Nelson Mandela and Apartheid

Apartheid was an unfair form of government that made black people oppressed in South Africa. They would have to carry identity documents for almost everything they did. They would go to prison if they drank from the wrong water fountain. They would get the death penalty for being with a white girl. They were denied basic human rights. Nelson Mandela along with many others opposed Apartheid in the early 50s and late 60s. He became a famous person very fast because of his work with ANC. However, the South African government threw him in jail for life for sabotage of the government. Twenty-seven long years later, the government came to the conclusion that if Nelson Mandela died in jail, there would no doubt be a revolution where the blood of millions would be spilled. This is why they decided to release Nelson Mandela. Not long after, he finally made Apartheid go away. Later, he became president and served for five years and gained a Nobel Peace Prize. He no doubt prevented a civil war and showed the world the true meaning of peace.

African Independence

After World War II, many Africans did not want to go back to European rule. Europe had exploited Africa's resources for their own and resentment grew. However, many African nations were not ready or prepared for Independence. Ghana was a great example. It gained independence in 1957 with Kwame Nkrumah as its Prime Minister. Nkrumah had many plans for the nations such as building highways, schools and hospitals but this would cost a lot for the economy. Another example was Kenya where two things pushed them to be independent. The first was the rise of Jomo Kenyatta and the secret society of Mau Mau. The secret society tried to scare white British farmers instead of going to war. Kenyatta refused to arrest Mau Mau so the british arrested him for some time but later got out. This was the rise of African Independence.

The Right Stuff

In the Right Stuff, it shows how the US is doing a secret project to break the sound barrier also known as Mach 1. It shows how there were a number of test pilots who died trying to break the sound barrier. When they successfully broke the sound barrier, the US did not want to share word with the world because they were afraid the Russians might find out. The United States did not trust the Russians after WWII because they were still a communist country while the United States was democratic. When Russia found out, they started a space program where they launched a satellite on October 4, 1957. The name of the satellite was Sputnik. The US along with the rest of the world at that time was in shock and fear because they thought it was a death ray when soviet Russia explained it was just an experiment. This lead to JFK saying they planned to do a project with NASA where they planned for the US to walk on the moon. The film mainly focuses on the tensions betweeen Russia and the United States during the Cold War.

Nato and the Cold War

NATO was the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It was for the United States and countries of east and some western European countries. If a country would attack a nation that was a member of NATO, all of those other countries would retaliate. In response to this, the Warsaw pact was created. This pact would not be powerful unless the Soviet Union was part of it. Back then, the only two superpowers in the world was the United States and the Soviet Union. Unlike NATO, the Warsaw Pact was weakening because of the political scene of Russia towards the 80s and it fully dissolved in the 90s.

Film Lesson Night and Fog

Night and Fog was a powerful documentary that showed the very painful things that the jewish people suffered during the holocaust. I was just very surprised and puzzled that they would show violent acts such as this in the media. Especially in that time period, there is no telling how the general audience would have reacted. I was also very sick mentally to my limits thinking that people could do this to other people.

The film really did make me think this was a nasty movie. I really don't think I'll be watching it a second time. I still think Schindler's List was more effective because it lacked human emotions and all it showed me were bloody and dead bodies. The other movie showed the desperation in the jews which is why I prefer the Hollywood version over the documentary anyday.

Film Lesson Schindler's List

Schindler's list was a very accurate depiction of the events that occured in the holocaust. There were many devastating scenes in the movie that show the cruel intentions of the Nazis. However, the film centers around Schindler and how he would get free labor to work in his weapon mines. They would be free from facing execution at the hands of the germans.

To me, the highlight of the movie was when the children came into play and were hiding from the Nazis. They knew what fate they faced if they dare show their faces to the nazis so they went into hiding in the camps. As you saw the eyes of the children hiding, you could see the fear in them. This is what will stay with me

Even though "Night and Fog" was a real documentary, I believe this work of realistic fiction (Schindler's List) is more effective because of the fact it dealt more with human emotions rather than grotesque images of dead bodies. There was vivid imagery throughout the whole movie of human emotions such as sadness, doubt, dissapointment, fear, etc.

Schindler's list will always be remembered as a movie that gave us more insight into a topic that is tragic already

The Treaty of Versailles

After Germany's humiliating loss of WWI, they took most of the blame. This was because even though they didn't start the war, they did the most damage to other nations. Mostly the english and the french were outraged. They wanted revenge but Woodrow Wilson felt that they needed to be more direct so he presented the other nations his fourteen points at the meeting in Versailles.

Germany had suffered many losses in the war but nothing compared to what the Treaty of Versaiiled took from them. The Treaty cost them 13.5% of the territory which also made them lose some seven million people. Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France, Germany lost all its overseas colonites, their army had to be no more than one-hundred thousand men. It also lost many shipping privelages of many heavy-machinery. Also, they were forced to pay reperations but had no money so they took loans from the US. However, when the US entered the great depression in 1929, they couldnt loan Germany any more money. They started an inflation.

I believe the treaty was fair. Germany did do the most damage and even though they were helping an ally of theirs, this did not mean they had to put all their military resources in it. They purposely caused the most damage so they shouldnt have thought it was unfair and as a nation accept the responsibility.

Looking back on history, it is no surprise they believe that this treaty was being unfair to them. Adolph Hitler felt he had to unite this nation that was falling apart and he gave his nation a sense of pride and spoke to them promising them what they wanted to hear. This is how Adolph Hitler rose to power.

Mustafa Kemal and the Modernization of Turkey

Mustafa Kemal believed that the Ottoman Empire weakened throughout the sixteenth and twentieth centuries because of the religious restrictions. Mustafa Kemal became the leader of a new republic because of his surprising victories in several outstanding wars. When he started the nation, he believed it had to be a nation without special privileges or classes. He also believed it was a state of the people and by the people. Therefore, from that belief also came the belief that peasants are the real producers of the state.

The meaning of secular is to not be restricted by religious views. Mustafa Kemal had a very secular point of view. To look more traditional and modern, he made European hats replace the fez, women could stop wearing the veil, all citizens took surnames, and a western calendar replaced the islamic calendar. He also allowed freedom of religion in his country. Obviously he was effective because he recieved many praised from world leaders. Mustafa Kemal is a legend

Gandhi

India had always been well known throughout history but it had never been recognized as an independent nation. It was a colony of Great Britain. Mahatma Gandhi wanted to free India from the British Empire. He believed that the way to gain support for his cause was by peaceful means. He used non-violence to unite the colony of India for his goal. If the British Empire would strike him and he would not do anything back, the people who ened up looking bad are the British.

An example or rather the pillar of the noble cause of Gandhi would be the Amritsar Massacre. In the streets of Amritsar, an english woman claimed she had been molested. The local British authorities passed laws that required the Indians to crawl on their hands and knees on these streets and also legalized the public whipping of Indians who came too close to the local authorites. Gandhi being the peaceful man he was, protestede nonviolently at a festival. However, British troops appeared out of nowhere and started shooting every Indian on sight for eight to ten minutes. Around four-hundred were dead and fifteen-hundred injured.

Why Gandhi became so important was people often stop and think what would happen if he was a violent man. He would look like a tyrant and man who believes Niccolo Machiavelli's philosophy of "The ends justify the means". However, he was a sheer genius for using non-violence. Each time he protested peacefully. the British ended up looking worse each time while India was gaining national and even international support for their cause. His philosophies will always be remembered because they were effective beyond belief. Out of it finally came the independent nation of India.