The Second World War

"The Face of War" 1940 Salvador Dali

this was painted by Spanish surrealist salvador dali. it was painted at the beginning of the second world war. this face which represents war has a weary face which may symbolize how war can devastate people. this face is ugly which can symbolize how war is just an ugly thing. it can turn people into monsters, mindless killing monsters. By painting this before the great war, dali has said to the world that war is evil.

The Second World War

CONNECTION ACROSS TIME

Today people believe that the united states is repeating the same mistake that it did for this war on terror that we are in. First of all, we entered WWII because of the attack on Pearl Harbor. We acted on impulse which led to a devastating war, which we won, but nonetheless lost a lot of lives in the process. For this war, we entered because of the attack on 9-11 which occurred over 7 years ago. We are again acting on impulse which led to another war. People are even afraid that this might turn into a Third world war.

The Second World War

"TOTES MEER" (DEAD SEA) 1940-1941 PAUL NASH

This painting depicts the deadly results of WWII even though there are no humans in this picture. The crashed planes most likely held pilots whose jobs were to bomb others. Because their planes crashed, they the pilots are probably in the sea, dead, making it a dead sea. This painting shows the devastation that war brings and during world war 2, there were many lives lost.

The Second World War

"NIGHTHAWKS" 1942 EDWARD HOPPER

This painting portrays people sitting in a diner late at night. Their gloomy postures and looks on their faces depicts a sad world. Hopper started painting this after the attack on Pearl Harbor. After this attack there was widespread depression across the U.S. There is no one outside so that makes the painting depict an even greater sense of loneliness. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S felt lonely in the world and that it could trust no one.

The Second World War: Hitler's foreign policy

On Friday we learned of Hitler's foreign policy. When Hitler became chancellor of Germany, he had many goals. First he wanted to destroy the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler believed that this treaty was degrading to the Germans and I agree with him. He also wanted to gain living space in the east, to expand German territory. He wanted to bring Germans into one Reich and also to make Germany strong again since it was weakened by the first world war and the Treaty of Versailles. Since the this treaty was the main source of Germany's weakness, to destroy it would be to enhance Germany's strength.

In order to fully understand Hitler's policy, we, students, were given the job to achieve each of Hitler's goals by making political decisions during times of crisis. We had to chose whether it was a good idea to invade Austria in 1934, invade the Rhineland in 1936 and take over Czechoslovakia and Poland in 1938 and 1939. For me it was hard for me to chose to take over any countries because it was not right, but I had to think back to the goals. After we found out how our decisions affected Germany, we then found out what Hitler did in the same situations and if he actually achieved all of his goals. Since Hitler was a ruthless ruler, it was second nature to him to disobey the Treaty of Versailles and take over any country. During the Austrian crisis, Hitler took over Austria and many other countries by political pressure and military force. He never chose to do nothing when he had the chance.

I think the reason that Hitler kept on disobeying the treaty was because he had no opposition. The allies did nothing to stop Hitler because they feared another war. They did not understand that if a person can get away with something, that person will keep doing the same things. If no one stood in my way, I would do anything I wanted. This is another reason why the treaty of Versailles was a failure, it was not enforced.

The Age of Anxiety

Isaac Soyer. Employment Agency 1937

The Great depression brought devastation to all people around the world, not just in America. After the stock market crash, people were out of jobs. They could not find ways to make money or support their families so some even turned to suicide. This painting by Isaac Soyer portrays the devastation brought on by this time. these people are waiting to get jobs and they don't look very enthusiastic about it. They must have known that during those times, finding a job was close to impossible. Even keeping your current job was very hard.

CONNECTION ACROSS TIME: AGE OF ANXIETY

The times between the 2 great wars is similar to our time now. We are also skeptical about the future so this could be called the second age of anxiety. There are many small battles going on among countries just as during the first age of anxiety and we are also in a depression. People are loosing their jobs or are being laid off and they are having a hard time finding jobs. Families have been forced to cut back on spending and some have even filled for bankruptcy. We are in bad time now just as we were during the 1930s. the event that brought the U.S. out of the Great Depression was WWII. No one wants another world war today so they are very skeptical.

