsish people tried to hide together in their assigned houses. Another scene that caught my attention was when they were burning the bodies. That scene showed me that the germans had no feelings or concerns towards what they were doing, considering the fact that they transported the bodies into the fire via conveyerbelt.

Film Lesson: "Night and the Fog"

After watching "Night and the Fog", i left with a higher knowledge of concentration camps of the 1940's. In the film, the director shows the camps during the genocide and then after with the noce flowing grass and flowers. The beautiful lawns that disguise the horror and mass murders that occured 11 years earlier dresses the movie with an ironic display.
Throughout the documentry, the director shows real footage of the disposal of the jewish prisoners at Auschwitz. After watching all the hollywood versions of the holocaust, this documentry really gives off a powerful feeling of what really went on sixty years ago.
To me, I think that Speilberg's movie showed more of what really went on in the Holocaust. In his hollywood version he showed the emigrating of all the jews to the ghettos, then ultimately to the concentration camps. Also, the director showed the burning of the bodies and the random shootings in the ghettos.

The Treaty of Versailles (Ended WWI)

In 1919, World War One officially came to a close with the signing of a treaty. This was the Treaty of Versailles, handed over to the German government after a 6 month negotiation in the Paris Peace Conference. The treaty called for immediate peace between all countries, Germany to full fill neccessary reperations and debts, along with solving all territorial desputes. Even though very effective, The treaty of Versailles was also a very controversial document. Germany felt that it was unfair was because they were striped of all their over-sea colonies along with other peices of territory. But one major reason why the treaty caused so much controversy was because it called for the German empire to repay a debt, which consisted of an amount in the billions. This did not sit to well with a nation who had just came out of a war themselves, especially when they werent allowed a say in the negotiations.
After the treaty was put in place, Germany was affected in numerous ways. For example, when Germany lost all of its colonial territories, trade and income was affected greatly. With the loss of their colonies, Germany lost many businesses and companies. Besides losing money off of territorial loss, the reperations themselves put Germany in a massive debt.
These consequences can easily uspet the citizens in many ways. For example, some may feel that the world is against them, leading to groups and clans. Some known as Hitler and the Nazi party.

Film Lesson "Gandhi"

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who was also known as Mohatma Gandhi, was born on October 2, 1869. He was called "Mohatma", which means great soul. He was commonly known as Mohatma because of all of his strides to help his people and make India an independant nation. In his life, Gandhi organized many movements and acts to show the British government that the people of India did not need them. Such acts consisted of the Salt March, the Civil Rights Movement in South Africa, and the Rowlatt Act Protests.
For example, in the Salt March, Gandhi lead his people on a 240 mile journey to the coast to collect their own salt to show that they did not need british products. This was inspired by the Salt Acts, which permitted India from acquiring salt from anyone else but British companies. In the civil rights movement in South Africa, Gandhi lead mine workers on strike.
Along side all of these movements, Gandhi stressed that the Indian people not fight back with the use of violence, but to receive the blow and not give the it. Gandhi's beleife behind this strategy was that if the Indian people do not fight back with force and violence, but with word of mouth and peace, that the Indian people could never lose while the British government takes into perspective the harm they have caused.
Even if Mohandis Gandhi was never born to this world, the nation of India would have eventually gained its independence. During World War I, the British government in India would gradually deplete due to the need of resourced and troops the war demanded. A short time after the end of WWI and the Treaty of Versailles, Britains colonial forces in India would decrease again to nothing or close to it due to the upcoming war. World War II.

Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) and the Modernization of Turkey

Mustafa Kemal, born on my 19, 1881, was an army officer as well as the founder of the Republic of Turkey. Also known as Ataturk, which means father of the turks, he was a very good military commander. Kemal later lead the Turkish war of Independence which was also known as the Turkish National Movement. This eventually lead to Turkey's independence, and in the long term, Turkey's modernization.
As Turkey's founder and first president, Mustafa Kemal set many reforms. These reforms came in a variety, consisting of economical, political, and most improtant, cultural. Kemal's goals for his new reforms was to modernize Turkey and create a secular nation. Since most countries had church as a main part of government and daily life, Mustafa felt that getting rid of this would modernize the Republic of Turkey, therefore making it secular. The word secular means to not be overly or specifically religious.
Besides Ataturk's cultural reforms, his other set of reforms also strived towards the goal of modernizing the nation of Turkey. For example, one of Kemal's social reforms consisted of making Turkey, quote, " a state of the people and a state by the people." Also Kemal stressed on making Turkey a nation with no social classes or levels. By doing this, Mustafa Kemal launched Turkey ahead of most countries towards his goal of modernization.

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