Presentation Outline 1)World War One and the Paris Peace
Treaties 2)The Russian Revolution and the Rise of Communism 3)The
Rise of Fascism and World War Two 4)The Cold War in Europe
5)Intellectual and Scientific Developments in Europe
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1) World War One and the Paris Peace Treaties 1)Causes of the
War 2)The War and its outcome 3)The Aftermath and the Paris Peace
Treaties
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Causes of World War One Imperialism The competition for land,
markets, and resources led to tensions between the Great Powers,
especially between Britain and Germany, and Russia and
Austria-Hungary Nationalism The desire for self-determination
propelled many ethnic Serbs, Poles, Czechs, Croats, etc. to free
themselves from imperial rule and create their own nation-states
Militarism Imperial rivalries led to the build-up of large armies
and navies The Industrial Revolution enabled the creation of newer
and deadlier weapons such as machine guns, tanks, artillery, and
war ships Alliance System France and Russia formed an Entente in
1894, which Britain subsequently joined in 1907 in order to counter
the growing power of Germany In response Germany and
Austria-Hungary formed an alliance, which the Ottoman Empire
subsequently joined after the outbreak of war Instead of preventing
war, the alliance system encouraged it
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Large Standing Armies Large Warships (Dreadnoughts) Massive
Artillery Deadly Machine Guns
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The Spark that started the War The assassination of the
Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary by a Serb nationalist on June
28, 1914 triggered the outbreak of war
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Highlights of the War Trench warfare New type of warfare
prolonged the war leading to millions of casualties The Battles of
the Somme and Verdun are examples of some of the bloodiest fighting
of the war New technologies machine guns poison gas airplanes
Outcome Russia quits the war in early 1918 (Russian Revolution) and
signs a peace treaty with Germany The USA enters the war in 1917 on
the side of the Allies Exhausted after 4 years of bitter fighting,
and suffering from a British naval blockade the Germans agree to an
armistice on Nov. 11, 1918
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Paris Peace Treaties (1919) The Treaty of Versailles Germany is
no longer able to continue the war and accepts the harsh terms of
the treaty: War guilt clause Loses of her territory Army reduced to
100,000 men and Rhineland de-militarized No navy Must pay billions
in war reparations to France and Belgium Treaty of St. Germain The
Empire of Austria-Hungary was dissolved New states of Poland,
Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia were created Treaty of Trianon
Reduced the size of Hungary by awarding territory to Romania,
Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia
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2) The Russian Revolution and the Rise of Communism 1)Causes
2)March and November Revolutions 3)Russian Civil War 4)Stalins
Soviet Union
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Causes of the Russian Revolution Poverty, Famine, and Lack of
Land Millions of Russian peasants lived in poverty Despite their
emancipation in 1861, few peasants actually owned good farmland
Terrible famines worsened the lives of peasants during the war
World War I The war was going very badly for Russia and she
suffered many casualties Most peasants and even many in the middle
class wanted out of war The tsars loss of legitimacy The tsar vowed
to continue the war He did little to alleviate peoples suffering
Many had bitter memories of how he crushed the 1905 Revolution
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March and November Revolutions March Revolution In March 1917
spontaneous revolts broke out in Russia The navy mutinied and
workers marched on the streets of St. Petersburg The tsar abdicated
soon thereafter A liberal provisional government was set up led by
Alexander Kerensky The new government, though, continued the war
November Revolution Led by Lenin, the Bolsheviks (Communists)
organized a planned takeover of the government and by early 1918
and taken control and withdrawn from the war Lenin promised peace,
bread, and land
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Spontaneous uprisings in 1917 Navy cadets mutiny and march on
the streets of St. Petersburg Vladimir Lenin calls on supporters to
defeat the Provisional Government in the November Revolution
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Russian Civil War (1917-1922) Nearly immediately after the
Bolsheviks assume power a civil war breaks out between the Reds
(Communists) and Whites (nationalists) During the civil war Lenin
implemented radical communist policies under War Communism
including forced collectivization of agriculture and
nationalization of industries Though the Whites had the support of
countries such as Britain, France, and the USA, the Reds controlled
the major industries, railway lines, and had peasant support By
1922 the Reds had assumed total victory
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Stalins Soviet Union Lenin died in 1924 and a power struggled
emerged between Stalin and Trotsky with Stalin seizing full power
in 1927 Stalins regime was characterized by the following:
collectivization of agriculture Five Year Plans to increase
agricultural and industrial output persecution of Kulak farmers
Ukrainian Famine Purges of the Communist Party and Army Gulags in
Siberia (forced labor punishment) Cult of Personality
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Peasants on a collective farm American report on the Ukrainian
Famine Cult of personality Gulag prisoners in Siberia
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Communism in the rest of Europe Communists leaders Rosa
Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht tried unsuccessfully to seize power
in Berlin, Germany after WWI For a short time, Communist Kurt
Eisner led a communist government in Munich, Bavaria (1919) Bela
Kun established a short-lived communist regime in Hungary (1919)
that was later toppled by reactionary forces Elsewhere in Spain,
France, and Italy communist parties sprung up and drew considerable
support
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Bela Kun speaking to Communist supporters in Budapest,
1919
