At the end of World War II, Western European powers sought political stability after a period of turmoil and devastation. Germany was divided into two spheres of influence: East Germany, controlled by the Soviet Union, and West Germany, controlled by the Allies. Western Europe attempted to unify in the post-war economy, and various views arose regarding this potential unity. The unification of Western Europe was met with opinions that were largely motivated by a nation’s own economic and political interests.
The 19th century was a time of unification and centralization for the countries of Italy and Germany. Unification was a very controversial subject in Italy at the time because people’s opinions varied with residency, social class, religious affiliation, gender, occupation, and ideological outlook. Residency, occupation, and political power affected the point of views of the authors the most in the documents. Besides the debate of whether or not Italy should be unified, questions regarding how Italy would become centralized or why Italy should not be unified were a major factor when determining the future of Italy. For example, if Italy were to be unified, would the political system be a republic or monarchy.
It is widely thought the only way somebody can truly learn from their mistakes is through correctional punishment. After WWI the Treaty of Versaille was used to punish Germany for the carnage it caused during WWI; however, the punishments dished out in the treaty set the stage for future conflict in Europe. The Treaty of Versaille set the stage for WWII by seizing German lands, limiting the size of Germany’s military, forcing Germany to pay large financial reparations, and placing the blame for WWI completely on Germany. The Treaty of Versailles seized several areas of Germany that produced goods that were vital to its economy. This contributed to Germany’s financial destruction post WWI.
(lecture 2) Each side was trying to build their own government in order to rebuild. East and West Germany were trying to do the same thing with their side but in different
Germany has been a nation that had been divided for many centuries, the Germanic tribes had avoided being taken over by the Roman Empire, they had been the seat of the Holy Roman Empire, then after the Holy Roman Empire fall, it became a handful of individual kingdoms and states, with Persia and Austria being the biggest contenders to make a unified Germany. Germany in the early 1860’s was divided mostly because of failed politics and religious divides. One man was the most important driving force behind these Germanic kingdoms becoming the superpower that is Germany. Otto von Bismarck, the Minister President of Prussia and a friend to Persian king, Wilhelm I. Prussia had tried for years to unify the nations, but it wasn’t until Bismarck came along that this began to become a reality.
On November 11, 1918 at 11am Germany signed an armistice with the Allied forces effectively ending the bloodiest war in human history. What followed would be the rise and fall of the Weimar Republic which would ultimately establish the Third German Reich. This is the backdrop for Eric Weitz’s Weimar Germany: Promise and Tragedy, where he describes the achievements and the devastating failures which spurred on the rise and fall of a republic and the eventual creation of a dictator. The first chapter of Weitz’s book titled “A Troubled Beginning” describes the social and political landscapes of Germany following the war. All of which coalesces into the primary theme of the chapter, that the Weimer Republic was built on a foundation that was doomed
Timothy Carlin 10/24/15 His 101 This book took place during World War 1 in Germany. Paul Bäumer talks about how bad the war was.
Bismarck and the German Unification How successful was Bismarck in creating a strong and united German nation by 1890? Bismarck, also known as, Otto Van Bismarck, was the Prussian Chancellor of the new German Empire. He installed himself as the leading statesman in European affairs. He was the man who did most to unite the German states.
The young Weimar Republic was wracked by armed street fighting waged mainly between Communists and Nazis. Foreclosures, bankruptcies, suicides and malnourished all skyrocketed. Six million Germans, 40 per cent of the working population, were unemployed; and thousands found themselves without a place to live….” (2) The Bruning government failed to respond to the German population
The battle of ideologies was soon to take place, with Germany becoming a battleground once more. This conflict of beliefs and interests would be fought between the two largest powerhouse countries at the time. From the west the democratic United States of America would be leading the charge, and from the east the communist Union of Soviet Socialist Republics would counter. With each wanting
The economic burden brought on by the reunification was also an unexpectedly difficult challenge to reunification as it led to many internal problems. Lastly, there was a strong desire for the past, as social and cultural aspects of reunification proved to be problematic as well. However, it is also important to acknowledge that although the German reunification was problematic, there was a lack of revolt from the people that would have affected the process of reunification. Moreover, Germany has enjoyed two peaceful decades and has been regaining its national confidence over time. It should be asserted that
The elements of comedy and chance happenings can easily making the short story “Keith” into a Shakespearean tragedy. Keith’s sense of awkward comedy could easily be taken as offensive and if capitalized upon could make “Keith’s” drama aspect flourish. Chance happenings litter “Keith” and if those chance happenings get tweaked then Keith could be quite a story. Chance Happenings pop up all throughout “Keith” however only two chance happenings that I would capitalize on to change the whole story for the better. At the beginning of the story Keith and Barbara’s lab partners leave the class to change schools leaving Keith and Barbra as new lab partners.
Other symbols that are connected in the story are the slips of paper and the black box. In the story, the slip of paper symbolizes equality among the villagers, “All of us took the same chance.” (Jackson 423). This means that all the villagers take the same chance to win on the lottery. On the other hand, the black box symbolizes death and evil.
As well as denoting and representing the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe this event led to the reunification of Germany. The East German deliberation allowed the Chancellor of West Germany, Helmut Kohl, to reunite Germany under Western conditions. This meant a consolidated Germany would join NATO and the European
In the late 1920’s, the Nazi party had little success but in 1933, Hitler and the Nazis came to power. Hitler was the leader of a small right-wing party with very extremist ideas. Within a couple of years this party was in control of Germany. The factors that caused Hitler’s success for the rise of Nazism has been studied ever since. Hitler’s organisation skills and personal traits helped to bring the Naizs into power.
