Appeasement of Germany

1. World War I was the cause of millions of deaths and many countries were in

debt economically and socially and politically distraught so they wanted to avoid another costly war in both money and lives.
2. He claimed that he was uniting all German speaking people under one united Germany.
3. The area was known as Sudetenland.
4. Czechoslovakia was a powerful new country and had the backing of the Soviet Union.
5. a)They were Britain, Germany, France, and Italy.
b)Czechoslovakia should have been invited because it was their land.
6. At the Munich Conference it was decided that the Sudetenland would go to Germany and other parts of Czechoslovakia would go to Poland and Hungary.
7. People felt giving Hitler the Sudetenland was worth the peace that would come from it because they thought that he would stop his conquest.
8. The Munich Agreement proves that four countries can agree on something without going to war.
9. Churchill believed the Munich Agreement was pointless and essentially giving in to Hitler. It was a loss even though they didn't fight a war and that Hitler was going to continue doing the same thing unless stopped by military means.
10. I think the people of Czechoslovakia felt betrayed because they were not invited to the conference that was all about their land. However, the people of the Sudetenland were German speaking and maybe some agreed with Hitler's ideals. Overall though I think they felt like they were being used.

Bonus Question: I believe after the traumas of World War I that policies of appeasement were justified. People were scared and wanted to avoid another war especially so soon and countries were depressed economically, socially, and politically distressed so war was not something they were prepared for. Even though all the destruction Hitler caused might have been stopped if the appeasement policy was not used, I understand why people would have been scared and want to avoid confrontation.

Fascism Versus Nazism

5 Similarities

• expansion of the nation
• unwavering loyalty to the state
• state organizes the nation
• totalitarism
• result of World War I

- "The activity of individuals is not to counteract the interests of the universality,but must have its result within the framework of the whole for the benefit of all" (25 Points)/"he rather conceives of life as duty and struggle and conquest, but above all for others" (What is Fascism).... both Fascism and Nazism were designed with the "greater good" in mind.

- "We demand substitution of a German common law in place of the Roman Law serving a materialistic world-order."(25 Points)/"Fascism combats the whole complex system of democratic ideology,and repudiates it, whether in its theoretical premises or in its practical application.Fascism denies that the majority, by the simple fact that it is a majority, can direct human society"(What is Fascism).... both deny any other form of government, especially democracy in place of a common law.

- "We demand that the state be charged first with providing the opportunity for a
livelihood and way of life for the citizens. If it is impossible to sustain the total
population of the State, then the members of foreign nations (non-citizens) are to be
expelled from the Reich."(25 Points)/"Fascism conceives of the State as an absolute, in comparison with which all individuals or groups are relative, only to be conceived of in their relation to the State"(What is Fascism).... everyone had to be a citizen with equal rights and for the state while everyone else was dispelled.

- "We demand land and territory (colonies) for the sustenance of our people, and
colonization for our surplus population."(25 Points)/"the growth of empire, that is to say the expansion of the nation, is an essential manifestation of vitality, and its opposite a sign of decadence"(What is Fascism)... both had the goal of expansion and that it was the "right" of the state to take the land for themselves.

- "We demand freedom of religion for all religious denominations within the state so
long as they do not endanger its existence or oppose the moral senses of the Germanic
race"(25 Points)/"The Fascist State organizes the nation, but leaves a sufficient margin of liberty to the individual"(What is Fascism)... both gave its citizens "freedom" as long as it didn't disturb the State and was under their control.

1. I believe Nazism does actually appeal to the adolescence. Throughout all of the 25 Points the underlying theme is national pride and integrity which brings out strong passions in young people and gets them fired up for things like expanding the nation, reinstalling the army, or focus on education. The idea that everyone is working for each other is also appealing and that there would be a strong middle class held together but a strong central government.

2. Getting the people to understand the idea, "Fascism, now and always, believes in holiness and in heroism; that is to say, in actions influenced by no economic motive, direct or indirect" would be difficult. People are selfish and greedy and convincing people to give in all their control and a lot of their freedom for the good of the whole might be a tough thing to explain.

3. Although Hitler somehow pulled it off, I think in the Nazi ideal that the German Race is the only thing allowed and that,"Consequently no Jew can be a member of the race" would be a hard thing to convince. I mean how do you blame something like this on one group of people? He appealed to them basically telling how perfect Germans were, but still convincing all those people to go along with Hitler's insane ideas is fascinating.

Versailles Treaty & SAQs

David Lloyd George was the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Welsh descent. His war cabinet consisted of himself, Lord Northcliffe, Lord Curzon, Andrew Bonar Law, Lord Milner, and Arthur Henderson. These men condemned all of the political, economic, economic, and diplomatic decisions. At the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, George was the British representative among the many delegates. He was apart of the Big Four, which were the major decision makers in the making of the treaty of Versailles.

