AP European History
April 3-7-2017
v Well, we are in the final push towards the AP Exam. We have some more ridiculous testing this week so I am not 100% sure how our schedule will look for the next few weeks????
v Thursday this week will be your next unit test. It will cover the 1920s and the 1930s but will stop short of the start of WWII (basically we will start WWII with Germans, Japanese, and Italian aggressions 1931 – 1939 for the next unit). This is all of Chapter 26 and Chapter 27 page 916
v See Below for complete information on test materials
v On Friday we will begin a new Unit on WWII and the Early Cold War Period
MONDAY
· Examine the causes and effects of the Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 (SP-6,8,13,14,17)(IS-7,10)
Materials Strategy/Format
ppt and video? Lecture-discussion
Introduction
Ø Today we will round out our discussion of Fascism Nazism and Stalinism in the 1930s by examining a pivotal and little known event in our modern times: The Spanish Civil War. While the Civil War nowadays is little known, in the mid 1930s it was a major event with huge media coverage. In a sense this was the opening salvo of WWII in Europe.
Ø The backdrop of the event was the political discontent in Spain, a nation not considered a major power since the 16th century. However, its strategic location made it a focal point of all major powers in the 20th century because of its positon controlling the entry into the Mediterranean Sea.
Historical Context
· As we have seen, socialism and communism were becoming the leading political factions in many countries. Some of this of course was because of the Great Depression and political instability that lingered from the First World War.
In Germany, the Spartacists battle the Weimar republic and the right-wing Freikorps for control. By 1932 The National Socialist had gained a plurality of seats in the Reichstag and by 1933 became the only legal party. Soon, political camps were being created that housed hundreds of political prisoners.
In France, the Popular Front had gained control of many seats in the National Assembly. Right wing groups like Action Française and Le Croix de Feu challenged the Popular Front quickly becoming pro-fascists
In Italy, there was still a monarchy but radical socialists and communists were attempting to overthrow the monarchy there. Mussolini’s Fascists finally took over by exploiting Italians fears
In Russia, now the Soviet Union, Bolshevism had created the first Communist state and was beginning to “export the revolution” to other countries.
In most other European nations, socialism and communism had been growing as well. Even in the Depression-era U.S. an American Nazi Party developed.
The Spanish Civil War Develops
· Economically, Spain had been deeply hit by the Great Depression partly because it was already quite poor. Partly due to this turmoil, in 1929 the military dictatorship that had ruled Spain since 1923 collapsed. In 1931 the King abdicated after the Republicans came to power in a national election.
· By the 1930s, Spain was a deeply divided country that was politically torn between right-wing Nationalist and left-wing Republican parties (this was a blanket term for socialist, communists, and some liberals). The Nationalist party was made up of monarchists, landowners, employers, the Roman Catholic Church and the army. A major shift had occurred among many peasants. Traditionally peasants had been very conservative but by the 1930s, communism had made gains in this class like never before. Still, as staunch Catholics many peasants were closer to the Nationalists.
The Rise of Francisco Franco
· The future dictator of Spain (until 1975) gained fame in 1926, Franco’s role in suppressing the Moroccan rebellion earned him an appointment as general, which, at age 33, made him the youngest man in Europe to hold that post. Two years later he was also named director of the General Military Academy in Zaragoza, a position he would hold until three years later, when political changes in Spain would temporarily halt Franco’s steady rise.
· When elections held in February 1936 led to a shift in power to the left, Spain slipped further into chaos. For his part, Franco was once again marginalized, with a new posting to the Canary Islands. Though Franco accepted what amounted to banishment with the professionalism for which he was known, other high-ranking members of the military began to discuss a coup.
· Anticipating a swift victory, on October 1, 1936, the Nationalist forces declared Franco head of the government and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. However, when their initial assault on Madrid was repelled, the military coup evolved into the protracted conflict known as the Spanish Civil War.
