Monday, 22nd June 2015

Hi, I'm Minerva!

Today in Social Sciences we have watched a documentary about the concentration camp of Mauthausen. It is about 80 minutes, so we have stayed for two hours in the classroom.

Source:http://www.huffingtonpost.es/2015/05/05/mauthausen-liberacion_n_7212326.html

During the documentary, some Spanish people who survived in Mauthausen talked about all they lived there. They talked about the things they saw, what they ate and the stories they lived there until they were released. 

They were sent there because they were captured in France, where they were exiled after the Civil War in Spain. They were identified with a triangle with an S inside it.

Source: http://www.heraldo.es/noticias/comunicacion/adios_vida_rescata_los_recuerdos_los_presos_aragoneses_mauthausen.html

During the documentary we can see all the horrors committed there. At first it was bad for the Spaniards to stay there, but when the senior officers visited the camp and they knew they were Spanish against the government of Spain, they ordered to be merciless with them.

They worked in quarries all the day. They had to break the rocks and then, go up with them through a long stair. 

 Source:http://www.abc.es/fotos-toledo/20140131/imagenes-horror-1611861614448.html

Source: http://negativosparalahistoria.blogspot.com.es/2013_01_01_archive.html

We have been talking for a long time about what  we would have done if we had the opportunity of punishing the Nazis. All of us agree in the same thing; we would have treated them as they treated the people in the camps. Paqui has said that if we would have done this, we would be like them. She has said that she would have sent them to live with the people they hate so they could saw that they were similar.

I knew that the concentration camps were the selfsame hell, but I was wrong. They were worse. I couldn't even imagine they were like the video shown and I can't even imagine living there for years. I'm sure I couldn't live there not even for a week or a month.

Seeing your friends dying or smelling everyday the odor of the bodies being burnt is enough to be traumatized for the rest of your life.

I see this and for me, it's impossible to think that this ocurred just 70 years ago. It's striking how the human being can be, how can we hurt each other only because we think in a different way.

I think we should learntabout the history, because a lot of these things are repetitions from the past.

Despite all the wars that have happened during the history, I think this is the bloodiest, the cruelest and senseless one up to this moment.

For me, the most emotional part of the video is when the survivors told us how was the entrance of the American troops in the camp and how happy they were.

 Source: http://www.eldiario.es/el-holocausto-espa%C3%B1ol/gusen-mauthausen-nazi-deportado-franco-suner-himmler-hitler_6_349325071.html

Source: http://vidaytiemposdeljuezroybean.blogspot.com.es/2015/05/campandas-de-la-historia-47-la.html

"Los Españoles antifascistas saludan a las fuerzas liberadoras"

Here you have the video if you want to watch it:

I hope you like it. 

P.S.: If you want to read a book about this, I have found this one:  

Los últimos españoles de Mauthausen, Carlos Hernández de Miguel.

Here you have the synopsis: 

http://www.edicionesb.com/catalogo/libro/los-ultimos-espanoles-de-mauthausen_3401.html

Hope you have a good summer!!

Monday, 22nd June 2015

Hi, I’m Clara Inés!

Today in Social Sciences class as there weren’t many people we have seen a documentary about the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp.

Source: http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/gallery.php?ModuleId=10005196&MediaType=PH

The documentary talked about the Spanish people who were sent  to this camp, but not all the Spanish people survived. These Spaniards were sent there because when the Spanish Civil War ended most of the Spanish people went  to France to live there and when the WW2 started with the Nazism many of these people were sent to this camp by Hitler's orders.

Source: http://www.scrapbookpages.com/Mauthausen/KZMauthausen/History/introduction.html

On the documentary these people talked about the five years that they “livde” there, in the camp. Almost all the people who were confined  there died of hunger, were executed or they committed suicide.

Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_subcamps_of_Mauthausen

In my opinion I think that the documentary was very hard. These people suffered a lot of, they were battered and abused. For me the most emotional part was when the Nazism started to disappeared and all the people of this camp could start to goes home, for me this was the most beautiful part.

Source:https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campo_de_concentraci%C3%B3n_de_Mauthausen-Gusen

And the worst part was when the people died and they were stacked and were moved with excavators, These people were very skinny, due to the hunger.

Source:http://www.scrapbookpages.com/Mauthausen/KZMauthausen/ZiereisDeath.html

That's all for today. Have a happy summer and enjoy it.

Bye!!

Monday, 15th of June 2015

Hello everybody! I'm Minerva and this is my last journal of the year.

