The Collapse of Communism

The collapse of communism in Eastern Europe was that it had no support, political downfall, and economic problems. The USSR had gained all of its money from the Eastern European states after World War 2, they put all that money into defensive arms and none of that money was being use for the country. When the Soviet Union fell, East Germany made the decision to get rid of the wall. They tore it down and allowed people to travel more over the border with the West. In a couple of years, they reunified East Germany with West Germany and they became one nation again. The collapse of the USSR changes the world by making the USA stronger country in the world and also made EU stronger and powerful. The collapse force China to modernize and a problem ranging from terrorism to open warfare.

Mikhail Gorbachev and the Collapse of Communism

After the deaths of three different Soviet leaders in three years, Gorbachev became the leader of the USSR in 1985. He wanted to improve the Soviet Union’s relation with the US so he met with President Reagan and President Bush nine times, he signed the Intermediate Nuclear Forces arms limitation treaty with President Reagan in 1987 and the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with President Bush in 1991. He also withdrew Soviet troops from Afghanistan in 1989 and removed Soviet support of Communist governments around the world. All of these things he was doing cause the collapse of the Berlin wall in 1989, the Soviet Union gave Eastern European countries to declared independence during the elections in 1990. He encouraged Soviet citizens to discuss ways to improve their society which is one of his policies known as glasnost. He also introduces the idea of local managers gained greater authority over their farms and factories, and people were allowed to open a small private business, which is known as perestroika.

Nelson Mandela and Apartheid

Apartheid is a racist system, which doesn’t give blacks, and Indians didn’t share full rights of citizenship. Nelson Mandela is such a hero because he understands what it means to fight against huge odds. He remained unbeaten and unbowed, despite great outward oppression. He went to prison for his work, because he knew there was no option. He believes that every human being is equal and has rights. He is admired by authors of these articles and sites because he is respected for the man he is and for doing so many things for the right for people.

African Independence

The Africa changed so much in the 20 year period from 1955 to 1975. The British went to Africa for it natural resources, they then enslave the people that was there. They made the people work for them and they also sell slave to other country. The African get tier of the British telling them what to do. The one leader of the African independence was Angolans, he had no education or health facilities and little commerce. He gained an education and saw that other country was gaining their independence with support of groups to help. Their were more leader who did similar thing to gain their independence like Jomo Kenyatta. Altogether it took about 50 years to independence of Africa.

NATO and The Warsaw Pact

Basically the NATO was an alliance of different states with the purpose to defend each other in case that a member state is under attack by the Soviet Union or Warsaw pact. The countries that was in the NATO was the USA, UK, France, West Germany, Italy, Spain, Canada, and 21 other countries. Soviet Union established the Warsaw Pact for the same reason US established NATO, but they were more dangerous than the NATO. The Alliance of Eastern European Communist states that gave the USSR the advantage because of "Satellite States." The members were East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania.

The Right Stuff

The US and the USSR competing in the film "The Right Stuff" they were trying to get to space first and if you control space you can donates the earth. With the control on space they can use nuclear weapon, which would be guided by satellite. The USSR was winning the competition in the race to space, they had the first men in space and US had the first chimp in space. The US was scared because USSA looked like they going to win the war. So try to find the best people to send them into space, the rocket ships the US built kept getting blowing up. The scenes from the film will help you remember this Cold War event the rocket ships going to space and also when the US break the sound barrier, which is the speed of sound.

Film Lesson: "Night and Fog"

My reaction to the night and fog is there people in this world to want to hurt people because of your religion and believes. This film was powerful, it was like schindler’s list but more powerful. The scenes in schindler’s list were like the same, they both show the trains and trucks taking away people. I think the night and fog illustrates the holocaust more effectively because they show the gas chin bur and scenes from the past when the holocaust was going on.

Film Lesson: "Schindler's List"

Schindler’s list illustrated the holocaust as a slaughter house for the Jews and the movie was very descriptive, there were senses were it’s was just to sad to look at. The most powerful scenes was with the children being burned, it just made me feel sad because I’m just a kid to and they was being shot and burned because of their religion. When the Jews were hiding in their house and the Nazis were looking for them, this will stay with me. This film was a good but not as powerful as the night and fog.

The Treaty of Versailles (ended WW I)

The treaty required Germany to change the boundaries of the countries and also places Germany had owned. The treaty also created the League of Nations also took away the colony that was lost in the war. German disagreed but they were forced to accept the treaty, which included the things they had to do or give to the countries. Germany stop giving the Allies lots of things like coal, livestock, money, ships, timber, and other resources. The allies took away Germany’s colonies because of things they do to other countries during the war.

The Treaty of Versailles caused World War II by making the Germans mad. They were mad because they got their land, natural resources, and livestock, taken away. They military had to stop fighting, and many other things. These things made them mad and they wanted to fight back the countries that made them give away their lands. Then came Adolph Hitler, he promise Germany to get back all of there land and to lead them to a brighter future.

Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) and the Modernization of Turkey

Mustafa Kemal (aka: Ataturk) modernize Turkish and made it more secular, he gave his nation a new sense of dignity, equality, and happiness. After more than three centuries of high achievement, the Ottoman Empire had declined from the 17th to the early 20th Century. Atatürk came and lead his country out of the decline past into a new future.

In his way of modernization, secular government and education played a major role by religious faith. A matter of sense of right and wrong, he created a secular system in Turkey, where the huge Moslem majority and the small Christian and Jewish minorities are free to practice their faith. Where all citizens men and women, rich and poor equal before the law. It gave Turkey a firm foundation for a society of justice and equal rights.

Film Lesson: "Gandhi"

Gandi helped his nation of Indain gain independence from Great Britain by going a boycott, which means to stop doing buying, selling, or dealing someting. Gandi and his people protested in a nonviolence way by doing this it will make the British look bad because they not fight back but taking their abused. He told his people to stop buying clothes because they were the one picking the cotton to make it and it was going to Britain to be made into clothes sell back to the Indians.

He stops this by telling people to start weaving their own cloths. He would spend two hours a day sinning his own clothes. The other thing he did was starves himself when his people would try to fight back. He also did a salt march to the seashore to make his own salt because the Britain would make slat and sell it to the Indian people and using the Indian people. By doing this Britain would lose a lot of money and it was a problem for them so the give them indecencies.