15/05/2013

Hello everybody!!

Today as always many people have arrived late to the class (including me). Afterwards we have started correcting the exercise 6 about the Treaty of Versailles:

-Huge war reparations for the destruction caused in France and Belgium (31 billion dollars)

-Loss 1/5 of their territory in Europe: 

        - Alsace and Lorraine for France 

        - Schleswig for Denmark 

        - Part of Eastern Prussia and the Danzig corridor for Poland 

        - Memel for Lithuania 

        - Eupen and Malmédy to Belgium

- Reduction of their army to 100,000 soldiers. Their navy and air force were disbanded and military conscription was forbidden.

-Demilitarization of the West bank of River Rhine.

-The German colonies were given to France and the UK.

After this, we have seen the map of Europe after WW1:
-Disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire: this gave birth to two new States: Austria and Hungary. Czechoslovakia became independent and the Slaves of the South (Slovenians, Bosnians, Croates and Serbians) created Yugoslavia. Romania received Bukovina and Italy got Trent. 

- In order to avoid the extension of the Russian Revolution, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was respected: Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania preserved their independence and became a buffer area to contain revolutions.

We have seen some maps of the changes in Germany and Europe:

Changes in Europe after Treaty of Versailles

google images

Germany after the Treaty of Versailles

http://www.worldology.com/Europe/Europe_Nations/Germany/index.htm

After having studied the changes in Europe, Paqui has explained the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire:

Turkey became a republic and the Arab territories of the Near East were given to France and the UK as“mandates” of the League of Nations: Palestine (present day Palestine and Israel) and Transjordan (present day Jordan, Iraq and Kuwait) for the UK and Syria and Lebanon for France. The Kurds and Armenians didn´t become independent.

Disintegration of the Ottoman Empire

Later, Paqui has written the definition of mandates on the blackboard:

-Mandates: territories of the former Ottoman Empire which were put under the control of the League of Nations, but administered in fact by the UK (Palatine, Transjordan and Iraq) and France (Lebanon and Syria).

Enrique Pérez has asked Paqui if Australia was an independent state, and Paqui has answered saying that it belonged to UK as a colony of settlement (colonies with an important number of Europeans. They had an autonomous government, but their foreign policy was controlled by the metropolis).

google images

Later, we have corrected and seen the consequences of the war:

-Demographic losses: more than 16.5 million dead and 21 million wounded. One third of the casualties were civilians.

-Economic consequences: the productive system of the belligerent countries was completely destroyed. All the countries had got into debts to pay for the war. Many of them owed money to the USA.

-Political consequences: Europe lost its position as the center of the world and was replaced by extra-European powers (USA and Japan)

-Territorial consequences: disappearance of the big Empires of the 19th century, changes of borders, new countries appeared

-Moral and psychological consequences: war horrors provoked social trauma, disillusionment, cynicism, distrust in the politicians. There were two opposite reactions: one bet for internationalism and search for peace and another one focused on militarism and violence as a way of solving problems.

Finally, Paqui has explained the last point, the way to WW2:

In 1919 John Maynard Keynes, a British economist, warned about the economic consequences of an unfair peace and the future desire of revenge of the defeated to WW2.

Paqui has showed us an image of Hitler going out from the Treaty of Versailles and this is because he wanted to take revenge.

Paqui has also said that Hitler participated in WW1 as a corporal and he was wounded, also that he lived from charity and spent his time wandering. And in only 13 years he passed from being a corporal to be the president of Germany.

Picture about Germany's situation

http://ashweetha.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/1.jpg

María has asked Paqui that if we would have another world war and she has said that she hopes no.
For homework we have to read the information about the Russian revolutions.

At the end of the class we have taken a photo all together with Paqui.

Glossary:

-to disband an army -> disolver un ejército

-conscription -> reclutamiento

-to stab -> apuñalar

-a stab in the back -> puñalada por la espalda

-Latvia -> Letonia

-buffer area -> cordón sanitario

-Kurd -> kurdo

-Armenian -> armenio

-Spanish flu -> gripe española

-to get into debt -> endeudarse

-to owe -> deber dinero

-distrust -> desconfianza

-disillusionment -> decepción

-roaring 20's -> los felices años 20

-to warn -> advertir

-corporal -> cabo

Bye and see you on Friday!!!