At first, Paqui has given us the exams and she has asked if we had any doubts, but we hadn't got any.
Then, we have given to her the art projects because they are going to be exposed at the library.
Today, was the day to give Paqui our notebooks so we have given her the notebooks too.

Finally, we have started with the theory.

We have started talking about the NSDAP results in the General Elections. At first, The Nazis' results in the elections were very poor until the beginning of the 1929 crisis, but in July 1932 the NSDAP were the most voted party (more than 13 million votes). Despite this, they didn't have the majority.
In January 1933 the conservative forces convinced Hindenburg to appoint Hitler prime minister (30th January 1933); his first government included 3 Nazis out of 11 ministers. Hitler convinced Hindenburg to call new elections for the 5th of March.

Source: http://laroucheplanet.info/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=Cult.Schachtausterity

We have been talking about the false fact of the Nazis' triumph at the elections. Paqui has told us that this is a lie and she has explained us what happened.

We have also talked about the Reichstag Fire on the 27th of February. It was an arson committed by the Nazis to accuse the communists. The government issued an emergency decree restricting liberties. Many opposition leaders were arrested and sent to detention camps, like Oranienburg.

Source: http://ww2db.com/image.php?image_id=13082

The consequences of the elections of March, 1933 were that the Nazis won the elections but by using intimidation and violence against the opposition. Hitler demanded full powers in the Reichstag. The Gestapo was created and in July the NSDAP became the only legal party.

Some of the things they did once in power were persecuting the Jews (April 1933), they burnt books of authors considered to be against Germany (10th May 1933) and they sent the members of the opposition parties to the first concentration camps ruled by the SS.

 

Source: http://www.mollymanning.com/author/museum/

Finally, we have talked about the Night of the Long Knives (June - July 1934). It was a cleansing of the opposition inside the Nazi Party. Ernst Röhm, leader of the SA, and other prominent Nazis like Strasser and Von Schleicher, were killed.

As always, we have copied some new words on our glossary... But, unfortunately, I can't write them down because I have my sheet of the glossary in the notebook.

That's all for today, bye!

Thursday, 11th of June 2015

Hi! I'm Clara Inés  and this will be my last journal of this year!

Today in Social sciences we have taken the last exam of this year so we have to be before at the class.

Source:http://www.livelifemore.com/diet-for-kids-in-exam-days-by-dietitian-pallavi-jassal/

Later Paqui has given us the exams, which consisted of the Russian revolution, the interwar period with the USA from the Roaring Twenties to the Great Depression and the Fascist Italy.

So the exam had got two questions :

In the first one we have to choose between the 1917 revolution or the Stalinism (1927-1953) this question was worth 2.5 points.

In the second question we had to complete(d) the gaps with almost all the things that we have learned and this question was worth 7.5 points

 

Source:http://www.wikihow.com/Study-for-a-Social-Studies-Test

For me the exam wasn’t as long as other exams, and that all for this day .

Finally the bell has rung, and we have gone to another class.

Bye!!

Tuesday, 9th of June 2015

Hello!
Today in Social Sciences we've continued with Nazi Germany. Paqui has started talking about the NSDAP which was the National Socialist German Workers Party founded by Hitler in 1920. Its ideology was very similar to Italian Fascism and there were three specific ideas:
-Anti-Semitism: they hated jews and they were considered to be the responsibles for all the bad things.
-Superiority of the "Arian" race and a need for vital space
-Demand of the abrogation of Versailles treaty.

source: https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iDtIHL_Wbzo/VXbckYFhU4I/AAAAAAAAAIM/tPUDnMTncuw/s320/2000px-NSDAP-Logo.svg.png

Then we have seen the Nazi Paramilitary Groups:

source: https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JXFGuEN3bH8/VXbdmrgTXxI/AAAAAAAAAIY/VY_kuQg14vI/s200/sa.png

SA: STURMABTEILUNG

source: https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4vK5nWHz3_w/VXbdmRQevHI/AAAAAAAAAIU/L0THurvRSj4/s200/ss.JPG

SS: SCHUTZSTAFFEL

Paqui has told us about the Beer Hall Putsch in November 1923, when the Nazis tried to reach power in Munich.

And finally, we've seen "Mein Kampf" book, which means "My struggle" or "My battle" in German. It was the book which includes all the ideas Hitler had. Hitler and the people with him were condemned to jail because their failed Coup D'État killed a 14 people. With a very short sentence of 5 years, and after 8 months they were out again. 