Georges Clemenceau was the prime minister of France from 1906-1909 and 19917-1920. Clemenceau led France during the last year of World War I. He thought that industrially and commercially, Germany had won the war. He believed that they would seen get rid of all their debts by manipulating other countries. He strongly believed that the German economy would be better than the French economy in a short amount of time. He was able to talk in both English and French, so he did well during the Versailles Peace Conference. The public and parliament wanted him to make the reparations bill for Germany as large as possible.

Woodrow Wilson was the President of the United States during World War I. He initially didn't want to get involved in World War I, stating that it was a European affair, but he became involved in the war after a series of events, including the sinking of the Lusitania and the Zimmerman Telegram. He made a fourteen points address, which introduced the idea of the League of Nations. He won the Nobel Peace Prize for trying to make peace, but not even the US would support his efforts.

Article 173 : of the Treaty of Versailles states that "universal compulsory military service shall be abolished in Germany. The German Army may only be constituted and recruited by means of voluntary enlistment."

Article 227 of the Treaty of Versailles was describing the penalties. It stated that the former German Emperor, William II of Hohenzollern, and the Government of Netherlands must surrender their ex-emperor to be put on trial.

Artical 231 of the Treaty of Versailles was describing loss of damage. It stated that "Germany accepts responsibility of Germany and its allies for causing all the loss of damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies." This means that Germany and her allies were supposed to be responsible for all the damages done to the Allies and their associated governments.

Short Answer Questions
1. President Woodrow Wilson made his fourteen points address and wanted to introduce the idea of the League of Nations. However, no one would support it. He did, however, win the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts even though his own country’s congress didn’t approve of the idea.

2. Georges Clemenceaus was going to try and get the bill of reparations for Germany and its allies to be as high as possible to ensure a downfall in the “defeated countries” economies.

3. David Lloyd George wanted to make Germany suffer both politically and economically for all the damages that it had caused during the war, but he didn't want Germany to be completely destroyed like Georges Clemenceaus wanted. He had two views really: Public and Personal. The British public wanted Germany to crumble, but all he wanted was to stop the spread of communism. Germany was the source of communism because of its very own Karl Marx. He feared the spread of communism, and thought isolating germany was the only way to contain it.

4. The United States Congress saw problems in the League of Nations because it clashed with their desire to have a policy that was isolationist throughout the world.

5. Germany would have to work hard in order to fix all its debts, and since it was also blamed for the war. This led to the rise of Adolf Hitler, who believed that Germans were the best race in the world, and he was able to convince them that. This led to the rize of a Nazi Germany.

Casualties Analysis: WWI

1. The two original countries involved were Austria-Hungary who mobilized about 8,000,000 and Serbia who had about 7,000,000 troops which is far less than the amount of men Russia and Germany put into the war. This seems ridiculous to me as they were basically drug into the war for no other reason then they had to keep an alliance. This is just further proof to me how unnecessary the war was and as a civilian at that time would look at those numbers and be really upset by them. Why does it seem like everyone was trying to fight a battle that wasn't theirs? Also, it is interesting that Germany put so much effort into this war and yet they are the ones blamed and forced to pay for a lot of it. Then again, maybe because they had such a big involvement accounts for their guilt. Overall, these kind of numbers are completely insane no matter what country it is from.

2. Geographically, Austria-Hungary is smack in the middle of Europe between Russia and France. The fact they were in the center of so many waring countries could account for their high casualty rate. Also, having both Russia and France fighting them from two fronts, would force Austria-Hungary to divide their army and therefore weaken it, resulting in higher numbers of casualties.

3. Well I take that a lot of the "missing" soldiers were deserters of the war effort which is the penalty of death in most countries. As the war drug on, many of the soldiers saw and experienced the horrors of war and began to question the purpose of it all. The Russians too shared this feeling and probably had little faith in their country as a whole and what they could accomplish. This may have had an influence of what started the Russian Revolution because Russia was a divided country. There was no trust and the government had just collapsed under the stress of the war.

4. The amount of soldiers America mobilized for the war in such a short period of time, especially compared to other countries, just goes to show and enhance the impact that America's entrance into the war had. If need be, America could have brought in even more too. They were really the tipping point that brought an end to the war because both sides were done fighting. Even though they stayed out of the war for as long as possible, when America did enter, they asserted themselves as a world power and went full force ahead.

5. Overall, the allies had a lot more countries involved than the central powers. However, it is interesting that the total number of mobilized forces for the central powers was almost 20,000,000 then the allies. But the number I find most important in why the allies were victorious is the casualties percent of the mobilized armies, which was lower for the allies. So even though they had less people fighting, less people were dying. Maybe because they had less people fighting too kept their moral up a little higher too while fighting.

