Saturday, April 25, 2009

Taisho Japan NOTES


NOTES FOR TAISHO JAPAN

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Friday, January 23, 2009

GONG XI FA CAI

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

The greatest Impact of world war1 was high number of casualties. How far do you agree?

The greatest Impact of world war1 was high number of casualties. How far do you agree?
I agree that the greatest impact of world war was 'high number of casualties' because a lot of innocent lives were lost.
• High number of casualties
-Over 18 million fighting men was killed and about 9 million civilians (publics) died as a result of war. More men had been wounded than killed in the forces .Many soldiers escaped physical injury, returned home with psychological problems caused by war.
Lives cannot be replaced and most of those who died are innocent people. Some that survived must have had vivid vision of what had happened and had been traumatized by the incident. --The number of people who was killed is a lot and those who were involved in the war are probably not able to sleep at night. Germany had the highest number of deaths compared to Russia(1,700,000), France(1,358,000), Austria-Hungry(1,000,000), Great Britain(761,213), Italy(460,000), Turkey(375,000), British Empire(251,000), and USA(114,095).
However, there are other factors in the impact of world war1
• Cost
After war ended, Britain, France and Germany were facing huge debts. The governments had spent over £40 000 million fighting the war. They had borrowed money from USA and raised taxes to be in much debt. US were less affected because it did not enter the war until 1917 and no fighting took place on US soil.
• Damage
France suffered most physical damage since most of the fighting took place there.2000 square miles of forest and 8000 square miles of agricultural land laid waste. Over 1000 factories and a quarter of a million other buildings were destroyed. Merchant shipping had been badly affected with over 13 million tones of ships destroyed

SS Structured Essay Hist

In terms of political, social, military, economic aspects. Which aspect benefited, which aspect suffered? Overall more good or bad for Germany?

 

The aspects that benefited social and economic and also political

 

 

What are the diff reasons why Nazis could rise up and replace the Weimar republic?

 

The different reasons that made Nazis rise to power were effects of the Great Depression, the failure of democracy and the German’s pride.

 

 The first factor is the weakness of the Weimar Republic. The Republic was looked up upon a slow organization as they had internal disunity. There were no good leaders who could stand up when there were difficult times as they were made of different groups. They split up and the organization had to face challenges from the opposition. To make things worse, they did not have a proper to defend them. Therefore, the Nazis took opportunity of this to prove to the Germans that they were the better leaders as they can protect the country.

 

The second factor is the use of propaganda. They had the control to ensure that the Germans looked at the Nazis point of view. The radio was a new media that the Nazis could broadcast their message of Nazism. The Nazi army is the total opposite of the Weimar Republic as they were more disciplined and they had a proper leader, Hitler.  This will make the people more confident as they had the ability to bring them to a better future.

 

The third factor is the Germans pride. Hitler has promised to make Germany strong and to unite Germany from the taken away territories. By achieving this aim, he has to abolish the T.O.V.  After Weimar accepting the Treaty, it was a huge blow to the Germans as their efforts and sacrifices were wasted as they surrendered without trying to argue for their rights and not accepting the blame.

This gain support by the people as they wanted to prove their worth after the war. Therefore, they could rise up easily as they had the sufficient support from the ppl.

 

In conclusion, the most important reason was the weakness of the Weimar Republic. By having a weak party to rule the country, especially after a war, it creates  a advantage for the stronger opposition to rule the country. Furthermore, the Weimar Republic could not gain the support of the people as they were the ones that admitted defeat during the war.

 

 

Why was the Berlin Wall constructed?

Why was the Berlin Wall constructed?

It is built to prevent the spread of western ideas to communist's countries in East. When the wall was not in place, the people from the East will feel attracted to the policy of democracy which comes from the West. By having this wall built, the people from the two sides will not know how the standard of living and hence, they won't go to each other's country. They are able to reassert the control over its country. Their economy would also improve as there won't be any dual currency in the both states as there is a wall that separates both of them.

 

It was also built to prevent emigration of East Germans to the West. When the people of East Germany found out that the standard of living were higher in the West (this was the propaganda point of the US.), they started to emigrate to that side. Moreover, the people who migrated were skilled and professionals. By having them there, it would boost the economy in the West and this has upset the communists greatly. This led to them building a wall as they did not want the people to can financially attract to the subsidies by the West.

