Nuremberg

As we are watching the movie "Nuremberg" which semi-fictionally portrays how the trials of the Nazi war criminals took place in Nuremberg, Germany. As I watch the movie I am shocked to discover more and more about the horrendous crimes that the Nazi's committed. What shocks me the most is that they seem to have no remorse for the actions that they have done, they continuously say that they "were only doing as we were told." As far as I can see, the war criminals are basically incriminating themselves because the lead prosecutor, Robert Jackson was able to feed into them the correct arguments. Along with being fed their death wish, the video that was presented of how the death camps were run was some of the most gruesome and disgusting evidence. The video pretty much sealed the fate of anybody connected to the creation of the death camps. Although the prosecution is doing a very good job at leading the trials, Hermann Goring, pretty much Hitler's right hand man has been able to keep the prosecution on their toes and also boost the morale of the other defendants. Over all I think that this video has really opened my eyes to the true facts of the Holocaust and also of the justice that was served out to those people that committed such horrible crimes. If anybody is looking to know more about the proceedings that took place at the Nuremberg trials but does not want to watch a documentary I would definitely recommend this movie, it presents the facts in a way that keeps your attention.

Review of the Class

Having made it through the year of AP European History I have realized that I made the right decision in taking the class. In the beginning of the year I was second guessing myself for choosing to take the class because of the shock of the amount of work that we had to do. But looking back at it, Maz was just preparing us to the best of her ability for the work load at college. The experience and the knowledge that I have gained from this year is more than I was expecting and I am glad to have such a great teacher that kept us on a firm track but made it a fun year in the process. I feel that this class has more than prepared me for the road ahead of me at college and it has helped me to realize that as high school students we have been blessed to have a teacher that cared enough to make sure we would leave with the experience we would need at college. So in the past year I have gained a new knowledge of history, of my present learning ability, and the future that depends on what I have learned this year. So I must say thank you Maz for preparing me and my fellow students in more ways than any teacher has before for the future that we all have ahead of us.

Greater Love Hath No Man Than This

This painting by Jim Davis called "Greater Love Hath No Man Than This" is of a New York City firefighter in the rubble of the World Trade Centers after they came crashing down. The firefighter is holding the helmet of one of his fallen friends and also an American flag. In the background is more firefighters and the famous steel cross that was found to be standing in the rubble. To me this is one of the best representations of that infamous day in 2001. People's lives were shattered with the loss of loved ones and with the loss to come due to the war on terror to make sure this would never happen again. I think it is important that the firefighter is holding an American flag because it shows that everything that any American does is for the lives of their fellow Americans. I think it is also important to note the cross in the background because it symbolizes that yes it was a terrible thing that happened but all things happen for a reason, everything is based on God's will. I think that the cross was a reminder to us that if we put our faith in God then we will be able to get through anything that comes at us.

This oil painting called "Globe" by K Madison Moore shows how a hole bunch of colors are pretty by themselves but are awe inspiring when put together in a form like this. I think this painting shows how diverse the whole world is and each culture is amazing on it's own but when you put us all together we can make an amazing picture. I think that as individual countries and cultures people are overlooked in a way and people can blend into the crowd. In this picture all the colors are blended together but yet you can still see each and every color stand out in it's own way because the other color's complement each color. No color nor anyone can be overlooked in this painting or in our world, every color and every person complements another.

I found this picture of the Cambells' soup can and it just brought me back to when I was in elementary school and everything was so simple. I remember the first time I saw this picture, it was in first grade. Looking back to that time and realizing how far and how much I have learned since then just amazes me. I chose this because for me it shows how things should be, it is a simple picture of a simple meal. For me it reminds me of how simple my life was when I first saw this picture and it symbolizes that I do not always need to be going fast all the time, I can slow down and still enjoy life.

The Growth of Immigration

Today in America we see everyday on the news that more and more people are immigrating illegally to the U.S. from Cuba, Mexico and other countries. What many American's do not realize though is that it does not only happen in America, all over Europe the same situation is happening. More and more people are trying to flee from captivity, poverty, and oppression to better living environments offered in many countries that are a part of the EU. Since 1997 Europe's population has gone up by 3 million people due to immigration, not all of which is illegal but some is. In the past decade more people have fled to Europe than we realize due to illegal human trafficking. Tourists have been targeted recently and have been abducted and brainwashed and put into either the slave trade, sex trade, or other countless things. It really is amazing to think that in these new technological and militaristic times that we still have so much illegal operations going on. You would think that since we have advanced so much since the time of the legal slave trade that we would be able to cut down on the new slave and sex trafficking. I can not blame the people for fleeing from oppression but what does bother me is that these people are taking jobs away from people that are working and living in the country legally. I think the cure all solution for this situation then is that we need to crack down more on the reason for the illegal immigration.

