World at War, strayer 21

27/2/2015

Bingham

27/2/2015 01:18:22

BPQ1: What explains the disasters that befell Europe in the first half of the twentieth century?

A variety of factors lay behind the disasters. For example, the numerous competitive states that were a force in driving Europe’s expanding influence in the world over the previous four centuries became a liability as they turned on one another in devastating wars within Europe.

The industrial production that underpinned Europe’s wealth and power was used to fight destructive wars within Europe.

The growing power of governments and the resources of their colonial empires were directed toward warfare between European powers.

Nationalism, communism, and fascism all provided ideological motivations for war.

The Great Depression had an impact on all European economies, further destabilizing the region and adding to tensions within societies.

James O.

27/2/2015 13:30:49

Well, you weren't kidding when you said that this chapter was dense! (no surprise there) I was just wondering and worrying about how much detail we need to be familiar with for this upcoming test and the AP exam in general when internalizing these dense semi-contemporary topics?

Bingham

28/2/2015 02:47:31

Good question, and one we'll get to as the exam gets closer. Here's the short version though.

The exam uses the six periods they have outlined, 8000 BCE to 600 BCE, 600 BCE to 600 CE, etc. and the way they allocate questions in the multiple choice section. Periods 1 & 2 are 20% of the exam, 3 is 20%, 4 is 20%, 5 is 20%, and 6 is 20%.

So consider this, if each of these five parts gets an equal share, there is going to be more detail as the periods get shorter. Strayer has done this work for you. He allocates roughly equal space to each period; this gives you the level of detail you need for the exam. Not much early, and a whole lot later.

In the end, you have to trust Strayer, and trust me. Read what he gives you, and do what I tell you to do. It's a proven formula.

Bingham

28/2/2015 03:02:56

Here's a little help: In what ways did fascism challenge the ideas and practices of European liberalism and democracy?

Where fascism arose, it sought to revitalize and purify the nation and to mobilize people for a grand task. Fascists condoned violence against enemies, exalted action rather than thought and reflection (that's their answer to your English EOC practive prompt!), and looked to a charismatic leader for direction. They condemned individualism, liberalism, feminism, and parliamentary democracy, all of which, they argued, divided and weakened the nation.

What was distinctive about the German expression of fascism? What was the basis of popular support for the Nazis?

German-style fascism was distinct because the Nazis were able to assume police powers more thoroughly than their Italian counterparts were able to achieve, which limited opposition.

Far more so than in Italy, Adolf Hitler and the Nazis used Jews as a symbol of the urban, capitalist, and foreign influences that were supposedly corrupting “true” German culture.

Emphasis on a racial revolution was a central feature of the Nazi program and differed from the racial attitudes in Italy. The Italians dreamed of a return to the “glorious” culture of the Roman Empire.

In terms of popular support for Nazism, war veterans who had felt betrayed by German politicians after World War I formed an important base of support.

The Nazis also gradually drew support from the middle classes as well as from conservative landowners because of the ruinous inflation of 1923 and then the Great Depression.

By the late 1930s, the Nazis apparently had the support of a considerable majority of the population, in large measure because their policies successfully brought Germany out of the Depression.

aidan

28/2/2015 05:39:45

Thank you Bingham this was one of the questions that i was having trouble with.

Aidan

28/2/2015 06:00:51

Here is what i found for MQ1: What aspects of Europe's nineteenth cent. history contributed to the 1st world war?
>Europe's system of rigid alliances
>slovic nationalism and Austrian opposition to that nationalism
>the pressure of public nationalism gave statesmen very little room for compromise and led to popular support of the decision to go to war.
>Industrialized militarism meant that military men had great social prestige and influence
>elaborat "war plans" that were developed before, and in case any conflict happened led to a "hair trigger" mentality
>Europe's imperial reach led to large amounts of troops and supporters for the war.

please let me know if i missed anything.

Bingham

28/2/2015 07:44:54

Solid answer. Traditionally, we put forward four causes; industrialized militarism, interlocking alliances, fervent nationalism, and one you and Strayer only infer, colonial rivalries (competition to grab the juiciest potential colonies to exploit.)

The Austrian/Serbian stuff is often overemphasized because it was a Serbian terrorist that shot the Austrian Archduke. This is often misrepresented by students as a "cause" of the war, really, it was more a "spark", or the event that swung all of the above factors in to play.

aidan

1/3/2015 08:09:31

thanks Bingham

Bethany V.