New vocabulary:

Scapegoat: chivo expiatorio 

Gypsy: gitano

Arian: ario

Brownshirt: camisas pardas

Beer Hall Putsch: Putsch de dervecería

Mein Kampf: mi lucha

Van: furgoneta

source: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cNsaydTjLUc/VXbgNp1VsMI/AAAAAAAAAIo/Ke49fzfrPww/s320/munich.jpg

And that's all for today's class! See you on the exam! Study hard and good luck :)

Monday, 8th of June 2015

Hi! I'm Pablo and this will be my last journal this year!

Today we have started the lesson finishing with the last part of Fascist Italy. Then we have started with Nazi Germany and the situation of the country after WW1 (economic crisis, unemployment...). We have seen some pictures about the hyperinflation, a lot of money was printed so it lost its value. 

Man with baskets of money
Source: http://www.inflationproofinvestor.com/images/hyperinflation_1923.jpg

Then we've seen the past of Hitler and the cration of the NSDAP, first he entered as an spy in the DAP (German Workers' Party) and became soon one of their leaders and the later foundation of the NSDAP, which was very similar to Italian fascism and which would lead to the beginning of WW2 years later...

Finally we've had a short conversation about racism and how to eliminate it. Many people are racist because their family is racist or because they've lived very isolated. The best way to eliminate racism is coexistence. I'd like to share a song related with this (at the beginning I was thinking of sharing "Mestizaje" by Ska-P but as it's in Spanish I've changed it to this one):

And finally, today's glossary:
Swastika: esvástica
Worthless: sin valor
Barter: trueque
Shelter: albergue
Ounce: onza

And that's it. Bye!!

Tuesday, 2nd of June 2015.

Hello everybody!

Sorry for the delay, but my computer didn't work well these days. Now I will tell you the class of Tuesday. Paqui has started the class remembering things about Mussolini. Then she has continued explaining The Matteotti affair, The retirement on the Aventine Mount, Totalitarian State, Totalitarianism, Cult of Mussolini's personality, Lateran pacts (1929), Economic policy and Italian foreign aggressive policy.

THE MATTEOTTI AFFAIR

On the 30th May 1924 the Socialist deputy Matteotti denounced Fascist intimidations. He was kidnapped and killed on the 10th of June. Mussolini assumed the responsibility of this fact.

RETIREMENT ON THE AVENTINE MOUNT

All the opposition parties left the Parliament as a protest against the Fascist. The government didn't fall, because the king supported Mussolini. The Fascists intensified their persecution of the opposition: all the political parties and unions were suppressed. Many opposition leaders were imprisoned and others had to exile.

TOTALITARIAN STATE 

Italy became a totalitarian state: one-single party system; no division of powers; persecution and repression of the opposition and all the aspects of the individuals life are subordinated to the authority of the State.

TOTALITARIANISM

"All within the State, none outside the State, none against the State"

BELIEVE, OBEY, FIGHT.

CULT OF MUSSOLINI'S PERSONALITY

Mussolini had full power and his figure was presented as if he was a hero. Use of propaganda to glorify Mussolini.

LATERAN PACTS(1929)

The Italian State signed peace with the Pope. The Vatican City was created as a State inside Italy and a Concordat was signed to regulate the relations between the Holy See and Italy. 

ECONOMIC POLICY

• AUTARKY: the main objective was to achieve self-sufficiency, increasing internal production and reducing imports.
• INTERVENTION OF THE STATE IN ECONOMY: public works, rearmament, subsidized enterprises.

ITALIAN FOREIGN AGGRESSIVE POLICY

Mussolini wanted to restore the splendor of the Roman Empire and started some wars to conquer territories like Ethiopia and Albania. Italy also supported the rebels during the Spanish Civil War, sending more than 70,000 soldiers and weapons.

During the lesson we have added some new words for the vocabulary like:

-DICTATOR: dictador.

-ENTRANCE: entrada.

-LAY: laico.

-BLINDLY: ciegamente.

-CAUTIOUS: precavido.

-TO TAKE RISKS: correr riesgos.

-LATERAN PACTS: Pacto de Letrán.

-REARMAMENT: rearme

-DRY-LAND CROP: cultivo de secano.

At the end of the lesson she has given to do a scheme about all this from homework. Bye and sorry again for the delay. 

Tuesday, 1st June, 2015

Hello Classmates!

     Today in the class of Social Sciences we have started the Fascist Italy and the Nazy Germany. At the beginning of the lesson Paqui has showed us a video where Franco is speaking English ( he spoke really really bad), and we have laughed a lot because when he was finishing he said "Viva España" in Spanish while he was speaking English.