Arab/Israeli Conflict

Learning about the Arab/Israeli conflict in the middle east I became more aware of the situations that just pass us by as Americans. To tell you the truth I had no idea that the Israeli's and the Palestinians were fighting over land, I thought that when it came up on the news it was because of some terrorist attack that one did on the other. But after learning more about the real reason that these two countries are fighting I became more aware of really how childish the situation really is. I mean this fighting over land is like two five year old's fighting over the 64 box of crayons in preschool. The situation of how the Palestinians moved into Israel after the Israeli's moved out to seek the Holy Land is a valid reason for them to due so. If I was the Palestinians and I saw the Israeli's moving out of prime land I would move in too, the Israel's obviously did not want it at the time. So when the Israel's come back like 3,000 years later demanding their land back I would do the same thing as the Palestinians. Again it is like a little kid saying "finder's keeper's loser's weeper's." I really do not think that the Israel's have any right to come back and demand for their land back and drive the Palestinians out. True, the Bible does say that the land was given to the Israelites by God, but they did not want it when it was given to them so I do not think they deserve to have it 3,000 years after it was given to them.

American Utopia response

After reading the article about how China is pulling away from America in certain areas leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. I feel that as an American we should always be on top in everything, it may be that I am greedy from growing up during a great time period in America, or it could be that I have a good sense of Nationalism. What myself and others need to realize after reading the article though is that China is so set on overtaking America in everything and becoming the first nation on earth is that China is so strict on everything so that they are able to accomplish this goal. As Americans we are entitled to freedom of speech, religion, press, pretty much we are free to do what we want. In China you are not entitled to any of these rights, not even one of the most powerful companies in the world, Google, is able to run without restrictions in China. I feel that the article is correct in certain areas on how China is becoming a better nation than we are but it fails to realize that we as Americans have more rights than the Chinese. Also, in China the government is so set on creating the most up to date factories and power plants that they are forcing their way into the areas that they need to build them. For example, to build the recently finished Three Gorges Dame, the Chines Government forced out over 250,000 people from villages that had been in these places for thousands of years, destroying monuments and history that these villagers had cherished for centuries. In America this would not have been possible, there are too many organizations that would cause a fuss about anything leaving us no room to expand anymore. In America's thriving period factories, power plants and all kinds of businesses that would help the country were being built wherever they needed to be because people knew that it would help them. Now, you can not even cut a tree down without a group of people complaining about how you are going to ruin the environment. So the article is correct in saying that America is falling behind China, but it is not because China is becoming more powerful, it is because China has no obstacles in its way.

WWII

This painting by Thomas Benton entitled "Cut the Line" shows a crowd of people watching as workers cut the line on a new war ship. This would probably be a pretty common sight during WWII since so many new ships were being built for fighting. In the picture everyone is kind of leaning forward almost like they are nervous to see if the boat goes into the water cleanly or if it will break on impact. I think that this kind of shows how people were throughout the war, everyone was worried about the fate of their loved ones and for the country in general. So this would sort of set the tone of how people would feel throughout the war, if the ship sinks then people are going to be even more leery than usual, if it is a successful put in then people might be less inclined to worry.

This oil and watercolor painting by Richard Moore is of the USS Becuna as it is heading to war in the Pacific Ocean. I think that this picture helps to show how vast and powerful the U.S. Navy fleet is, and that is only one branch of the armed forces. In the picture you can see some kind of ship wherever you look. I think that this also shows the way that everyone felt about the war in that the picture is sort of dark but fading into brightness, which could represent a few different things. It could symbolize the way that people were feeling in that they were unsure about the war itself but yet they knew that something needed to be done. Also, it could be that the light part of the painting is the U.S. and the dark part, the part that the ships are heading too is Japan. Either way the painting shows the force and presence that the United States has in the world.

This is one of the most famous pictures from WWII. It is a picture of American soldiers raising the American flag on the shores of Normandy after conquering the beach on D-day. I feel that this picture really shows how powerful and courageous American people are because of how these soldiers are raising our flag, the flag of the enemy in an enemies territory. If Americans did not have the courage and drive to go after what they want we would not have this picture first off, we would not have our freedom, and potentially we would not have our lives. Along with courage and drive this picture represents love and caring towards other people. America could have sat back and watched as the terrible things happened in Europe but instead we risked hundreds of thousands of young American lives to save the lives of people we do not even know.

