Notes 4/29

• Paratroopers had been dropped inthe wrong place
• D day, June 4, there is an enormous invasion force preparing to land, and none of the jheaiufdheakfjdshfaliuahduhfliuhajuhfl

Notes 4/28

• Rommel- Hitler's top general for his army
• He fought Hitler's north Africa campaign alongside the Italian Fascists.
• Vichy France is south france, actually

• Pearl Harbor caused the US to enter into the war because they wanted to strike back
• Japanese who lived in America were seen as suspicious
• The American convoys
• This is why Hitler declares war on the US. They were not previously officially at war

Nazis invading Russia

• Nazis invaded and took the city, but then the Russian army surrounded the city and the Nazis were trapped inside
• there were more soviets than nazis
• The germans did have better weapons though
• both sides said no surrender, take no prisoners
• they are gonna fight until the last man
• This battle was the symbolic turning point of the war
• Soviets win

Notes 4/27

• Hitler youth- children in the Nazi party
• all trade unions are abolished, and members of trade unions are enemies of the state
• enemies of the state can be executed
• jews are put in to ghettos 
• homosexuals are rounded up
• intellectuals from uni's with degrees who disagree with Nazi's are rounded up

• George VI crowned in England

• Stalin in Russia
• Stalin has probs already killed about 5 million of his people before the war starts

• Sept 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. THIS BEGINS WORLD WAR II. 
• By september 27, Germany had conquered Poland. 

• France, May, 1940
• Germans came in from Norway
• The Blitzkrieg consumed Europe
• France fell
• The last of the British allies in France leave from Dunkirk under heavy fire from the Germany artillery. That is the end for France. It is divided into Vichy France and South France
• Winston Churchill

• LONDON- SEPTEMBER 1940
• Bavaria, Germany, 1941
• Operation Barbarossa
• German advance was rapid, capturing lots of the Soviet Union
• Over 3 million Soviet soldiers were captured

Notes 4/26- World War II

• Germany 1937
• Nazi rally 
• Lead by Hitler
• Fascism
• Have gained a lot of power as Hitler centralizes and solidifies the power onto himself
• He works on industrialization, tries to build up a modern army
• Tanks come in to play
• Castellon, Spain
• Franco comes to power and he wants to crush the elected republicans; this makes the spanish civil war
• Targeted civilians from the air
• By 1939, Franco and his Fascist allies were victorious
• Britain 1937
• Worried about Hitler trying to expand and stuff
• Hitler had said that he would not do that
• Bavaria, Germany, 1936
• US
• Emerging from depression
• Didn't want to get involved in European problems
• King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visited Washington D.C.
• Germany, 1939
• Nazi Germany was strong and confident

World War I DBQ

World War I, " the Great War," involved all of the great powers of Europe and killed more than eight million soldiers.  Discuss the reasons which led to the rising international tensions that sparked World War I.


World War I dramatically changed life in Europe as it was previously known. With more than eight million soldier deaths, the effects were obviously enormous. Causes of "The Great War," as it was called in its time, have been largely disputed over the years because there was so much history and so many events leading up to it. A war this large cannot have just a single cause; many events and beliefs, including the German's sense of superiority and the racism throughout Europe, anxiety and revolution within countries, and the allying of many European countries built up the pressure which lead to World War I.

Many unfavorable traits thrived in the hearts of the European people prior to and during the war. Germany truly believed the Germanic races to be above everyone else. Document 3 exhibits the belief of Germans which states that they are more gifted than all other races. This gave Germany many ideas and the confidence to try to see them through. They wanted to expand their country and eventually take over the world; after all, they did think that they were the most fit to be on top (Doc 4). Other countries, as shown in document 4, resented Germany for wanting to take over the world. However, some were too afraid to go against them, and allied along with Germany to see if they could get a piece of their superiority.

Jews were one group of people that would definitely not get in on Germany's attempted rise to the top. Anti-semitism ran wild throughout all of Europe. Adolf Hitler took this anti-semitism to the max by killing unthinkable amounts of Jews and other "inferior" races. Racism between countries also was a common theme. Germans, however, were never excluded from anything. Document 9 shows Germany's declaration of war against Russia. This was a very gutsy move for Germany, but they were extremely confident and ready to get a jump start in ruling the world. Before it was realized, almost every country was at war with one another, like Austria-Hungary declaring war against Serbia to sort out their differences once and for all (Doc 7).

As a result of the vast amounts of fighting, countries allied. They all knew that nothing could be accomplished if they each fought on their own, so they found similar desires and allied. Germany allied with Austria-Hungary, as shown in Document 1, so that they could protect each other from Russia. These two then later added Italy to their alliance, creating an even stronger force that was sure to conquer. This alliance guaranteed each member a protector when they got into trouble(Doc 2). Alliances like this one, The Triple Alliance, looked like a good idea to everyone, and soon many new enemies were made as countries sided against each other.