     Later we have started with the class Paqui had prepared for us. Firstly we have studied the Fascist Italy and we have started with the explanation of Italy after World War 1, and the theory was:

• Although Italy fought with the Allies in WW1, they were not satisfied with the territories they received after the Conference of Paris. 
• There was a general feeling of mutilated victory.
• The irredentists claimed for more territories they considered that had to belong to Italy.

    Then Paqui has explained us the The Two Red Years: Italy continued to be a liberarl monarchy, but the liberal Governments were unable to pace postwar problems:

    Unemployment            High External Debt      Influence of the Bolshevik Revolution:  

    Inflation                Political Instability              seizure of lands and factories.

 After this explanation Paqui has told us that all these problems were fertile ground for extremist ideologies.

  Later we have started with the leader of the Facist Italy, Benito Mussolini:

Mussolini was a former Socialist, who had been expelled from the Socialist Party when he decided to support the participation of  Italy in WW1. He was promoted to corporal during WW1 and general discontent allowed him to create an extreme right group to confront workers' and peasants' protests.

  After we have known a bit of Mussolini we have continued with the: Fasci Italiani di Cambattimento:

Mussolini as I have said took advantage of the critical situation in Italy and created a new group used to threaten workers and help businessmen and landowners to re-stablish order through violence. Their paramilitary group was called the Blackshirts.

  Later Paqui has said that the Emblem of the Fasci reflected the symbol of Justice. Then we have continued with the National Fascist Party created by Mussolini in 1922, and this party was in favour of:

• Anti-communism, anti-socialism, anti-liberalism and against parliamentary democracy.
• Defense of private property.
• Strong state.
• Use of violence.
• Intervention of the state in economy and autarky.    

 Mussolini was supported by the Petty Bourgeoisie and big landowners and industrialists. Also they were tolerated by the church and the king.

   To end with the lesson Paqui has explained us the March on Rome (28th October 1922): as a demonstration of their power the Fascists organized a March on Rome with the Blackshirts, from all over Italy. The Fascist demanded power and threatened the government with the use of violence.

   Also Paqui has said that the king appointed Mussolini prime minister, with the other 3 Fascists ministers. Once in power their Fascists used all the resources ath their reach to persecute the opposition.

In the 1924 elections they got majority in the Parliament.

This is all we have done today. Also we have copied some words in our glossary:

• Francoism: Franquismo.
• Roman Salute: Saludo Romano.
• Mutilated Victory: Victoria Mutilada.
• Undreemed territories: Territorios irredentos.
• The Twor Red Years: Bienio Rojo.
• Seizure: Ocupación.
• Fertile Ground: Terreno abonado.
• Corporal: cabo.
• Antarky: Autarquía. Economic policy based on self-sufficiency producing all the country needs and not importing anything.
• Petty Bourgeoisie: Pequeña Burguesía.
• Landowners: Terratenientes.
• Cocky: Gallito, chulo.
• At their reach: a su alcance.
                      
   

                                                                        

http://www.elpais.com/recorte/20070217elpepiint_6/XXLCO/Ies/Benito_Mussolini.jpg         

http://www.notapositiva.com/trab_estudantes/trab_estudantes/historia/historia_trab/histnazfascismo/histnazfascismo6.jpg

Tuesday, 26th May,2015

Hey there! I'm Stefania and this is my last journal of this year.
Today is Social Sciences class we have done many things:
First of all we have corrected three exercises that Paqui gave us the last Thursday. Maria has corrected the first exercise. In this exercise we have to explain the situation of the USA after WW1.

The situation of the USA after WW1 was the following one: the USA became the most important economic power in the world and the most important creditor of the Europeans countries. The American way of life became a model. The USA attracted thousand of immigrants and consumer society spread thanks to the installments and credits. There was a huge demand for all kind of products:

• Farmers bought lands to increase production
• Industries asked for credits to expand their business
• A lot of houses and apartments were built and quickly sold
• Many people invested in stock exchange markets due to the facilities the banks gave to get a credit.

As there was a huge demand, prices increased constantly, even if there was no correspondence between the price of the stocks and the way companies worked.

The second exercise has consisted of explaining the causes of the 1929 economic crisis in the USA.

The 1929 crisis started when the Europeans countries started recovering,there was a contraction of the demand for USA products and an overproduction crisis started:

1. Products couldn't be sold
2. Stocks started accumulating and as everyone wanted to sell their stocks, prices decressed and they lost a lot of money.
3. Industries couldn't sell their products, so they had to dismiss workers (unemployment rate increased).
4. Farmers couldn't give their loans back to the banks.

When we have been corrected the second exercise I've asked Paqui who had to do the journal today because I didn't know it, so she has said that it was my turn.

