part 3

World War I

* Causes (MAIN)

* Militarism: Weapons and naval buildup by major European powers, aiming to display military might.

* Alliance System: Intended to prevent war but instead drew multiple countries into conflict when one was attacked.

* Imperialism: Competition over colonies and land, where winning a war often resulted in territorial gains.

* Nationalism: The belief in one's country's superiority, leading to desires for revenge (e.g., France against Germany) or proving national strength (e.g., German military).

* Immediate Cause (The Spark): Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary by a Serbian nationalist in June 1914.

* Warfare Technology: Industrialized warfare with new technologies like the machine gun, fast-firing artillery, and poison gas.

* Trench Warfare: Resulted from the effectiveness of new weapons, leading both sides to dig trenches for protection and a stalemate for over three years.

* War of Attrition: A style of warfare where victory is achieved by exhausting the enemy's soldiers, resources, and morale.

Treaty of Versailles

* US President Woodrow Wilson's "14 Points"

* League of Nations: An international body for peaceful conflict resolution.

* National Self-Determination: The idea that conquered ethnic groups should have their own countries.

* Key Provisions (Sections):

* Article 231 (War Guilt Clause): Germany took sole blame for the war, which was humiliating and exploited by future politicians.

* Article 235 (War Reparations): Germany had to pay $31-33 billion (1919 dollars), leading to severe debt, currency collapse, and hyperinflation in the 1920s.

* Military Reduction: Germany's military was reduced to 100,000 soldiers, further humiliating the nation.

* Loss of Colonies: Germany's colonies were given to France and Britain as mandates.

* Creation of League of Nations: Formed but lacked power, failing to stop Hitler's aggression later.

* Ottoman Empire Mandates: Remnants of the dissolved Ottoman Empire became mandates of France and the UK (e.g., Palestine, future Israel).

* Long-Term Effects:

* League of Nations' lack of power contributed to the rise of Hitler.

* German humiliation and economic decline hastened by the Treaty fueled Hitler's popularity.

Russian Revolution

* Causes: Similar to the French Revolution, stemming from political, economic, and social issues.

* Political: Absolute monarchy (Czar), no parliament, and suppression of criticism by secret police.

* Persecution of Jews: Historically, Russia persecuted Jews, often referred to as "pogroms."

* Social Class Issues: Nobility and monarchy held all power; working class sought better pay/conditions; middle class desired political power; peasants wanted their own land.

* World War I: Exacerbated existing problems, leading to food shortages, long working hours, and low pay.

* Bolsheviks: A communist political party led by Vladimir Lenin.

* Lenin's Promises: "Peace, Land, and Bread" – pulling Russia out of WWI, providing food, and redistributing land to peasants.

* Bolshevik/October Revolution: The Bolsheviks seized power, leading to a civil war.

* Command Economy: The government controlled all elements of the economy, becoming the norm in the Soviet Union.

* New Economic Policy (NEP): Implemented after the Civil War to revive the failing economy by infusing some capitalism into the communist system, spurring growth.

Joseph Stalin (after Lenin's death)

* Five-Year Plans: Stalin's goal to rapidly industrialize the Soviet Union through a command economy with quotas for heavy industry. Successful in spurring industrial growth.

* Collectivization of Agriculture: Forced nationalization of all land, especially in Ukraine, with farmers working for the state. Resistance led to killings or imprisonment in Gulags.

* Holodomor: Stalin forcibly took grain from Ukrainian farmers, causing a famine that starved or executed 3-7 million Ukrainians in the early 1930s (Ukrainian Holocaust).

* Purges: Stalin eliminated perceived political opponents, killing over a million people in the mid to late 1930s, including much of the military leadership right before WWII.

Interwar Period & Rise of Nazism

* Fascism: Believe in a dictator, totalitarianism, militarism, and that individuals serve the state. Nazis were German fascists.

* Nazi Rise to Power: Germany's failing Weimar Republic economy and blame on the Treaty of Versailles and Jews (scapegoating) helped Nazis gain support.

Causes of World War II

* Japanese Aggression: Japan expanded its colonial empire by conquering land in Northern China, Korea, Eastern Seaboard of China, and Southeast Asia.

* Rape of Nanjing (1937): Japanese military murdered 100,000-300,000 Chinese civilians, a horrific human rights abuse.

* Territorial aggression, similar to Nazi Germany, was a main cause of WWII.

* German Aggression (under Hitler): Hitler began taking over land, violating the Treaty of Versailles, while the League of Nations failed to stop him.

* Occupation of Austria: Hitler's homeland was taken without much problem.

* Czechoslovakia (Sudetenland): British and French appeased Hitler by allowing him to take the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia, believing it was his last demand.

* Appeasement: Giving in to an aggressor's demands to avoid conflict. Hitler interpreted this as weakness and later took all of Czechoslovakia.

* Non-Aggression Pact (Germany & Soviet Union): Initially signed to prevent war between them, dividing Poland.

* Invasion of Poland: Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, officially starting WWII in Europe.

World War II Warfare

* Blitzkrieg ("Lightning Warfare"): German strategy using fast airplanes and tanks to quickly take over large territories, a contrast to WWI trench warfare.

* Hitler's Biggest Mistake: Invading the Soviet Union in June 1941, breaking the neutrality pact. German soldiers were unprepared for the Russian winter.

* Battle of Stalingrad: Major turning point where the Soviet Union won, beginning their offensive push back to Berlin.

* US Entry: Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, bringing the US into WWII (declaring war on Japan and Nazi Germany by December 1941).

* Total War: All citizens contribute to the war effort (making clothes, weapons, ships). Civilians also became targets to break enemy morale.

* Atomic Bombs: Used on Japan, ending the war in the Pacific Theater and officially WWII. This initiated the Nuclear Age and Cold War tensions.

Effects of World War II

* Rise of Nationalism: Fueled the idea that colonized people should be independent (e.g., India gained independence two years after WWII).

The Holocaust

* Nuremberg Laws: (1935) Revoked Jewish citizenship, required identification, and encouraged public persecution of Jews.

* Kristallnacht: Destruction of Jewish synagogues, homes, and businesses.

* Wannsee Conference (1942): Nazis decided to implement the "Final Solution," the genocide of European Jews.

* Death Camps & Gas Chambers: Used to industrialize genocide.

* Casualties: 11-12 million people killed, including approximately 6 million European Jews.

* Impact on Nationalism (Zionism): Led to a renewed push for Zionism, the belief that Jews should have their own country in their ancestral homeland (Palestine/Canaan), leading to the creation of Israel in 1948.

* Nuremberg Trials: (Post-WWII) Trials of 24 leading Nazi war criminals charged with "crimes against humanity" for the Holocaust. 22 found guilty.

* Significance of Nuremberg Trials: Set a precedent for holding individuals accountable for heinous acts against civilians in international law.