China

The struggle for power following the death of Mao Zedong, Hua Guofeng, the reemergence of Deng Xiaoping and the defeat of the Gang of Four Events Before 1976  Mao was the leader of the People's Republic of China since it was created in 1949 He introduced the Great Leap Forward in 1958 The Great Leap Forward was a policy which was put in place to modernise the Chinese economy by mobilising its population, most of the population was placed on communes where they had to help with industrialisation and increase productivity, due to the lack of China's resources the plan failed and caused wide spread famine Due to the failure of the Great Leap Forward and the Great Proletarian Cultural revolution that resulted from this failure Mao's reputation and position in the Party was damaged, although the Chinese population still had a lot of respect for him especially the youth as they had grown up with the communism propaganda at school as well at home Liu Shaoqi succeeded Mao in 1959 and became the new Chairman of the People's Republic of China, Deng Xiaoping became the General Secretary of the Party, even though Mao was no longer the at the head of the government he was still Chairman of the Communist Party  The new leaders of the Party wanted to find solutions to fix China's economy however these went against Mao's revolutionary policies which he had insisted upon to catch up with the West and compete for leadership in the communist world with the Soviet Union One of the solutions implemented by Liu to restore the economy was to allow peasants to cultivate on small plots and make crafts which they could then sell at markets Mao was against this return to capitalism and wanted to keep a revolutionary focus, even though many leaders still respected him, a lot of them questioned his leadership which angered him Mao turned more and more to his wife for support and she became his confidant  In 1965 Mao created the Red Guards (revolutionary youth), initiating the Cultural Revolution The Red Guards would go to Universities to look for students who where not loyal enough to the Party, some Party members where removed from their positions, other were put under house arrest, and the people who were not loyal enough outside the public eye where treated with violence The situation got out of control quite fast, the Red Guards confused the revolution with violence when Mao had said "learn revolution by making revolution"  In 1966, Mao realised that his campaign had failed and he had to put an end to the violence by breaking up the Red Guards The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution ended in 1969, a new constitution was adopted and Lin Biao was named as Mao's successor The People's Liberation Army and the Party congress where put in charge of the country however they where told that this was only temporary and that once stability had returned they where to go back to answering to the Party instead of controlling it, however two thirds of them where military staff and so the question was how to remove them from the leadership of the Party Mao wanted to remove Lin from his power which was mot easy According to official Chinese records, Lin was planning a coup against the government however the plan was uncovered  Lin and his family fled the country but died in a plane crash that they had boarded in Mongolia in September 1971 The power then went back to Mao and Premier Zhou Enlai These two grew weaker with age and so new potential leaders started to emerge. These included the Gang of Four (Jiang Qing and her supporters) Hua Guofeng (a new member of the Party) and Deng Xiaoping. The Gang of Four  Mao's wife, Jiang Qing started to get involved in government matters in the 1950s when she started to work with the Ministry of Culture She wanted to create opera and theatre which put the Communist Party in good view  Her involvement in politics increased more and more from then on She controlled the media to great extents in the hopes to control national culture In addition she had a lot of propaganda at her disposal which helped her political position Many members of the Party were worried about the influence Jiang Qing had on Mao, especially during the Cultural Revolution The Central Cultural Revolution Committee was formed in 1966, Jiang Qing was first vice chair woman  The Committee also included Jiang Qing's closest friends from Shanghai, Yao Wenyuan, Zhang Chunqiao and Wang Hongwen Together these three with Jiang Qing would become known later on as the Gang of Four Yao Wenyuan was Mao's chief propagandist Zhang Chunqiao was deputy secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee Wang Hongwen was the union leader During the Cultural Revolution the Gang of Four wanted to eliminate bourgeois influences and the revisionist ways  They also wanted to eliminate the Four Olds which were Culture, Customs, habits and thought Jiang Qing managed to keep her position of power after the Cultural Revolution was over Jiang, Zhang and Wang became members of the politburo in 1969 When Lin died, the Gang of Four seized the opportunity to increase their power within the government and wanted the Cultural Revolution to keep going Mao who had previously relied on his wife as his confidant started to lose trust in her, he felt like she was controlling his access to knowledge and people The two then separated and would only meet on appointment Mao was judgmental of the Gang of Four but still used them against some of the members of the politburo to prevent any small group from gaining too much power Deng Xiaoping, Zhou Enlai and Hua Guofeng  There was a more moderate and down to earth group in the politburo  Deng Xiaoping was the leader of this group and was against the Cultural Revolution which the Gang of Four were so keen to reinstate, he also wanted to introduce some degree of capitalism within the Chinese economy Zhou Enlai was the Premier and supported and protected Deng Xiaoping, they both wanted order to be restored within the country In early 1973, during the course of the power struggle Zhou died Mao was to choose who was to succeed Zhou Zhou's own choice would have been Deng The Gang of Four tried to have Zhang replace Zhou's position as premier Mao eventually named Hua Guofeng as Premier Hua Guofeng was not well known and had been top security official from Mao's home province  The leaders of the Party were not exactly enthusiastic about Hua being named as Premier but they did not object either The Qingming Festival 1976  The festival was in Beijing Started on March 29 th and ended on April 4th The population took advantage of the festival to publicly mourn Zhou and support Deng and indirectly criticize Mao and the Gang of Four The government was not expecting this and was by which means to react Hua and Mao agreed that the government was to discretely remove the flowers and poems that had been written, the day after the end of the festival By doing so the hope was to lower tension and prevent a conflict from taking place between the government and the people However instead of preventing a conflict it started one as when news about the removal of the flowers and poems spread through Beijing, the population started to protest The people marched to the square carrying anti-Mao message banners  The decision was taken to go ahead with the removal of the flowers and poems and subdue the protestors using violence Protestors were arrested, beaten up and it is said that some were beheaded in the square The population was once again repressed under Mao's leadership Mao then accused Deng of leading the protests and so Deng was removed from his position in government and was suppose to be investigated for political mistakes However Deng fled from Beijing and found refuge in Canton under the protection of General Ye Jianying He stayed in Canton until the death of Mao Mao's Death and the Defeat of the Gang of Four  Mao was suffering from Parkinson's disease and grew weaker and weaker in time On the 9th of September 1976 Mao succumb to the disease  Mao had wanted Hua to succeed him but all the others were waiting for Mao's death before trying to take over the power When that day arrived the Gand of Four seized the opportunity to take over by using the influence they had over the media, urban militia and universities However they did not realise Hua's strength and the support he was to get from politburo members and the military  After Mao died, Jiang altered some of Mao's writings to make it appear as if Mao had wanted her to succeed him, this was exposed however she still remained in a strong position  In the politburo meeting Jiang argued that she should succeed Mao as Hua was incompetent to do so Hua argued on the other hand that succession should be dealt with as it had been in the past, that is the vice chairman should succeed the chairman until the next session of the Central Committee  Hua had support from many people including the defence minister Ye Jianuang The Gang of Four quickly realised that they were losing power and so decided to carry out a coup on October the 6th  The Gang of Four was to get military support from Mao's nephew and political commissar of the Shenyang Military Region The plan was to take the power by force from the government and assassinate some of the politburo members including Hua and Ye When Jiang realised that even with the support of Mao's nephew the Gang lacked weapons, she tried to recruit some members of the politburo to help her with military support however her plan back fired as these decided to tell Hua of her plans rather than joining her cause When Hua found out about Jiang's plans, he held a meeting and together with Ye, Chen and other allies they agreed to launch a pre-emptive strike by safeguarding Beijing and arresting the Gang of Four On the 5th of October Hua called an emergency meeting of the politburo for midnight, when Zhang and Wang arrived they were arrested Yao and Jiang were arrested later at their homes as they had not gone to the politburo meeting The Gand of Four was expelled from the Party and was awaiting trial, it lost all its support as well as its power After this Jiang was portrayed as a power hungry woman who had exploited the death of her husband  The population had lost all respect for Jiang and her reputation was destroyed There was still great respect for Mao and so if his wife appeared in a photo with him, she was blacked out and this was done so that people knew that she had been removed from the photo The Gang of Four finally went on trial, Jiang and Zhang initially received the death sentence but this was then changed to life imprisonment, Wang received life imprisonment as well and finally Yao received 20 years imprisonment Events After the Defeat of the Gang of Four  The actions of the Gang of Four where condemned In addition to being Premier, Hua was made chairman of the Party and Military Commission Deng was reinstated by Hua to the politburo and was made vice-chairman of the Central Committee once again Hua decided that China should focus on industrialisation again Deng was in charge of the four modernizations which were agriculture, science and technology and industry and national defence Deng had important economic and political power again Within the Politburo three power groups emerged Nine members supported Deng Nine members supported Hua Three members supported Ye Even though Ye had fewer supporters he held the balance and this made him the decision maker There was tension between the groups however the Congress called for unity, stability and cooperation Hua adopted a policy which was called the Two Whatevers: We will resolutely uphold whatever policy decision Chairman Mao made, and unswervingly follow whatever instructions Chairman Mao gave This was not a popular policy for those who wanted to move away from the Maoist era When Hua found himself implicated in the crimes of the Gang of Four as he had the position of head security and premier when the worst atrocities of the Gang where committed he gave up his position He resigned as Premier in 1980 and in 1981 he resigned as Party Chairman and chair of the Military Commission  He was succeeded by Zhao Ziyang, Hu Yaobang and Deng respectively Hua admitted to his mistakes and so he was allowed to take the position of vice-chairman until this position was abolished in 1982, he remained a member of the Central Committee until 2002 China under Deng Xiaoping, economic policies and the Four Modernizations China under Deng Xiaoping  Deng had full control of the Party and the government by 1982 He wanted to make important changes so that China could compete West He also thought that it was important to start separating the government from the Party as he wanted to put in place policies which would differ from communist ideologies The goal was to modernise China so that it could compete with the West in consumer goods and industrial production Even though Deng wanted to put in place Western policies he was still a communist and made sure that the political system remained communist The Ten Year Plan   Hua Guofeng announced the new Ten Year Plan in 1978 The plan focused on economic sectors with a heavy industry The goal was to reach a level at which China would be able to support itself and compete with the West Deng was put in charge of these political changes The opening up of China to the West by Mao and Zhou was very beneficial to the plan as it provided some of the capital needed for the plan The plan focused on China's development, especially steel production Goals where set for natural resource extractions (oil, petroleum, coal and non ferrous-metals) In addition the plan included extensive infrastructure development which involved electricity, rail roads and water transport The plan proved to be too ambitious and the government could not afford the costs so in 1979 the goals of the plan were modified The plan would focus on the Four Modernizations: agriculture, industry, science and technology and the military  Open Door Policy  The Party introduced the Open Door Policy in December 1978 This was a major factor for the success of the Plan and the Four Modernizations A high level of capital was needed to make the changes and the Open Door Policy provided this capital Also China would benefit from learning and importing science and technology by trading with the West China focused on quality of its products, the diversification of its exports, the devaluation of the Yuan and built up its currency reserves China became very attractive to investors like Japan, West Germany and the United States Agriculture  The goal  was to increase the yields of farmers The government wanted farmers to move away from traditional farming methods  Instead of manual work the government wanted to introduce mechanised farming The government wanted to improve water supply to farmers  The government supported and promoted the use of chemical fertilisers  The government supported personal incentives and diversification There where set quotas 12 commodity and food base areas would be created to allow for better regulation and distribution of food A big turning point was the implementation of the Household Responsibility System Under this system even though there was still no private ownership of land, each farming household received a plot of land  The farming households could use this plot of land as they wanted They would have a contract with the local commune in which they had to hire a certain amount of workers and plant a specific amount of crops The farming households had control over the labour within their households and could distribute this labour however they wished Also all farming household surplus could be either sold or kept which was a great benefit to farmers In exchange for using the land for a period of 15 years a quota that had been predetermined would go back to the local commune The Household Responsibility System was very successful, by 1989 90% of households where involved in the system The System alone allowed to increase productivity by more than what had been set by the Ten Year Plan China became the largest agricultural producer Agricultural improvements lead to increased productivity Due to this increased productivity, factories where built and the communes saw the revival of local crafts This meant that farmers could leave their family plots and work locally in the factories Industry  The main focus was on capital construction and improving heavy industries Attention was drawn to steel, iron, coal and oil production, 55 billion Yen was invested into these There was a total of 120 projects to be completed however the plan proved to be too ambitious and so in 1979 it was readjusted The Industrial Responsibility System was introduced Under this system, the supervisory body of a State Owned Enterprise (SOE) would have a contract in which a percentage of the production and/or profit would go to the state and the SOE could keep the surplus, quality of production became a factor in the later stages This improved the attitude and motivation of industrial workers, increasing productivity In October 1984 the Resolution on the Reform of the Economic System was introduced  Public ownership was not allowed however the government gave more freedom to enterprises  The management of these enterprises was a lot more free  In doing so the government hoped to increase production  Private groups could lease small enterprises but larger ones remained under the control of the state Science and Technology   The Cultural Revolution had devastating effects on education China was lacking even the basic technology that was standard in all other developed countries There was a need for more scientists, doctors, engineers and architects A number of goals were put forward The government wanted to be able to compete with the developing countries my repairing the damages caused by the Cultural Revolution By 1985 the government wanted to be only ten years behind the developing countries The goals included to increase the number of scientists, develop the centres used for experiments and to complete a nation wide system of science and technology research  Military  China had the largest army in the world however it seriously lacked in military technology Nuclear research had come to an