WWII/ Connection Across Time

Once the United States got involved in WWII due to the attacks on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese, we came in with a vengeance. With the attack on Pearl Harbor and the realization of all the things that Hitler was doing to the the Jews, the United States was not going to let WWII continue on the path that it was going on. Since the war was moving down a very destructive path something had to be done quickly and powerfully, but what could stop one of the most powerful dictators and his allies? The United States had the answer to this problem in the form of the atomic bomb. Many people believe that this was not the best way to end the war. To these people I must ask, how would you propose we should have ended the war in a way that would have caused fear in Hitler and any dictator to come? Many people do not know how to answer this question, they just think that the atomic bomb was not the right way to do it. I think that we made the right decision in dropping the atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hirshima because it helped to create a presence in the world that the United States is not someone to mess with. Unfortunately some countries did not get the memo about how powerful the United States is and tried to bring our country down on 9/11. Just like when Japan attacked us we did not sit around and take the attacks we immediately rallied and fought back against the terrorists and we are re-establishing our complete and udder destruction policy towards any country that attacks us or our allies.

WWII

As we started into the subject of WWII I thought to myself, "well this should be easy since we learn about it every year." I was mistaken though, I was unaware of many of the situations that took place during that time period. I was shocked to learn of the Bataan Death March and the Rape of Nanking, I thought that the torture was only confined to areas around Germany. I was absolutely disgusted with what Adolf Hitler was doing to the Jews but when I learned of the things that other people were also doing to innocent people I became angry. I could not understand how the other countries of the world could let all this happen to so many innocent people. It is understandable that the economies of these countries held them back somewhat but that should not stop some effort to try and stop this insanity, these are human lives that are being disposed of like tissues. I am especially surprised that the United States did not get involved sooner, it seems like we are involved immediately in any situation that arises these days. Maybe we realized our mistake in WWII and are trying to make up for it now by trying to eliminate any possible threat to human lives that we can.

The Age of Anxiety

This painting entitled "American Gothic" by Grant Wood depicts a man and his wife who look like average people who are just working their land to just scrape by. I think that this picture shows how people needed to adapt to being lower on the social scale due to the Great Depression. When I first looked at this picture I just thought it was an older married couple who lived on a farm. But when I looked closer I began to notice that the man is wearing overalls with a suit jacket over them, possible representing that he used to be a well off business man. Also, the women looks to be wearing just a plain apron but her broach looks to be gold. So after realizing that the picture contained more than what you see at a glance I felt that it represented the time period of the Great Depression quite well.

The Age of Anxiety

As I was searching for pictures to represent this time period I came across this picture entitled "The Radiator Building at Night" by Georgia O'Keefe. I felt that this picture really summarized how people felt as they came to the new prospering city and the feeling that they could accomplish anything they wanted here. The painting shows how a single building lit up the dark night sky, but the building is not doing it alone, each light that is turned on inside the building contributes to lighting up the building. I think that this is a type of symbol of how when everyone works together towards a common goal, such as lighting up the night sky, you become a beacon in the darkness for other people to realize that they too can accomplish great things. Along with being a symbol for the great things that people can do when they work together, I think that this painting is showing the success that a big city can offer. The painting has a kind of glitzy feel to it, almost like it is saying 'come to New York where everyone can be a celebrity.' I think that this is the sort of things that helped to bring people out of the Great Depression, seeing that there is still hope in the world.

The Age of Anxiety

The Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression that followed was a really tough thing to learn about because it is saddening to think of the heartache and turmoil that it caused. People were jumping out of buildings committing suicide, begging for food and money and starving to death. There were no jobs available, leaving over 38% of Americans unemployed which hurt the economy even more because people were not spending money. This trend in the economy was not just in America, it spread throughout the world and damaged the lives of millions of people. It was not until 1933 that the economy started to come back to health due to the work of FDR and his social programs and the eventual entry into WWII. I think that this fall in the economy and in the morale of humans helped to lead America to be one of the wealthiest and most powerful countries in the world. The Great Depression resembles the current recession we are in and how the economy just went down hill. Also, the current unemployment status is in the double digits which is causing a very low morale in people. Granted the recession is not as severe as the Great Depression but it still has similar characteristics.

The Age of Anxiety/ Connection Across Time

As I learned about Charles Lindbergh in this chapter I realized how much of a feat it truly was for him to fly across the Atlantic. He was attempting to accomplish something that so many people had failed at before him. Today we see this type of trip as a fact, we can fly to Italy, Great Britain or China all in the period of a day. It truly is mind blowing to think back to when people just dreamed of flying. When you do look back and see how far we have come from the first time the Wright brothers took flight it is amazing. The first time man accomplished flight he was barely able to go fast enough to stay off the ground, now we are going three times the speed of sound and traveling out into space. I must give Charles Lindbergh so major props though because I can not imagine the courage that it must have taken for him to get into that plane to set out to make history. Without Charles Lindbergh we might not have come as far as we have today in the area of flight.

