Nelson Mandela and Apartheid

Under the apartheid system, nonwhites classified as Bantu (black), colored (mixed), or Indian-did not share full rights of citizenship with the white minority.

The African Independence

The African Independence commenced during the 1955 to 1970.

NATO and the Warsaw Pact

• In 1949 ten Western European nations decided to join with the United States and Canada to form a defensive military alliance. The alliance was named the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The U.S felt that NATO membership represented the country's first peacetime military commitment. These nations had a huge thing in common and this was that they were against the Soviet Union and communism. After the fall of communism the need for a military alliances diminished and NATO was transformed from a military force to a political force.
• The Soviet Union had realized that NATO was a threat. Due to the actions of the NATO, the Soviets developed an alliance system aswell in 1955 as partof their own containment policy. They named it the Warsaw Pact. It involved the Soviet Union, Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania. In 1961, the East Germans built a wall to separate East and West Berlin. The Berlin Wall symbolized a world divided into rival camps. However, not every country joined the new alliances. Some like India, chose not  to align with either side. And China, the largest Communist country, came to distrust the Soviet Union and remained nonaligned.
  

Film Lesson: "Night and Fog"

 

This graphic documentary was one of the first cinematic reflections on the Holocaust. There was real hardcore footage of the Holocaust events. This film was very powerful in my opinion as well as "Schindler's List". Both movies describe the Holocaust thoroughly, there are moments that are really emotional and almost unbelievable. Numerous people died due to the injustice of others. The harsh catastrophe really let the world know that there are shameless and greedy people out there.

Despite the grisly subject matter, this movie is essentially about uncovering a kernel of hope and dignity in the midst of a monstrous tragedy. The story of Oskar Schindler's sacrifices for the Jews sets this apart from other Holocaust dramas. Uncompromising in its portrayal of good, evil, and all the areas in between, Schindler's List offers a clear view of human nature hatred, greed, lust, envy, and anger. Because this film touches us so deeply, the story has a power that others in film history can’t match.

Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) and the Modernization of Turkey

Mustafa Kemal was the leader of the Turks during WW I. Turkey was a traditional Islamic country and Kamal tried to modernize it. He overthrew the sultan and installed a secular constitution which is a non religious composition and gave women power and rights. The people who had ruled Turkey for numerous years were shocked to see the extreme changes. His idea was to Westernize the country and even encouraged men to give up the fez.

Film Lesson "Gandhi"

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi did all that he could to make India an independent country and be free from Great Britain. The people favored Gandhi that they even named him Mahatma which means "great soul". He started contributing with a campaign on nonviolence and civil disobedience. Gandhi felt that if he proved that violence should not be used against one another then he would be one step closer to making India a free country. Gandhi demanded immediate independence for India after he launched the Quit India civil disobedience movement. Then he spent several years in jail in South Africa and India. He believed it was honorable to go to jail for a meaningful cause. Altogether he spent seven years in prison for his political activities.

Gandhi influenced numerous people with his successful and historic work. He dedicated most of his life to gaining his country's independence. That impressed many people, for example Martin Luther King noticed that Gandhi's ways were effective so he as well followed the development of nonviolence. He has been an inspiration to almost everyone around the world and he is honored by Indians as the father of the Indian Nation.

*** I definitely believe that Gandhi was the major cause of the Indian Independence. However, I think that everyone who supported Gandhi were a big influence also because if nobody would of backed up Gandhi then the Independence wouldn't have been possible.