end Science and military modernisation had a direct link The centres of research that were being either built or improved made it possible to develop new weapons It was estimated that the government spend up to 10% on developing and buying new technology Results of the Ten Year Plan  Mixed results, the plan succeeded in some ways but not in others According to government statistics industrial production and agriculture had an average annual growth of 11% Growth rates where even higher in the production of coal, steel, electricity and oil The GNP reached 778 billion in 1985 There was also success in the regions of infrastructure development and construction There was also tremendous improvements in science and technology However there were problems with the workforce Young workers often trained abroad with modern equipment and then had to reintegrate themselves on their return within an outdated system Also, older workers who had suffered from a lack of education due to the cultural revolution felt threatened by the younger workers as they were scared of unemployment and the younger workers did not respect them as elders The increased production brought about inflation The plan focused on modernisation, economic growth and the availability of consumer goods however other issues affecting the quality of life where not payed attention to Beijing became very polluted and China suffered deforestation on a big scale The one child policy was put into place which penalised families with more than one child Corruption occurred as the Party members were spared from the policy Also, the children of Party members had many benefits, they were automatically accepted into universities and did not have to serve in the military China under Deng Xiaoping, political changes and their limits, culminating in the demonstrations in Tiananmen Square Political Changes and their Limits  Political Changes   With economic development came a wish for political change Political opinions where expressed which varied from those previously The economic changes led to conflicts within the Party There were three main power bases which were Deng (pragmatists), Hua and Ye (military leader and the balancer) The leftist members worried that China's socialist goals would be lost by the new economic changes and the trade with the West The difficulty of the leadership was to keep their own culture while taking on board Western technology and managerial methods Deng made it clear that China would remain socialist even though some of the new policies allowed more freedom, China was certainly not capitalist, instead Deng described it as a Chinese-style socialism China was going through a time of relative freedom Many of those who had been sent to prison or to the country side during the Cultural Revolution where freed  Deng was rehabilitated and so were a number of Party Officials On a brick wall in Beijing in 1978 posters and characters were put up This wall became known as the Democracy Wall It became a place where people took up the government's movement to "seek truth from facts", expressing their opinion  These people were former Red Guards and people who had missed out on education due to the Cultural Revolution  Their militant expertise meant that they had good skills in organisation and collaboration which made the movement gain support and gave a voice to those that had been repressed during the Cultural Revolution  They criticised Mao and the Gang of Four Deng supported this criticism as it came at a time when there was conflict within the Party Deng saw these people as potential allies for his principles  Pro-democracy Groups  In 1978 and 1979 many pro-democratic supporters published pamphlets and started underground magazines in which they put forward the need for reform in the country They wanted freedom and political self-determination They spoke about human rights which had previously been taboo in China The most famous of the pamphlets was the Fifth Modernisation by Wei Jingsheng  The Fifth Modernisation which Wei thought was vital was democracy Wei criticised Deng in articles and stated that Deng was becoming a fascist dictator  Wei was arrested in March 1979 and was later sentenced to 15 year imprisonment for treason This was a warning for all other pro-democracy groups The wall was closed down in December and it became illegal to put up posters The pro-democracy groups were once again suppressed but they would resurface from time to time China Opening Up  Deng at the time was looking to increase his power within the politburo and the Central Committee  His focus was on economic growth and the Four Modernizations  He spent much of his time abroad trying to find new markets and aligning China with developing countries Japan was China's main investor and the US was starting to increase its investment in China as well China was starting to open up to the outside world Contradictions   In the 1980's there were disagreements between the Party and the government due to contradictions Political liberalisation was supported however there was no place for bourgeois values The government allowed more freedom within the media Stories could be published which portrayed the negative aspects of Chinese life Many Party members criticised the corruption that was taking place within the Party however maintained that they were loyal to the Party Student Demonstrations  In 1986 there were demonstrations that encouraged students to get involved in local government The demonstrators were also looking for improved living conditions and more freedom  The government sought to disperse the demonstrations instead of arresting people In 1987 Hu Yaobang who was the General secretary of the Part and had been an advocate for political liberalisation resigned from his post as he declared that he had made uncorrectable mistakes  The students demonstrations were not joined by workers and so when exams came around the demonstrations faded  Deng was starting to worry about another power struggle within the Party, he was getting old but had no intentions of handing over his leadership  Tiananmen Square 1989  Hu died in April 1989 and this lead to a number of rallies These rallies where mainly in Beijing and Shanghai  They were in favour of social change  All kinds of people joined in and this led to demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in front of the Communist Party headquarters Zhao Ziyang who was Hu's successor tried to prevent violence from the governments side by working with the pro-democracy groups However this did not work as the demonstrators went on a hunger strike and created the Goddess of Democracy as symbol for their movement More and more of the population started to take sides with the demonstrators Martial law was announced but not carried out In Beijing the people were disarming the PLA as the soldiers were sympathetic and did not want to cause violence The government tried to wait out the demonstration At the time Gorbachev was visiting China and so the media was there to cover his visit, this made the demonstrations public to the world Deng then ordered the military to take all necessary measures to seize control of the square Troops and tanks were sent to the square on the 3rd and 4th of June 1989 They were ordered to end the demonstrators by clearing the square and arresting those who protested  Some demonstrators tried to fight back and the ones who remained in the square were shot  Hundreds of demonstrators were killed although the government denied killing any civilians  The problem was that the demonstrators had not stated any clear objectives and had no real leadership They desired freedom and the Party to reform however they were unsure of what else they desired Zhao was then replaced by Jiang Zemin who was loyal to Deng Deng gave up his position as chair of the Central Military Commission in 1989 but remained as the leader for Chinese policies until his death in 1997 The outside world had supported the demonstrators and China was put forward as a human rights abuser by organisations such as Amnesty International  However democratic countries kept trading with China  World War One Events leading up to World War One March 1890: The German statesman Otto von Bismarck resigns, mostly forced by the new Kaiser, Wilhelm II. The Kaiser takes a more active role in German Weltpolitik. However, the blunders of the Kaiser and other chancellors alienate Germany from other European powers and gave increasing influence to army leaders within Germany. March 1890: The German refusal to renew the Reinsurance Treaty with Russia made Russia suspiscious of German intentions. One of the factors of Russia's alliance to France. December 1893: France and Russia sign a military convention pledging to help each other in the event of a German attack. December 1895: Failure of the Jameson Raid German intervention recognizing the new government angers the British. Increase in Anglo-German rivalry. From the Wikipedia article on it "The life brought Anglo-Boer relations to a dangerous low and the ill feeling was further heated by the "Kruger telegram" from the German Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II. It congratulated Paul Kruger on defeating the raid, and also appeared to recognise the Boer republic and offer support. The emperor was already perceived as anti-British, and a naval arms race had started between Germany and Britain. Consequently, the telegram alarmed and angered the British." November 1897: Germany seizes control of Kiao-Chaw, a Chinese port. Britain and Russia do likewise. Imperial rivalries inflame the region and eventually lead to the Boxer Rebellion of 1902. March 1898: Germany introduces the Navy Code - a plan to increase the size of their navy. The British perceive this as a threat. Escalated in 1906 with the British development of the HMS Dreadnought. Also in 1898: The Fashoda Incident which was "the climax of territorial disputes between France and the United Kingdom in East Africa". 1899-1902: The Second Boer War: Britain trying to control it's colonies in South Africa. Though the British won, they suffered relatively large losses, which were quite unexpected. Britain began to seek allies to help protect its large imperialist empire. January 1902: British-Japanese alliance. And also he started The world war I He had a big part of it especially when his mother encouraged him to keep fighting when she was sick. February 1904: Russo-Japanese War. Japan was a rapidly modernizing country with imperial interests in Korea and Manchuria. These interests conflicted with Russian interests and the result was war. Russia lost horribly. April 1904: Anglo-French Entente settled colonial disputes between them. Seen in Germany as a clear British alignment with France, and therefore Russia as well against the Triple Alliance of 1882. (German, Italy, Austro-Hungary). March 1905: Germany assures the Morrocan Sultan of his independence in an attempt to challenge the Anglo-French agreement concerning the area. January 1906: Algericas Confrence called by Kaiser Wilhelm. Anglo-French agreement over North Africa recognized. German humiliation. August 1907: Russia and Britain settle their disputes over Persia and Afghanistan. Germany begins to fear encirclment by Russia, Britain, and France. 1908: Revolt in the Ottoman Empire. Austro-Hungary annexes Bosnia-Herzegovina. Obtains Russian agreement by promising to support the ending of travel restrictions on Russian warships between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. Austro-Hungary ignores the agreement. Germany mobilization forces in support of Austro-Hungary. Russian protest ends, increased tensions in the Balkans. April 1911: Italy seizes control of Tripoli (Libya). April 1911: Morrocan sultan calls for French support in quelling a rebellion. The French intervene. Germany protests and sends a warship to Adagir. 1912: First Balkan War - Balkan states drive the Turks out of the Balkans. 1913: Second Balkan War - Balkan states quarrel among themselves. June 1914: Archduke Franz-Ferdinand assasinated. Causes The historian A.J.P. Taylor contends that Germany was determined to start a war. Germany had prepared many minor modifications. Moreover, Germany was at the height of its military power and wanted to exploit the situation. There was an emerging problem of aggressive patriotism in Europe. In Austro-Hungary , a large number of ethnic groups (such as Serbs, Hungarians, etc.) lived under the Austro-Hungarian Empire. These minorities wished for independence. This created tension between the government in Vienna and the minorities. In France, there was still a powerful feeling of resentment, since France had to give up Alsace and Lorraine to Germany in the Franco-Prussian war. Differences Alliances Problems with colonies, growing industries- countries needed more raw materials Colonies wanted independence Britain had conflicts with Russia in both China and India Russia wanted control of the Straits, Black Sea and Meditarranean Britain and France in Egypt, Africa, and Sudan Germany and Britain Wanted to build a railway from Berlin to Baghdad, and this conflicted with British aims. Increase in the German navy. Together people worked hard = In 1882, The Triple Alliance was formed between Germany, Italy and Austro-Hungary. This was a treaty in which the nations offered to support each other militarily in the event of an attack against any of them by two or more great powers In 1894, the Franco-Russian Alliance was established, as a result of Russia's feeling of vulnerability after the Triple Alliance and France's isolation. It promised mutual military assistance if either country was attacked. Ten years later, in 1904, France and Britain formed the Entente Cordiale, ending conflicts between the countries. In 1907, Britain, France and Russia formed together the Triple Entente, to constitute as a counterweight to the Triple Alliance. After Germany's isolation in the Algeciras Conference, it realized that its only ally was Austro-Hungary. Suddenly, Austro-Hungary took on a new importance. This led to it's blank-cheque of 1914. France also offered Russia a blank-cheque in 1912 Problems of Industrial Societies Colonies: Russia, Britain and France all wanted colonial posessions. Britain had done the best during the Scramble for Africa. Russia was eyeing Northern China. In North Africa, Britain and France shared Egypt, along with the tensions this produced. Germany, too, was seeking influence in the Middle East, as it was building a new railroad between Berlin and Baghdad. Russo-Japanese War Algeciras conference Morocco The Boer War Arms Race: Both Germany and Britain competed in the Arms Race. Germany had the best equipped and largest army in all of Europe. Admiral Tirpitz supervised the construction of the new German Navy, which was meant to challenge the French (who had the most powerful naval forces) in the Indian Sea The French launched a new class of battleships, pioneered by the H.M.S. Dreadnought in 1906, which was heavily armed and shielded. It can be said that Britain's isolation and fear of the German Navy led her to pursue more cordial relationships with France and Russia. German army reforms led the Britsh High command to believe that a preventive war against Russia made sense. New inventions: 75mm Field Gun, magazined rifle, machine gun Commercial Rivalry: There was a great deal of commercial rivalry between the Major Powers in Europe. This was manifested most obvious in the colonies and the countries around the colonies. Britain dominated the market, by having the most manufactured goods. Germany was closing in on France especially by exporting more and more Iron. This also contributed to Britain's uneasiness concerning the British Europe During World War I (Practice of World War 1) 1914 - Plans to Stalemate Archduke Franz Ferdinand was murdered by Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, during a state visit in June of 1914. This led Austro-Hungary to declare war on Serbia in July 1914. Germany puts the Schlieffen Plan, which had been developed von Schlieffen in the late 1800s and modified through the early 1900s until its nearly final form was reahed in 1906, and invades Belgium. The Belgian army is overwhelmed, and the Germans soon take over most of Belgium, with very small pockets of resistance still holding. Austro-Hungary invades Russia, but progress is moderate, due to the fact that the Austro-Hungarian army was poorly equipped and trained. France develops the Plan 17 XVII, which would take back Alsace and Lorraine. Its application is a fiasco, since the German defenses were a lot more well prepared than expected by the French. Within a few weeks, the French were back in their starting positions, while the Germans had advanced almost unopposed through Belgium and northern France and were threatening Paris. The German high command diverted troops to the Eastern Front and to a counterattack in Alsace-Lorraine, which was in turn repulsed by the French. This allowed the French and the British to halt the German advance in the First Battle of the Marne. The outcome of the battle of the Marne led to Trench Warfare, and the Race to the Sea. The Russians mobilize quickly to prevent Austro-Hungary's attack. They drive the latter back until the German Army, which was superior by far to their allies', comes to the help of Austro-Hungary and manages to stop the Russians at the Battle of Tannenberg. 1915 - Weak Point Strategy As at the end of 1914, no major territorial changes were produced by the war, the Major Powers decide to focus their efforts on their enemies' weak points, hence the name Weak Point Strategy. 1915 sees Italy entering the war and on the Austro-Italian Front there was some fighting. The countries were fighting each other in the Alps. The Italians benefitted from a superiority of almost 2:1. The Austrians were controlling the higher ground, so the Italians' superiority didn't help them at all. Britain starts a blockade in the North Sea, trying to make Germany rely solely on its internal goods, and thus starve it. Britain also started the Gallipoli Campaign, by which it tried to take over Istanbul, thus knocking Germany's ally, Turkey, out of the war. Unfortunately for Britain, the Turks were very well prepared for the attack. This led to a disaster for Britain, which lost its own troops, as well as ANZAC troops dispatched to fight for her. Britain tried to attack Turkey through Basra and Palenstine, but with no success. As 1914, 1915 fails to bring any significant changes to the front lines. Basra Landing Palestine. 