- Began in 1933 when Adolf Hitler came to power
- Holocaust- from Greek term ‘holokausten’ meaning “sacrifice by fire”
- Nazi- Nationalsozialistishe Deutsche Arbeiterpartei- National Socialist German Worker’s Party.
- Refers to the Nazis planned persecution and slaughter of Jewish people. – genocide
- Nazi Germans also persecuted Gypsies, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals and those with disabilities. –“The Final Solution”
- Estimated around 11 million people killed during Holocaust- 6 million Jews (2/3s of Jewish population in Europe)
- Ended 1945 with defeat of Germany in WWII
Mao’s Communist China:
- People’s Republic of China proclaimed in 1949
- China then ruled by the “Eight Immortals”- Mao Zedung, Zhou Enlai and Lin Biao.
- Factories put under central control
- Land taken from landlords and redistributed amongst peasants
- Population organised into several million work units under central control.
- Resources rationed
- Ideals based on Karl Marx’s theory of equality amongst social structures and control.
McCarthy Trials:
- February 1950
- Senator McCarthy claimed there were over 200 known communists in the Department of State
- McCarthy (“Communist hunter”) manipulated media, told stories of communist conspiracies and claimed opponents were ‘communist sympathisers’ to further his position in the Senate.
- 1954- began to lose popularity when Republican Dwight Eisenhower took over White House.
- In attempt to regain popularity, he charged army with ‘being soft on communism’ which opened televised hearings into them.
- During argument in one hearing, Army’s chief counsel Joseph Welch stated “Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness...Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?”
- McCarthy’s political days ended after these hearings
- December 1954- Senate voted to censure McCarthy for his conduct.
Korean War:
- Began June 25th 1950
- Fought between North Korea