The last exercise consisted of explaining the event that is considered to be the outbreak of the 1929. Marta has corrected this exercise.

Outbreak of 1992's crisis: The public evidence of the crisis came on the 24th October 1929 (Black Friday), when the price of stocks in Wall Street (New York Stock Exchange Market) fell down.

Wall Street

http://ei.marketwatch.com//Multimedia/2012/10/11/Photos/MG/MW-AV216_crash__20121011182709_MG.jpg?uuid=d7a1c4dc-13f2-11e2-b403-002128049ad6

The stockholders panicked and tried to sell their stocks massively. Prices shrunk, many investors got ruined and they couldn't give their loans back. Banks crashed down and economy collapsed. When the USA banks asked the European banks for the money they had lent them before, the crisis spread to Europe and the Great Depression become a world problem.

http://www.tigullionews.com/wp-content/uploads//crisi-america-1929-I-want-a-job.jpg

The picture that is above is representing two men searching for job. Paqui has said us that they had written like a curriculum, because in it that time was very difficult to find a job.

Then we have seen many images and there was one very interesting:

http://kurioso.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/3_chabolas.jpg?w=1005

This is the famous Central Park in 1929. It was full of shanties because the people that couldn't pay the loans lost their houses and they started to live there.

Then we have spoken about how the banks work. Paqui has given an example to make me understand why banks collapsed in that period. She has told me that when a person deposits money in a bank, this money doesn't remain there untouchable, that money is given to another people. So this happened in 1929 in the USA the people who didn't invest money in stock they lost their money because the banks couldn't give them their money back.So there were a lot of people queuing to recover their money, like in the next picture.

http://www.newstatesman.com/sites/default/files/images/82838978.jpg

Then we have seen a graphic about how unemployment rate grow in that period

http://www.newstatesman.com/sites/default/files/images/82838978.jpg

Paqui has told us that nowatdays Spain has reached the top of unemployment rate.

Then in the last 5 minutes of the class Paqui has started to explain us why the crisis became more serious, but she hasn't finished it, because the bell has rung.

And as always we have copied some words on the glossary:

• creditor:acreedor
• interest rate: tasas de interés
• to going into debts:endeudarse
• to get ride of something:deshacerse de
• to go bankrupt: quebrar/ir a la bancarota
• vicious circle:círculo vicioso
• shanty :chabola
• shanty town:poblado chabolista
• Chemistry:química

And that's all for today! Now I've to go to study Biology! See you on Thursday.

Thursday 21st of May

Hi everybody!

Today in the class of Social Sciences we have started a new unit:

The Interwar Period (1919-1939)
  1. The U.S.A: from the "Roaring Twenties" to the Great Depression
  2. Fascist Italy
  3. Nazi Germany

Before the class started, I have gone to the secretary's office to phone my parents because I have missed my glasses at home. Then, when I have arrived to class, everybody was discussing about the day to take the exam of this unit and finally we have decided to take it on the 9th of June.
After all this, we have started with the first point of the unit.

Today I have learnt that after WW1, the USA became the most important economic power in the world and the most important creditor of the European countries because the USA's productive system was intact after the war. They were the owners of half of the gold reserves and their currency, the dollar, became the predominant one in international trade.

The American way of life became a model. The USA attracted thousands of immigrants under the motto: "USA, land of opportunity" or "There's no way like the American way"

                                         http://allenbwest.com/2014/07/truth-american-way/

Then, Paqui has explained us that consumer society spread a lot thanks to installments and credits, while in Europe they were trying to recover the economy. But all wasn't as perfect as it seems because a lot of people were still living in poverty.

Later Paqui has explained us that between 1919 and 1933 the production sale and consumption of alcohol were forbidden because of the Prohibition. As the members of the parliament were so puritanical they approved the Prohibition, but this only caused the discontent of the citizens and the extraordinary development of the mafia and famous figures like Al Capone.

      Men againt the Prohibition                                                                         Alcapone
  http://www.realbeer.com/blog/?p=86                                                http://forum.joomla.hr/index.php?topic=4062.0

                                                      Women in favour of the Prohibition
                                            http://thecanberran.com/2013/08/16/dry-bars-the-pubs-with-no-beer/
   

After this, we have talked about racism in that period and that even if slavery was forbidden after the Civil War, many black people continued to be discriminated and they were hounded by the Ku Klux Klan, a racist organization related to white supremacism, whose members wore costumes similar to the ones used in Spain to celebrate the Holy Week. Nowadays they continue to exist in the south states of the USA.