The Age of Anxiety

This painting, The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh portrays the way that people were feeling during the Age of Anxiety. The picture is sort of dark and it uses very few colors which sort of represents how people were only thinking about certain issues. I think that the swirling of the night sky represents the uncertainty of people and the change that was taking place in the world in the form of thought and representation of emotions.

WWI (Connection Across Time)

As I look at the war that we are fighting in today and then think about WWI I think about how they are pretty similiar. In many ways WWI shaped the way we are fighting the war in Iraq. If we had not joined WWI and developed new ways of fighting that were ahead of its time then, then I do not believe that we would have such advanced ways of fighting today. Also, I wonder if our children will look back at the Iraq war and think that it resembles an all out war like WWI and WWII, maybe they will think that the Iraq war should be called WWIII. It is quite fascinating to look back at previous wars and to see how far we have come in our strategies and technology, but I think that one thing has remained unchanged through the years and that is that America thinks that we can solve the worlds problems if we join in the war effort.

WWI

March 30, 2010

This cartoon by Louis Raemaekers is a cartoon depicting the European countries as the leaders of the countries and the culture of that country. I found this image interesting in the idea that it shows the countries as people but also it shows the allies and the central powers fighting each country respectfully.

WWI

March 30, 2010

This piece of art by James Dietz depicts a breath taking landscape with a dog fight happening between a couple planes. What I found really cool and also a great symbol of the determination of people to win the war is that the plane in front has been shot up and is still fighting. I think that you can really see how the artist saw what the soldiers were doing for us in the war. I mean he obviously thought that it was beautiful in its own way due to the way he painted the backdrop and then the way he saw how the soldiers were so courageous for what they were doing by painting the plane not giving up even when it had been shot.

WWI

March 30, 2010

This is an image that I think everybody has seen somewhere, whether it be at your grandparents house or in a textbook. I find this to be a symbol of the war effort though because you can see that it is a women that is looking quite masculine, which is fitting since she is taking over the duties of the male while he is fighting in the war. I also found the caption of what she is saying to be inspiring too because again it is a female and she is showing the women of America encouragement and that they can do the same work as their husbands and support the war effort in their own way.

WWI

March 30, 2010

While reading about how the Treaty of Versailles put ALL the blame of WWI on Germany and how Germany was not even invited to attend the Conference to help decide peace agreements I was astonished. Germany was given a war debt of 32 billion dollars, basically all of the debt that was generated by all the countries in the war was given to Germany to pay off. Also, Germany's army was cut down to barely enough people to stop a full fledged riot. The treaty stated that Germany could only have 100,000 men in the army, all soldiers had to volunteer, and also the navy could only consist of 6 ships. As I read further I learned that Germany also lost land in the deal which really hurt their economy due to the loss of people to work in factories and the lack of room to expand. In my opinion after reading about the Treaty of Versailles I find that Germany got a raw deal in the re-negotiations after WWI. I think that Germany is not the main country responsible for the war, I mean they were just helping out one of their allies. So to blame Germany for the war when they where not responsible for starting the war seems like a reprimand for something that took place in the past and I think that this is part of the reason why we had WWII.

WWI

March 28, 2010

While reading A Flawed Peace and reading about President Wilson's proposal, "Wilson's Plan for Peace," and how he proposed fourteen points on how he thought that the world could come to peace I thought about how controlling he was trying to be. I mean living in America ever since I was born I have always grown up as thinking that the United States was a highly powerful country in the world. After reading about how President Wilson was proposing that these fighting countries should let the delegates at the Paris Peace Conference decide new borders and taking away the freedom of governments to decide how to run their own countries I began to think about how controlling the United States sometimes is. Granted these are some of the reasons why WWI was started but I think that if a country that is half-way around the world tried to control how another country ran its country that we would not be where we are today. I think that the United States sometimes takes its power to seriously, yeah we are a powerful state but sometimes we become a sort of dictatator to the world. Like I said previously, I have grown up as always thinking that the United States is the best place to live in all aspects of life, but after reading the excerpt I started to think that the United States isn't always the best place to live. Now I have never been to the Eastern countries but I wonder what the response I would get when I told somebody that I was from America. After reading A Flawed Peace I have changed my outlook on how well I actually know my country and if we actually are as outstanding as I have always been taught.