Collapse Of Communism

The collapse of Communism in Estern Europe and USSR was a major event in history. It was the result of the end of the Cold War, the Berlin Wall being torn down which meant that Eastern and Western Germany had the oppurtunity to form the social and economic ties. People from the West could not cross into the East Communist, and the East could not cross into the Western Democractic system.

The only thing seperating Eastern and Western Germany was he Berlin Wall. The Berlin Wall was built to keep people from the east to enter the west and vice-versa. Anyone who attempt would gte shot. In 1989, the wall was being repaired and they were making roads for private trips between the East and the West. The also wanted to add several borders to allow people to travel more. People came to the wall with rocks to collect souvnier. Hundreds soon attacked the wall and destroyed it.

The Soviet Union had also divided into fifteen different countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Lativa, Lithuania, Moldova, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. These countries had different flags and Russia itself changed its flag. When capitalism was the new type of system is Russia, the economy was affected greatly. People had to get higher paying jobs because there was less farming. There was less need for advanced weapons and people turned away from Communism.

Nelson Mandela and Apartheid

Apartheid is the legal racial segregation of the non-whites by the National Party(NP) in the Republic of South Africa. The NP would campaign apartheid and its policies, passing laws and prohibiting things from people of color. It created seperation of beaches, schools, buses, universities and hospitals. Signs would claim "For Whites Only." The laws became more strict, forcing South Africans to carry their documents withh them at all times. Apartheid was abolished throughtout the years of 1991-1992. Nelson Mendela used civil obidience to stop apartheid.

Nelson Mendela had a law degree from the University of South Africa. He participated in the youth program of the African National Congress(ANC) and was then promoted to its deputy national president. He created a paramilitary branch to the ANC to protect themselves from the whites. In 1964, Mendela was arrested on convictions of sabotage, sentenced to life in prison but released in 1990. A year later he was elected President of the Congress and his actions led to majority rule. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1993.

African Independence

African Independence increase greatly over the course of 20 years. In 1955, the only independent countries of Africa were Eygpt, Ethopia, Liberia, Libya and the Union of South Africa. The rest of the countries were colonies of European nations. The "Scramble for Africa" was about the European countries racing to colonized territories in Africa. The Africans felt used and conquer. They felt as if the imperialist were taking over what was theirs and had no say in anything. In 1975, all countries were independent but Spanish Sahara, Rhosedia, South-West Africa and Afars and Issas Territory.

Some leaders of the the African Independence were Ahmad Ben Bella and Jomo Kenyatta. Ahmad Ben Bella was imprisoned and teh became the first prime minister. He reestablish national reforms, started land reforms and made new plans in the education system. Jomo Kenyatta was also imprisoned. After getting free, he became the prime mister, president and was considered the "founding father" of the Kenyian nation.

NATO and The Warsaw Pact

NATO, also known as the, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was a pact between countries. If one of the NATO countries were to be attacked, the other NATO allies would come into aide of the other country. NATO was establish after the signing of North Atlantic Treaty. Western Europe relied on the United States' nuclear weapons in case of an attack by Russia. Six years after NATO was established, the Warsaw Pact. The Warsaw Pact was a communist military alliance and was formed to keep control over Eastern Europe. The Warsaw Pact was very superior to NATO, but its technology failed soon, so in 1991, they declared the Warsaw Pact "non-exsistent."

Film Lesson: "The Right Stuff"

"The Right Stuff" was a movie documenting the events of the Space Race. The Space Race was a part of the Cold War. The Cold War was a war [not exactly] between The Soviet Union and the United States. This war was different from every other war because it didn't involve fighting, hence the "Cold" War. In 1957, The Soviet Union had put a satallite in space by the name of Spunik. That really got the competition going. The United States wanted to be seen as "better" than the Soviets. Basically, it was sort of the "anything you can do, I can do better" situation. So, the United States put a monkey up in space. Weeks later, the Soviet Union, sent a man to space. Although, we were behind in the beginning, we ended up winning the Space Race by putting a man on the moon.

The scenes that I will remember most from this film was when the United States' rockets wouldn't launch. They went through so much prepartions for the rockets and they'd fail. Those scenes were most memoriable to me.

Film Lesson: "Schindler's List"

"Schindler's List" illustrated the Holocaust extremely good. They didn't hold back on anything. They showed you exactly what would happen during the Holocaust. The showed the mental and physical abuse, they showed the cruelty, the atrocious and offensive behavior of the Nazis. One most powerful scene to me was the children hiding the toilets. They were hiding in at least 2-3 feet of waste in order not to get caught and killed by the Nazis. The children had become so territorial and had lost all their innocence. They would actually let another kid die in order for themselves to survive. When the little boy jumped in, they didn't want to risk getting caught, so they told him to leave. They were exposed to barbaric and sickening events at the age of 5. It was crazy to me. Another powerful scene to me was the burning of the bodies. People were actually lined up walking in to the pits of flame knowing they were going to die. I just can't imagine myself knowing that I'm going to die and not doing anything about it. They had no choice though. Either they would die, or trying fight and then get killed. It was horrific. One image was will stay with me forever was when the little girl with the pink jacket, tried so hard to stay alive by sneaking and hiding under the bed. And then during the scene of the burning bodies, you see her dead, burnt body. Who has the heart to kill anyone, a little girl at that? "Schindler's List" was a very powerful movie and I won't be able to forget the scenes we saw.

Film Lesson: "Night & Fog"

The documentary "Night and Fog" was powerful to me. I think that the way they explained ti really caught my attention and informed me. To me, it was almost like a horror movie because the way they displayed it, I felt as if I didn't know what was going to happen next. It vividly showed me the concentration camps and it portrayed the terror. Even though it had a big affect on me, I think that "Schindler's List" was way more powerful. It showed the Nazi's monstrosity and the people's struggle to survive. The children's expression and desperation. The children would do anything in order to stay away from the horror outside. For example, one scene, the children were territorial when they were hiding in the toilets. The didn't want to take nay chances getting caught. So, in my opinion, I think that "Schindler's List" illustrates the Holocaust more effectively.