                                                         Members of the Ku Klux Klan
                                                      http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan

To end with the class we have talked about the symptoms of crisis. There was a huge demand for all kind of products, for example: farmers bought more land to increase production. Many people invested in the Stock Market because getting loans was very easy.

•  Real estate bubble: a lot of houses were built and easily sold, but the prices increased due to the high demand.
• Stock Market bubble: many people invested money without any knowledge of economics. Stock prices increased a lot due to the high demand

So, the first symptoms of crisis appeared:

• High debts to keep high levels of production and consumption (Cash-flow problems)
• When the European started recovering, there was a contraction of the demand for USA products and an overproduction crisis started: products couldn't be sold, stocks started accumulating, farmers couldn't give their loans bank...
• No correspondence between the real economic situation of the companies and the value of their stocks in the Stock Exchange Market (Stock Exchange bubble)

                                                             Stock Market crash, 1929

                                   http://storiesofusa.com/great-depression-causes-new-deal-1919-1939/

When the bell has rang, Paqui has given us homework: the exercises 1, 2 and 3 of the page 72

That's all for now! See you in class!

Words copied on the glossary:

Roaring: rugiente

To roar: rugir

Roaring Twenties: felices años 20

Interwar: entreguerra

Real estate: inmobiliaria 

Stock Exchange Market: bolsa de valores

Pound: libra

In instalments: a plazos

Banking loans: créditos bancarios

Washing place/site: lavadero

Prohibition: Ley Seca

Speakeasy: bar ilegal

Temperance League: Liga de Abstinencia 

To tax: gravar con un impuesto

To hound: cazar

Hound dog: perro de caza

Foreclosure: desahucio

Monday 18th May, 2015

Hello everybody!!!

Today, the beginning of our Social Sciences lesson has consisted in the continuation of the point "D" of the Russian Revolutions, which is called Stalinism. The last day, we studied the "Lennin's Succesion" and today we have studied how the government of Stalin was like:

The economy in Stalin's government had the following characteristics:
-Collectivization: everything became State property.
-Planification: Centrally Planned Economy through the Five Years Plan and priority of heavy  industry to the detriment of light industry and consumer goods.

We've also learned this: propaganda was used to exalt or present Stalin as the father the savior of the USSR. This is the cult of Stalin's personality.

The most interesting thing was the repression of the opossition, another important feature of Stalinism:
-All the people who were suspected of critizicing or opposing the Communist Party were arrested and in many cases executed or sent to the GULAG.
-Stalinist Purges: in the 1930s around 700,000 people were executed.

After the explanation of Stalinism and finishing the unit, Paqui has given us the Art projects. I've had an 8!! I'm so happy with my mark and everybody has had very good marks, and we've enjoyed a lot doing the projects. Tomorrow we have the exam, I'm so nervous.


Byeeee!!



Source: www.taringa.net

Tuesday, 28th of April

Hello everybody! I'm Minerva and today it's my turn to write the journal.

At first, Paqui has given us two comics about the World War 1. ¡Puta Guerra! was the first and the second was La Guerra de las Trincheras. While we were seeing the comics, Paqui has reviewed what we studied the last day: the 3rd Stage of the World War 1 called Crisis of the 1917.

 

Image of the comic ¡Puta Guerra!

Source: http://elcorso.es/puta-guerra-jacques-tardi-y-la-memoria-de-la-tragedia/ 

La Guerra de las Trincheras 

Source: https://pitbox.wordpress.com/2010/03/07/descargar-la-guerra-en-las-trincheras-jacques-tardi/

Then, we have talked about the 4th Stage: The End of the War (1918).
The end of the war was due to two decisive facts. The first one was the arrival of refreshment troops of the U.S.A; and the second one was the Brest-Litovsk Treaty which was signed between Russia and Germany. The Russians stopped fighting and there were no more battles in the Eastern front. Russia lost Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine.

As Russia stopped fighting, the Germans could focus on the Western front and launched two offensives that were stopped. Revolts in the German army and protests against in the government started in Germany.
In the Eastern front, Bulgaria surrendered in September and the Ottoman Empire in October. The Austro-Hungarian army collapsed in the North of Italy and the Balkans.
As protests increased in Germany, the German government tried to negotiate peace. Kaiser Wilhem II abdicated and the republic was proclaimed. The armistice was signed at the Forest of Compiègne, at a train wagon.

 Armistice of the 11th of November, 1918

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armistice_of_11_November_1918

Paqui has explained us that the surrender left bad feelings to the Germans and this would be one of the causes of the World War 2.