1916 - Great Attacks By 1916, Trench Warfare was starting to take its toll on the men in the front lines. Germany starts a massive attack on Verdun, during which 400.000 Germans, 400.000 British and 200.000 French lose their lives. The attack was ineffective and leads to no real change. Pétain, the French general in charge of the troops at Verdun, says about the Germans: "Ils ne passeront pas" (They will not pass.) - Battle of Verdun The biggest British attack is on the river Somme. Nothing is achieved and Britain loses 800.000 men in the process. - Battle of the Somme Jutland, in May 1916, was considered the showdown between the British and the German Navies. Both sides claimed victory. The British had lost more ships and more sailors, but Germany's plan of destroying Britain's navy had failed. For the remainder of the war, apart from brief sorties in August 1916 and April 1918, the German Fleet stayed in port. They continued to pose a threat that required the British to keep their battleships concentrated in the North Sea, but they never again contested control of the seas. Instead, the German Navy turned its efforts and resources to unrestricted submarine warfare. On the Austro-Italian front, the only major confrontation was the series of Battles of the Isonzo. Initially, the Italians slightly gained ground, since the Austro-Hungarian lines were poorly manned, due to the Brusilov Offfensive. Towards the end of the series of battles, nothing much changed. The Brusilov Offensive was the greatest Russian attack during World War I. It was a major offensive against the Central Powers on the Eastern Front, launched June 1916 and lasting until early August. It took place in what today is Ukraine, and its purpose was to lift pressure off the British and the French on the Western Front. The operation succeeded in its basic purpose, as Germany had to terminate its attack on Verdun and transfer considerable forces to the East. It also broke the back of the Austro-Hungarian army which lost nearly 1.5 million men. This weakening of Austro-Hungarian power convinced Romania to enter the war on the side of the Entente. Russian casualties were about 500.000. 1917 - Changes The United States entered the war in April 1917, becase of the Unrestricted Submarine Warfare tactic pursued by Germany, which also sunk many US ships. Germany sent Mexico an invitation to start a war against the US, which became known as the Zimmerman Telegram. In the summer, the first American troops begin landing in France and helping the British and French soldiers fighting in the Trenches. The Nivelle Offensive was undoubtedly the most successful French action of the war. The French began their advance after the German forces they were attacking started retreating. 1918 - Last Offensives to Armistice President Woodrow Wilson announced his Fourteen Points in January 1918, which would serve as a guide for reconstructing Europe after the War. They included freedom of the seas, abolishing secret treaties, disarmament, restored sovereignty of some occupied lands, and the right of national self-determination of others. Due to the turmoil in Russian Society, the Russian Revolution errupted in 1917, resulting in Russia pulling out of the war and signing the treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918. This put more pressure on the Western Front, since the Central Powers' soldiers fighting on the Eastern Front could now be dispatched to the West. Germany launches what proves to be the first of the final three offensives on the Western Front, Operation Friedenssturm. This was General Ludendorff's last chance of breaking Allied lines, as the social situation in Germany was getting worse and worse. Friedenssturm was stopped at the Second Battle of the Marne, in July - August. The German people were deprived of food and basic needs for most of the war, so there is a great deal of tension in the country. This leads to the Kiel Mutiny, in which sailors refused to obey orders and the Munich Revolt, in which the city was taken over by German Communists. The Allies' Hundred Days Offensive begins, which ends in Kaiser Wilhelm's abidication from the Throne of Germany, on November 10th. On November 11th, at 11:00, the Peace Treaty between Germany and the Allies is signed, and all fighting ends. Effects of World War One Changes in Population Structure Most killed were between 18-38. Fall in the birth rate between 1914-1918. Manpower shortage during the 1930s. Changes in Society Social barriers undermined because of the emphasis of national unity. Improvement in the status of women. Increased Role of Governments Increased intervention in areas of health and education. Greater control over the private sector. Belief in need for economic self-sufficiency Promoted idea of autarky International Effects Nationalism exploded, reached it's climax. Spread of democractic ideals. Emergence of world's first Communist state. The US came out favourable in the war while the power of France, Germany, Russia, and England all declined tremendously. Europe begins to leave the spotlight as the center of the world. Development of international organizations. Led to the development of the League of Nations, the dream of Woodrow Wilson. The United States congress voted against US participation and Germany was originally unable to join the league. The Treaty of Versailles The terms of the Treaty of Versailles, which Germany had no choice but to accept, were announced on the 7th of May of 1919. Germany lost: 10% of its land All its overseas colonies (including Togo) 12.5% of its population 16% of its coalfields, and half its iron and steel industry. Territorial Restrictions on Germany Alsace-Lorraine returned to France. No annexation of Austria allowed. No annexation of Czechoslovakia. No annexation of Poland and Danzig. Lost all of its overseas colonies including Togo, Cameroons, Namibia, and Tanzania. Military Restrictions on Germany The Rhineland was to be declared a demilitarized zone. The German armed forces can be no larger than 100,000. No manufacturing of weapons. No importing or exporting weapons No poision gas. No tanks. Small navy, 12 destroyers, 6 battleships, and 6 cruisers. No Submarines No military aircraft. Economic Restrictions on Germany These were denounced by John Mayard Keynes. Saar coal fields given to France. Compensation for all damages. Article 231: War Guilt Clause justifies reperations. The Germans were outraged and horrified at the result - since Wilson's idealistic and rejected fourteen points painted the picture of a different outcome. They did not feel as though they started the war, nor did they feel as though they had lost. The German people percieved this as a peace conference and not a surrender. At first, the new government refused to ratify the agreement, and the German navy sank its own ships in protest. The German leader, Ebert, eventually agreed to the agreement on the 28th of June 1919. The Impact of the Treaty of Versailles In 1919, Erbert's government was hanging on the edge of a knife. Right-wing opponents threatened revolution. 1922-1923: Germany falls behind in its Reparation payments. French and Belgian soldiers invade the Ruhr region and sack raw materials and goods in order to compensate. (Allowed under the Treaty of Versailles) German government orders the workers to strike. French kill 100 workers and expell 100,000 protestants from the region in retaliation. The strike aids in causing the growing inflation. The three powers were not satisfied with the Versailles treatment. Clemenceau did not think the treaty was harsh enough on Germany. Lloyd George viewed as a hero, but realised the long-term effects of the war. The American Congress refused to approve the treaty. Other Treaties Treaty of St.Germain: 1919 with Austria. Treaty of Neuilly: 1919 with Bulgaria. Treaty of Sévres: 1920 with Turkey Treaty of Trianon: With defeated Hungary. Spanish Civil War Starts in 1931 against king Alfonso XIII because his monarchic government couldn’t uphold the country, which was a complete disaster. When taken out, a left government called Republic II appears with the president Niceto Alcalá Zamora y Torres, and with the First Minister Manuel Azaña. Because the president and the first minister had various contradictions even though both were left idealists, their government lasted up to 2 years and was known as “Bienio Progresista”. In 1933 the left government loses the elections for the people wanted short-term changes or improvements for the country. They vote for a right government with it´s first minister Alejandro Lecroux. This one was called “Bienio Negro”. In 1936 the left government wins again and becomes a popular front. This time Manuel Azaña becomes president. However, a failed coup de etat in July 17 causes the country to divide into to groups: The republicans (members of the government) and the insurrectionists (fascists with the main generals José Sari, Emilio Mola and Francisco Franco). Civil war lasted up to 1939, in which the group known as insurrectionists was supported by Hitler (artillery) and Mussolini (air force). Many countries except England and France, which decided to remain neutral, also supported the republican government. The war ends in April 1 in which the insurrectionist win and establish their government Fransico Franco Spain Single Party State •Francisco Franco Bahamonde, also known for his title “Caudillo de España” meaning Leader of Spain. Being from a military family, he decided to train as a soldier, becoming one of the youngest generals in Europe by 1926. During 1934 joined the conservative government of Alcalá Zamora, then participated in a coup d’état against the Popular Front government made of Marxist, liberal republican and anarchist factions. Because the coup fails, the conflict devolves into the Spanish Civil War in which Francisco emergeed as the leader with the aid of German and Italic forces. He then established a right-wing authoritarian regime, which lasted up to 1978. •Franco’s dictatorship was known as one of the worst periods in history of Spain, which started since the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939 and ended in his dead and succession in 1975. During the forties, his government strengthened by using politic and economic repression against those who opposed him. He used the autarky in which the power to make decisions resides only in the government and mainly it’s leader, a choice Francisco make because of World War II. He also acted in favor of the Nazi Germany, which resulted in the isolation of Spain after the end of the war in 1945 with the creation of ONU. •In the fifties, during the conflict of the cold war, Spain’s geographical position as well as his dictatorship became advantageous for United States and his allies against the Soviet Union. This alliance caused Spain’s International isolation to cease, which helped broaden the economy of the country. However it was not fully taken advantage of until the sixties and the seventies. Politic and personal rights remained as before, causing various movements in opposition to Franco, movements caused by workers and students. Characteristics of Franco’s Dictatorship •No constitution was formed; for liberalism was denied and so was the right to vote. Positions in the government were designated, not voted. •Political parties were forbidden, for they could cause divisions with the citizens. •Only Franco could legislate by decree, there was nearly no democratic base. •The liberty of association and meeting was diminished to maximum 20 people with the permission of the civil governor. •Government had the complete control of the press until 1966. During that time, it was used as favorable propaganda for the dictatorship •The army assumed the work of the police, which meant that opposition, would not be taken lightly. Women during Franco’s Dictatorship •During Franco’s dictatorship, woman rights from the constitution of 1931 were disabled, rights which granted them equality with men and the right to vote. Women were forced to readapt to the role of mother and wife. There was quite a number of women who were killed for being republicans, some who had jobs in the military or in politics where either condemned and before that, humiliated by shaving her heads and forcing them to walk on the street. Also, married women were not allowed to access the labor market. With a Law of the Work published during 1938 their work was limited to their homes only, unless they got permission from the government and husbands. However their payment was awfully reduced. World War II Situations that facilitated the arrival of the war -1935 Italy invades Albania (Ethiopia) -1936 Italy and Germany support to Franco in the Spanish Civil War -1938 annexed Austria for Germany -1938 Germany occupies the region of the Sudetes Czechoslovakian (population of German origin) -1939 Germany occupies all Czechoslovakia. -1939 *1 of September, Germany attacks Poland giving beginning the war. In support the USSR attacks later Poland and Finland. Germany and Russia were allied with the treaty Nazi-Soviet or Molotov “Ribbentrop” Great Britain and France do not take action some until after 1939 supposing that Germany was not a threat for them. -1940 Germany uses the war Tactic called “Lightning” to attack Western Europe (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Belgium and France). The tactics finish being a complete success, which led them to take control of all the countries with the exception of Great Britain because of his Air Force. -1941 Germany attacks the Soviet Union. At first Stalin thought that only it was a provocation and tried to avoid it but only managed to give the advantage to the German army. They hardly manage to stop them in the Battle of Moscow in the same year so that they would not surround the capital in the battle by Leningrad in the same year. After this, the war began to change of course from the battle of Stalingrado (1942-1943) a complete loss for the Germans in which they capture their marshal, a very important strategist for the German army. Other important battles were: - Battle of the Arc of Kurk (1943) - Disembarc of Normandy (6/June/1944) - Battle of Andenas (1944-1945) -Disembarc in Sicily - The Alamain (1942) In front Africa of the North In the Pacific: Attack surprise to the EU on the part of Japan. The battle of Pearl Harbor and: - Coral Sea (1942) - Gradalcona (1943) -Midway (1942) -Iwo Jima (1944-1945) -Okinawa (1945) In Eastern Europe: Battle of Berlin (1945) It causes the surrender of Germany. Hitler “commits suicide” The surrender of Japan happens after the use of the nuclear warheads Hiroshima and Nakasaki the 6 and the 9 of August in 1945. Germany-Hitler 1871 Otto Von Bishmark unifies Germany into a powerful state. One of the reasons for which world I started. 1921 after World War I, during the Conference in the Palace of Versailles Germany loses all of its colonies and its army. The country had an economic crisis and the government wasn’t taking measures to solve it. In 1919 during the political crisis, considered as an overheated atmosphere of post-revolutionary Munich, many political parties wanted to rise up to power. Hitler, whom at that moment didn’t have influence across the country, worked for the Reichswehr party as a spy against the other political adversaries. When he was sent to investigate a small nationalistic group of idealists called the German Worker’s Party, he decided to join it on September 16. After that, its name was changed to the National Socialist German Worker’s Party and imposed himself as the Chairman by July 1921. Most of his propaganda and speeches were focused on the Versailles treaty, the “November Criminals” as well as the main enemy, the Jews who were supposedly responsible for all German domestic problems. In the twenty-five-point programme of the NSDAP announced on 24 February 1920, the exclusion of the Jews from the Volk community, the myth of Aryan race supremacy and extreme nationalism were combined with "socialistic" ideas of profit-sharing and nationalization inspired by ideologues like Gottfried Feder. By November 1923 Hitler was convinced that the Weimar Republic was on the verge of collapse and, together with General Ludendorff and local nationalist groups, sought to overthrow the Bavarian government in Munich. Bursting into a beer-hall in Munich and firing his pistol into the ceiling, he shouted out that he was heading a new provisional government, which would carry through a revolution against "Red Berlin." Hitler and Ludendorff then marched through Munich at the head of 3,000 men, only to be met by police fire, which left sixteen dead and brought the attempted putsch to an ignominious end. Hitler was arrested and tried on 26 February 1924, succeeding in turning the tables on his accusers with a confident, propagandist speech. Sentenced to five years' imprisonment in Landsberg fortress, Hitler was released after only nine months during which he dictated Mein Kampf (My Struggle). The failure of the Beer-Hall putsch and his period of imprisonment transformed Hitler from an incompetent adventurer into a shrewd political tactician, who henceforth decided that he would never again confront the gun barrels of army and police until they were under his command. He concluded that the road to power lay not through force alone but through legal subversion of the Weimar Constitution, the building of a mass movement and the combination of parliamentary strength with extra-parliamentary street terror and intimidation. Helped by Goering and Goebbels he began to reassemble his followers and rebuild the movement, which had disintegrated in his absence. n January 1925 the ban on the Nazi Party was removed and Hitler regained permission to speak in public. Outmaneuvering the "socialist" North German wing of the Party under Gregor Strasser, Hitler re-established himself in 1926 as the ultimate arbiter to whom all factions appealed in an ideologically