AP World: WW2, the Cold War, and China
Holocaust
-"Final Solution" to Nazis -millions of Jews in Germany and German-occupied land were rounded up and killed in gas chambers
Cold War beginnings
-Allies divided up Germany in effort to rebuild -West Germany vs East Germany -USSR decided to set up puppet states in neighboring states (like Poland and Czechoslovakia) -US wanted them to have free elections
end of war in Asia 1945
-American forces defeated Japan island by island -US president orders dropping of atomic bomb on Hiroshima -Japan fight on -second bombing at Nagasaki -Japan surrender -WW2 officially over
first year of WW2
-Axis powers controlled most of continental Europe
Berlin, Berlin Blockade, and Berlin Airlift
-Blockade: Soviets cut off land access to Berlin -Airlift: West retaliated by flying in food and supplies -Berlin was divided into east and west and wall was built
Chinese Revolution of 1911 + Sun Yat-sen + Chiang Kai-shek + civil war 1911-140s
-China becomes more westernized in effort to gain power and kick out Japan -Sun Yat-sen established Kuomindang (KMT) -continued by Chiang Kai-shek -Japanese invaded and communists built strength (but defeated later) -Chinese Civil War= communists vs KMT
Soviet bloc/satellites
-East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Hungary
end of WW2 in Europe 1945
-Germany is surrounded on east and west and Hitler commits suicide
second year of WW2
-Germany takes Balkans and advances on Russia -Japan continues expansion in China and invades Indochina (Vietnam)
Blitzkrieg
-Hitler's war tactic -destroy everything in its path
consequences of WW2
-Holocaust is revealed -devastation in Europe -peace settlement -decline of colonialism -US and USSR become superpowers + start of cold war -women's roles in the workforce began to change -creation of international organizations
after US entrance into WW2
-Manhattan Project -British and American takeover of Italy -D-day (44) -Red Army victorious over Germany on Eastern Front (42)
NATO
-North Atlantic Treaty Organization -formal military alliance of mutual defense in Western bloc
Red Army
-Russian/USSR army
Cold War basics 1945-early 90s
-US and USSR vying for global domination -very few areas were unaffected -arms race -50 years of strategizing on how to contain each other
entrance of US 1941
-US imposes sanction on Japan -Japan bombs Pearl Harbor, HI -stunned US declares war on Japan -Germany declares war on US -fusion of two regional wars into one worldwide war
Truman Doctrine 1947
-US pledged to provide aid to countries threatened by communist takeover
Manhattan Project
-US secretly working on the development of an atomic bomb
Iron Curtain
-Winston Churchill -describes the Soviet Union's policy of isolation during the Cold War -Western influence could not penetrate and Easterners could not leave
other international organizations
-World Bank -International Monetary Fund -World Trade Organization
Cultural Revolution 1966-1976
-after GLF, elements of capitalism introduced into economy -Mao feared that the country strayed from communist path -instituted Cultural Revolution -domestic policy to eliminate Western influence and prevent a privelaged ruling class -"cultural training" and new educational curriculum -failed miserably in advancing China economically and socially
Axis Powers
-alliance between Germany, Italy, and Japan
Mao Zedong and communism until late 50s
-collectivization of agriculture and industry -social reform policies -relatively successful and China's productivity increased (especially in the steel industry) -institution of Great Leap Forward
Great Leap Forward
-combined collective farms into large communes -way to catapult China into true Marxist state -failed because there was no incentive to work harder -lead to starvation deaths of 30 million people -ended after 2 years -China lost Soviet-backing
Tiananmen Square Massacre 1989
-despite economic reforms, government remains strictly communist -one million protesters gathered calling for democratic reform -government troops to open fire
Kuomindang + Three Principles
-established by Sun Yat-sen -nationalism, socialism, and democracy -lead by Sun Yat-sen then Chian Kai-shek -backed by US during WW2 -
CCOT from Dynastic China to Communist China: families and class structure
-for 2,000 years, Confucianism and class structure dominated -no class system in communism -traditional China valued large families because they can work on farms -collectivization ruined this -China took steps to reduce population size/growth with propaganda -one-child policy in 80s that relaxed over time -women gained many rights like divorce and property rights under communism which viewed the sexes as equal (in theory)
Japan after WW2
-forced to demilitarize -established democracy and capitalism -became strong economic power -friendly with West
Allies
-in WW2: Great Britain, France, Russia, and US
Warsaw Pact
-in response to NATO -military alliance of Soviet bloc
Marshall Plan
-instituted by US -help in the rebuilding effort in Europe -only Western nations accepted offer -proved good in long run because West economies recovered in a decade
Deng Xiaoping + China's economy 1976-present
-new leader of China after Mao -changed education policy -China realized it needed to open up to Western ideas -allowed for limited business and property ownership -reforms have been successful and helpful in China -China is rapidly becoming a major economic power
D-day
-over a million troops stormed the beaches at Normandy, France and began the process of re-taking France -turning point in WW2
nonalignment
-policy of refusal to take sides -example: India during Cold War
arms race
-race to develop superior nuclear weapons and larger stockpiles
start of communism in China 1949
-rallied millions of peasants in China and drove KMT onto Taiwan -Mao Zedong established People's Republic of China
United Nations
-replaced failed League of Nations -goal: mediate, and if necessary intervene in, international disputes between nations -monitoring of human rights and other social problems
Winston Churchill and defending Britain
-resolute and fierce British prime minister -refused to back down to Germany even after the first year of WW2 and the fall of France -use of radar to keep German army out of the island
Nuremburg Trials
-series of trials in which former Nazi leaders were charged with war crimes