We've also talked about Hitler. He was born in Austria and he wanted to study arts. He went to Vienna to try to go into the art school but as he wasn't so good, the school didn't accept him. After being a wanderer, he was conscripted to go to the World War 1.
When he came back, he was promoted to corporal and hired to spy on the DAP, that was an extreme-right political party. But as he liked the ideas of this party, he go into it and later, he became its leader.
As a leader, he planned a coup d'état but it failed and he was sent to jail. Afterwards the party became so important, the President of the Republic was convinced to convert Hitler in prime minister and from this moment he started changing the laws.

Adolf Hitler at Bayernwald WW1

Source:https://www.flickr.com/photos/velton/4550125371/

 Adolf Hitler at the WW1.

Source: http://www.greatwar.nl/frames/default-hitlere.html

After talking about Hitler, we've talked about the hyperinflation which was produced in Germany due to the money they had to pay because of all the problems they caused. Paqui has told us that Germany stopped paying the World War 1 reparations in 2010.
We've seen images about this event: the children were playing with the money, they were making kites of money and decorating their walls with money because as they produced a lot of money, money didn't have any value.
Prices increased a lot and people were shopping with trolleys full of money.

A man decorating his wall with money

Source: http://datosfreak.org/tag/Alemania/

To end with the class, Paqui has given us some homework: we had to do summaries of the Conference of Paris and the Treaty of Versailles.

As always, we've written down some new words:

- To come into force: entrar en vigor.
- Stab in the back: puñalada por la espalda.
- To betray: traicionar.
- Corporal: cabo.
- Anger: ira, enfado.
- Spike: pincho.
- Kurds: Kurdos.

And that's all for today, see you on Thursday! 

Monday, 27th of April

Hello everybody!  I 'm Clara Inés and this is my third journal of the year. 

Today in Social Sciences we have done a lot of things.

At first Paqui has come to our class later because she has been with the 3rd ESO students visiting a beer factory.


Then we started the lesson, but at first all the people have started to ask  Paqui about the projects that we made and then Victor has come to class. After all these interruptions we have finally started with the scheme of the different stages of World War 1.

In the 1st stage: War of movement (1914): the armies moved towards the enemy. Fight developed in two fronts. In the Western front the Germans attacked France through Luxembourg and Belgium (Schlieffen Plan, to take Paris: the Germans planned a short fight against France to focus in the Eastern front against Russia. This failed and they had to fight almost alone in two fronts). After the battle of Marne, the French stopped the German advance. In the Eastern Front the Russians advanced through Eastern Prussia and Galitzia. The Germans stopped them after the Battles of the Masurian Lakes and Tannenberg. 
At the end of 1914 Japan joined the Triple Entente and the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers. The Japanese occupied Tsingtao and they didn't do much more during the rest of the war.

 

                        Source: http://historoda.com/2013/04/13/wwi-europe-plunges-into-war/                          

In the 2nd stage: War of attrition (1915-1916): The war fronts stabilized and didn't move since the end of 1914. Soldiers dug kilometres of trenches and tried to keep their positions. Bulgaria joined the Central Powers and Italy and Romania the Triple Entente. In the Western front the Germansattacked in Verdun and the French reacted at the Somme. The front didn't move, but there were around two million victims. In the Eastern front a big German offensive to the East took place and Russians had to retire back.
A third front opened in the Balkans: the Central Powers occupied Serbia and Romania. The British attacked the Ottoman Empire from Egypt and occupied Palestine, but they were defeated at Gallipoli.
Also Paqui  has done a scheme on the blackboard to explain all this.

 

Source: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3611617,00.html

In the 3rd stage: crisis of 1917: There were internal problems in all the belligerent countries: soldiers' mutinies in all fronts, nationalist protests in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Easter Rising in Ireland and a revolution in Russia: the Bolsheviks took power in October 1917 and decided to sign an agreement with the Germans to take Russia out of the war Brest-Litovsk Treaty

                     Source:http://io9.com/5960510/thousands-of-australian-students-are-taught-that-robots-                                                              led-the-russian-revolution

We have also added some new words to our glossary:

To exhaust-agotar

Slaughter – carnicería

To instill- inocular, inculcar

To withdraw- retirarse

Rising – levantamiento

Easter Rising – levantamiento de Pascua

Finally the bell has rung, and we couldn’t finish with the 4th stage, but we will finish that the next day. And we have gone to another class.

And a video for review all that we learned.

Bye!!

Tuesday, 21st of April 2015

Hello there!