 

The other factor was the growing tensions after the Hungarian Revolt and the U2 crisis. The Americans sent spies over to USSR and the plane was shot down. The Russians could not trust the Americans anymore as they did not apologize when Khrushchev demanded an apology.  This led to the Russians building a physical barrier to send a message to the Americans not to interfere in their matters

Russia FYP

How successful was the Five Year Plan. Explain your answer.

 

Positive

+The plans led Russia towards modernisation and industrialization.

+Made Russia a key player in industrialization

+industrialization towns sprang up.

àThis made farming easier and more efficient

State provided health care, education and the basic necessities for the ppl(collective workers).

àHigher standard of living for them

Hard work was rewarded with better pay, housing and medals.

Negative

·         Impact on the people

 - Peasants produced minimum stock so that they don’t have to surrender it to the state.(Slaughtered their stock and burnt their buildings)

-The rich were afraid that their lands are taken away and given to the poor..

-The efficient did not want to share their successes and it would unfair to them as they have worked hard for it.

-The ppl had less freedom of action as they were working for the state

àThis led to the growing opposition towards Stalin as he was very strict.

·         The purges

Many opponents were sent to labour camps as the hardships that the ppl faced made some ppl to stand up and voice out.

Stalin sent his secret police to purge them.

àthis led him to being the strongest  power in Russia as his opponents were killed.

 

 

 

SS Essay 2) Was focusing on the youths the greatest way the Nazis consolidated power in Germany? EYA. (12)

2) Was focusing on the youths the greatest way the Nazis consolidated power in Germany? EYA. (12)

 

Yes. The youths played an important part in social control under Hitler. The main point of education has become training young people up to be Nazis and loyal citizens. Schoolteachers were sacked if they did not have the right political opinions. Schools had to follow the strict curriculum and use the ‘right’ schoolbooks. There was no attempt to teach students to think for themselves because they were brainwashed with Nazi ideas. These youths were also expected to join youth organizations in their free time, indoctrinating them Hitler’s ideas. They took an oath of loyalty to Hitler and studied military discipline and training at the mere age of ten. Youths and children are easily influenced, and while being taught the Nazi way, they will naturally support the Nazi’s actions, thus supporting the Nazi’s power in Germany as they grew up. Therefore, brainwashing the youths with the Nazi ways of handling things and attitude was the way for Nazis to consolidate their power in Germany.

 

However, there are also propaganda campaigns and censorship of mass media that helped the Nazis to maintain their power in the country. All techniques of propaganda were used to persuade people that Hitler and Nazis were right. Through various channels like posters, radios, rallies to boost the party’s reputation and ideas, censorship of books and media were also practiced. It was massively done with over 2500 writers banned, books burned for having politically or morally unsound ideas. Using mass propaganda and getting rid of all potential obstacles, people will be led to believe what is not true and support the Nazis.

 

There was also racial control and religious control. The perfect Nazi state was to be full with Aryans, with ‘pure’ German blood. The Nazis acted against people who were ‘undesirable’ and those who would not fit into the ideal Nazi state. They even set up a Nazi-controlled church as a reply to both Catholic and Protestant churches speaking out against some Nazi policies. It was a pagan faith that support and celebrated Aryanism.

With a total Nazi church and idea of ‘pure’ Germans around, it is hard for people not to fall into the glamorous power of the Nazis.

 

Youths are the future of a state. If these youths are educated with the Nazi ideas from young, they are most likely to believe and follow it loyally. The Nazis knew that youths are easily influenced with what they are taught and indoctrinated with, therefore supporting and join the Nazi army when they grow up. When they grow into adults, the Nazi most probably wanted them to remember what they have learnt from young. In order to make them remember in their heart and mind, mass media of propaganda is used. Any form of media that does not support the idea of Nazism was banned. Therefore, these people have no chance to explore other thoughts other than Nazism. With the youths growing up totally obeying what they were taught to believe, the Nazis will definitely want this to be passed on from generations to generations. Therefore the idea of racial and religious control was in tune with Nazism. It could serve as a tool of propaganda too, pledging themselves to the idea of Aryanism, allowing their future children to do the same. It seemed the perfect way of consolidating their power in Germany.  Therefore, focusing on the youths was the greatest way the Nazis consolidated power in Germany.

