Reflection~ Nuremburg

Overall, I thought this movie was very well done. It depicted the trials pretty much like I imagined them. The actor who portrayed Hermann Goering played the role very well. I honestly grew to hate him. It appalled me to see him in court simply talk casually about the things he did to the Jews and the plans he made as if they were no big deal. He acted as if he was definitely not going to be proven guilty. I liked how the movie added a little twist with the fight in the courtroom turning into a personal battle between Justice Jackson (played by Baldwin) and Goering (played by Cox). It made the plot not so historical and more dramatic. It was nice that there was some romance too. Elsie (Jackson's girlfriend I think?) was supportive of Jackson through the whole film and encouraged him to work his hardest through the trial because she said that "he believed the strongest in his opinions more than anyone else." I'm really glad that in the end justice came through, even though Hermann eventually ended up jus tkilling himself instead of having his rightful punishment. I also liked that one scene, that you(Maz) pointed out, in which one of the woman who was being asked questions was fearless in front of the defendants of war crimes. That made the whole scene 10 times more intense. I would say the acting was the strongest aspect of the film. I was impressed. :)

Reaction to Course

Well, I made it. And surprisingly, I don't feel as if a lot of material was learned again, or that concepts of history weren't overwooked, and I think that's because I've come to love history a lot more than I used to. AP European History has definitely made me a stronger student. It's definitely not your typical AP class, with basically just tough tests and projects, and making kids not want to do the work. I really liked how your projects were fun to do. When I was doing your powerpoints, I'd feel satisfied with myself because as I would rehearse what I would say for presentations, I would be learning about interesting things at the same time. And the material was sooo interesting. I have always been a history person, not American history or gov't history, but European or world history. Sometimes I would get excited when I would learn something funny, for example Louis XIV, like the fact how much he ate for breakfast. Little details we read like that amused me, and sort of made the experience.

I'm also pretty glad about the fact that you would assign lots of presentations. They were, and still kind of are, the bane of my existence, but your class has helped me improve a LOT in them. People said I have been saying "um"s a lot less, I don't look as nervous, and that I sound as if I know what I'm talking about. The last one really makes me happy. I know that once I get to college I should be close to a pro at presenting, (and I still have more than a year to college anyway) so I feel like your class was ideal for my preparation.

Some people asked me why I took the AP course when I took the Honors last year. I know it seemed silly to people, but I think it was smart of me because the stuff we went over again, was basically like reinforced in my memory. Reading the Power of One again was pretty cool too. The tests in AP were definitely tougher than the ones in Honors. I have never been a good test taker, and I can never help being nervous. I definitely had those days in which I was so stressed, I totally bombed the test, but I took those as lessons and just studied harder the next time. My failures really did motivate me and eventually I gradually got better.

Overall, I feel as if my high school education would really be incomplete without your two classes, Maz. Thanks a lot for the experience!! :) :)

And I'm really looking forward to Meeting of the Minds! Being Princess Diana is going to be fun, I've always loved her. It's going to be funny seeing everyone dressed up, too.

Chapter 30 ~ Connection Across Time

Like I have said before, I wish I could say things have improved in our world, relationships between countries wise, since the past century and a half. The Cold war was basically a continuation of political tension and military conflicts in the world, specifically America and the Soviet Union. I think the most central conflict of the war was the division of Germany. Something I think is crucial to know is that in 1993, President Bush said that Reagan "helped make ours not only a safer but far better world in which to live. And you yourself said it best. In fact, you saw it coming. We recall your stirring words to the British Parliament. Here were the words: "the march of freedom and democracy . . . will leave Marxist-Leninism on the ashheap of history.'' Few people believe more in liberty's inevitable triumph than Ronald Reagan. None, none was more a prophet in his time. Ronald Reagan rebuilt our military; not only that, he restored its morale."

Chap. 30 (Cold War) ~ Art

The 1st picture is obviously a cartoon, and it seems drawn kind of in a crude manner. It depicts secretary of state George Marshall's economic aid plan, the Marshall Plan. It was refused by many, particularly Stalin, because he wanted to communism to remain as powerful as it was. One can see in the cartoon that it is the american taxpayer doing all the work and the European sitting on the bicycle, not doing much besides pedaling, and the bicycle is self supporting itself. I think that this is basically saying that everyone had to start self supporting themselves under the plan, and by the expression on the mens' faces, they don't seem too thrilled. They kind of seem possessed, controlled. Thus, even Stalin is overlooked by many as evil(I still think he was), he was also smart and cunning.

