The student will explain conflict and change in Europe to the 21st century.

Describe major developments following World War I: the Russian Revolution, the Treaty of Versailles, worldwide depression, and the rise of Nazism. Arms Race Alliance System Imperialism Nationalism Causes that led to World War I Assassination of Franz Ferdinand The more one nation built up its army and navy, the more other nations felt they had to do the same. For Twenty years, the nations of Europe had been making alliances. The danger of these alliances was that an argument between two countries could draw all the other nations into a fight. European nations ruled smaller countries, called colonies, and competed with each other to amass more colonies. Germany and Italy decided they wanted a colonial empire too. Nationalism gave groups of subject peoples the idea of forming independent nations of their own.

Major developments following World War I: The Russian Revolution The Treaty of Versailles Worldwide depression The rise of Nazism.

The Russian Revolution – A series of Crises 1905 – Russo-Japanese War Japan wins some key islands once owned by Russia Bloody Sunday (January 22, 1905) Peasants approach the Czars winter palace in St. Petersburg with a petition asking for better work conditions and food. Troops opened fire on the crowd of women and children and as many as 1000 die. The Duma a legislative body made by the Czar in response to national unrest – he dissolved it weeks later. Others met, yet did nothing. WWI – An unmitigated disaster for Russia. Weak generals, poorly equipped troops (some sent with no gun!) 4 million Russian soldiers die in the first year. The war drained the government money reserves and food shortages begin. Rasputin Nicholas II goes to the front, his wife turns to a holy man/psychic for help in running the government. Russians are furious about this. Czar Nicholas II is overthrown. He and his family are executed.

The Treaty of Versailles In 1919, this treaty put an official end to World War I. Since Germany was the loser, they had to agree to its provisions: Created the League of Nations The purpose of the organization was to arbitrate conflicts between nations before they lead to war. Reparations It required that Germany accept responsibility for the war and was thus obliged to pay large amounts of compensation to other countries. Officially put at $33,000,000,000, a sum that many economists deemed to be excessive. The economic problems that the payments brought are cited as one of the causes of the rise of dictator Adolf Hitler, and inevitably led to the outbreak World War II. Restricted German armed forces Loss of Territory Loss of German colonies around the world, and loss of German territory to France, Denmark, and Poland.

Worldwide Depression Depression Work Sheet Stock Market crash of 1929 – the financial affects were felt around the world. Street scene on Black Thursday, Oct. 24, 1929, the day the New York stock market crashed and the day that many mark as the beginning of the Great Depression.

The Rise of Nazism After the defeat in the First World War, Germany becomes a democracy. Social Democrats and Liberal parties form the new government. The enormous costs of the war cause rampant inflation. Unemployment rises to over five million. Large parts of the population live in fear of falling back into 19th-century poverty. Nationalist parties and the newly founded National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP) blame the democratic constitution, the parties supporting the new republic and the unjust provisions of the peace treaty of Versailles for the chaos. But above all it is "the Jew" who is being blamed: The German worker is being ruined by "Jewish Capital" and threatened by "Jewish Bolshevism" that wants to turn him into a slave. The Nazi party under the leadership of Adolf Hitler gains more votes in every election. It promises to "restore honor" to the Germans, to renew political order and to bring back "work and bread."

The Nazi party under the leadership of Adolph Hitler gained more votes in every election. He appealed to the poor and the powerless. They promised to "restore honor" to Germans, to renew political order and to bring back "work and bread." "Women! Millions of men without work. Millions of children without a future. Save the German family. Vote for Adolf Hitler!"

Explain the impact of WWII in terms of the Holocaust, the origins of the Cold War, and the rise of Superpowers. Movie poster: The Eternal Jew German Propaganda The United States and the Soviet Union Vie for power.

Holocaust The full story. Hitler blamed Germanys problems on the Jews. As Hitler's plan unfolded, mass arrests of Jews were ordered. Men, women and children of all ages were herded into town squares and railway yards in cities throughout Europe. Adults with a trade and in good physical health were taken to work camps where they were forced to work as slaves to supply the German army with food, clothing, weapons and ammunition. Adults who were sick or too weak to work were taken to death camps where they were either hanged, shot or gassed to death by the thousands. Their bodies, stripped of clothing, jewelry and even the gold fillings in their teeth, were either dumped and buried in mass graves or cremated in large ovens and open pits. Many school-aged children suffered the same fate as the sick and elderly. Some were spared the death camps, but their fate was just as horrible. They were used as subjects in all kinds of medical experiments. Some were given germs that caused diseases, and once sick, injected with experimental medicines to study how the human body would respond. An estimated 12 million people died in the holocaust.

Europe became divided after World War II

Origins of the Cold War The cold war began with mistrust between the Soviet Union and the western democracies especially the United States. So why were these two super powers so distrustful of the other? United StatesSoviet Union Free ElectionsNo Elections or fixed elections DemocraticAutocratic/Dictatorship CapitalistCommunist Survival of the fittest Everybody helps everyone else Richest world power Poor economic base Personal freedomSociety controlled by the secret police Freedom of the media Total censorship * American fear of communist attack * Trumans dislike of Stalin * Russias fear of the American's atomic bomb * Russias dislike of capitalism * Russias actions in the Soviet zone of Germany * Americas refusal to share nuclear secrets * Russias expansion west into Eastern Europe + broken election promises * Russias fear of American attack * Russias need for a secure western border * Russias aim of spreading world communism Causes of the Cold War

* American fear of communist attack * Trumans dislike of Stalin * Russias fear of the American's atomic bomb * Russias dislike of capitalism * Russias actions in the Soviet zone of Germany * Americas refusal to share nuclear secrets * Russias expansion west into Eastern Europe + broken election promises * Russias fear of American attack * Russias need for a secure western border * Russias aim of spreading world communism Causes of the Cold War

To be a superpower, a nation needs to have a strong economy, an overpowering military, immense international political power and, a strong national ideology. The Rise of Superpowers 1945 United States Soviet Union British Empire British Commonwealth

Explain how the collapse of the Soviet Union led to the end of the Cold War and German reunification. First, the Soviets underestimated the degree to which the non-Russian ethnic groups in the country (which was more than fifty percent of the total population) would resist assimilation into a Russianized State. Second, their economic planning failed to meet the needs of the State, which was caught up in a vicious arms race with the United States (more spending on military needs than the peoples needs). This led to gradual economic decline, eventually necessitating the need for reform. Finally, the ideology of Communism, which the Soviet Government worked to instill in the hearts and minds of its population, never took firm root, and eventually lost whatever influence it had originally carried. Reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Union In December of 1991, as the world watched in amazement, the Soviet Union disintegrated into fifteen separate countries.

German Reunification From 1945 until 1990, Germany was divided into two countries: East Germany and West Germany. East Germany had a Communist government and West Germany was a democracy. The city of Berlin was also divided. East Berlin became the capital of East Germany and West Berlin was a part of West Germany. Unification means making two or more parts as one. The German reunification took place on October 3, 1990, when East Germany again became a part of the Federal Republic of Germany. The wall that divided East and West Berlin, a symbol of the Iron Curtain that divided the country, came down. People were now free to travel all over Germany.

References eea.gifhttp://images.encarta.msn.com/xrefmedia/aencmed/targets/maps/mhi/0015 7eea.gif of_Superpowers_After_WWII-81.htmhttp:// of_Superpowers_After_WWII-81.htm tmhttp:// tm

Created by Debra Harrington – Yeager Middle School