SS Essay "The greatest impact of the Cuban Missile Crisis was that a telephone hotline was set up between Moscow and Washington." How far do you agree

"The greatest impact of the Cuban Missile Crisis was that a telephone hotline was set up between Moscow and Washington." How far do you agree? EYA.

I agree to a small extent that the telephone hotline set up between Moscow and Washington was the greatest impact of the Cuban Missile Crisis. In telephone hotline, relations improved slightly. This allowed both states to communicate peacefully to avoid a nuclear war. Although this improved relations, but in 1968 relations broke down when Soviet tanks entered Czechoslovakia to prevent reforms bring carried out in the country. This led to a period of détente.

The greatest impact of the Cuban Missile Crisis was the signing of the ban on nuclear test. This was vital as Soviet Union would remove its missile sites in Cuba. This was a relieve for countries as they feared a nuclear war. This led to less fear but the relations between US and Moscow worsened. A ban on nuclear test will be certain that Soviet Union will stop their nuclear testing.

The final impact of the Cuban Missile Crisis was Khrushchev seemed to have failed. US seemed to have won as Kennedy managed to make Khrushchev remove the missiles in Cuba. This was a victory for Kennedy as the crisis was over. This made Khrushchev seen as a weak leader who could not continue the building up of missiles. This was a permanent effect as there would not be anymore building up of missiles.

Overall, I still believe that the signing on the ban on nuclear test was the greatest impact of the Cuban Missile Crisis. This posted as a long-term effect as everybody would feel safe living in their country since no potential nuclear war would occur. This would ensure peace. But, there would be a little bitter relation between US and Soviet Union as Soviet Union would remove their missiles from Cuba. Still, the ban was a good move as it offered safety.

Hatred of germans Treaty of Versallies Whole bunch

Why did the Germans dislike the treaty of Versailles so intensely?

ð       War Guilt Clause 231

-Germany accepted all the blame and the others countries was not to be blame.

àThis led to having the feeling of hatred towards other country as the other country did not have to pay anything. This made them economically weak to pay the debts.

ð       Reparations

-They should pay for the damages. (Compensation)

-Was forced to accept a blank cheque and pay for it.

-Reparations were made up of coal and money.

àThis made them weak to pay up the debts. Moreover, the lands that we taken away are filled with things that could pay off their debts. This made them poor for a couple of generations. They got angry as they were once a major power but now they have nothing and they have to pay off the debts.

ð       German armed forces

-Were to be kept small and this would make them to be weak to fight another war.

-They can have submarines and this led them to having no defense for themselves.

àThey had no army to protect their land if any of the major powers were to attack them. Moreover, the lands that were taken away were close to Germany. This led to more anger as they were the weakest country there.

ð       German colonies

-Germany lost all its colonies and they would be controlled by the LON called the mandates of LON.

-Many Germans were forced to live in different countries which they do not want to.

-No self determination

-Lost all the colonies which were filled with natural resources like coal that could help them in paying the reparations.

àAlthough the 'self- determination' was in the fourteen points, it was not practiced in the Treaty. The Germans were separated and they had no say in it. They were bullied around as they Treaty state that they had to be removed from Germany. This led to hatred to the TOV as they were not giving any voice.

 

Life in NAZI Germany Model Struct Essay

Life in NAZI Germany Model Struct Essay


Life under the Nazis was disastrous for the people. How far do you agree with the statement?

Explain your answer.

 

   The group that struggled during his rule was his political rivals. His main aim was to maintain absolute power and he would destroy anyone that comes in his way. The SA members were captured and killed by the SS members as the SA group would make Hitler look bad. The members in the People's Court were members who spoke against the Nazis but they were not spared, most of them executed. They were not allowed to speak up as the state had tight control over media. They will throw out anything that was against the Nazis. There were a large amount of writers that were banned and their books were banned. The other group that suffered was the Jews. Since they were considered impure to Hitler and the Aryan race, they were sent to concentration camps to be killed. Therefore, they suffered the most as a large amount of the Jews were discriminated. There were rules made up for them to separate them and if possible, to wipe out the whole race.