28/2/2015 06:40:15

So at the very bottom of p.633 and at the very top of p.634, Strayer talks about how unemployment in both Germany and the U.S. reached 30 percent or more by 1932. But then in the chart at the bottom of p.635, it shows that the highest extent of Germany's unemployment was around 13 or 14%. Is this a mistake? Is it possible that in the key Germany and Great Britain are switched?

Bingham

28/2/2015 07:51:35

I'm working from the red book, and the chart is accurate. The yellow (non-document book) may have the error. We've seen differences between the two before in margin questions for example.

The facts are that German unemployment reached the 30% mark. In fact, in 1932, US unemployment was actually higher that the German's; 32 and 30% respectively.

So why no Hitler in America? It's complex, but it has to do with the enormous faith Americans had in democracy and the integrity of FDR. Germans were much more familiar with authoritarian rule, and of course the anger and the shame they felt over the Treaty of Versailles and the loss of WWI.

Bingham

28/2/2015 07:56:21

Here's another one for free.
How did Japan’s experience during the 1920s and 1930s resemble that of Germany, and how did it differ?

Their experiences were similar in that both countries were newcomers to great-power status; had limited experience with democratic politics; moved toward authoritarian government and a denial of democracy at home; launched aggressive programs of territorial expansion; and enacted policies that included state-financed credit and large-scale spending on armaments and public works projects to bring their respective countries out of the Depression quite quickly.

Their experiences differed in that Japan remained, at least internally, a less repressive and more pluralistic society than Germany; no right-wing party was able to seize power in Japan; Japan produced no charismatic leader on the order of Mussolini or Hitler; and Japanese conceptions of their racial purity and uniqueness were directed largely against foreigners rather than an internal minority.

The next question is vital. Let's see what you guys can do with it.

Isabella Jarosz

1/3/2015 03:25:20

Here's my answer for MQ2. It's insanely long, so tell me if there's something that's unnecessary (and, as always, if I'm missing something).
2. In what ways did World War I mark new departures in the history of the twentieth century?
− The mobilization of each country’s entire population made the authority of governments expand greatly
− women began to work in factories (since the suffrage movement was halted due to the war)
− labor unions agreed to suspend strikes and accept sacrifices for the common good
− unprecedented casualties and physical destruction led to a widespread disillusionment among intellectuals with their own civilization
o the war seemed to mock the ideals of the Enlightenment- how can we seriously believe now that the West is superior?
− with the collapse of German, Russian, and Austrian empires emerged a new map of Central Europe with an independent Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and other nations
o based on the principle of “national self-determination” (Freedom of the people of a given area to determine their own political status; independence.)
− in Russia, the strains of war triggered a vast revolutionary upheaval that brought the radical Bolsheviks into power in 1917, effectively removing Russia from the war
o from this, world communism was launched (Chapter 22, anyone?)
− The Treaty of Versailles, which placed blame and limited the military resources of Germany, created conditions for WWII by creating immense resentment in Germany
− The Ottoman Empire authorities suspected that some of their Armenian population were working with Russians, committing mass genocide (though that specific term was not yet used) of these people, and setting a precedent for genocide that Nazi Germany later used
− brought a final end to the Ottoman Empire, creating the modern Middle East map (which includes countries such as Turkey, Syria, Iraq)
− Conflicting British promises to both Arabs and Jews (after the Ottoman decline, Arabs were often placed under control of the British) regarding Palestine set the stage for an enduring conflict over Palestine
− African and Asian colonial subjects, after participating in the war, returned home with new knowledge regarding military skills and political awareness, a loss of respect for their leaders, and an expectation that they would be treated fairer because of their efforts
− British publicly promised to put India on the road to self-government, an announcement that set the stage for the independence struggle that followed
− Japan emerged strengthened from the war and inspired to take over German territory and privileges in China, enraging Chinese nationalists and sparked an interest in Soviet-style communism due to their support of China
− brought US to the status of a global power

Bingham

1/3/2015 08:16:00

Good answer. This one is very big pituresque, so it ends up being long. You've covered it well.

Isabella Jarosz

1/3/2015 05:13:24

3. In what ways was the Great Depression a global phenomenom?
− investment dried up, world trade dropped by 62% within a few years, and businesses contracted when they were unable to sell their products
− loss of work; unemployment rates soared
o in both Germany and America, unemployment hit 30% or more by 1932
− fragile economic network across the Atlantic was destroyed due to the inability of foreign countries to buy each other’s goods (as exemplified in the case of America: a booming economy in the 20s created a surplus of goods that Europeans could not buy)
− societies dependent on a single crop to sustain their economy (Chile- copper mining; Brazil- coffee; Southeast Asia- rubber) were very vulnerable to changes

Bingham

1/3/2015 08:18:33

Yeah, I think the salient points are drying up markets, and the damage to single commodity export countries.