International Implications
· The western European powers (Britain and France particularly) If Spain fell to the Nationalists, France would be surrounded by Fascist powers (Germany and Italy). If France was invaded by Fascist nations, the alliances between other anti-Fascist nations would be weakened. In effect, there would be one less nation to resist Fascist plans to expand their borders - one less army to stand up to them. Yet, capitalist democracies were also conflicted about the ascendency of another communist state.
· As Fascist allies, it was in both Germany's and Italy's interest to fight the spread of Communism. They did not want Spain, a near neighbor to both nations, to become a Soviet-backed stronghold. Indeed, the opposite was true. If Spain came under right-wing control it could be an important ally to the two countries in any future conflict.
· The USSR sent weapons and supplies to aid the Republicans in their struggle against the forces of Fascism, but it was never as committed to the conflict as either Germany or Italy. The Russian leader, Stalin, sold only enough supplies to the Republicans to keep them fighting. Stalin was content that Germany was being kept busy with Spain rather than concentrating its efforts in eastern Europe.
· A series of international brigades began to form to fight fascism in Spain. Americans named their units the Abraham Lincoln Battalion, the George Washington Battalion, and the John Brown Battery. Together with the British, Irish, Canadian, and other nationals they formed the Fifteenth International Brigade. ("Lincoln Brigade" is a misnomer originating with an American support organization, Friends of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.) One hundred twenty-five American men and women also served with the American Medical Bureau as nurses, doctors, technicians, and ambulance drivers. In 1936-37 Congress even passed a Neutrality Act making U.S. it illegal for Americans to enter the fray.
· The most infamous German action during the war was the bombing of Guernica. A small town in northern Spain, near the French border, Guernica sat in territory controlled by the Basque Army, a left-wing group fighting with the Republicans. In April 1937, German Condor Legion aircraft were ordered to support a Nationalist advance into the area by carrying out bombing runs on important roads, bridges and installations. On April 26th – a market day in Guernica – around 20 Luftwaffe bombers attacked the town in waves, pounding it for around 20 minutes. There is much debate about the death toll – Spanish, British and Soviet observers suggested the raid killed at least 800 people, the majority of them civilians. There seems little doubt that the attack was a planned event designed to test Luftwaffe (the German air force) combat tactics.
The Expansion of the War
· Initially Hitler sent 20 planes and pilots to the Nationalists to assist them with flying in 3,000 troops stationed in Morocco. Most of the German military personnel who traveled to Spain for these missions were volunteers. They later became known as the Condor Legion. Over the coming months German aircraft and personnel continued to assist the Nationalists: moving men and supplies, providing air cover for Nationalist ships in the Mediterranean, and carrying out bombing and strafing runs to support Franco’s ground troops. Germany also provided training for Nationalist officers, thousands of rifles and small arms, even a radio transmitter for broadcasting propaganda. In October, Hitler authorized the deployment of German submarines to assist Franco’s men. By the end of 1936 there were around 7,000 German troops and airmen fighting in Spain. Additionally, Italy sent about 35,000 troops to aid Franco.
The End of the Conflict in Spain
· By the summer of 1938 the Nationalists drove to the Mediterranean Sea and cut Republican territory in two. Later in the year, Franco mounted a major offensive against Catalonia. In January 1939, its capital, Barcelona, was captured, and soon after the rest of Catalonia fell. With the Republican cause all but lost, its leaders attempted to negotiate a peace, but Franco refused. On March 28, 1939, the victorious Nationalists entered Madrid in triumph, and the Spanish Civil War came to an end. Up to a million lives were lost in the conflict, the most devastating in Spanish history. Franco had agreed to enter war (if it came) on the side of Hitler and Mussolini but this never came to pass.
Homework
Chapter 27 Docs 27.1 Q1-2
Chapter 27 Docs 27.2 Q1-3
Chapter 27 Docs 27.3 Q1-2
Chapter 27 Docs 27.4 Q1-2
TUESDAY and WEDNESDAY
· Examine the development of the Holocaust in Nazi Germany (SP-6,8,13,14,17) (IS-7,10)
· Analyze sources on the Holocaust
Materials Strategy/Format
PPT and video Lecture-discussion L.CCR.1
Primary Sources Close Text Reading R.CCR.1
Introduction
· Much of the backdrop of the Holocaust you know very well (I hope) from race theory. But, if you have forgotten here’s a quick overview:
Social Darwinism: The concept of racial superiority is mainstream among many middle and upper class Europeans and Americans. Herbert Spencer theorized that the advanced races (Teutonic) had a duty to uplift the lesser races. And remember that this is not white superiority because his followers did not see Slavs as part of the advanced races.