 

However, there were successes under his rule. Politically, he gained total control over the whole state. His way of ruling was better than the Weimar Republic as the decisions were made fast and it was carried out dutifully. Socially, the people who did not oppose him are able to live securely in a powerful country, growing stronger everyday. The humiliation that was faced by the German people was taken away as Hitler is able to gain back all the countries and rearm the army. This was the positive side of his rule as he can show to the world that Germany is not the weakest country and not to be messed with. Economically, the inflation problem was solved and the middle classes felt more secure with their wealth. There were jobs for the men as conscription was introduced. The business gained profitable contracts. He wanted Germany to be self-sufficient and not to depend on any countries. He also made rules to ensure that the businessmen are able to gain profit that would later improve the economy.

 

Therefore, I agree that there were success under his rule as Germany gained their pride and are able to face up to the world. Hitler did make the people suffer but he was able to raise the standard of the country.  So, it wasn’t all disastrous as they are able to maintain and improve their economy after the torturing Treaty of Versailles. The torture that was received by the people showed that Hitler was a stern ruler and the Jews received the worst treatment like the Holocaust which showed that they have been wiped out by using gas chambers. Lastly, I do not agree that it was disastrous as they managed to gain something out of it as long as they do not go against Hitler 

Russia Notes FULL

1.      Why did the Russian monarchy fall(Aft Feb Revo)? Pg 4-11

·         Government

-Everyone had to obey the Tsar.

-Had a little interaction with the people.

-Had no intention to govern  Russia.

à His credibility affected his relations with his fellow Russians

·         Opposition

-Used military power to ensure obedience (Okhrana)

-Newspaper and books were censored

-Anyone who went against him were sent to exile

-There was still grps that oppose him

à A huge number wanted to get rid of him. This led to no support for him n the system

·         1905 Revolution

-People wanted a change for their country

-They were unarmed.

-Soldiers panicked so they opened fire.

- The Duma was set up to pacify the people.

-Tsar introduced new laws to ensure that he does not lose his powers.

 

2.      The greatest impact of WW1? Pg 10-12

·         Russian Army suffered

-Lost many battles = Thousands of soldiers died

-Were not properly trained and no proper weapons

-Bad strategy from the commanders

àThey do not have enough men to protect the country and low morale as they have been losing the war all along.

·         Inflation

Prices of necessities increased drastically

·         Food shortages

-Became rampant among the Russian ppl

-Food were channelled to the soldiers and the ppl were struggling to produce food for themselves

-Food were poorly distributed and not to the right places where ppl needed it most

àThis led to the ppl in Russia suffering. Their efforts of producing food goes to waste as the soldiers did not do well in the war. Therefore. they have low morale.

·         Changes in the govt

-Tsar went to the battlefield

 *shows how incompetent the Tsar was as he did not know how to inspire his soldiers and made bad decisions.

*he could no longer hide behind his generals as himself is in the battlefield

-Tsarina took charge

*she was a German = Ppl did not like it (Germans tht cause the to fight the war and suffer)

*She relied on Rasputin who had little education

*She trusted him to give advise about ruling the country and in courts.

*Tsar absence gave the Duma the power to declare themselves as Provisional Govt.

àThis might create distrust among the ppl as they might question if their leader is loyal to the country. They will also not look up upon the Tsar as a good leader and this might create an uprising in the country.

 

Why did the February revolution occur? Pg 14 

·  The food shortages and rising prices set off by the war

  -Most of the men were sent to war. Therefore there were no men to work in the factories

  àThis led to the public demand better standard of living and change for a better future.

·  The rising numbers of dead and wounded in the war

-Many lost their loved ones and most of them were not trained properly to fight the war. They also had a shortage of machines to fight the war.

àThis led to the public not trusting the government as the government could not provide them with security and peace in their own land and wanted a change in the ruling system.

·  The failure of the government to deal with the problems the war caused

-They faced hardships that decreased the standard of living in Russia.          

-The Tsarina who was in charge did not improve the lifestyle and this made the people much angrier {she was a German. Public did not trust her.}

 àBy not solving the crisis faced, the weakness of the government was shown and the public wanted a change in the system. Therefore, there was a revolution.

 

4.      Why the Provisional Government did not have the support of its people? Pg 18

·  The war was still taking place.

