Merrick's posterous http://merricks.posterous.com GCSE History Work posterous.com Sun, 17 May 2009 04:02:07 -0700 Capitalsim, Communism and The Domino Theory http://merricks.posterous.com/capitalsim-communism-and-the-domino-theory-0 http://merricks.posterous.com/capitalsim-communism-and-the-domino-theory-0

Capitalism:

 

Capitalism is the complete opposite to Communism. Any money that is gained is not owned by the state, and is privately owned.

 

Communism:

 

In communism everyone is equal; any profit that is made is owned by the state. The Soviet Union are communists.

 

Domino Theory:

 

First introduced by President Dwight D Eisenhower in a press conference in 1954:

Finally, you have the broader considerations of what might follow what you would call the 'falling domino' principle. You have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go over very quickly. So you could have the beginning of a disintegration that would have the most profound influences."

 

In the domino cartoon attached there are a row of dominoes with names of countries that could be influenced by communism. At one side there is a Vietcong Soldier and on the other side there is a U.S Soldier. The Vietcong soldier is attempting to knock the dominoes over whilst the U.S Soldier is trying to keep them stood upright. This cartoon is very biased towards Capitalism; because all the countries that communism is attempting to take over are slanted suggesting that it ruins countries. However all the Capitalist countries are stood upright.

 

The Cold War:

 

·     The Cold War was between the Soviet Union and the United States. These two were allies during World War II and both helped in crushing the Nazi Regime.

·     There was no actual conflict, although the USSR and US supplied arms to opposing sides in conflicts; such as South Korea and North Korea in the Korean War.

·     There was a massive expansion in arms on all sides, especially nuclear. Even Britain used strategic nuclear bombers, such as the Avro Vulcan.

·      The difference in political ideology was a main cause of the Cold War.

·     There was such an arms-race that there were enough nuclear missiles to decimate the planet a dozen times.

 

Links for further Reading:

 

�  BBC Bitesize: ideological differences - Stalin vs Truman

�  HistoryLearningSite - What was the Cold War?

�  Spartacus - The Domino Theory 

 

Videos:

British Fighter Jets attacking a Russian Bomber

 

 

The Cold War Today and What Could have happened

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/21745/Eurofighter_202.jpg http://posterous.com/people/10FxDtJ9mgN Merrick S Merrick Merrick S Mon, 11 May 2009 10:59:35 -0700 Effects of World War II (Glogster) http://merricks.posterous.com/effects-of-world-war-ii-glogster http://merricks.posterous.com/effects-of-world-war-ii-glogster

http://merrickeya.glogster.com/worldwar2effects/

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/21745/Eurofighter_202.jpg http://posterous.com/people/10FxDtJ9mgN Merrick S Merrick Merrick S Mon, 11 May 2009 10:47:41 -0700 World War II http://merricks.posterous.com/world-war-ii-2 http://merricks.posterous.com/world-war-ii-2

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/21745/Eurofighter_202.jpg http://posterous.com/people/10FxDtJ9mgN Merrick S Merrick Merrick S Mon, 11 May 2009 10:41:00 -0700 Chamberlain being accused of World War II - By Audra http://merricks.posterous.com/chamberlain-being-accused-of-world-war-ii-by http://merricks.posterous.com/chamberlain-being-accused-of-world-war-ii-by
Neville Chamberlain has been accused of being directly accused for the Second World War. Would you agree that he is guilty of this?
 
Plan:
  • Short Intro
  • Reasons why he is responsible
  • Other Factors
  • Summary - My Opinion
 
Neville Chamberlain has been blamed by many as the sole cause for the Second World War. He has been held responsible by many for the huge loss of life and many felt he should have had a trial for this.
 
Chamberlain opted for the military strategy of appeasement when he was meeting with Hitler. Some people say that it was this weak strategy which led to the start of the Second World War.
The meetings and negotiations between Chamberlain and Hitler happened in 1938. At this time the First World War was still in living memory for many people. The majority of families in England had been affected by WWI in some way and Chamberlain didn't want a repeat of 1919 so he appeased Hitler's demands. Hitler was appeased by Britain and France on a number of occasions. For example, Hitler was allowed to break the terms in the Treaty of Versailles such as the Anschluss with Austria and remilitarised the Rhineland both which had been specifically forbidden. Hitler also gained the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia without any consequences. Because Chamberlain kept appeasing Hitler he became more confident and knew that he could do whatever he wanted and get away with it. Furthermore, because Britain and France were so fixated on appeasing Hitler's demands they missed many opportunities to stop Hitler earlier. If they had taken stronger action against Hitler earlier the Second World War may not have happened.
 
However, by appeasing Hitler, Chamberlain had created time for Britain to re-arm in the event of war. In the late 1930s Britain had one of the strongest Navy's but one of the weakest Army's. If war was going to happen they needed strong armed forces. Furthermore, many politicians at the time underestimated Hitler. They believed he was a reasonable politician when in fact he was a fascist tyrant who had very extreme views about the world and the people in it. He believed that Germans were the 'master race' and needed 'lebensraum' (living space). Hitler had planned to take over Europe from the start and was just waiting for the perfect opportunity.
 
