Chapter 21—The Collapse and Recovery of Europe, 1914–1970s
Learning Targets:
• To examine the history of Europe between 1914 and the 1970s as an organic whole made up of closely interconnected parts
• To consider the repercussions of nationalism and colonialism in Europe and Japan
• To increase student awareness of the effects of the two world wars
• To help students imagine the appeal of totalitarian movements in the twentieth century
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| A propaganda poster produced in Queensland in World War I suggesting perhaps what might be expected in Australia if the German occupation of Belgium was repeated here. Such images were supposed to encourage Australians to enlist in the AIF. |
Quote: "I have never advocated war except as a means of peace." - Ulysses S. Grant
Agenda:
1. Collect essay question homework
For Monday, write out your answer on a sheet of paper. Due at the beginning of the period.
- How did these events influence each other:
- Military Tactics & Lessons of WWI
- Failure of Treaty & Post-War Recovery
- Global Economic Depression
- Rise of Dictators in Europe
- Rise of Japan in Asia
2. Video, The War of the World, Episode II: The Plan. How the US became the envy of the world in the aftermath of World War One, a state of affairs that was shattered by the Wall Street crash. He also considers the effect of the Great Depression on people’s attitudes to capitalism and democracy, and how it led to the rise of totalitarian states. (The War of the World is done by controversial historian Niall Ferguson. It is subtitled "A New History of the 20th Century.")
Students will take notes and answer these questions while viewing the video (students will note that each of these are also margin review questions from Chapter 21 of Strayer):
1. In what ways was the Great Depression a global phenomenon?
2. In what ways did fascism challenge the ideas and practices of European liberalism and democracy?
3. What was distinctive about the German expression of fascism? What was the basis of popular support for the Nazis?
4. How did Japan’s experience during the 1920s and 1930s resemble that of Germany, and how did it differ?
5. In what way were the origins of World War II in Asia and in Europe similar to each other? How were they different?
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| In Germany in the 1930s, propaganda was in full swing and being used by Hitler’s advisers to call the German people to arms and spread lies about the Jews. One of the most famous artists behind Nazi propaganda was Hans Schweitzer, known as “Mjolnir.” This poster by Hans Schweitzer shows the typical pro-Nazi theme of the German army’s strength, depicting an S.A. man standing next to a solider. The text reads, “The guarantee of German military strength!” |
Quote: "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed." - Dwight D. Eisenhower
Agenda:
1. Students will be placed in 4 groups.
Each group will read and discuss one of the 4 documents at the end of Chapter 21 & visual sources.
2. Students will discuss in their groups for the first half of the period.
3. Second half of the period will be a class-wide discussion about each document.
Analysis of common qualities and different attitudes and strategies will be debated.
Among the questions: "Which of these ideologies would impress you the most? German, Japanese, or Italian?" and "How do the visual sources (propaganda) influence people in these countries?"
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| The most famous war poster was British Alfred Leete's 1914 image of Lord Kitchener pointing directly at the viewer. So successful was this image that it was adapted for American use in both World War I and II by JM Flagg |
Quote: "Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind." - John F. Kennedy
Agenda:
1. Students will see two videos this period.
Video Discussion Questions: students will answer during video & discuss afterward.
1st Video:
Simon Schama's Power of Art: "Guernica" (Born in Malaga, Spain, Picasso's many styles and prolific work rate have marked him out as one of the most recognised artists of the twentieth century. Not limited to one medium he created sculptures, etchings and prints. His artistic career only began to boom once he moved to Paris in the early 1900s. His Blue Period, reflecting the colour and his mood at the time was followed by his Rose Period, work inspired by primitive art and then Cubism, which shocked the critics, but ultimately made his name. Guernica (1937) was created during Picasso's Surrealist period and captures the horror of the bombing of the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. By the end of World War II, Picasso had become an internationally known artist and celebrity.) Schama's Guernica Site on BBC.
2nd Video:
Leni Riefenstahl Story (a German film director, actress and dancer widely noted for her aesthetics and innovations as a filmmaker. Her most famous film was Triumph des Willens (Triumph of the Will), a propaganda film made at the 1934 Nuremberg congress of the Nazi Party. Riefenstahl's prominence in the Third Reich along with her personal friendship with Adolf Hitler thwarted her film career following Germany's defeat in World War II, after which she was arrested but released without any charges.)
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| Picasso painted Guernica in response to the bombing of the town by Germany and Italy, which were following orders from Spanish Nationalist forces, on 26 April 1937. It must be said that it was commissioned to Picasso long before the bombing of the town and was supposed to be a classic painting first; after the bombings, Picasso changed his drawing to respond to the recent bombing. The giant mural shows the tragedy of war, using innocents civilians as the focal point. It became a huge symbol of anti-war, and upon completion it was exhibited worldwide to spread the message. The piece also educated other countries about the horror of the Spanish Civil War, which till then most people had never heard of. |
Quote: "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself." - John Stuart Mill, English economist & philosopher (1806 - 1873)
Agenda:
1. TEST Chapter 21 - WWI to the beginning of WWII.
2. Begin preparing for WWII - after spring break we will begin the second world war.