and socially varied movement. Though the Nazi Party won only twelve seats in the 1928 elections, the onset of the Great Depression with its devastating effects on the middle classes helped Hitler to win over all those strata in German society who felt their economic existence was threatened. In addition to peasants, artisans, craftsmen, traders, small businessmen, ex-officers, students and intellectuals, the Nazis in 1929 began to win over the big industrialists, nationalist conservatives and army circles. With the backing of the press tycoon, Alfred Hugenberg, Hitler received a tremendous nationwide exposure just as the effects of the world economic crisis hit Germany, producing mass unemployment, social dissolution, fear and indignation. With demagogic virtuosity, Hitler played on national resentments, feelings of revolt and the desire for strong leadership using all the most modern techniques of mass persuasion to present himself as Germany's redeemer and messianic savior. In the 1930 elections the Nazi vote jumped dramatically from 810,000 to 6,409,000 (18.3 percent of the total vote) and they received 107 seats in the Reichstag. In february 1932 Hitler officially acquired German citizenship and decided to run for the Presidency, receiving 13,418,011 votes in the run-off elections of 10 April 1931 as against 19,359,650 votes for the victorious von Hindenburg, but four times the vote for the communist candidate, Ernst Thaelmann. In the Reichstag elections of July 1932 the Nazis emerged as the largest political party in Germany, obtaining nearly fourteen million votes (37.3 per cent) and 230 seats. Although the NSDAP fell back in November 1932 to eleven million votes (196 seats), Hitler was helped to power by a camarilla of conservative politicians who persuaded the reluctant von Hindenburg to nominate "the Bohemian corporal" as Reich Chancellor on 30 January 1933. Once in the saddle, Hitler moved with great speed to outmaneuver his rivals, virtually ousting the conservatives from any real participation in government by July 1933, abolishing the free trade unions, eliminating the communists, Social Democrats and Jews from any role in political life and sweeping opponents into concentration camps. The Reichstag fire of 27 February 1933 had provided him with the perfect pretext to begin consolidating the foundations of a totalitarian one-party State, and special "enabling laws" were made strict through the Reichstag to legalize the regime's intimidating tactics. With support from the nationalists, Hitler gained a majority at the last "democratic" elections held in Germany on 5 March 1933 and with cynical skill he used the whole gamut of persuasion, propaganda, terror and intimidation to secure his hold on power. The seductive notions of "National Awakening" and a "Legal Revolution" helped paralyze potential opposition and disguise the reality of autocratic power behind a facade of traditional institutions. The destruction of the radical SA leadership under Ernst Rohm in the Blood Purge of June 1934 confirmed Hitler as undisputed dictator of the Third Reich and by the beginning of August, when he united the positions of Fuhrer and Chancellor on the death of von Hindenburg, he had all the powers of State in his hands. The Korean War Korea has been a Japanese Colony since 19010, but when they lost in WWII along with Gemrany and Italy, Japana had no longer the strentgh to continue with the support given to their colony. This was the perfect opportunity for the Soviet Troops to invade the Lorean territory, and by doing so they ocupied the northern part of the land, until reaching the 38th paralell. When the capitalist block sensed this movement, they invaded the Southern part of Korea, being in front of the militia General Douglas McArthur. The american base was established in Tokyo. In the North, the Soviets backed a Stalinist regime under their client Kim Il-sung and created the North Korean Peoples' Army, equipped with Russian tanks and artillery. In the South, the chaotic political situation resulted in an American-backed administration under the presidency of Syngman Rhee, whose openly declared aim was the imposition of national unity by force. As a result of this stance, the American-trained South Korean army was limited to a lightly armed gendarmerie, lacking tanks, combat aircraft and all but a small amount of field artillery. After several years of increasingly bloody frontier incidents along the 38th parallel, the Republic of Korea was invaded by the North Korean Peoples' Army on 25 June 1950. Despite earlier indications, the Pentagon was caught off-guard. As the North Koreans swept south, overwhelming all opposition, the US called on the Security Council to invoke the United Nations Charter and brand the North Koreans as aggressors. This was done and member states were called on to send in military assistance. The first American troops were then sent in to stiffen resistance against the invader. The British government responded at once and elements of the Far East Fleet were soon in action along the Korean coast, together with ships of Commonwealth navies. It was declared a limited war because for Truman tot ake the decisión about interveingn in the conlfict militarily, the Congreso of the United Status had to give its approval, so for it to be independent of this institution, Truman called the situation part of a “police action”. China's intervention In mid-September, General MacArthur brought off a masterstroke by landing two divisions 240km (150 miles) in the enemy rear at the port of Inchon. Their communications cut, and under heavy aerial bombardment, the North Koreans broke and fled back north; MacArthur ordered a hot pursuit which led across the 38th parallel and deep into North Korea. As the UN forces drew near to the Manchurian border, there were signals from Peking that communist China would intervene to defend its territory. In mid-October, MacArthur met President Harry Truman on Wake Island in their first encounter to assure him that a massive UN offensive was about to conclude the war victoriously by Christmas. No sooner had this been launched in November than the Chinese unleashed their armies. The UN forces recoiled in disorder and, by the new year, were defending a line well to the south of Seoul, the capital of South Korea. Morale was low but the new field commander, General Ridgway, revived his heterogeneous command and advanced slowly north in the spring of 1951. By mid-April, the allies were back in the area of the 38th parallel when the Chinese launched their spring offensive. The British 29th Brigade narrowly escaped annihilation on the Imjin river as the 27th Commonwealth brigade on the central front beat off savage Chinese attacks. The UN line held, then moved north again. This time, there was no reckless advance into the north. The line stabilised in the general area of the 38th parallel and the remaining two years of fighting consisted of near-static operations as both sides fought from heavily fortified positions, using artillery, mines and wire to deny the enemy access to strategically important ground. Throughout the war, air power was decisive. The North Korean air force was driven from the skies by US Air Force, Navy and Marines, using their superior equipment and training. Heavy bombers razed the cities and industrial plants of North Korea. Continuous attacks on the transport system forced the Chinese to rely on the packhorse for much of their logistical support. A new phase of air war opened when American B-29 bombers and their fighter escorts were challenged by Russian-built MiG-15 fighters flown by Chinese airmen. The MiG-15's outflew first-generation American jet fighters until the introduction of the swept-wing F-86 Sabre tipped the balance. In the world's first supersonic air combats, the Americans prevailed. Stalemate The allies achieved total naval supremacy when the North Korean navy's torpedo boats were blown out of the water by UN firepower. For the rest of the war, American, British, Commonwealth and other allied ships maintained a tight blockade on North Korea. In addition, naval aviation played a leading role in air support of the army on the ground. In mid-1951, with the land battle in stalemate, both sides agreed to go to the conference table and armistice talks began. They dragged on for two years. The main haggling point was the future of the tens of thousands of communist prisoners held in camps on Koje Island off the coast of South Korea. While the communist negotiators were adamant that all were to be returned to their country of origin, thousands of prisoners were unwilling to be repatriated. There were several great mutinies in the Koje camps before a satisfactory formula enabled those who wished to be repatriated to go home and for asylum to be granted to those who wished otherwise. In July 1953, a great calm descended over the battlefields and in Operation Big Switch, thousands of former prisoners on each side were returned. A Demilitarised Zone or DMZ was established on the border. Both sides withdrew from their fighting positions, and a UN commission was set up to supervise the armistice. Some 100,000 British servicemen and women served in the Japan-Korea theatre during the war. In July 1951, with the arrival of the strong Canadian brigade, the British, Australian, New Zealand and Indian units were formed into the 1st Commonwealth Division, which soon gained an enviable reputation among its allies. The aftermath No one knows exactly how many people died in this war. In a sense it was a civil war fought out with foreign participation on both sides. It was the first military test of the United Nations and also the last martial adventure of the old Commonwealth. The American Department of Defence acknowledges that almost 40,000 of its servicemen died, either in battle or of other causes. British casualties were 1,078 killed in action, 2,674 wounded and 1,060 missing or taken prisoner. The true casualty figures for the North and South Koreans and Chinese will never be known. It is estimated that some 46,000 South Korean soldiers were killed and over 100,000 wounded. The Chinese are estimated by the Pentagon as having lost over 400,000 killed (including Mao Tse-tung's son) and 486,000 wounded, with over 21,000 captured. The North Koreans lost about 215,000 killed, 303,000 wounded and over 101,000 captured or missing. British veterans of the campaign were left with abiding memories of a South Korea which had been deprived of its dignity, fought over and ruined, its demoralised population brought to beggary and its infrastructure destroyed. Since 1953, the Republic of Korea has transformed into a modern state. In the North, however, the Stalinist regime created by Kim Il-sung is only now beginning to move out of its hermit state. The economy is in ruins and famine stalks the land. It is too early to say if the tentative moves towards reconciliation will result in attainment of the unity so deeply desired by many Koreans. Korean War, conflict between Communist and non-Communist forces in Korea from June 25, 1950, to July 27, 1953. At the end of World War II, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel into Soviet (North Korean) and U.S. (South Korean) zones of occupation. In 1948 rival governments were established: The Republic of Korea was proclaimed in the South and the People's Democratic Republic of Korea in the North. Relations between them became increasingly strained, and on June 25, 1950, North Korean forces invaded South Korea. The United Nations quickly condemned the invasion as an act of aggression, demanded the withdrawal of North Korean troops from the South, and called upon its members to aid South Korea. On June 27, U.S. President Truman authorized the use of American land, sea, and air forces in Korea; a week later, the United Nations placed the forces of 15 other member nations under U.S. command, and Truman appointed Gen. Douglas MacArthur supreme commander. In the first weeks of the conflict the North Korean forces met little resistance and advanced rapidly. By Sept. 10 they had driven the South Korean army and a small American force to the Busan (Pusan) area at the southeast tip of Korea. A counteroffensive began on Sept. 15, when UN forces made a daring landing at Incheon (Inchon) on the west coast. North Korean forces fell back and MacArthur received orders to pursue them into North Korea. On Oct. 19, the North Korean capital of Pyongyang was captured; by Nov. 24, North Korean forces were driven by the 8th Army, under Gen. Walton Walker, and the X Corp, under Gen. Edward Almond, almost to the Yalu River, which marked the border of Communist China. As MacArthur prepared for a final offensive, the Chinese Communists joined with the North Koreans to launch (Nov. 26) a successful counterattack. The UN troops were forced back, and in Jan., 1951, the Communists again advanced into the South, recapturing Seoul, the South Korean capital. After months of heavy fighting, the center of the conflict was returned to the 38th parallel, where it remained for the rest of the war. MacArthur, however, wished to mount another invasion of North Korea. When MacArthur persisted in publicly criticizing U.S. policy, Truman, on the recommendation of the Joint Chiefs of Staff removed (Apr. 10, 1951) him from command and installed Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway as commander in chief. Gen. James Van Fleet then took command of the 8th Army. Ridgway began (July 10, 1951) truce negotiations with the North Koreans and Chinese, while small unit actions, bitter but indecisive, continued. Gen. Van Fleet was denied permission to go on the offensive and end the “meat grinder” war. The war's unpopularity played an important role in the presidential victory of Dwight D. Eisenhower, who had pledged to go to Korea to end the war. Negotiations broke down four different times, but after much difficulty and nuclear threats by Eisenhower, an armistice agreement was signed (July 27, 1953). Casualties in the war were heavy. U.S. losses were placed at over 54,000 dead and 103,000 wounded, while Chinese and Korean casualties were each at least 10 times as high. Korean forces on both sides executed many alleged civilian enemy sympathizers, especially in the early months of the war. Causes of the Korean war The Korean War took place between two opposing Korean regimes. From the 7th century Korea existed as a single country. After the war between China and Japan in 1894-1895, certain parts of Korea were occupied by Japan. The Japanese conquered the entire Korea in August 1910. Towards the conclusion of World War II both the United States and the Soviet Union occupied the Korean peninsula. The United States approached the United Nations to resolve the issue of a divided Korea. A United Nations Commission decided to hold elections in Korea. The communists in North Korea refused to allow the election. The communists in South Korea boycotted it. The government in South Korea was formed by the anti-communist Syngman Rhee. The Soviet Union put Kim ll-Sung as head of North Korea. The North Korean Army invaded South Korea on June 25 1950. The Chinese entered the war for acquiring strategic depth. They wanted to use North Korea as a buffer against possible US invasion. The United States wanted to stop the spread of communism. The Soviet Union wanted to spread communism to as many countries as possible. The armistice of 27 July 1953 ended the fighting in Korea. The armistice was a temporary cease-fire and not a treaty of peace. It reflected the realization by all the involved parties that neither side had either the means or the will to compel the other to submit to its political agenda. The conflict has remained, despite border clashes and sporadic incidents, for more than half a century. Effects of the war There were several casualties on both sides though the exact figure may never be known.The Korean War created more friction between the United States and the Soviet Union. The war demonstrated the will of the United States to do everything possible to prevent the proliferation of communism. A feeling of enmity developed between China and the United States that would last for decades. Families were split with relatives on either sides of the border. This war created a fear in the United States of the domino effects of communism. The United States intervened in Vietnam to avoid another North Korea. South Korea became an important US military base with thousands of American troops stationed there. The Korean War never ended. The inability of the two sides to resolve their differences has meant that the two Koreas and their allies have had to remain on a battle ready state along the border ever since. Today South Korea has become a major economic and technological power. North Korea is a poverty-stricken, heavily militarized nation. It is hoped that one day the two Koreas will become one. On October 4 2007 the South Korean Leader Roh Moo-Hyun and the North Korean leader Kim Jong-il signed an eight-point peace agreement on issues of permanent peace, economic cooperation, high-level talks, renewal of highway, air travel and train services. North Korea has carried out a controversial nuclear test and several ballistic missile tests. A nuclear North Korea is a threat to both Japan and South Korea. Single Party State Cuba Type: Totalitarian communist state; current government assumed power by force on January 1, 1959. Independence: May 20, 1902. Political party: Cuban Communist Party (PCC); only one party allowed. Administrative subdivisions: 14 provinces, including the city of Havana, and one special municipality (Isle of Youth). A single-party state or one-party system or single-party system is a type of party system and form of government where only a single political party dominates the government and no opposition parties are allowed. This is generally viewed as creating a dictatorship and many (though not all) actual dictatorships represent themselves as one-party states. Examples of dictatorships that are not one-party states include military dictatorships, which often attempt to ban all party politics during their rule. A one-party system should not be confused with a dominant-party system in which an opposition is