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3) The Rise of Fascism and World War Two 1)Mussolini seizes
power in Italy 2)Hitler seizes power in Germany 3)The Road to World
War Two 4)The Outcome of World War Two 5)The Holocaust
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Mussolini seizes power in Italy Problems in Italy after WWI
460,000 soldiers killed Heavy debt Britain and France did not give
Italy the land they promised Governments were all coalitions that
couldnt make decisions Rising unemployment led to unrest in
cities
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Mussolini gains power Mussolini set up a Fascist Party and
promised to solve Italys problems Promised to rebuild Italy and
recreate the Roman Empire Organized armed gangs called the
Blackshirts Came to power in 1922 and was appointed Prime Minister
by King Victor Emmanuel to prevent a Communist Revolution in
Italy
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Hitler seizes power in Germany Joined the obscure German
Workers Party after WW1 Soon thereafter assumes leadership and
renames party the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazis)
The Nazis stood for: The abolition of the Treaty of Versailles The
defeat of the Weimar Republic The re-armament of Germany The
removal of Jews from Germany Creation of Lebensraum in Eastern
Europe
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The Nazis tried to seize power in 1923 but failed- Munich
Putsch By the late 1920s they had emerged as a major political
force and won seats in the German Reichstag (Parliament) In 1933
amidst political crisis and the Great Depression Hitler was
appointed Chancellor of a new government which he soon thereafter
dissolved and created the Nazi dictatorship
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The Road to WW2 The League of Nations (established after WWI)
was powerless to stop the aggression and expansion of Nazi Germany,
Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan Britain and France followed a
flawed policy of appeasement, hoping to prevent another major war
Imperial Japan Invaded Manchuria in 1931 and then withdrew from
League of Nations Italy Invaded Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in 1935 Nazi
Germany Broke the Treaty of Versailles by re-militarizing the
Rhineland Annexed Austria in 1938 Took the Sudetenland and the rest
of Czechoslovakia in 1938
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Outcome of WW2 Nazi Germany had several quick victories
(blitzkrieg), occupying most of central Europe and France In 1941
Hitler invaded the Soviet Union The Nazis were at their most
powerful in 1942 However, in 1942 and 1943 the Nazis suffered major
defeats against the Soviets at the battles of Stalingrad and Kursk
The Allies (British, Americans, Canadians) invaded Nazi occupied
Europe in June, 1944 (D-Day) The Nazis surrendered in May 1945
Imperial Japan a few months later
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The Holocaust When the Allies and Soviets entered Nazi occupied
Europe they discovered the horrors of the concentration and death
camps In total the Nazis had killed six million Jews, and another 5
million prisoners (political opponents, communists, gypsies, and
homosexuals) The Nazis leadership was put on trial for these crimes
against humanity at Nuremberg Trials in 1946
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Nazi leaders on trial in Nuremburg (1946)The condition of the
survivors at Auschwitz at the time of its liberation by the Soviet
Red Army in January 1945
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4) The Cold War in Europe 1)The map of Europe is redrawn 2)The
Marshall plan 3)Cold War tensions 4)Responses to Soviet domination
in Eastern Europe
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The Map of Europe redrawn During the post-war Potsdam
Conference (August 1945) the Allies and the Soviet Union agreed to
occupy and divide Germany in two the West would be occupied by
American, French, and British forces the East would be occupied by
the Soviet Red Army By 1948 communist regimes had been established
in all the territories of Eastern Europe occupied by the Soviet
Army Europe was now divided between a democratic/capitalist West
and a communist/totalitarian East NATO alliance created in 1949
Warsaw Pact alliance created in 1955
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The Marshall Plan From 1948-1952 the USA gave 17 billion in
financial aid to Western European countries to help them recover
from the devastating impact of the war Receiving countries became
more economically and politically stable, and would also become US
allies
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Cold War Tensions 1948-1949 Berlin Airlift USA and Britain sent
supplies to West Berliners after the Soviets cut off supplies from
West Germany Consequences: Soviets backed off and accepted a
capitalist West Berlin within East Germany Soviets and East Germans
erected the Berlin Wall in 1961 to permanently divided East and
West Berlin
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Responses to Soviet Domination in Eastern Europe 1956 Hungarian
Uprising Hungarians revolted on the streets against the Soviet
backed leader demanding free and fair elections Soviet tanks
arrived to crush the revolt 1968 Prague Spring Reformist leader
Alexander Dubcek implemented liberal democratic forms such as
freedom of the press and considered normalizing relations with the
West Soviet and Warsaw Allies arrived in tanks to end the reforms
Dubcek was replaced by a Soviet picked Czech communist Poland
Solidarity Lech Walsea established the first trade union
independent of the Communist Party Solidarity was a movement that
pushed for economic and political changes in Poland Though they
were suffered many years of repression, Poland would eventually get
free and fair elections in 1989
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Solidarity marchers in Poland 1956 Hungarian Uprising Right:
The end of the Prague Spring
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5) Intellectual Developments in Europe Science/Math Niels Bohr-
quantum physics and atomic structure Albert Einstein- developed
general theory of relativity Stephen Hawking- proposed cosmology
theory Art/Literature Pablo Picasso- abstract expressionism and
cubism art Salvador Dali- abstract expressionism George Orwell-
1984 and Animal farm (satires) Aldous Huxley Brave New World
(dystopian fiction)
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Albert Einstein proving the theory of relativity Abstract art
by Pablo Picasso