The Nazi-Soviet Pact suprised many people because it was between German fascists and Russian communists, two groups with completely opposite views. The pact stated a non-aggressive agreement between Germany and Russia and a secret section where Poland was divided up between the two countries. This pact only delayed fighting and did contribute to the beginning of the Second World War.
 
In conclusion, I believe that Neville Chamberlain is partly responsible for the Second World War, however many other factors contributed significantly which he had no control over. One of the main factors being Hitler's aggression and determination to make Germany the 'master race'. He was going to try and take control of Europe anyway, appeasement just made it slightly easier. The Nazi-Soviet pact was another important factor because it meant that Hitler could now invade Poland without repercussions from the Soviet Union. It was this invasion of Poland which triggered the Second World War because Britain stopped appeasing Hitler and declared war.
 
All of these factors contributed to the Second World War so in my opinion it is wrong to directly accuse Neville Chamberlain for being solely responsible.


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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/21745/Eurofighter_202.jpg http://posterous.com/people/10FxDtJ9mgN Merrick S Merrick Merrick S Sun, 03 May 2009 03:30:00 -0700 Was the Nazi-Soviet Pact the Sole Cause for World War II? http://merricks.posterous.com/was-the-nazi-soviet-pact-the-sole-cause-for-w http://merricks.posterous.com/was-the-nazi-soviet-pact-the-sole-cause-for-w

Some have said that the Nazi-Soviet Pact was the single most important reason for the start of the Second World War. Would you agree with this judgement? Explain your answer. 

 

Planning

·      short intro

·      reasons for - allowed Hitler to expand, triggered war, SCAB

·      reasons against - appeasement & Neville chamberlain, Hitler's aggressive expansion

·      summary - my opinion

 

The Nazi-Soviet Pact was signed between Germany and the Soviet Union. The main part of the pact stated that there would be no fighting between the two countries but their was an additional secret section which said that Poland would be divided up between Hitler and Stalin. Some people have said that the Nazi-Soviet Pact was the sole reason for the start of WWII. There are many reasons which agree and disagree with this theory.

 

The pact was partly a result of the failed talks between Stalin and Chamberlain. They were all extremely suspicious of each other and didn't trust anyone. If Stalin decided to join with Hitler in this pact Stalin would gain half of Poland, no war and power in Eastern Europe. Another cause of the pact was Choice. Stalin had a choice of becoming allied with Britain or with Nazi Germany; he of course being a communist chose whichever one gave him the most profit, the allaince with Nazi Germany. The fact that Chamberlain had been appeasing Nazi Germany also assisted Stalin in decided who he and the Soviet Union would become allies with. Stalin believed that Britain would abandon the Soviet Union and leave them to fight Nazi Germany on their own. In addition to all these reasons, when Britain sent a negotiator to the Soviet Union they sent an official who had almost no power and they sent him on the slowest for of transport to Russia, Stalin got fed up with waiting and cancelled negotiations.

 

This pact was extremely good for Hitler because it allowed him to expand his empire even further as he now had half of Poland; however he had no intention of staying allied with the Soviets. Hitler planned to invade the Soviet Union, a plan which he carried out with no success. This sparked the beginning of the Second World War. With half of Poland he was now closer to the Soviet Union so could mount a better Offensive against the Communists, and he now had more Lebensraum (Living Space) available to him and the 3rd Reich.

 

However, Appeasement and Neville Chamberlain could have also caused the Second World War. The way that Hitler had been appeased in the post-war period had made him think that he was indestructible and that no major force worldwide was going to stop him. Appeasement had also made Hitler stronger because he had managed to seize more land before the war, so he could expand the Nazi Regime and forces across the majority of Europe. 

 

Another major reason of the greatest conflict in human history occurring was the personality of the man who had thrown the world into turmoil, Adolf Hitler. Hitler was very aggressive, and this showed in his invasion of the European Continent. He offered no warning and just took what he pleased. It had become apparent to the Allied Nations that he needed to be stopped, therefore the War began. 

 

In summary I believe that the Nazi-Soviet Pact did not spark World War II, and infact it was a number of factors that contributed to the overall conflict. But overall I think that the main cause of the war was the Fascist Dictator Adolf Hitler. It was he who decided to invade countries, murder millions to create a perfect race and who decided to make the 3rd Reich. Ultimately he had to be stopped, thus World War II began.    

 

Links for further reading:

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUSnazipact.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/ir1/nazisovietpactrev1.shtml

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/21745/Eurofighter_202.jpg http://posterous.com/people/10FxDtJ9mgN Merrick S Merrick Merrick S Fri, 24 Apr 2009 09:49:16 -0700 The Strategy of Appeasement http://merricks.posterous.com/the-strategy-of-appeasement http://merricks.posterous.com/the-strategy-of-appeasement
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Appeasement.ppt (264 KB)

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/21745/Eurofighter_202.jpg http://posterous.com/people/10FxDtJ9mgN Merrick S Merrick Merrick S Fri, 03 Apr 2009 10:35:56 -0700 Hitlers Rise To Power http://merricks.posterous.com/hitlers-rise-to-power-1 http://merricks.posterous.com/hitlers-rise-to-power-1

How Did Hitler Come To Power?