not officially prohibited, but it is largely ineffective (has no realistic chance of becoming the government). Where the ruling party subscribes to a form of Marxism-Leninism, the one-party system is usually called a communist state. Background Fidel Castro Ruz (1927-) Son of a wealthy Spanish farmer in northwest of Cuba Attended famous Jesuit school — fine athlete Attended University of Havana from 1945 Became involved in violent politics 1947 he participated in ill-fated invasion of the Dominican Republic Became a follower of Eddie Chibás and belonged to his Orthodox party from 1947-1952 July 26th 1953 Castro attacked Moncada barracks In hope of sparking revolution With lower-middle-class and working-class rebels Programme: Return to constitution of 1940 Educational reform Land reform End to Corruption End to large weapon expenditure Economic independence Started to plan new attack Met Ernesto (Ché) Guevara in 1955 Sets up revolution in 1959 In the first four years (1959-1962) the government consolidated its position "Parliamentary democracy inappropriate for Cuba at the time" Legislative power in the executive Castro became prime minister and first secretary, so most important man in state Suppressed freedom of speech Took autonomy of Havana University Made many reforms, in general moved revolution leftward to achieve goals Alienated middle-class support Conflict with US now inevitable Closer ties with USSR As Russia’s deputy premier came in Jan 1960: Russia purchases sugar for first $425000 (Jan 60) then $1m US relations already tense after the show trials and confiscation of large farms Castro nationalised the refineries in June 1960 Relations deteriorated and cut off by Eisenhower on Jan 3, 1961 Bay of Pigs started on April 15th 1961 Increased Castro’s prestige and sparked radical reforms in economy and politics First goal was the redistribution of income to working class Success: They raised wages by 40% & purchasing power by 20% Unemployment was also virtually wiped out Success esp. in areas outside Havana - regime held against super-urbanisation Agricultural reforms First Law of Agrarian Reform decreed in May 1959 Restricted size of land holdings Gave government right to nationalise excess amount Nationalised land distributed in small amounts or put in cooperatives Redistribution especially affected Oriente Province 85% of all Cuban farms nationalised, at least to part Slow tempo of land reforms accelerated = internal & external pressures Estates related to Batista taken over first, then cattle farms finally US b. Regime experimented with management of farms: All became granjas del pueblo (state farms) Administered by Institute of Agrarian Reform (INRA) Same workers, but better wages and working conditions Industrial Reforms Began slowly Only one major company taken over at first: Disliked telephone company Conflict with US led to sweep in nationalisations: Oil refineries Factories Utilities Sugar mills Then, foreign owned banks Urban housing Finally, native owned businesses Redistribution of income created problems: Increased wages created a excess demand for consumer goods Meat for example experienced a 100% rise in demand This led to overkill of cattle Created inability to supply it in future Government increased problems by: Lowering rents Lowering utility rates Increased number of free services Cuba did not import consumer goods and could therefore not meet demand Policies Rationing was introduced by 1962. Increased discontent Wasted scare resources due extreme spending and poor planning Less success full reforms included agricultural diversification and industrialisation Government wanted to become more self sufficient Change land from sugar growing to cotton, vegetable oils, cotton etc Would save on foreign exchange as otherwise imported Industrialisation programs proved to difficult and were abandoned 1963 Problems in Agriculture occurred due to inefficient planning and administration Coordinated production of small farms with national plans They also gave credit, set up stores & organised associations The Return to Sugar, 1963-1970: The Ten Million Harvest Missing experience and the resulting inefficiency persuaded Castro to re-emphasis on the sugar production, 1963 Increased agricultural earnings were to finance industrialisation Symbol for this was the goal of 10m tons of sugar to be harvested 1970 Education The education constitutes one of the essential priorities of the social policy of the revolution and in addition it is a right received by all the citizens. We have valued and we continued valuing the education like a long term investment, that is to say the investment to produce human resources preparations to face the different areas from development of the country. Which have been the profits of that investment in the long term' - It has allowed Us that in these conditions of economic character which we have had to face, by the isolation to which they have put under to us, we have been able to begin to recover to us and to follow ahead because we have a great amount of doctors, engineers, scientists who have been able to face the changes of technology and to consider new goals in the development of science and the technology. -And in the educative field' - Cuba can exhibit like essential profits the fact of to have fulfilled básicamentos the objectives of the main project of education of UNESCO for Latin America and the Caribbean, that raised for the 2000 to have managed the alphabetization and the basic education of eight degrees and to lift the quality of the education. In those aspects we have been fulfilling the goals for several years. - How was structured the educative reform from the Cuban revolution' - The basic concepts of the education from an educational policy changed that first that did was to guarantee that universalisation, that is to say the gratuitous and public school for all the citizens. The alphabetization campaign was directed to a million anafabetos of a population that as soon as it exceeded the 6 million inhabitants and that work made not only the teachers but a popular movement where one hundred thousand young people and students took the chore of alphabetizing society during nine months. The first thing the Eduacitonal Revolution considered was to take primary education to all the places of the country, something that was difficult since it did not count on many teachrs and although they couldn’t reach the whole country because of the lack of infrastructure. The majority of these teachers were formed by the revolution. When leading this movement Fidel influenced the ideologies of the new educational system with conjunction the Marti’s perspective and Marxist like essential, lifting foundation with the thought of Fidel Castro, it gears the latter with a creative and original perspective, against all the currents philosophical, predominantly subjective and irrational, carrying of its own educative ideal, that reigned in Cuba from the middle of the XIX century to the own triumph of the Cuban Revolution and Fidel’s pillars of sustainability Fidel I, constituted in the same way by patriotic ideas for capacitating new teachers, with a new political, social and cultural perspective based in the revolutionary values . Minorities Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) is a network of committees across Cuba The organizations are designed to report "counter-revolutionary" activity The CDR officials have the duty to know the activities of each person in their respective blocks There is an individual file kept on each block resident, some of which reveal the internal dynamics of households Citizens must be careful of their actions and of what they say, as they are being constantly monitored The committees have often received negative international coverage, and been cited by human rights groups as being involved in activity described in Cuba as "acts of repudiation“ These acts include abuse, intimidation and sometimes physical assault against those deemed "counter-revolutionary" Religion Cuba was declared to be atheist No religions were allowed to proselytize Cuban agents from the Ministry of the Interior watched and spied on those who have worshiped in churches and in their homes The Fidel Castro government presently still restricts religion by: Blocking construction of new churches Limits the arrival of foreign religious leaders Refuses to recognize most new denominations Import of religious articles is controlled and monitored Many private churches and other houses of worship, including meetings in private places have been disbanded, boarded up and shut down So called "unregistered religious groups" (not state recognized) experience regular harassment, and repression Religious material is confiscated Women One of the most significant changes brought about by the Cuban Revolution has been to the lives and status of women Before 1959, the role of most Cuban women resembled that of other women in most countries Women enjoyed few rights and were expected to sacrifice their interests for the well-being of the family The Cuban Constitution guarantees women rights: Economic Political Social Cultural Family The Labor Code ensures equal rights and opportunities for women in all fields of work as well as an equal salary Social security applies to men and women equally Women have the right to an abortionEquality of access is ensured in both education and health Much of the success in implementing the legislation relating to the rights of women has been achieved thanks to the work of the Federation of Cuban Women Over 85% of Cuban women are members and it now has 73,710 branches throughout the country Art After the Cuban revolution of 1959 Cuban artists became more isolated from the artistic movements of the United States and Europe Though artists continued to produce work in Cuba, many pursued their careers in exile Theaters, cinemas, concerts, art exhibitions, etc. were all censored Media and Propaganda Citizens and press must be careful of their actions and of what they say, as they are being constantly monitored Castro usually wears military uniforms and has made fiery speeches Castro’s speeches lasted for several hours on end. In the early years, he seriously tries to inform the Cuban people, illustrating his arguments with facts and figures and speaking openly about problems Much propaganda had to deal with the U.S. being stubborn or evil Other propaganda emphasized the preeminence of Castro and the revolution. However, his “cult of personality” has been less built up than other dictators (Hitler, Mussolini, Zedong, Stalin) For example, you will find no statues, streets, schools, towns, or money with Castro’s name Italy Fascism is an authoritarian political movement that developed in Italy and other European countries after 1919 as a reaction against the profound political and social changes brought about from inflation, and declining social, economic, and political conditions. Italy, which was ready for a new political aspect, was the birthplace of fascist ideology. Benito Mussolini was the man who brought this ideology to Italy. Mussolini had been looking for the perfect opportunity to take complete control of the country and now was the time to do so. Mussolini said "Fascism, which was not afraid to call itself reactionary…does not hesitate to call itself illiberal and anti-liberal" (Nazi Fascism and the Modern Totalitarian State) In 1919 Mussolini and his followers, mostly war veterans, were organized along paramilitary lines and wore black shirts as uniforms. After defeats at the polls Mussolini used his new financial backing friends to clothe a gang of thugs who would attack other street gangs supporting other ideologies that Mussolini disliked. These black shirts also vandalized, terrorized, bullied, and on occasion took control of self-governing governments by force. Paralyzed by these violent occurrences, the government did little to combat the fascists. Mussolini furthered his popularity by supporting eight hour days, elimination of class privileges, universal suffrage, and tax advantages. Benito Mussolini came to power in 1922 and transformed the country's economy along fascist ideology. He was not an economic radical; while he reshaped the political scene he had not sought a free-hand with the economy. He was prepared to align with industrial groups and forge an accommodation with capitalism. To stimulate development Mussolini pushed the modern capitalistic sector in the service of the state, intervening directly as needed to create a collaboration between the industrialists, the workers, and the state. The government crushed fundamental class conflicts in favor of corporatism. In the short-term the government worked to reform the widely-abused tax system, dispose of inefficient state-owned industry, cut government costs, and introduce tariffs to protect the new industries. The lack of industrial resources, especially the key ingredients of the industrial revolution, was countered by the intensive development of the available domestic sources and by aggressive commercial policies - searching for particular raw material trade deals, or attempting strategic colonization. According to a biographer of Mussolini, "Initially, fascism was fiercely anti-Catholic" - the Church being a competitor for dominion of the people's hearts. The attitude of fascism toward religion has run the spectrum from persecution, to denunciation to cooperation. In the Nazi and Fascist parties it ranged from tolerance to near total renunciation. Mussolini.- Originally an atheist, published anti-Catholic writings and planned for the confiscation of Church property, but eventually moved to accommodation. Mussolini largely endorsed the Roman Catholic Church for political legitimacy, as during the Lateran Treaty talks, Fascist officials engaged in bitter arguments with Vatican officials and put pressure on them to accept the terms that the regime deemed acceptable. In addition, many Fascists were anti-clerical in both private and public life. Battle of the Births: Mussolini wanted to promote women to have over 10 to 13 children in order for him to have a larger population who will be his soldiers. It wasn’t that successful because of the fact that they were just newly being incorporated into the workforce where Mussolini’s biggest wish was not to return to their old-fashioned ways of being stay-at-home mothers. Mussolini highly taxed bachelors also, so marriage was encouraged economically. Also, women were discouraged of having large families, because that will mean more mouths to feed. Battle for Grain: Mussolini wanted to increase grain yield and so sell it as exports, in order to "feed the nation". He said that increasing grain production was the only way for Italy to become closer to achieving its goal of becoming an autarky. Italy's education system implemented the militaristic terminology and some old Roman Empire characteristics: Adults who opposed Mussolini were dealt with harshly. However, the children were the Fascists of the future and Mussolini took a keen interest in the state’s education system and the youth organizations that existed in Italy. He wanted a nation of warriors so schools taught children to be loyal to the state, where boys must be soldiers, and girls must raise soldiers. Children were also taught at school, that the great days of modern Italy started in 1922 with the March on Rome. Children were taught that Mussolini was the only man who could lead Italy back to greatness. Children were taught to call him "Il Duce" and boys were encouraged to attend after school youth movements. Like other totalitarian regimes, the Fascist party relied heavily on various forms of propaganda in order to retain the support of its public and enforce the desired image of a strong state, strong government, and a loyal and happy electorate. Mussolini and his officials utilized various outlets as propaganda tools. Clearly, the media played an incredibly important role in Fascist propaganda, especially the radio and newspapers. Cultural facets, such as film, literature and music were also used to sell the desired image of Italy. Mussolini also understood the importance of sports in propaganda, and took advantage of the socio-cultural arena to reiterate symbols, images, and phrases to the masses. Broadcasting was born in Italy under Fascism and Fascism used it, right from the beginning, for propaganda. The radio sets installed in schools or leisure centers for workers, in order to favor collective listening, were adorned with fasces, Fascist symbols which contributed to identify the wonder of hearing a distant voice with Mussolini's regime 12 IB History Outline Paper 1: Prescribed Subject Prescribed subject 3: Communism in crisis 1976-89 This prescribed subject addresses the major challenges—social, political and economic—facing the regimes in the leading socialist (Communist) states from 1976 to 1989 and the nature of the response of these regimes. In some cases challenges, whether internal or external in origin, produced responses that inaugurated a reform process contributing significantly to the end of the USSR and the satellite states in Central and Eastern Europe. In other cases repressive measures managed to contain the challenge and the regime maintained power in the period. Areas on which the source-based questions will focus are: the struggle for power following the death of Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung), Hua Guofeng (Hua Kuo-feng), the re-emergence of Deng Xiaoping (Teng Hsiao-p’ing) and the defeat of the Gang of Four China under Deng Xiaoping: economic policies and the Four Modernizations China under Deng Xiaoping: political changes, and their limits, culminating in Tiananmen Square (1989) domestic and foreign problems of the Brezhnev era: economic and political stagnation; Afghanistan Gorbachev and his aims/policies (glasnost and perestroika) and consequences for the Soviet state consequences of Gorbachev’s policies for Eastern European reform movements: Poland—the role of Solidarity; Czechoslovakia—the Velvet Revolution; fall of the Berlin Wall. Paper 2: 2 Topics Topic 3: Origins and development of authoritarian and single-party states The 20th century produced many authoritarian and single-party states. The