Mikhail Gorbachev and the collapse of communism

Mikhail Gorbachev allowed new ideas to be heard. communism restricted freedom of press, speech, and religion. With Gorbachev now governing, the soviet citizens were able to speak their minds about complaints or problems. Gorbachev actually took the time out and listened to people. In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev announced a policy known as glastnost or openness. This encouraged the soviet individuals to discuss ways to improve their society. Then in that same year, Gorbachev introduced the idea of perestroika or economic reconstructing. He made changes to save the soviet economy. These changes opened up the soviet union and paved the way for the end of communism.

ODE TO JACKIE FEICHTER

THE COLOR OF YOUR EYES, THE BRIGHTNESS OF YOUR SMILE,
GETS ME THROUGH THE DAY, THINKING OF YOU ALL THE WHILE
1 TOUCH FROM YOUR HAND, SENDS JITTERS DOWN MY SPINE
IM ALWAYS THINKING OF YOU, WISHING YOU WERE MINE
I GO HOME EACHDAY, AND THINK OF THE FEELINGS THAT IVE FELT
HOPING THAT SOMEDAY YOU WILL BE MINE BUT 4 NOW THERES SUM1 ELSE
NOT 4 LONG

I LOVE YOU JACKIE

The collapse of communism

The leading powers of the Cold War was the USSR and the US. After world war 2, they started competing. They both had atomic weapons and arms weapons. They competed with each other to the point where it cost both parties a lot of money. but for the USSR, the competition was way too much. Their economy soon collapsed at the high price of competing with the US. Because the USSR collapsed, the communist countries that were associated with it went down also. The collapse of the USSR destroyed many economies around the world. 

The Berlin Wall was a border separating East and West Germany. No one was allowed to cross over to the other side. Those who tried were punished. For 28 years, east and west germany was completely blocked off from each other. In 1989, they decided to make border crossings so that people would be able to travel back and forth between eastern and western germany. some people came at the wall to gather souvenirs and some stormed the wall. On November 9 of that same year, the wall came down.

Nelson Mandela and Apartheid

Apartheid is the separation of blacks and mixed individuals, from white people. Apartheid was the policy of the government of South Africa in the years 1948 to 1994. Nelson Mandela is a hero because he fought for Africas unity and liberation. He is an inspirational man. He was thrown in jail and treated badly by the white men. He had great reason to be angry with them. They indeed deserved revenge. Mandela had a different way of handling the Apartheid situation. Mandela refused to use violence as the answer to gain freedom for his people. he was a man of peace. Nelson Mandela was also very fair too. For instance, as much as he hated the Apartheid, he never hated South Africans.If I was Nelson Mandela, I would hate the Apartheid and the South Africans. Mandela and I are obviously very different. Using this approach and many others, Mandela was  able to gain freedom for his people. Mandela is so admired by the authors of these sites. One man stated that Mandelas face was tired, but when he spoke, his voice was strong. Many South Africans have given him an amount of respect that people in superiority only wish they could have. Nelson Mandela was a great man.  

African Independence

Many African nations had been ruled by the Europeans. After World War 2,the African people decided that they didnt want to go back to being ruled as colonies, after they had fought in the war trying to defend their freedom. Meanwhile, the Europeans were willing to give the nations back their independence. In the 20 year period from 1955 to 1975, African had gone from colonies to independent countries. One of the leaders of African Independence was Jomo Kenyatta. As the president of Kenya, Kenyatta worked hard to unite the various ethnic and language groups in the country. As a result, Kenyas capitol grew into a major business center of East Africa. Another important name is Nelson Mandela. He also helped with the African Independence.

NATOand the Warsaw Pact

NATO stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It includes countries in Europe and North America. NATO was created for the countries involved so that if any opposing countries attacked them, the countries part of the NATO organization would have their back. The NATO also helped with economic aide of the European nations. If the countries cooperated with eachother, they could speed up the could rebuildng process.
The Warsaw pact consisted of the Soviet Union and its satellite countries. It was like a NATO for the Soviet Union. The warsaw pact was created in response to the NATO.

Film Lesson: Schindler's List

Schindlers list illustrated the holocaust in a number of ways. There were Nazis, Kapo and Commandandt. They were taking the Jews from their homes and putting them in ghettos. The Jews were made to be slaves. They were treated horribly. They were only given bread and soup to eat. Women, Men and children were separated from their families. If The Jews were either old, too young, sick, or unhealthy, they were killed. The Nazis had different killing methods. Some people were shot. some were killed in gas chambers.Some were put into ovens and burned.Those who survived, were let free after the war. Just like the holocaust.
The most powerful scenes to me were the children and the Auschwitz camp. I dont understand how anyone has the heart to kill thousands of people. especially children. The kids didnt even lose their innocence yet. They were very young. Yet their age didnt make a difference. They were killed anyway. This upsets me because i love children. And to kill a child depresses me. I remember the little girl in the red coat. She was so cute and lonely. Yet she was killed.
The images that will always stay in my head is that of the naked, dead bodies laying on the ground. The thing is that the Nazis didnt even bother to clean it up. They just left them laying there. I saw heads chopped off of the bodies. Its pretty scary.