"Never Again"

In the summer of 2007 I traveled around Europe for a few weeks. One of the places I visited was Dachau, a town in Germany where a Nazi Concentration Camp was located. When we left Germany on a train to France a German (male, I am guessing about 35-40 years old) asked us why so many Americans came to visit Concentration Camps- he didn’t seem to understand why we thought it was so important to “our” history.
When a tragic event happens and near to ten million people die it is hard to believe the event does not have an effect on nearly everyone in the world. We were supposed to learn a lesson from the Holocaust- “Never Again” was the main point. So why do similar things continue to happen?
First on your blog I want you to write a “journal” entry on how you think the holocaust effects you. Second visit http://www.ushmm.org/conscience/history/ a section of the U.S. Holocaust Museum. Lastly you are to research the Genocide in Rwanda, the Genocide in Darfur or the Genocide in Srebrenica. Compare these Genocides to the original Holocaust (where/who) and try to determine why those events were allowed to happen despite our pledge of “Never Again”.

A Picture of a Memorial at Dachau~

The Middle East... why is it a mystery to us?

So many parts of our life are tied into the Middle East, yet we know so little about it...why is this? The Middle East is a very complex region, it fact just calling it the "Middle East" is over simplifying things.
Think of all the different ways we are tied to this Region; take for instance religion- Judaism Christianity and Islam. Wars and other global conflicts; listing Israel, The Persian Gulf War, The Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq is only the begnining of a very long list of our Military and Political involvement.
In order to better learn about this region will we be doing a number of different activities. First as a class we will watch MSNBC's special on the Middle East, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17722026 so if you were gone watch this on your own and take notes on the developments of the region and compare Shiite and Sunni Muslims
Then we will start the "project" for this region, a webquest created by another school which does a very good job of providing you the opportunity to learn about the region.
http://home.earthlink.net/~lazarski/home/Midest1.htm
Go there and read the instructions... and get to work!

The War to end all Wars comes to an end

World War One was a war like none before it. Many people thought it was (and called it) "the war to end all wars." Almost Eight Million soldiers were killed in the fighting. Europe's fields and cities were destroyed. Germany had finally been defeated on the battlefield, all that was left to be done was to sign the Treaty to end the War. Leaders of most of the Allied countries met in France to determine the outcome of the war with the creation of a Treaty. Wilson (U.S.A), Clemenceau (France) and Lloyd George (England) were the most important people involved in the treaty. It is important to note both Russia and Germany were left out of the dealings.

Part One
Look at the two maps below, first describe the differences between the two images, then hypothesize why the changes were made.

Map of Europe in 1914














Europe Post World War One














Part Two

Woodrow Wilson and the United States entered the War well after it had begun, but Wilson wanted to be important in the treaty negotiations, he created a list of things he thought the Treaty should achieve, called the 14 Points. They read as follows;
1. There should be no secret treaties; all international agreements should be open.
2. The seas were to be free to all countries at all times.
3. Customs barriers between countries should be removed.
4. Armaments should be reduced.
5. The wishes of the peoples in colonies should be taken into account when settling colonial claims.
6. German forces should leave Russia.
7. Belgium should be independent.
8. Alsace-Lorranine should be returned to France.
9. Italy’s frontier with Austria should be adjusted to avoid confrontation with Austria.
10.There should be self determination for the peoples of Eastern Europe.
This allows different nationalities the right to govern themselves as independent nations.
11.Serbia should be given a coastline.
12.There should be self-determination for the people of the Turkish empire.
13.Poland should be independent and given a coastline.
14.An International organization should be set up to deal with international
incidents and disputes (therefore avoiding war) - League of Nations.

Using documents from
http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/year9links/wwi/versaillessimulation.pdf
we will look at the results and the reasons behind the results of the Treaty of Versailles.

WW1 Alliances and Technology

In order for you to learn more about your blogger and WW1 at the same time you are going to make a post talking about the different Alliances and Technologies in WW1. Just so you know you add images to a post by clicking the “add image” tool from the tool bar within a post.

First, post a picture of a Map of the countries fighting in the war; a color coded one would be best. Then describe the two big “alliances” on the map.

Second, post a picture of a new technology used during WW1 (period tank, airplane, machine gun, etc.) and talk about how its use changed the war.

World War One Journal/Newspaper article

Intro: As we have discussed in class, History is about people not just names and dates. I want you to see things from the perspective of those who were there. For World War One I want you to "step into their shoes"
Task: You will be visiting www.youtube.com
Once you reach youtube, do a search for World War One. You will find dozens of different videos, 1. Watch a couple of them to get a feeling for the types of images you will be seeing. Make sure the videos and information they are providing is accurate (i.e. the Nazi's were not in WW1).
2. You are now to take on the "role" of either a newspaper journalist or a soldier fighting in the war.
3. You are to write either an article for your newspaper, or a letter home to your friends and family describing what you have seen and how you feel about what you have seen.
4. Post your response (at least 3 paragraphs) along with a link to the video you found most important to what you wrote.
5. Search the other classmates posts, find one you thought was interesting and make a post reflecting on it.

Checking in 5th Hour

Make a post below with your name and your blogger user name

World History Two

Welcome World History Two Students