origins, ideology, form of government, organization, nature and impact of these regimes should be studied. Major themes Origins and nature of authoritarian and single-party states |Conditions that produced authoritarian and single-party states Emergence of leaders: aims, ideology, support Totalitarianism: the aim and the extent to which it was achieved | |Establishment of authoritarian and single party states |Methods: force, legal Form of government, (left- and right-wing) ideology Nature, extent and treatment of opposition | |Domestic policies and impact |Structure and organization of government and administration Political, economic, social and religious policies Role of education, the arts, the media, propaganda Status of women, treatment of religious groups and minorities | |Material for detailed study Africa: Kenya—Kenyatta; Tanzania—Nyerere Americas: Argentina—Perón; Cuba—Castro Asia and Oceania: China—Mao; Indonesia—Sukarno Europe and the Middle East: Germany—Hitler; USSR—Stalin; Egypt—Nasser Topic 5: The Cold War This topic addresses East–West relations from 1945. It aims to promote an international perspective and understanding of the origins, course and effects of the Cold War—a conflict that dominated global affairs from the end of the Second World War to the early 1990s. It includes superpower rivalry and events in all areas affected by Cold War politics such as spheres of interest, wars (proxy), alliances and interference in developing countries. Major themes Origins of the Cold War |Ideological differences Mutual suspicion and fear From wartime allies to post-war enemies | |Nature of the Cold War |Ideological opposition Superpowers and spheres of influence Alliances and diplomacy in the Cold War | |Development and impact of the Cold War |Global spread of the Cold War from its European origins Cold War policies of containment, brinkmanship, peaceful coexistence, détente Role of the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement Role and significance of leaders Arms race, proliferation and limitation Social, cultural and economic impact | |End of the Cold War |Break-up of Soviet Union: internal problems and external pressures Breakdown of Soviet control over Central and Eastern Europe | | Material for detailed study Wartime conferences: Yalta and Potsdam US policies and developments in Europe: Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, NATO Soviet policies, Sovietization of Eastern and Central Europe, COMECON, Warsaw Pact Sino–Soviet relations US–Chinese relations Germany (especially Berlin (1945-61)), Congo (1960-64), Afghanistan (1979-88), Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, Middle East Castro, Gorbachev, Kennedy, Mao, Reagan, Stalin, Truman Higher Level: 3 Units. Unit 12 will be an Independent Study Unit 9. The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe 1924 - 2000 This section deals with the consolidation of the Soviet state from 1924 and the methods applied to ensure its survival, growth and expansion inside and outside the borders of the Soviet Union. The rise and nature of the rule of Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev and the policies and practice of Sovietization (post-1945) in Central and Eastern Europe are areas for examination. East–West relations post-1945 in relation to Soviet aims and leadership should also be considered. Stalin (1924-53): power struggle; collectivization and industrialization; Five Year Plans; constitution; cult of personality; purges; impact on society; foreign relations to 1941 The Great Patriotic War: breakdown of wartime alliance; Cold War; policies towards Germany: Berlin; Eastern European satellite states; Warsaw Pact Khrushchev (1955-64): struggle for power after Stalin’s death; destalinization; peaceful coexistence; domestic policies: economic and agricultural; foreign relations: Hungary, Berlin, Cuba, China Brezhnev: domestic and foreign policies Case study of one Sovietized/satellite state: establishment of Soviet control; the nature of the single-party state; domestic policies; opposition and dissent (suitable examples could be East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland but all relevant states are valid) Transformation of Soviet Union: political developments and change (1982-2000) 10. The Second World War and post-war Western Europe 1939 - 2000 This section deals with the Second World War, post-war recovery and the effects of the Cold War in the second half of the 20th century and, in some cases the transition from authoritarian to democratic government. It requires examination of the social, political and economic issues facing states and the methods used to cope with the challenges, either within individual states or in the move towards a system of European integration, in pursuit of mutually acceptable political, economic and foreign policy goals. Second World War in Europe; Cold War: impact on Germany, NATO and military cooperation Post-war problems and political and economic recovery in Western Europe: devastation; debt 1945-9 Establishment and consolidation of the Federal Republic of Germany to German reunification Moves towards political and economic integration, cooperation and enlargement post-1945: EEC, EC, EU Spain: Franco’s regime and the transition to, and establishment of, democracy under Juan Carlos Case study of one Western European state between 1945 and 2000 (excluding Germany and Spain): the nature of the government; domestic policies; opposition and dissent 12. Social and economic developments in Europe and the Middle East in the 19th or 20th century This section requires a case study of any one country of the region for a period of approximately fifty years. As can be seen from the following, students require a thorough knowledge of the society concerned. Any political references should be made within the context of social and economic developments and be relevant to an understanding of them. This section allows students to develop their investigative and critical skills within the context of a case study of one country from the region. The chosen country and period of study should be identified in the introduction to the examination answers. Social structure and attitudes: health reforms, welfare state; gender issues; suffrage Role and impact of religion(s), conflict and tensions Developments in education; expansion and diversity Developments in the arts: visual arts, music, theatre, film and literature, media, propaganda, leisure and sport Immigration/emigration: causes and effects; demographic changes; urbanization Industrial revolution; impact of technology on society; the computer age Vietnam War The term Cold War has been used to define an extremely tense international situation, in which the two super powers began an arms race and adopted a belligerent attitude that led them to clash, but never became an armed struggle directly. This confrontation was expressed in localized conflicts outside its territory, in the form of long and bloody wars in which the confrontation occurred indirectly through allies peripheral powers. Background: revolution and independence. Before World War II, Indochina was a union of countries under French colonial rule, consists of Cochinchina, Cambodia, Annam, Tonkin and Laos. The process of decolonization and independence was formally initiated in 1940 coinciding with the occupation by Japanese forces on the territory, although from the interwar period had begun to emerge nationalist movements, most notably the National Party of Vietnam and the Indochinese Communist Party who come to unite under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh. When Japan was defeated in 1945, French Indochina countries sought to take the opportunity to secede from the union and proclaim its independence in an attempt to prevent the French returned to retrieve the colonial sovereignty. In September 1945 Bao Dai was ousted, since 1926 he had ruled Vietnam as emperor under the control of France, and is proclaimed the independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North) by the League Vietminh nationalist party under predominance Communist Party, is headed by Ho Chi Minh. He is elected as president of the new country, consisting of Cochinchina, Annam and Tonkin, and establishes his government in the city of Hanoi. Around the same time became independent Cambodia and Laos each separately, proclaiming the respective republics. But the French back in October 1945, these three people start a long liberation struggle. Partition of Vietnam. In principle, France gave its recognition to the new state of Vietnam led by Ho Chi Minh (pictured right). But the failure to reach satisfactory political and economic agreements between the two countries led to armed confrontation, which began in December 1946. French-backed Bao Dai set up the Kingdom of Vietnam (South Vietnam) warp 1949 and established the new capital at Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City). In this way the country was divided into two parts, one against the other. United States officially recognized the Saigon regime in 1950 and President Truman sent a group of military "advisers" to train South Vietnamese in the management of U.S. weapons. The war between France and the Vietminh came to an end when the forces of Ho Chi Minh occupied the French base at Dien Bien Phu, the May 8, 1954. That same day, seeking a diplomatic solution to the conflict, the Geneva Conference held in which delegates met North Vietnam and South Vietnam with those of France, Britain, USSR, United States, China, Laos and Cambodia, with the purpose of discussing the future of all Indochina. The most important agreements were: the withdrawal of the French in Vietnam and Indochina in general, the Armistice to Vietnam, the temporary division of Vietnam into two countries separated by the parallel 17, a north under Communist rule, and another to the south hands of the Saigon government, the recognition of the independence of North Vietnam, was established in 1956 have also held elections for the reunification of the country. But besides that these agreements were not fully met, the region soon began to be dragged into the East-West conflict, due to the spread of communism from China on Vietnamese territory and the U.S. intervention to counteract it. This country gave military aid to the Saigon regime and carried out covert activities against the Hanoi government. In October 1955, Bao Dai was deposed as a result of a referendum, and proclaimed the Republic of South Vietnam's Ngo Dinh Diem as president, with the support of the local landowning oligarchy. Upon taking power, Diem announced that his government refused to hold elections for reunification, saying that there would be electoral fraud as the Northern population would not be free to express their desire, however, Hanoi's communist government declared its determined to reunify the country under its hegemony. Peace concluded at Geneva began to deteriorate and, by January 1957, created the International Commission for the implementation of the Geneva accords alleged violations of armistice violations by both North Vietnam as South Vietnam. Throughout this year, Communist sympathizers who had migrated north after the division of the country began returning to the South. These activists were the Viet Cong (short for gsan With Vietnam, in Vietnam, "Vietnam Red") and began to carry out sabotage against American military installations, and in 1959 began guerrilla attacks against the Diem government. The following year, to show that the guerrilla movement was independent, the Vietcong started his own political arm, called the National Liberation Front (FNL), based in Hanoi. Initiating the "special war", whose father was Maxwell Taylor theoretical military adviser to U.S. President John F. Kennedy. In this vision of U.S. combat troops should participate directly, but helping the local populations to U.S. households do not shed tears. With a new concept of colonialism in the newly independent countries, economically weak and politically immature and therefore easy prey to communism, the United States supported the regime "legitimate", providing dollars, weapons, military instructors, pilots, aircraft, strategic and tactical command however, it was defending its interests in the area, which is oriented toward the mineral wealth and trying to disguise with words like "guarantee the right of peoples to peace and freedom." Directly involved in Vietnam since 1961 without a declaration of war. So began arriving in Saigon the first U.S. troops, although they did know it was not combat units. Diem tried unsuccessfully to destroy Communist influence in its territory, but the government could not sustain a long time due to several reasons: intolerance of opposition, his favoritism toward Catholics Buddhist discontent and the failure of his economic programs . These factors led to an uprising that supported the communist North in 1963 led a military coup that ended the Diem government. In the political turmoil that followed the coup, the situation in South Vietnam continued to deteriorate and in the next eighteen months the country had ten different governments. Finally, in 1965 he formed a National Executive Council chaired by Nguyen Van Thieu anti-military, which restored political order, two years later elections were held and Thieu was elected president. But this instability had led the advance of the Communist Viet Cong in South Vietnam and this prepared the way for direct U.S. intervention. Vietnam War. In early 1964, the U.S. president, Lyndon B. Johnson, approved the systematic bombing of North Vietnam and sending combat troops to South Vietnam, which began U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, which brought such dire consequences in the political history of this country . In 1964 Vietnamese troops attacked U.S. ships, and in response Lyndon B. Johnson as president, began a continuous bombing of North Vietnam and a massive landing of troops. The "special war" took a different turn. Chemicals were used, scattered from the air on livestock and food crops close to harvest. Human beings were affected with skin burns, diarrhea and pulmonary complaints. The population had to invent resources to defend against these ataques.Mientras Thus, the FNL began receiving diplomatic and military support of North Vietnam. By 1965, U.S. forces widespread bombing of North Vietnam, increasing the number of U.S. troops States in South Vietnam, in the confidence that would impose its military superiority. But the bombing, which caused huge crop losses in the lines of communication and industrial centers of the two Vietnam, in addition to causing the death of a million civilians, unable to subdue the rebels in South Vietnam, or North got the stop to assist the FNL. The effect of U.S. military action was rather counterproductive to encourage the Vietnamese nationalist resistance. Also originated in the United States itself is a strong movement of rejection of his government's intervention in Indochina, an attitude that is largely associated with social unrest in the sixties in the United States. In early 1968, the U.S. government, pressured by public opinion in his country, had come to the conclusion that the Vietnam War could be won. On 31 March President Johnson announced the bombing halt of North Vietnam, a gesture that found a positive response from Hanoi, and the following May in Paris began peace talks between the United States, North Vietnam, South Vietnam and the National Liberation Front, the Vietcong. The first results of the negotiations were negative despite the air raids estaudinenses had completely ceased in November of that year. He sent military forces to Indochina, invading part of Cambodia and Laos, countries which had already spread the communism, but without great success. By 1968 the Vietnam war was very unpopular in the United States. Citizens and intellectuals protested vigorously. Meanwhile, in Paris initiated negotiations for peace. North Vietnam and the Vietcong, who had been recognized as a belligerent force, opposed flat refusal to any compromise and all I wanted and what was fought by the United States out of its territory. The war continued for several more years. American bombing intensified. The Vietnamese were defending with unswerving determination that she had. On January 27, 1973 Hanoi, Saigon and the Provincial Revolutionary Government (GRP) signed in Paris po ¬ agreements which U.S. forces withdrew. On January 27, 1973, delegations from the United States, South Vietnam, North Vietnam and Provisional Revolutionary Government (established in a portion of South Vietnam by the FNL) concluded negotiations for the Paris conference, sign agreements by which established the ceasefire and U.S. withdrawal from South Vietnam. The following March, the agreements were supplemented by another providing for the unification of the two territories. Following the withdrawal of U.S. troops, the war continued for two more years until, in April 1975, is filled up the victory for the FNL and the ultimate failure of the United States, with the capture of Saigon and the union between the North and the South, proclaimed the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in April 1976 Consequences: The Vietnam War marked a milestone in the conventional military history, both for the extent of guerrilla warfare and the increasing use of helicopters, which provided a high mobility in difficult terrain. In addition, it was essentially a people's war because most of the civilian population was mobilized to some type of active participation and the state of war suffered almost the same circumstances as the military. The extensive use made by U.S. chemical weapons such as napalm, maimed and killed thousands of civilians, while the use of defoliants, mainly the so-called "Agent Orange" used to remove the cover, not only devastated the environment of an essentially agricultural country, but let harmful consequences for the physical health of human beings-Vietnamese-Americans who came into contact with that chemical. As a result of eight years of military use of these tactics, it is estimated that killed more than two million Vietnamese, three million were injured and hundreds of thousands of