Eugenics: the idea that superior human traits can be selected and negative traits be-selected through selective breeding. Galton suggested that nationalities (races) could be strengthened by weeding out negative traits (any form of mental illness, disability). These ideas were also applied to regulation of behaviors also. For example, one can weed out crime and alcoholism by disallowing reproduction (sterilization).
Race Theory: Arthur de Gobineau suggested the idea of Aryan supremacy but was unsure if the once “master race” still existed. Houston Steward Chamberlain was certain that Germanic people were the master race and that what stood in the way of their return were Jews and other “mud people.” To return racial supremacy the lesser people must be weeded out and segregated from diluting the gene pool. Obviously Nazi race theorists borrowed heavily from Chamberlain.
The Nuremburg Laws 1935-1936
· The Nuremberg Laws, as they became known, did not define a "Jew" as someone with particular religious beliefs. Instead, anyone who had three or four Jewish grandparents was defined as a Jew, regardless of whether that individual identified himself or herself as a Jew or belonged to the Jewish religious community. Many Germans who had not practiced Judaism for years found themselves caught in the grip of Nazi terror. Even people with Jewish grandparents who had converted to Christianity were defined as Jew. The laws excluded German Jews from Reich citizenship and prohibited them from marrying or having sexual relations with persons of "German or related blood.”
· In the weeks that followed, the German government promulgated dozens of laws and decrees designed to deprive Jews of their property and of their means of livelihood. Many of these laws enforced “Aryanization” policy—the transfer of Jewish-owned enterprises and property to “Aryan” ownership, usually for a fraction of their true value. Ensuing legislation barred Jews, already ineligible for employment in the public sector, from practicing most professions in the private sector.
· The legislation made further strides in removing Jews from public life. German education officials expelled Jewish children still attending German schools. German Jews lost their right to hold a driver's license or own an automobile. Legislation restricted access to public transport. Jews could no longer gain admittance to “German” theaters, movie cinemas, or concert halls. This is similar to Jim Crow laws in the U.S. that were still common at the time.
· Nuremberg Laws extends the prohibition on marriage or sexual relations between people who could produce "racially suspect" offspring. A week later, the minister of the interior interprets this to mean relations between "those of German or related blood" and Roma (Gypsies), blacks, or their offspring.
Kristallnact
· This was the term used to describe a wave of racial attacks (pogroms) which took place on November 9 and 10, 1938. This wave of violence took place throughout Germany, annexed Austria, and in areas of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia recently occupied by German troops.
Kristallnacht owes its name to the shards of shattered glass that lined German streets in the wake of the pogrom—broken glass from the windows of synagogues, homes, and Jewish-owned businesses plundered and destroyed during the violence.
· Reinhard Heydrich, head of the Security Police (The SS or Gestapo) sent an urgent telegram to headquarters and stations of the State Police and to SA leaders in their various districts, which contained directives regarding the riots. SA and Hitler Youth units throughout Germany and its annexed territories engaged in the destruction of Jewish-owned homes and businesses. Members of many units wore civilian clothes to support the fiction that the disturbances were expressions of 'outraged public reaction.' By the time the attacks ended 91 Jews were killed and scores were injured. About 30,000 Jews were arrested and sent to prison camps. This is the origin of the Holocaust though not perhaps completely planned by the Nazis
The Wannsee Conference January 1942
· The smashing early victories of the Nazis in Poland, the Low Countries, France and elsewhere marked the doom of many European Jews. Systematically the process of rounding up Jews (and others) had been going for about a year at this point (longer in placed like Austria and Czechoslovakia). These victims had been transported to camps but, in the mind of many Nazi leaders, this was becoming problematic.