The Treaty of Versailles (ended WWI)

The Treaty of Versailles was signed by Germany and the Allied powers on June 28, 1919. This was the peace treaty that officially ended World War I. The Treaty of Versailles had a very negative effect on Germany. The Treaty of Versailles required that Germany accept sole responsibility for causing the war. They also had to make reparations to members of the Allied forces. Germany suffered the loss of 10% of their land and their overseas colonies away and shared between the Allies. 12.5% of the German population found themselves living outside of the new German borders.

The condition of the German economy went downhill as a result of the produce and profit being sent to the Allies as reparation payments. So, the German economy was unfortunately unable to recover itself. The Germans were also excluded from the league of nations and were enforced to live under other people's rule. This caused them to feel discontent. I don't think this treaty was fair for the Germans because it wasn't completely their fault. Sure, they did some things that may have sparked the beginning of the war but to put all the blame on Germany is just wrong. Other countries were involved in the war.

It is possible that the Treaty of Versailles led to the rise of fascism and Adolf Hitler. Germany was a huge mess after the Treaty of Versailles and Hitler offered to do something constructive about the hurt pride of Germany and he offered a way to lead the country out of shame and out of their bad living conditions. The way Hitler spoke had impressed the Germans and they allowed him to help them through the difficult time. As time went by, Hitler kept rising to the top after taking control of Germany. Maybe this is the reason why historians say that the Treaty of Versailles led to the rise of Hitler.

Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) and the Modernization of Turkey

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk did certain things to make Turkey more secular. Secular can mean being more worldly and not exactly focusing on religion so much. If you are secular, you are basically non-religious and less spiritual. Mustafa Kemal made reforms in the political, social, legal, economic, and cultural parts of Turkey. The Turkish people were more than happy to accept these reforms into their lives.Before becoming a leader in Turkey, he was a military hero at the Daradanelles in 1915. It was after this that Mustafa became the charismatic leader of the Turkish national liberation struggle in 1919. He was very successful in getting rid of invaders and leading the nation to victory and this led Turkey to their full independence. Because of Mustafa's high achievements, the Ottoman Empire was put to rest and he created the Republic of Turkey in 1923.

Mustafa aimed to modernize Turkey so that they would have a brave new future after going through so much in their past. One reform Mustafa made was that he created a secular system where the vast Muslim majority and the small Christian and Jewish minorities were free to practice their faith. Mustafa had also stressed the importance of the peasants, something that is rarely ever seen. This was something big because the peasants were neglected during the Ottoman times. Mustafa also made other reforms like having European hats relace the fez and having woman stop wearing the veil. Additional reforms included having all citizens take surnames and the Islamic calendar was to stop operating in order for the Western calendar to be moved in. After the cancellation of capitulations, the factors needed to secure a national and liberal economy were achieved. Thanks to Mustafa's reforms, Turkey's economic structure was completely changed for the better.

Film Lesson: "Gandhi"

Mahatma Gandhi was born in 1869 in western India. He is well known for helping India gain independence. Gandhi was not satisfied with the way Indian people were treated by the British. They did not have many rights and this infuriated Gandhi. He decided that it was time for the Indians to stand up against the British. One thing Gandhi and the Indians did was that they refused to buy clothing from the British. Instead they would make their own clothes. Gandhi already made his own clothes by using yarn and a spinning wheel. He would take time out of his day just to this. Gandhi wanted the Indians to do this so that the British sale of clothing would decrease, therefore decreasing their profit along with it.

Gandhi and his followers then went on a 200 mile walk to the coast. When they got to the sea, they began to make salt out of the sea water by collecting it and letting it evaporate. By making their own salt, they wouldn't be buying salt from the British. Gandhi didn't like the idea of violence so he protested peacefully with acts of non violence. Since making their own salt was illegal, many of Gandhi's followers were thrown into jail and were victims of police violence. Even though the police beat them, they refused to defend themselves because of the teachings of Gandhi. Gandhi believed that reacting to situations with violence lead to even more violence. If his followers were involved in acts of violence, he would fast. His followers would immediately stop because they did not want Gandhi to die from starvation.