children orphaned. The refugee population is estimated at 12 million people, between April 1975 and July 1982 about 1.218 million refugees were resettled in more than 16 countries, other 500 000 attempted to flee Vietnam by sea, but died about 10 to 15 %, and those who survived were later faced with barriers and immigration quotas even in countries that were accepting them. The American casualties totaled 57,685, plus 153,303 injured. At the time of the agreement of ceasefire had 587 prisoners of war between the military and civilians, who were later released in its entirety, but an updated estimate unofficial estimates that there are still some 2,500 missing. The Vietnam War was also a milestone in U.S. history. The defeat was a deep blow to American pride and the belief that their nation was invincible; affected the confidence of citizens in its governance and felt cheated by the political leaders that their vote had voted into power because they had been given false reports about the war. This sentiment was extended to the soldiers who returned from Vietnam. physically and mentally injured, were not welcome in their homeland, or were treated for heroes. Many of these soldiers went through great difficulties to get jobs and readjust to family life, according to data from the Department of Veterans Affairs, half a million of them suffering from psychological problems related to war experiences. The Vietnam syndrome left an indelible mark on an entire generation of young people and their families, both physical damage caused by war wounds and exposure to chemical agents, such as the psychological effect caused by the terrible memory of death and suffering of many Vietnamese civilians helpless. In international politics, the Vietnam War brought discredit to the United States in a world shocked by the images received through television and print media, about a war unnecessarily extending the U.S. presence. Instead, the communist bloc was strengthened with the integration of a new member in a catchment area of ''great strategic value Nature Of The War The Vietnam War marked a turning point in the conventional military history, both for the extent of guerrilla warfare and the increasing use of helicopters, which provided a high mobility in difficult terrain. The Vietnam War was essentially a people's war as members of the Vietcong were not easily distinguishable from non-combatant population and also because most of the civilian population was mobilized to some type of active participation. The widespread use of napalm was U.S. maimed and killed thousands of civilians and the use of defoliants, used to remove vegetation, devastated the environment of an essentially agricultural country. Principales Causas: 1. The desire to unify northern Vietnam 2.The American desire to stop the spread of communism 3.Other unofficial control of the market as their own. 4.Vietnam War (1959/1975) Vietnam War Effects: IN USA.- Political fallout International prestige within their country to intervene in a foreign conflict and cruelty of the tactics With its defeat hurts "Manifest Destiny" theory in which the U.S. was destined to expand from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Social consequences Mov. Hippie, universities internal opposition stage violent clashes between police and students, drug addiction, people affected by Agent Orange, Vietnam syndrome, killed 58 209 153 303 injured. EFFECTS IN VIETNAM: Political consequences: unifying the country under Communist rule Cons. Social, economic, and environmental issues: forests destroyed, crops damaged deeply, Agent Orange (premature abortions, sterility, birth), 70% of the destroyed infrastructure, mass exodus to the cities: 830 000 900 000 dead and wounded EFFECTS IN THE WORLD: The world takes a cruel image of USA, the guerrilla war reaches prominence, eleemento helicopter as essential to the war. Russia Russia History (1892-1917) As the years virtually ruled Tsar Nicholas II, the following article shows the beginnings of political parties in Russia, the rise of Social-Revolutionary Party, the internal crisis post-war (Russo-Japanese War, World War I), and Finally, the abolition of the Tsars to the imposition of Communist rule in 1917. Imperialism in Asia and the Russo-Japanese War In the late nineteenth century, Russia gained room to maneuver in Asia because of its alliance with France and the growing rivalry between Britain and Germany. By 1895, Germany was competing with France for the pro-Russian, and British statesmen hoped to negotiate with the Russians to demarcate spheres of influence in Asia. This situation enabled Russia to intervene in northeastern Asia after Japan's victory over China in 1895. In negotiations that followed, Japan was forced to make concessions in the Liaodong Peninsula and Port Arthur (Lushun) in southern Manchuria. The following year, Sergei Witte used French capital to establish the Russo-Chinese Bank. The bank's objective was to finance the construction of a railroad across northern Manchuria and thus shorten the Siberian railway for the transaction. Within two years, Russia had acquired leases of the Liaodong Peninsula and Port Arthur and had begun building a trunk line from Harbin in central Manchuria to Port Arthur on the coast. In 1900, China reacted to foreign encroachments on their territory with an armed uprising, the Boxer Rebellion. The Russian military contingent they joined forces in Europe, Japan and the United States to restore order in northern China. A force of 180,000 Russian troops fought to pacify the part of Manchuria and to secure their railways. The Japanese were backed by Britain and the United States, however, insisted that Russia evacuate Manchuria. Witte and some Russian diplomats wanted to compromise with Japan and Manchuria and Korea to change, but a group of Witte's reactionary enemies, courtiers, and military and naval leaders refused. The tsar favored their viewpoint, and, disdaining Japan threats - despite the latter's formal alliance with Britain - the Russian government declared war on Japan in 1904. In counterpoint to the Japanese strategy to gain quick wins to control Manchuria, the Russian strategy focused on fighting against actions they take to buy time for reinforcements to arrive via the Siberian railway length transaction. In January 1905, after several failed attacks that cost them 60,000 men lost in battle and wounded and eight-month siege, the Japanese took Port Arthur. In March the Japanese forced the Russians to withdraw north of Mukden, but were unable to pursue the Russians because Japanese troops suffered heavy casualties. And strategically the possession of the city (Port Arthur) meant little, the final victory depended on both Navy. In May, in the Strait of Tsushima, the Japanese destroyed Russia's last hope of the war, a fleet squadrons gathered from the Mediterranean and Baltic sea. Theoretically, Russian army reinforcements could have driven the Japanese from the Asian continent, but the internal revolution and diplomatic pressure forced the tsar to seek peace. Russia accepted mediation by United States president, Theodore Roosevelt, ceded the southern island of Sakhalin to Japan, and acknowledged the dominance of Japan in South Korea and Manchuria. 1905 Revolution Soviet propaganda poster depicting the 1905 revolution. The caption reads "Glory to the Heroes of the Potemkin Village!" The Russo-Japanese War accelerated the rise of political movements among all classes and nationalities major, even wealthy Russians. Before 1904, Russian liberal activists of the district council and the professions had formed an organization called the Union of Liberation. In the same year, they joined with Finns, Poles, Georgians, Armenians, and Russian members of the Social-Revolutionary Party to form an alliance anti-autocratic. The 1905 revolution, social upheaval and political record was set in motion by the violent suppression on January 9 ("Bloody Sunday") in St. Petersburg in a mass procession of workers led by the priest and police agent Georgiy Gapon, with a request (it should be noted that the solicitation to the czar was illegal) for the Tsar. Bloody Sunday was followed at the national level, worker and student strikes, street demonstrations, vandalism and violence avalanches periodic assassinations of government officials, naval mutinies, nationalist movements in the border areas imperial and anti-pogroms Jews. In several cities, the workers formed soviets, or councils. At the end of the year, armed uprisings occurred in Moscow, the Urals, Latvia, and parts of Poland. The activists of the district council and the broad professional Union of Unions formed the Constitutional Democratic Party, whose initials lent the party its informal name, the Kadets (Constitutional Democratic Party). Some activists wealthy upper class and asked the opposition groups committed to avoid disorders. The result of the revolution was contradictory. In late 1905, Nicholas II agreed, albeit reluctantly, to publish the so-called October Manifesto, which promised Russia a reformed political order and basic civil liberties for most citizens. The new Basic Laws in 1906 (sometimes inaccurately called a "constitution") established a legislative State Duma, similar to a parliament, but also restricted their authority in many ways - not least of which was the complete lack of parliamentary control appointment or disposal of ministers. Trade unions and strikes were legalized, but the police retained extensive authority to oversee union activities and close connections to engage in illegal political activities. Greater freedom of the press was guaranteed, but in practice it was subject to constant harassment, punitive purposes, and close to exceeding the permissible limits of free speech. Those who accepted the new arrangements formed a political party with the center right, the Oktobrists. Meanwhile, the Kadets resisted a really responsible ministerial government and equal suffrage, universal. Because of their political principles was continued by armed uprisings, Russia's leftist parties were undecided decide on their participation in the Duma elections, which had been called for early 1906. At the same time, rightist factions actively opposed the reforms. Several new monarchist and proto-fascist groups also rose up to overthrow the new order. However, the regime continued to operate during the chaotic year of 1905, eventually restoring order in the cities, the countryside, and the military. In the process, the terrorists killed hundreds of officials and the government implemented an equal number of terrorists. As the government had been able to restore order and secure a loan from France before the Duma first began, Nicholas was in a strong position that enabled him to replace Witte for a more conservative, Pyotr Stolypin The first Duma was elected in March 1906. The Kadets and their allies dominated it, with mostly independent radical leftists slightly weaker than Oktobrists and independent right of center were combined. The socialists had boycotted the election, but several socialist delegates were decided. Relations between the Duma and the Stolypin government were hostile from the beginning. A deadlock of the Kadets and the government on the adoption of a constitution and peasant reform was led to the dissolution of the Duma and the scheduling of new elections. Despite an increase of leftist terror, radical leftist parties participated in the election, and, together with independent, won a plurality of seats, followed by a loose coalition of Kadets with Poles and other nationalities in the political center. The impasse continued, however, there was a Second Duma in 1907. In June 1914, a Serbian terrorist killed the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, which then held the Serbian government responsible. The Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to Serbia, believing that the terms were too humiliating to accept. Although Serbia surrendered to the ultimatum, Austria-Hungary declared the response unsatisfactory and recalled its ambassador. Russia supported Serbia. Once the Serbian response was rejected, the system of alliances began to operate automatically, with Germany supporting Austria-Hungary and France supported Russia. When Germany invaded France through Belgium, the conflict escalated into a world war. Russia in World War (1914-1916) At the outbreak of war, Tsar Nicholas II gave in to pressure and appointed Grand Duke Nicholas as commander in chief of the Russian armies. The Grand Duke, a cousin of the tsar, was competent, but had no part in formulating the strategy or appointing commanders. In the initial phase of the war, the Russian offensive in East Prussia ended with enough German troops from the western front to allow the French, Belgian and British stop the German advance. One of the two armies of the Russian invasion was almost completely destroyed during the Battle of Tannenberg - the same site at which Lithuanian, Polish, and Moldovan troops had defeated the German Teutonic Knights in 1410. Meanwhile, the Russians retreated to an Austrian offensive and advanced in Eastern Galicia, the northeastern part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Russians stopped a German winter counteroffensive combined Austrian-Russian Poland in early 1915 and pushed them advanced in Galicia. Then in the spring and summer of that year, a German-Austrian offensive against the Russians in Galicia and Poland defeated several platoons of the Russian army. In 1916 the Germans planned to invade France with a large-scale attack in the Verdun area, but a new Russian offensive against Austria-Hungary again defeated the German troops in the West. These actions left both sides nearly equal, both Russia and Germany were desperately seeking a victory - Russia because of exhaustion, Germany due to the superior resources of its opponents. Towards the end of 1916, Russia came to the rescue of Romania, who had just entered the war, and expanded its troops from the east to the Black Sea. Agreements between the Allied war aims reflected the Triple Entente imperialists and the Russian Empire's relative weakness outside Eastern Europe. Russia waited yet impressive gains with a victory: territorial acquisitions in eastern Galicia from Austria, Prussia in eastern Germany, and Armenia (which was not a sovereign nation) of the Ottoman Empire, which joined the war against German side, the control of Constantinople and the straits of Bosporus and Dardanelles, and territorial and political change in Austria-Hungary in the interests of Romania and the Slavic peoples of the region. Britain should acquire the middle zone of Persia and part of the Arab Middle East with France, Italy - not the Russian-Serbian ally - was to acquire Dalmatia along the Adriatic coast, Japan, another ally of the agreement, should control more territory in China, and France was to regain Alsace-Lorraine, which had been taken by Germany in the Franco-Prussian War, and have increased their influence in West Germany Fall of Tsarist Lenin, leader of the Bolshevik Revolution of October. The onset of World War I exposed the weakness of the government of Nicholas II. A show of national unity had accompanied Russia's entrance into the war, defense of the Slavic Serbs the main battle cry. In the summer of 1914, the Duma and the district council expressed full support for the war effort of the government. The initial conscription was well organized and peaceful, and the early phase of Russia's military buildup showed that the Empire had learned lessons from the Russo-Japanese War. But the military investments and the government's incompetence soon soured to the majority of the population. German control of the Baltic and Black Sea severed Russia from most of its foreign supplies and potential markets. Moreover, the inept Russian preparations for war and ineffective economic policies hurt the country financially, logistically and militarily. Inflation became a serious problem. Because of inadequate material support of military operations, the Military Industrial Committee was formed to ensure that necessary supplies reached the front. But army officers quarreled with civilian leaders, seized administrative control, and refused to cooperate with the committee. The central government distrusted the activities of independent war support were organized by district council. The Duma quarreled with the government bureaucracy of war, and the center and the center left authorities eventually formed the Progressive Bloc to create a true constitutional government. After Russian military spending in 1915, Nicholas II went to the front to take nominal command of the army, leaving his German-born wife, Alexandra Romanova, the government and the Duma. While the central government was hampered by court intrigue, the stress of war began to cause popular unrest. In 1916, high food prices and fuel shortages caused strikes in some cities. The workers, who had won the right to representation in sections of the Military-Industrial Committee, used those sections as organs of political opposition. The field also became restless. Soldiers were increasingly insubordinate, particularly the newly recruited peasants who faced the prospect of being used as cannon fodder in the inept conduct of the war. The situation continued to deteriorate. Greater conflict between the Tsar and the Duma weakened both parts of government and increased the impression of incompetence. In early 1917, deteriorating rail transport caused food shortages, acute and fuel, and in turn, riots and strikes. Authorities summoned troops to quell the unrest in Petrograd. In 1905, the troops had fought the protesters and had saved the monarchy, but in 1917 the troops turned back their weapons to angry crowds. Public support to the tsarist regime simply evaporated in 1917, ending three centuries of Romanov government General Idea of ''the Situation Before the Revolution: In the nineteenth century Eastern Europe (Turkey, Russia, Austria) had a purely agrarian economy to a feudal-type employment. There was no industry, so the industrial bourgeoisie barely existed. Large landowners own large areas of fertile land exploited peasants. Politically, Russia was an empire led by a