6. Overall the casualty rates for WWI are ridiculous. After a war like this, how could anyone want to fight anymore? Also, even though the number of actual soldiers dead is much smaller, the fact that the casualty rates were so high accounts for the soldiers that came back and weren't the same... had gone crazy or lost body parts, etc. It doesn't seem fair the amount of casualties that certain countries had when they were not even part of the original conflict? How does something seemingly so small escalate into such a world wide catastrophe? I wonder what would have happened if America hadn't entered into the war at all? The central powers might have had more of a chance of winning. Or if they had joined the central powers instead. Also, Germany's contributions and losses from the war might have contributed to their anger of having to make so many payments for the war damages and then later their involvement if WWII. Again, in general, no matter what country, the number of casualties are horrible and had a major impact on the meaning of war.

WWI Letter Home:)

Dear Don & Betsy,

Out here on the western front life is tougher than I ever imagined. All the soldiers have had a huge awakening to what it is like to be a real fighter for one’s country. No one could have been prepared for what we have experienced out here. It is not at all what we imagined it would be. We had a very different image when we had the celebration before we were shipped out. The dreams we all had of the action of war have quickly vanished to fade in to reality. We all are waking up to find ourselves still stuck in the middle of an unresolved conflict. Everyday I long for my return, but I still remember the initial reason I enlisted and that is what is keeping me here now.

I am very glad to have Cousin Tommy with me. Together we have pulled through some ups and downs of this ongoing war. We remind ourselves how good it will be when we return home. He keeps telling me that we will make it back home, no matter what it takes. He is quite the optimistic one, even though we both know the chances of us returning home are quite slim. Out here on the battlefield, the days are gradually becoming worse. The gases are being used more frequently. One of our youngest was burned from head to toe by mustard gas- horrible. I feel so bad, but happy at the same time. I’m glad it wasn’t me. We all know he is in agonizing pain because of the horrendous screams coming from his cot in the infirmary. But we’ve been told there is nothing we can do, but to keep positive thoughts flowing through his head.

There are diseases spreading around that I’ve never seen before in the trenches. It’s called “trench foot”, it is a disease where mold grows and eats away at your flesh. Two of my comrades that I met the night I departed from home, John Beckett and William Parker, have come down with some bad cases and had to have their feet amputated! In addition to trench foot, there have been some intense cases of trench fever. I think its all because of the less than satisfactory conditions out here. There are rats everywhere, but the lieutenant had a brilliant plan to solve that issue. They are all gone now.

Oh, I almost forgot! The fighting is intense. The terms of how we fight change from day to day. Our tanks are everywhere now. We are finally advancing on Germany with them, thanks to the aide of the British. The shell bombs are the worst though. Most of the men have been suffering from shell shock. One soldier had it so bad he had to be taken away. I guess he couldn’t handle it all. It was sad to see him have a mental breakdown before they came to get him. Out of all the dangers I hate the dreadful sounds of those fighter planes with their machine guns swirling over our heads. They are like great birds, waiting to attack when we aren’t looking.
I wish there was more positive news, but it’s the truth. Right now, I think that is all I want you both to know. Tommy says to not worry, but to keep us in your prayers. If you could, tell My Anna that I love her and that I will do my best to be home for Christmas

I love you with all my heart.

Your Son,
John.

Dear Anna,

I hope my parents told you how im doing out here, but I couldn’t send them a letter with out mentioning you. I love you Anna. Remember that wherever you are in the world, the moon is never larger than your thumb. I think of you every minute of the day. You are the one thing that keeps me alert. Your face is the image that drives me to be prepared for anything and everything. I will do my best to be home for Christmas.

Keep me in your thoughts. I’ll be there soon.

With all the love in my heart,
John

Extra Credit: Four Feathers Quote Interpretations.

Quote #1: British General- "God has endowed the British race with a worldwide empire that they may execute His sovereign purpose in the world. The victories that you will have over the heathens are the victories of the nobler soul in man."
This quote is an excellent example of what the British called "The White Man's Burden". The British saw themselves as higher and more noble people. They also showed that it was their religious responsibility to "help" and save the "African savages" from their wrongful ways. In my opinion, their views on what their role as colonizers should be was not right. I think that because the Africans were different was not a reason that made them bad. I believe this was a way for the british to highten their country's people's self esteems. Truly this is showing what Britain was really after, and the greed as the motive which drove its people to conquer.

Quote #2: Harry- "I sometimes wonder what a godforsaken dessert in the middle of nowhere has to do with Her Majesty the queen."
Once Harry learns he is going off to war, the reality sets in and he comes to show his true colors as a coward. Harry starts questioning the purpose of colonization and the true motives behind British's desires for it. This begins to confuse him, making his mind go crazy, and then really he has a point. It causes to you think was it really the moral and just thing to go in and exploit the land and fight with the people? Harry's fear is what puts these thoughts into action. It makes him second guess when everyone else is preparing themselves and pumping up on the excitement of war. This fear is what causes him to resign from his role as a leader in the army. The idea of going to war spooked him enough to make him decide to leave his friends and let down his fiancee.