The 2nd picture honestly makes me feel depressed. I think it really depicts very well the conditions of Europe after the Cold war. Uncle Sam looks defeated, deprived and is wounded. I think that clearly represents America wanting to not be involved anymore. And why would it not think that? Everyone around the world at the time thought that Europe was done for; that's how bad it was.

The 3rd picture was really painted by an artist during the war, whose name was Georg Baselitz. One wouldn't really guess that this painting has anything to do with the Cold war, but I think that is because not many people are aware of how bad it was for civilians. The painting shows mangled bodies, blood, ashes, and I think pieces of wired fences over the pieces of flesh.

Chap. 29 ~ Connection Across Time

I can honestly say, that since the 2nd world war, conditions of relationships between countries have not really improved. I wish I could say that since Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin have been dead, there have been no dictatorships, and that is entirely false. Today, there are many dictatorships evident in the world today, including the well-known Kim Jong-Il of North Korea. It's amazing, we're in the 21st century, and there are still people suffering from living under totalitarian governments? We should honestly be way farther than that. I would also like to say there have been no genocides since the Holocaust. Unfortunately, that is not true either. Even though the Holocaust is basically the only genocide that's EVER discussed in schools, there are many other genocides prominent today, if you read and research enough. I believe what it occuring in Israel is a genocide, and that the Palestinians should rightfully have their land back. It's just not fair to see the Israelites come back and say, we want our land back. God gave it to us! Well, many people around the world are sadly on Israel's side. But they don't think to put themselves in the Palestinians' shoes. How would you feel if someone left their land, it was unoccupied, so you took it for yours, and the previous owner comes back saying, this is my land. Yeah, you would tell them to get out! That is how the Palestinians feel, and I pity them. Like I have said countless times before, I really wish peace could be accomplished, but it's not going to be anywhere in the NEAR future.

WWII & Dictatorships Art

As many people know, Hitler was one of the main dictators of WWII. He had this hunger for power and such distinctiveness in his voice during speeches, that it was impossible during the time of war to not know about him. This first image shows Hitler shouting, as if he's giving one of his speeches. His body is transparent, one is able to see his ribs and spine, with a strap that seems to be part of a military uniform going diagonally down his chest, and a swastika symbol on his chest as well. There are coins piled up in the bottom of his stomach. I think all of this symbolizes a great deal about him; he basically lived on being a dictator, meaning he was obsessed with power and would do anything to be at the top. He wanted all Jews eliminated, and that's the reason for the swastika. The coins represent the fact that Hitler was aware of the Jews' power to get money, since they were and still are known for their intelligence (stereotypically). This is one of the genuine reasons he hated them so much.

The 2nd picture honestly brought tears to my eyes. I hate the thought of so many women having their husbands leave them and their families during an already suffering period of time in history. It was a tough time for women overall; not only husbands, they lost brothers, sons, fathers, etc.

The 3rd picture is not exactly a form of propaganda, but more of a way to show the civilians of America that, in war, they are becoming "mightier." Basically what I'm trying to say is that at that point,what many wanted was just to eliminate the opposing side in the fight, and many would just throw aside the fact that millions of innocent lives would be lost. The important thing was to get stronger military-wise, and I find that simply sad.

WWI, why it still matters (article) ~ Reflection

It's amazing to think that an event that occured so many years ago, still affects us today. Before taking this class, I knew that WWI was one of the bloodiest conflicts in history. I mean abviously not as bad as the 2nd World War, but you get my point. One major thing I learned was that it was supposedly, a "war to end all wars." And it obviously didn't turn out to be one. The Treaty of Versailles, which did technically end the war, still left a lot of damage unrepaired. First off, Germany was left to pay the whole cost of the war. At first, when I read this, I felt happy inside, because of how the Germans and Hitler treated the Jews. But then I considered how much they owed, and then my eyes were opened. No country should be forced to pay that much, that's basically insanity. Germany's condition was already rough enough. Two wrongs do not make a right. Another major thing I learned was that a few countries lost a lot of their territories. For example, Germany and the Ottoman Empire lost their colonies or possessions outside of Europe. And they were turned into "mandates" by the League of Nations. Speaking of mandates, the British Mandate for Israel included what is known as Israel today, Jordan, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. This reminded me of our Palestine Israel Conflict discussion in class, and the powerpoint presentations. What the mandate included led up to an agreement in 1993 between Israel and Palestinian leaders, granting the Palestinians some control of the West Bank and Gaza, in hope of a new Palestine state. But there has been no progress. That's what the mandate led up to; false hope. At least Obama has promised that he is going to do his best to make the tensions between Israelites and Palestinians go away. Sadly, I feel not much is going to improve...