Bethany V.

1/3/2015 08:25:30

Here is some good vocab. to know. Feel free to add to the list.

Attrition- gradually reducing the strength of something through sustained attack, p.630
Orator- an eloquent pubic speaker, p.637
Ostracism- exclusion from a society or group, p.641
Phrenology- a science focused on measurements of the human skull, p.641
Occidental- western, p.644
Pluralistic- a condition in which numerous distinct ethnic, religious, or cultural groups are present and tolerated within a society, p.644
Stymied- impeded, obstructed, p.645
Moribund- in terminal decline, waning, p.653

Bridget Fenner

1/3/2015 10:40:51

MQ5: What was distinctive about the German expression of fascism? What was the basis of popular support for the Nazis?

- German-style fascism was prominent because the Nazis secured police powers more thoroughly than their Italian counterparts, limiting resistance.
- Adolf Hitler and the Nazis used Jews as a symbol of the urban, capitalist, and foreign influences that were supposedly corrupting “true” German culture, more so than in Italy, where anti-semitism existed, though not to the German extent.
- Emphasis on a racial revolution was a central feature of the Nazi program and differed from the attitude towards racism in Italy, which was far less aggressive.
- War veterans who had felt betrayed by German politicians after World War I formed an important base of support towards the growing Nazism.
- The Nazis also slowly gained support from the middle classes and from conservative landowners due to destructive inflation of 1923, and then the Great Depression in 1929.
- By the late 1930s, the Nazis had the support of the majority of the population, mostly because their policies were able to bring Germany out of the Depression.

Let me know if I'm missing anything, I feel like I might be

Bingham

1/3/2015 13:03:21

Um, good, but I answered this one above.

Bridget Fenner

1/3/2015 14:09:49

Oops, I'm sorry, I completely read over it by mistake. Here's MQ 7 and 8 to make up for that stupid error;

MQ7 :In what way were the origins of World War II in Asia and in Europe similar to each other? How were they different?

-Japan & Germany: Both were unhappy with their place and status of power and expanded their territories through coersion, creating strain with the other international powers.
- Japanese leaders and elites felt that they weren’t being treated as equally powerful as the other international powers on the world stage due to racism, while Germans thought they were being treated poorly due to their loss in WWI.
- The beginning of Japan’s takeovers were driven by a desire for resources and raw materials, and Germany was driven primarily by rivalries with its surrounding powers.

MQ8:How did World War II differ from World War I?

- World War II was a genuinely global conflict with independent origins in both Asia and Europe, more than WWI.
- WWII was more violent and devestating to the economy, society, and government, with six times the deaths than in World War I (60, 000, 000).
- Over ½ of the casualties in WWII were civilian deaths, almost completely blurring the established line between civilian and military targets, different to the death toll and nature of WWI.
- In WWII, governments mobilized their economies, people, and propaganda machines more than in WWI.
- The Holocaust in WWII was a viciuous act, called genocide, that was incomporable to the Armenian genocide in WWI.
- WWII altered the stucture of global politics more than WWI had.
- Post WWII, Europe was divided, the western half under an American umbrella while the eastern half was under the control of the Soviets.
- Unlike the aftermath of WWI, Europe’s role in the world was weakened in the years after WWII, and colonies that had been under European control in Asia and Africa achieved their independence.
- WWII granted the consolidation/growth of the communist world, unlike WWI.
- Better and more efficient worldwide organizations (like the UN and the World Bank) were created post WWII, compared to the League of Nations created after WWI, which was effective in theory, but ultimately failed.
- The United States had a more prominent presence in the world after WWII compared to the decades after WWI, where it played little more role than it had in the past.

Sorry again, that was ridiculous. Once again, let me know if I'm missing anything.

Jansen

29/3/2015 06:00:47

I believe you're missing one important fact. As an AP Teacher, I believe I should tell you that Fascism promoted violence.

Keya

4/4/2015 11:21:28

how was the german expression of nazism like that of its italian counterpart

Bingham

4/4/2015 15:22:46

We've moved past this topic in my class, but I assume what you mean is, "how does Italian fascism compare to German fascism in this period". Of course Nazism only existed in Germany. Nonetheless, Musolini, like the Nazis relied on intense nationalism, a charismatic leader, and violent thugs to suppress intellectuals and other dissidents in their society. The was a similar militarily mystique, but more of a dream of a return to the glory of Rome than a scapegoating of communists and Jews within their society.

abc

15/4/2017 18:32:31

World at War, strayer 21

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Bingham

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