Czar, owner of an absolute power, with unique decisions without question. The farmers who made up 85% of the population lived in extreme poverty, extreme cold was added the famine and pestilence because of its weakness. The peasants began to organize to try to rebel against this unjust and oppressive system. The Russian government perceived this popular discontent and decided to start a series of reforms: a) Social: slavery abolished b) Economic: allowing foreign capital inflows to the establishment of industries, which were actually very few. Despite these measures, the people did not improve their standard of living and went through the same hardships. The farmers also received support from a large mass of students and in 1880 began to strengthen the fight against the power of Tsar Nicholas. Within the opposition were two opposing views: a) those who wanted a capitalist country like the rest of Western Europe, with liberal tendencies. And b) a large majority to a socialist-type policies. (Peasants, workers and soldiers) In 1905 Russia lost the war with Japan, and the country is in a position of political weakness, so the opposition takes to create a riot in St. Petersburg, denouncing the incompetence of the monarch. As a reaction the Tsar represses the demonstrators and fired at the gates of the Palacio de Gobierno, killing over a hundred men and women. Also rebel sailors of the battleship Potemki. Similarly, the Tsar accepts accepts complaints and creating a kind of parliament, called Dune I must work in conjunction with the Tsar, but when he was pressed automatically dissolved. In this way the first liberal reforms failed, as the Tsar, and the nobles were willing to surrender their rights and privileges. Moreover, Russia had entered the First World War and its economy was stagnant due to the costs of war and that men had to leave their land to become child soldiers. No food, fuel, raw materials, etc. Lenin was the architect of the revolution. Marx's thesis adapted to Russian reality, and organized the foundation of staff. Socio-economic context of that time: The Tsar with all the political power A landowning elite with all their land exploited peasants. A very weak industrial bourgeoisie. Few and non-union workers. Some rich peasants with some land, the kulaks. Many soldiers are very unhappy and unemployed. Those most affected were: Farmers exploited The soldiers out of work Workers with wages of misery The three groups were organized to form Soviets, the Soviets of soldiers, peasants and workers, and were organized across the nation to create what was the first socialist revolution in the world in 1917. After the revolution, the Tsar abdicated and again the liberal ideas gained momentum, the government created the Duma, made up of democrats, socialists, revolutionaries, and tried to implement policy measures such as the separation of powers, popular sovereignty, religious freedom and releases, etc., but unable to exercise power effectively, parliament also decided to continue the global war, as it generated a deep and popular rejection. Now the Soviets, led by Lenin, who was in exile, formed the Bolshevik party and instilling the idea that "all power is for the Soviets" or "bread, land and labor" rebel taking the Winter Palace, taking from this time all the power, and formed the Council of People's Commissars, led by Lenin and began to respond to people who lived so miserably. A decree was put into the hands of farmers the land of the landlords. The factory owners kept their property but the production was managed and controlled by the workers. War was negotiated and put an end to military action, losing much of Russian territory to Germany, which after the war had to return these areas. The new government would be formed by workers and peasants. From this point begin to form a socialist state. For this two-way road had a set series of harsh measures used to produce the changes necessary to reach the socialist system or apply more moderate but eventually make it to the final construction of Marxist ideas. Lenin was in favor of the latter and that was the path taken. Banks were nationalized, transport such as railways and ships, and large enterprises. Also repudiated the national debt. Initially lived two systems one that allowed private ownership of property and another which nationalized. The socialist revolution, stunned and frightened the West, capitalist-oriented countries as diverse as England and France, supported the White Army, commanded by Czarist generals, to rebel against the new regime, thus avoiding that socialism expand westward threatening to capitalism. The White Army was supported by the industrial bourgeoisie and the landlords, who were the losers in this system, moreover second Lenin Trotsky organized the Red Army supported by the rest of the country and managed to form an army of more than 3,000,000 soldiers in a short time and gave the final victory of the Bolsheviks. 7,000,000 citizens were killed in this civil war that lasted 3 years. It imposed one-party regime, the Bolsheviks, who became known communist and banned internal party dissent. The Russian government nationalized all businesses over time and forced the peasants to hand over their agricultural production, ie the grains were confiscated, so he could secure the bread to all the Russian people during the civil war . Production dropped dramatically because farmers refused to produce more, only able to produce what they consumed. These measures are known as War Communism. After the civil war as the country was in a difficult economic situation and seemed to repeat history again Tsar, Lenin implemented a law known as New Economic Policy (NEP) and try to rebuild the economy. To do this: Suspending the confiscation of grain Allows the sale of surplus production. Charge a new tax on the wealth of each farmer Allows any citizen to install a small business, as large remain in state hands. In a few years the economy recovers, and some peasants kulaks as large landowners get richer. Some drivers of socialism do not accept these differences and say that these measures were of a capitalistic NEP and delay the construction of socialism, one is Trosky. In 1922 Lenin has a stroke which forced him to relinquish power, and starts an internal among some drivers to replace it, creating a triumvirate of Stalin and Zinovi Kamanev, and Trotsky was exiled in Mexico, later murdered by order Stalin. (Lenin wrote in his will about Stalin, and argues that this man is not very reliable as the continuation of the communist regime, due to their intolerant, cruel and violent, and thought needs to be replaced with someone more loyal, friendly and attentive) As grain prices fell and farmers speculated grains retained, creating a national shortage situation. Stalin did not agree with that leaves the NEP and change the direction of the economy. Expropriated lands on the kulaks, who were considered enemies of socialism were exterminated, on the other hand, organized the peasants on farms. To accelerate the process of collectivization promised agricultural technology and in only 6 years all land was collectivized. On the other hand, carefully planned industrial development and intends to triple the production of heavy machinery, electricity fivefold and significantly increase acreage. I knew this is the only way to make socialism work. As an instrument of force to control and dominate the people, Stalin relied on its Red Army and installed the gulasg, species concentration camps where they were imprisoned and sentenced to work all those opposition forces. All these measures are stipulated in the five-year plan, which had a unique success, but it took the sacrifice and lives of millions of Russians. All the dissidents were persecuted, imprisoned or killed, about 3,000,000 people. There was a large family with at least one child killed or imprisoned by the political system. Stalin ruled from 1927 to 1953, and consolidated a very tough and authoritarian regime, did not tolerate any opposition to the ruling. In 1933 began a series of purges against anyone suspected of opposition, accusing them of anti-Soviet, thus eliminating the millions of Russian citizens, including revolutionaries of 1917 they, like their colleagues in the triumvirate, Kamamev and Zinoviev. Stalin wanted to build communism in Russia, and later extended to the rest of the world, this is known as socialism in one country. For others it was necessary to cross borders as soon as possible with these socialist ideas. Stalin forced a national worship his image. With this policy of popular fear Stalin could concentrate all political power in Russia, which together with other leaders, took possession of all agencies and institutions of state control, and also held important positions that allowed them to enrich themselves and were separated from the rest of population. The consolidation of the Stalinist regime made these revolutionaries of 1917 with liberal and democratic tendencies permanently give up his struggle to achieve their aims politically imposed. The Destalinización: The Stalinization began as soon as it died. First it was announced that there was a conspiracy of doctors. In June 1953 he was arrested Beria, head of the KGB, the Russian secret service, which was feared by all. Beria was executed. That showed more successful desestanilización was Nikita Khrushchev, the new secretary of the party. In 1956 he denounced in a speech Stalin aberrations and released millions of prisoners in labor camps. The oligarchy of the party who did resign Khrushchev put in place Brehnev Leonide. This, which came with all sweetness, was eliminated from their positions to their opponents and start a mini cult of personality by mid-1970's. The beginning of strife: The late Brezhnev were to obtain a regularization of relations with the West and obtain the benefits of global trade but without relaxing the communist society to a point of losing the social or economic control. The Soviet Union troubled West for their movements in the Third World but the result we see today it is a marginalization of communism in the global political and economic structures. After Brezhnev died in 1982, had two successors lasted a year each and then came in spring 1985, a young man with a big program changes. Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika: The idea of ''Gorbachev's restructuring was to maintain a communist doctrine with a similar economic structure of capitalism. Certain European socialist parties had already given examples. With his Glasnost (clairvoyance) also sought to make sense of a rhetorical country. The task required great courage, because it was entering political and economic situations of less stability and Russia he learned to cope. Gorbachev's reforms were resisted by the communist party tried to seize power (August 1991) but could not dismiss Boris Yeltsin and the Russian federal government. The match was declared outside the law. In December, the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus declared that a Union of Independent States would replace the USSR. Gorbachev resigned at the end of the year. That ended 74 years of the USSR. But Russia and its allies remain in the federation and Boris Yeltsin resigned as president in December 1999. Without it, the transformation to capitalism in Russia had not followed. Towards the end of March 2000, Vladimir Putin, who had been prime minister under Yeltsin, was elected president with a majority vote against the candidate of the Communist Party. Putin, in a speech promised to fight corruption with the help of his former comrades from the KGB Single Party State Review Joseph Stalin Background information: 1879-1953 Born Josef Dzhugashvili in Gori, Georgia Grandson of a serf; son of a shoemaker Attended and dropped out of seminary school, where he was exposed to radical and revolutionary ideas Read Marx’s works 1899-gave up his religious education to devote himself to the revolutionary movement against the Russian monarchy Member of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (RSDLP), which split into Menshevik and Bolshevik factions Stalin belonged to the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin 1912: Lenin elevated Stalin to the leading Bolshevik Party body, the Central Committee Stalin, a number of times, was exiled to Siberia After the last exile, in 1913, Stalin was released upon the overthrow of the Russian monarchy in the Feb./March 1917 Revolution Origin of the single-party state: Conditions: Lenin’s death in 1924—did not name a successor Newly created Communist government in Russia Mass Poverty; industrial production at 16 percent of pre-WWI level; peasants quit taking grain to the city (Scissors Crisis); 1/3 of the city populations moved to country looking for food; hungry soldiers; 1921 drought in the Volga River Basin; Kronstadt naval rebellion In conflict over who would be the successor of Lenin with Leon Trotsky, Nikolai Bukharin, Lev Kamenev, and Grigori Zinoviev—NOTE: study the notes on this political maneuvering Emergence of Stalin as leader: Aims: making the USSR a world power; collectivization; gain power for the glory of the motherland Ideology: communist; socialism in one country; five year plans; nationalism Support: upper middle class; lower peasants; workers; uses fear and secret police to get and maintain support; army/military support Held high positions in the Communist Party 1912: elevated to the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party member of the Soviet of People’s Commissars, heading the Commissariat for National Affairs 1919: elected to the Politburo and Orgburo political commissar in the Red Army during the Russian Civil War maintained control as the commissar for state control from 1919 until 1923 1922: elected general secretary of the Communist Party this post gave him control over appointments and established his base for political power Rude and aggressive behavior Role of Lenin’s death and the struggle for power Establishment of single party state: Methods: use of legal means within his party position and use of force, later, with the purges Bolshevik party Role as General Secretary Death of Lenin Lenin’s Testament Voiced misgivings about all potential candidates, but especially Stalin Kept secret Lenin’s funeral: Trotsky did not attend The struggle for power (divide party into left wing communists and right wing communists); manipulation of the NEP Stalin created the Cult of Leninism By the end of 1929, after his political maneuvering, Stalin eliminated his political opponents and was the supreme leader of the USSR Form of government: Left wing communism: totalitarian communism Treatment of opposition: purges of the Army, the people, the Party Rule of Single Party State: Political Socialism in one country Constitution of 1936 Creation of satellite states post WWII Economic Determined in the late 1920s that Lenin’s New Economic Policy (NEP) did not work Collectivization Five Year Plans—program of rapid industrialization First one implemented in 1928 Believed the USSR needed to industrialize in order to strengthen the communist regime and compete with other world powers Collectivization and the FYP resulted in harsh working conditions, famine, millions of deaths, liquidation of the kulaks Stakhanovite movement Industrialization was achieved (remember by 1939, industrialization had been achieved…USSR=3rd leading power) Post WW2: resume FYP Political/Social Purges—to maintain power and check any potential conspiracies Purge of the Party Kirov’s assassination—1934 Role of the secret police Highly publicized trials Death of Kamenev, Zinoviev, and Bukharin Purge of the people Purge of the military 1 in 18 affected by the purges role of the forced labor camps in Siberia effects of the purges on the leadership in the party (young and devoted to Stalin) and the military (lost a lot of competent leaders and numerous soldiers which will weaken the military) Post WW2: POWs; Zhdanov charges and the resultant arrest of doctors People fear a new series of purges Education, art, media and propaganda Education: basically rewrote history Media: printed only what would favor communist party Status of women, minorities, religious groups Women seen in a traditional sense—but will eventually use in industrialization Women were purged if husband made mistakes or was accused After WWII, Stalin goes after the Jewish population Regional and Global Impact: Foreign Policy: “socialism in one country” mid-1930s: support the Communist International (Comintern) in a Popular Front against fascism Changed his alliances from the Popular Front to Hitler because believed the western countries would not help him if threatened by Nazi Germany…wanted to maintain a buffer state Nazi-Soviet Pact 1939—trade agreement, divisions of Eastern Europe, and a non-aggression pact Winter War 1940/1941 with Finland: Stalin and the Soviet Union gain control of Finland Invasion by Germany through Operation Barbarossa Brought into WW2 on the Allied side Faced difficulties initially Battle of Stalingrad WW2: move into Eastern Europe (prepare for spheres of influence) WW2: work with Allied leaders Yalta Potsdam Development of Soviet puppet regimes in Eastern Europe after WW2 Creation of the Iron Curtain Start of the Cold War 1947: create Cominform (Communist Information Bureau)—international body of Communist leaders to ensure conformity with the Soviet line Problems with Yugoslavia and Marshal Tito Berlin blockade East Germany Impact outside the state Western nations are suspicious and reluctant to recognize the USSR when formed Germany is the first to recognize the USSR (Treaty of Rapallo—under Lenin) 1930s: oppose Nazism/fascism—tried to work with western European nations Nov. 1936—Germany and Italy create the Anti-Comintern Pact Excluded from Four Powers Pact and Stresa Conference Spanish Civil War—involved with the Popular Front Not involved with Munich Conference and decisions dealing with Czechoslovakia Nazi-Soviet Pact WWII: Great Coalition Cold War roe Factor in the Cold War One of the two superpowers Spread influence in Eastern Europe Theories blaming the USSR for the Cold War East German policies Berlin Blockade Comecon and Cominform Treatment of Yugoslavia Horrible relations with China