-There were still no differences, redundant as they were still facing a lot of losses and they were losing the war. They did not take Russia out of the war but made Russia suffer in the war. When they were in the war, they did not organize it properly.

 àThis led to the people hating the Govt. more as they did not solve their problems and they were suffering a lot!

·  They were slow in arranging elections.

-They were like the old government and seen as a weak organization after the Tsar. The Govt. was temporary and did not introduce any changes to the public.

àThis led to the people desperately many changes to improve the living as they could not depend on the Provisional Govt. to introduce changes. Therefore, they wanted the elections badly.

·  The Petrograd Soviet was more powerful in the Soviet.

-Consists of Mensheviks and Bolsheviks. They wanted more radical changes to the system. It encourage them to set up their organizations.

à This led to the public demand change.

 

5.      Why were the Bolsheviks were able to obtain success in the October revolution?  

·         Weakness of the Provisional Govt.

-Did not provide the ppl with what they wanted

+did not provide land reforms

+no increase in food supply

 

-Unable to take Russia out of the war

-New changes(Democracy) that was introduced made Russia harder to govern

-No support from the masses, which was the peasants.

-Depended on enemies to take charge of the situation.(Shows their weakness)

-Lenin introduced ‘Peace(out of the war) ,Land(wanted land), Bread(food shortages to end)’

-This was easily understood by everyone and a huge amount of ppl supported it.

àThis led to a huge amount of support from the majority and they are able to win over the hearts of the people. Moreover, the people were facing hardships which made them even more desperate for changes to their life.

·         Bolsheviks were too powerful

-The Provisional Govt gave guns to them to protect Russia .This made them powerful with machines after the Kornilov Affair.

-The govt. had little power to demand back the guns.

-The peasants supported Bolsheviks as they liked the slogans introduced.

 

 

 

Russia Part Two

 

Why were the Reds able to win the Russian Civil War in 1920?

 

·         Trotsky leadership

He was the key person who unite the whole of Russia

He boost the morale and discipline to ensure that they won the war.

He conscripted the troops and made then go through proper to ensure that they were ready for the war.

He concentrated on the troops that was in central Russia and used the railways to send supplies.  

·         Unity

The Reds had a common goal which was the survival of communism as they had gone through the hardships of being poor.

The whites had no unity as they did not know wht they were fighting for and they had no leader to guide properly.

The whites were made of mixed group who were against the Reds.

They fought in separate armies and they did not knw what each other was doing.

·         People support

The reds manage to convince the ppl that they were the defenders of the country,

There would be peace and reforms if they won the civil war.

Many Russians did not want to lose their lands

 àThis led them to supporting the Reds as they wanted change in the system .

The people did not trust the foreign powers to the Whites as the foreign powers were not forever loyal in providing help and assistance

·         Control

The railways were controlled by the Reds. Therefore they had the advantage of sending supplies to the troops in the outlying areas.

The factories were also controlled by the Reds and the could send machines to the other troops.

War communism: The army was well fed and well armed.

àThis led to the army being very sufficient and they had they advantage as they had the food to keep them well.

The  Whites were not consistent as they had an ulterior motive. They wanted and  money from Russia.

They had no trains or radio to send messages to each other and they were normally at the outlying areas.

 

 

 

 

 

How successful was the Five Year Plan. Explain your answer.

 

Positive

+The plans led Russia towards modernisation and industrialization.

+Made Russia a key player in industrialization

+industrialization towns sprang up.

àThis made farming easier and more efficient

State provided health care, education and the basic necessities for the ppl(collective workers).

àHigher standard of living for them

Hard work was rewarded with better pay, housing and medals.

Negative

·         Impact on the people

 - Peasants produced minimum stock so that they dont have to surrender it to the state.(Slaughtered their stock and burnt their buildings)

-The rich were afraid that their lands are taken away and given to the poor..

-The efficient did not want to share their successes and it would unfair to them as they have worked hard for it.

-The ppl had less freedom of action as they were working for the state

àThis led to the growing opposition towards Stalin as he was very strict.

·         The purges

Many opponents were sent to labour camps as the hardships that the ppl faced made some ppl to stand up and voice out.

Stalin sent his secret police to purge them.

àthis led him to being the strongest  power in Russia as his opponents were killed.