Today we have spoken about the different stages of the WW1, from the beggining to the end with a armistice on the 11/11/1918 at 11am o'clock, but really it ended at 5pm because the news about the armistice were late.

After that Marta has asked Paqui how many people died during this war, the number is horrifying, twenty million people died there.

Then we have reviewed the letters from soldiers that Paqui gave us yesterday. I think they are amazing because you can know how they felt there.

The first truce is about a truce which happened on the Christmas Day. The soldiers realized that the war mad no sense because nobody wanted to fight there. The shook their hands and had some time together. We have seen a commercial from Sainsbury about this:

There is also a film about this, called Merry Christmas. Here you have the trailer:

Then we have spoken about the second letter, which was written on Valentine's Day. It described how was the environment there; the smells, the noises, the parasytes that were there, rats...

Soldiers with dead rats during WW1
Source: http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/71846000/jpg/_71846607_1326440_topfoto_rats.jpg

The bell has rung and we haven't continued.

Here you have today's glossary:

- War of movement: guerra de movimiento

- War of attrition: guerra de desgaste

- Trenches warfare: guerra de trincheras

- To dig: cavar

- Armistice: armisticio

- Swine: cerdo

- Shave: afeitar

- Razor: maquinilla de afeitar

Monday, 20th of April 2015.

Hello everybody!

Today in our Social Sciences lesson, Paqui hasn't come to the class because she was in Madrid on a trip with some students of the high school but she left a sheet of paper with the homework for the on duty teachers we have to do during the lesson.

First the duty teacher who in this case it was Mª Ángeles López, a music teacher, has given us a sheet of paper about the letters of the World War 1 and she has said that we have to look up for the new vocabulary and explain what they tell about WW1.

The fist letter is addressed from a son to a mother and the second letter is addressed from a man to his wife and in both of them the person who write explain the difficulties of every day and the absence of their family.

Finally, for homework the on duty teacher has said us that we have to finish this at home and take it the next day. That's all for today. Bye!

A photo of the sheet about the letters.

Thursday, 16th of April, 2015

Hello classmates!

I'm Fran, and I'm going to told you about our last lesson. Today's lesson has been at the
1st period of the day. Today our classmates Marta and Silvia had done the make up exam of the 2nd term, I hope they pass the exam with a good mark.
The rest of the class has continued with the World War I, the first thing that we had done, has been the correct the exercises that we had for today's lesson: We had to make  2 exercises from Monday, and one scheme from Tuesday.
The first exercise was related with the outbreak during the World Wor I, and this exercise has been corrected by Nuria, and the correction of this exercise is:

-28th of July: Austria-Hungary declared war to Serbia.
-30th of July: Russia mobilized its trops against Austria-Hungary.
-1st of August: Germany declared war to Russia and to France on the 3rd of August. On the 4th of August Germany invaded Belgium (Schieffen-Plan) to occupy France. The United Kingdom declared war to Germany when Belgium was invaded.
Only Italy kept out of war.

Related to that Paqui has explained the outbreaks of this war on the blackboard with drawings, and later has explained us the Schieffen-Plan, and it consisted in:
Germany war plan Minister who prepared Germany's war plan in 1905: simultaneous attack on 2 fronts:Russia and France through Belgium.
The plan failed because France wasn't defeated in 5 weeks and the fronts establized in the East and North.

Later Azahara has corrected the other exercise, which consisted to correct the features of the World War I, the correction is:

-New and deadlier armament.
-Civil populution became war target.
-War economy.
-Governments of national unity.
-Constant use of propaganda.




After this correction Paqui has told us about Bertrand Russel who was a matematician who fought against the war in the UK, but later he was sent to prison.
Also Paqui has told us about a comic called "Puta Guerra" who explained the World War from the point of view of a friend who was a soldier.
At the end of the comic, there are images of crippled people.

Also she has showed us images from propaganda from the war.

Later Paqui to end with the has showed us a video which is on the blog, which explain the World War I.

https://youtu.be/Nj43X-VBEPE

As in all the classes there were new words for our glossary:

-Trigger: Detonante, gatillo (gun).
-Impruded: Imprudente.
-Schieffen-Plan: Plan de Schieffen.
-Eastern front: Frente oriental.
-Western front: Frente occidental.
-Censorship:Censura.
-To Censor: Censurar.
-Ration Card: Cartilla de Racionamiento.
-Food Rationing: Racionamiento de alimento.
                                                        -Rearguard: Retaguardia.
                                                        -Crippled: Mutilado.
                                                        -Threat: Amenaza.
                                                        -Strike: Huelga.
                                                        -To apply: Echar un curriculum.