All of these influencing factors lead to one of the most devastating wars in history. These causes, as stated above, will always be disputed, but in reality the reasons are quite clear. People get over confident and want to try for more, and after that, things just spiral out of control. World War I was caused by the self absorbed Germany and the disputes they brought about between all of the other countries.

Notes 4/12

• Germany started the war because they saw that it was inevitable, so instead of waiting for the more powerful Russians to start the war, they did it to get the advantage. 
• http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook38.html
• http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/owen1.html

History of The World... Kinda

Bronze Age
Rome became a republic in 509
Middle ages 500-1300/1400
Renaissance lasts for 200-250 years, period of rebirth in Europe- birth of humanism, and the age of exploration
Enlightenment- age of reason, birth of democracy
Industrial Revolution 1750-1900- changed the industrial face of Europe, the age of revolution, unifications of Italy and Germany
Era of Mass Politics
Modernism- movement in art, Picasso

Second Rough Draft: The Medici and Their Secrets to Success

In Florence during the time of the Italian Renaissance, a very influential family took power. The Medici family became the leading family of Florence, staying in power for a little over three generations; much longer than other families of the time. It was unusual for a ruling authority to be so well liked at the time, but they managed to achieve this because they were well educated, they genuinely cared about Florence, and they knew what it took to be good leaders. They founded an enormous bank that was widely popular; not only in Florence, but all over the country. Their prominence, however, sometimes faced some difficulties. Other Florentine families, like the Albizzi and Alberti, plotted against the Medici to try to take their position. Even though adversaries worked against them, the Medici had a prominent rule in Florence beginning with Cosimo and ending with Lorenzo during the Italian Renaissance because the they were not arrogant and they did not take their position for granted as they founded and maintained Europe's most prosperous bank; however, when subsequent Medici rulers did in fact start to stray from the usual fairness and started reaching too far into the pockets of the people and the church, the powerful bank collapsed -- along with the Medici rule.   

            The Medici’s were not always so well-known and popular. In fact, the family started out as far less notable than many other families of the time. The Medici’s slowly gained their prominent position through generations, with some family members being more well known than others. A few members of the family became well known in the 14^th century for wool trade. The family’s rank as a whole was bumped up a bit later in the generations through a marriage. This gave them access to a more central authority position. Their involvement with a plot in 1400, however, resulted in their exile from Florentine politics for 20 years. Two members of the family managed to be excused from this exile, and they were the ones who started the famous Medici dynasty.

            Averardo de’ Medici was the first Medici to be in a position of real political power. He was not a very successful banker or businessman, and therefore did not do anything groundbreaking in his time of power, but he publicized the Medici name. His son, Giovanni di Bicci, had been well trained in business by his uncle, and he founded the Medici bank, which would later become the main source of the Medici’s power. Right when the bank was opened, the Medici’s power and money came flooding in, and although Giovanni became one of the richest men in Florence, he did not become the authority figure; that would be for the later Medici generations. The Medici bank was reliable, and more and more people came to like and respect the Medici family because of this.

            Founded in 1397, the Medici bank was the largest and most respected bank in Europe of its time. There are many improvements and innovations that the Medici’s came up with that revolutionized banking, including the development of the ledger system through the development of double entry system of tracking and debits. At one point, the currency of Europe was a coin made by the Medici based on a vote of the people. Although the initial rise of the bank brought Giovanni lots of fame and fortune, he was not the one that became head of state; his son Cosimo did.

            Cosimo was able to smoothly take control of the bank when Giovanni died. Nothing was disrupted or interfered with. Cosimo’s key to success was the fact that he tried to please the people. Whatever the people expected or wanted in a leader, they got it in Cosimo. Florentine people liked the idea of having a democracy, so Cosimo carefully stayed in control without technically holding any political offices. He used his plentiful wealth to control the voting, and thus was able to easily stay in power. His tricks did not bring dislike from his people; instead, they enjoyed his rule! In fact, Cosimo had so much power that other families felt threatened by him. These families conspired against him, and they were able to get him accused of something and sent to prison. Cosimo, however, had no intentions of going to prison. He turned the prison sentence into an exile, and when he left, he took his bank with them. He had such a large and loyal group of clients who all followed the bank wherever he took it. The population of Florence went way down, and eventually the exile had to be lifted so that they could come back to Florence. Cosimo, after gaining vast amounts of money and fame, passes away and leaves all of it for his son, Piero.

            When his father passed the bank onto him, Piero was all set and ready to go. He had already planned and prepared a financial overview and knew where he was going to take the bank. He made many people pay off outstanding loans that his father had just let be there, which did make some people very unhappy, but it only made the bank more successful. He was a good ruler despite the few unhappy people, continuing his family’s tradition of artistic patronage. His son Lorenzo de’ Medici was a bit more liked than him.

            Florence flourished under Lorenzo’s rule. Other jealous families targeted him, and he and his brother were once attacked. His brother was killed and Lorenzo was stabbed but luckily, he made it away alive. After this, Lorenzo made it a point to pursue peace in Florence, and there was a good balance of power between the northern Italian states.