Quote 3: British Soldier- "Avoid drinking local water and spirits" "avoid local barrooms and brothels, and, above all, remember you're a Christan soldier."
This quotes flamboyantly displays that the varieties of land the British were going to were quite foreign and uncivilized. The people and way of living was very unknown and in the eyes of the British were strange and incorrect. The soldiers were looking forward to the drinking and partying aspect of war that they visioned that they were going to enjoy along with the fighting. They believed they were the high and mighty British and they were untouchable. They also were probably looking forward to exploiting the women which is why their Christan beliefs were mentioned.

Quote 4: Desert Trader- "They're like children. They have no concept of gratitude or loyalty. That's something you British don't understand. You come here, trying to civilize them with your Christan values."
This quote brings into perspective how the British and others viewed the indigenous people living in the colonized areas also called "savages". Yeah, they did a lot of things that would be strange and different to the majority of British and to most people today, but to them those were their ways of life and they were right. Dealing with these people was a constant struggle because many of them were reluctant to change. The British could not understand their language or customs most of the time. The British were easily angered by the Africans and found ways to manipulate or take advantage of them. Again, the British believed it was their burden and duty as the superior race, to show these people their wrongs and fix them. In my opinion, they were trying to fix what wasn't broken.

Quote 5: Abu Fatma- "You English walk too proudly on the Earth."
In this statement to Harry, Abu is basically saying that the English think they are this high and mighty power, but in reality it doesn't really work that way. He believed they needed to take some humble pie, step back and realize that maybe things are not going to work they way they planned and that everything doesn't just go their way. I believe Abu doesn't view Harry as a typical English man. Harry had always secretly questioned the motives of the colonization and the point of it, and I think Abu saw that. He liked Harry's attitude, and bravery, and loyalty to his friends. I'm not sure what Abu thought. Honestly, I kinda think he did believe in what the British were doing, because of how he tried to help them, even after being beaten by them, but did not believe in the way they were going about doing it. He was just a good man who wanted a just ending for everyone in my opinion.

Critical Thinking: I don't think the boy really understood what Jack was saying and in that position he was probably terrified and did not know what to do. I believe he wanted in the end though to make a statement and new he was going to die as he continued to load the gun to shoot at Jack. In self defense though, Jack shoots him first. As much as I hate to say it, I probably would have done the same thing. His whole time in the army he had been taught that these people were savages and really had no choice in shooting the boy, but his remorse for killing the boy shows that even Jack had begun to really question the motives of colonization and maybe even understand why Harry had left. I too would feel remorse about killing him. The boy didn't really deserve it, he was just trying to do something for his people and it is not really fair what the British did. Yes, the people probably threw rocks at the soldiers for killing the boy, but really it meant something bigger in their frustration and anger with the British for doing what they were doing and causing everything to fall apart.

Africa And

1. This was actually pretty historically accurate. 2 major reasons that it was was due to the fact that the more people a country had, the more territories it could colonize. Also, by chance, Britain did capture the United States, and Canada was taken by France. It turned out to be historically correct due to the fact that the size of the countries were proportional to their true sizes. Also, it was the same how you might get to a territory that was really far out, then turns out someone already colonized it.

2. France was a huge advantage because we were the 2nd largest country, so we could leave lots of people at a good territory, then send other people to go gain even more territories. However, we were not the largest group, so Britain could gain colonies faster than us.

3. Our group communicated mainly by cell phone, but also by talking to people if we saw they had our color on. I don't believe this was really similar to historical times, based on the fact that cell phones are from the 1990s ... The only similarity might be the runners which went to draw flags for our colonies, and to communicate a new colony to the "UN" i guess ? of Europe, aka Cafeteria.

4. If we saw other countries, we would try to beat them to a colony or would show French pride. SIf other colonies saw us trying to colonize, they would simply just go away and not even try to take it from us. So no, there were no conflicts.

5. I thought this was really cool and fun and really helped put imperialism into real life perspective, which really helped me understand it better. I know understand the reasons for larger countries being more powerful, rather than simply accepting the fact that bigger=more power=more colonies. I thought it was really interesting how it really represented the Age of Imperialism, as well, and that many countries actually did gain as many colonies as they historically did, and the same ones that they did.

6. For one, I think there should be activities that countries actually have to do to gain a colony, along with leaving however many people there for however long. Maybe also there could be more colonies ? Or maybe ... I don't even know, I thought it was really good and accurate, to be honest. I really think just having activities would make it more real, and it would allow other countries to come when a territory was in the process of being colonized, and could allow for "wars" where the countries go back and forth on who can offer the most for the colony.