The Age of Anxiety

Pablo Picasso. Guernica. 1937

This painting by Picasso was inspired by the Spanish civil war and the bombings of Guernica by fascist planes. The fact that Picasso depicted the horror brought on by the fascist government shows that he did not like their government. These people obviously did not care about human life because they caused so much destruction in this painting. People are dying and screaming for mercy. During this time period, people were scared of the future. After a big war, many other small wars occurred which made people fear the future of our world.

The Age of Anxiety

"L'Agapanthe (central part of the triptych)"Claude MONET 1920-22

This painting by Claude Monet shows an image of tranquility and possibly loneliness. During this time of anxiety people were scared. they did not know what the world could bring especially after the great war. This painting depicts the uncertain tranquility that came with the end of WWI.

The First World War: The Treaty of Versailles

Otto Dix, "Sturmtruppe geht unter Gas vor" (Assault under Gas), 1924
This is another piece of work by otto Dix. It portrays the craziness of the first world war. It is of soldiers in gas masks throwing grenades at their enemies. these soldiers, with their gas masks seem inhuman. I believe that this is the message that Dix was trying to portray. He wanted to show that war is itself inhuman. The soldiers are even portrays as animals in order to portray the savagery of destruction.

Today we discussed in groups how we would have made the treaty of Versailles fairer to all parties. First of all, Germany should have been included in the peace talks. Also the guilt clause should have totally been taken out of the treaty. This clause humiliates Germany even more. They were humiliated enough having lost the war, but to make them take all of the blame, made them even madder. Germany should not have had to pay all war reparations. How can one country be expected to pay all of the debts of the war, when other nations were just as involved in the war. I do not even believe that this treaty was a treaty. It was just a document to humiliate Germany. A treaty should bring about peace, not humiliate another party. Because of this flaw, the treaty of Versailles was doomed to fail. All parties must be involved in the peace making process in order for a treaty to be successful and for there to actually be peace in the Balkans and everywhere else in Europe. Hopefully future leaders will not make the same mistakes as the allied powers.
Clemenceau, the French leader seemed to be a big influence during these talks. His goal was not to bring about peace, but to punish Germany for destroying most of his country. When revenge plays a big role in a treaty, it cannot have any progress. Clemenceau got most of what he wanted. Germany's military was drastically reduced and they lost much territory. They were basically left with nothing. David Loyd George of Great Britain did not want to punish Germany as harshly as Clemenceau did and neither did Wilson. The only leader who got what he wanted was Clemenceau. The allied powers should have not taken Clemenceau so seriously since he was only fueled by rage.


Connection Across Time

Today, treaties are not created in order to humiliate a country. Treaties are created in order to bring about peace; peace cannot exist if a country is humiliated. In order to settle their differences, countries meet and decide a compromise that will work for both parties.

The First World War: Final Moments of War

OTTO DIX "Selbstbildnis mit Artillerie-Helm" (Self-Portrait Wearing a Gunner's Helmet)" 1914

This self portrait of Otto Dix reveals the uncertainty that WWI brought. The soldier who has a big badge on his helmet, which is a sign of honor has a worried look on his face. You'll also notice that the background is very dark which can symbolize death, the many deaths brought on by war

Today we discussed the treaty of Versailles and its affects on the countries on Europe and beyond. WWI ended with the signing of the treaty of Versailles which was signed at the palace of Versailles in Paris. this treaty was not a very stable treaty because it was unfair. An unfair treaty, i believe is doomed to fail. All allied powers were present at this meeting accept the defeated axis powers. The allied powers basically told what the losing powers what to do and did not give them a chance to have any input. When a country is told what to do, that country will have hostility and resentment. It is very much like a teenager and a parent. If that teenager is just told what to do by his or her parents without being allowed to talk, that teenager will rebel. this is exactly what Germany did. At least it is what they will do. Also the war guilt clause really punished Germany. Although the war was not Germany's fault, she was blamed. Germany was just caught up in a series of alliances that brought about war. The incident, the shooting of Franz Ferdinand, that brought about the war did not even involve Germany. Because of this guilt clause, Germany forever hated the allied powers.
We also talked today about Wilson's 14 points. Woodrow Wilson of the U.S. wanted peace in Europe. He wanted freedom of the seas, he also did not want Germany to be so severely punished that they would seek revenge.
WWI led to a great amount of losses but it also led to the uses of new technology. New countries were also formed as a result of the peace talks. The people of the former countries must have not felt a difference when they were told that they were living in a new country. For example the people of Serbia must not have felt a difference when they found out that their country was now called Yugoslavia.