Hitlers plan was rubbish  and hitler was hiding and making speeches to his own supporters                                                                                                                                                

because he wanted to be a dictator and didn't want everyone to have a say on what happened in his country.  

in july 1932 they promised very attractive proposistions and their share of the vote increased, however in November that year the vote for the Nazi Party decreased

The German Parliament building (Reichstag) was set on fire in 1933 just before the election

More people became afraid of the communists therefore voted for the Nazis because they wanted protecting.

Why did people support Hitler?

They wanted a better quality of life

The German people wanted someone to blame for their suffering

He offered new things for all of the classes          

Nazi Beliefs

They were extremely annoyed with Versailles and wanted to strike back with vengeance to reclaim the land lost.

So that everyone would be racially pure, and would be called the master race

Living Space for the German People

Links for further reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler's_rise_to_power

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/21745/Eurofighter_202.jpg http://posterous.com/people/10FxDtJ9mgN Merrick S Merrick Merrick S Fri, 03 Apr 2009 02:41:26 -0700 The Rise of Adolf Hitler http://merricks.posterous.com/the-rise-of-adolf-hitler http://merricks.posterous.com/the-rise-of-adolf-hitler

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/hitler_adolf.shtml = BBC website, explaining where Hitler began and how he came to power and what he did to get to power.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/ir1/chamberlainandappeasementrev1.shtml = A BBC Bitesize Website, explaining the definition of appeasement, and also showing examples of appeasement including Neville Chamberlain

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_World_War_II = Wikipedia, Showing all of the causes of World War II. Including all of the conflicts before the war and other things such as the rise of Facism.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/2WWmunich.htm = Spartacus, explaining what actually happened in the Munich Agreement.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/21745/Eurofighter_202.jpg http://posterous.com/people/10FxDtJ9mgN Merrick S Merrick Merrick S Thu, 19 Mar 2009 10:30:20 -0700 The Abyssinian Crisis http://merricks.posterous.com/the-abyssinian-crisis-15 http://merricks.posterous.com/the-abyssinian-crisis-15
Download now or preview on posterous
Abyssinian_Crisis.ppt (237 KB)

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/21745/Eurofighter_202.jpg http://posterous.com/people/10FxDtJ9mgN Merrick S Merrick Merrick S Wed, 18 Mar 2009 10:03:48 -0700 The Manchurian Crisis http://merricks.posterous.com/the-manchurian-crisis-14 http://merricks.posterous.com/the-manchurian-crisis-14

Play slideshow

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The Manchurian Crisis occurred in 1931 just after the Wall Street Crash. It was a result of a huge population growth in Japan; therefore the Japanese decided that they needed more land for its people to grow rice and live peacefully. Japan at this time was the most powerful nation in Asia; and China was weak in comparison to its present strength.
 
The Country of Manchuria is a plot of land between the Soviet Union and China; mostly controlled by China however there were some Russians still left in the country. However in September 1931 there was an explosion which to this day has not been explained; however the Japanese saw this as an excuse to retaliate against China. By February 1932, the whole of Manchuria had fallen to Japan.
 
However, the Japanese didn't stop there; they continued their rampage south and captured Shanghai. China were shocked, they immediately appealed to the League Of Nations who reacted by sending a delegate named Lord Lytton to assess the hostile situation. He then decided that Japan had no right to be in Manchuria or China and should leave immediately.
 
The League Of Nations then arrived at the same conclusion and commanded Japan to leave Manchuria. Japan however decided to leave the League Of Nations instead of pulling out of Manchuria. Japan and the Imperial Army had just walked all over the League Of Nations. This was not expected so the League were completely shocked.
To add to this, the League could not agree on the sanctions to impose on Japan, and Britain and France were not prepared to send an army to physically remove the Japanese.  This along with the Abyssinian crisis jointly led to the downfall of the League Of Nations as they were untrusted throughout the World. Therefore they were never going to stop any wars, so its purpose was defeated.
Links for further reading:
 
 
 
 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/21745/Eurofighter_202.jpg http://posterous.com/people/10FxDtJ9mgN Merrick S Merrick Merrick S Thu, 12 Mar 2009 01:20:25 -0700 The Abyssinian Crisis (Video) http://merricks.posterous.com/the-abyssinian-crisis-video-4 http://merricks.posterous.com/the-abyssinian-crisis-video-4

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/21745/Eurofighter_202.jpg http://posterous.com/people/10FxDtJ9mgN Merrick S Merrick Merrick S Fri, 13 Feb 2009 09:56:43 -0800 The League Of Nations and the Wall Street Crash http://merricks.posterous.com/the-league-of-nations-and-the http://merricks.posterous.com/the-league-of-nations-and-the

The diagram that is in this blog post relates to the Wall Street Crash and the impact it had on the global economy.
 
The top right loop describes how the United States importation of goods decreased, therefore other countries couldn't sell as many things. This meant that prices had to decrease; therefore the decrease in wealth was global. This is how serious the Wall Street Crash was, it literally affected the whole world.
 
The loop on the top left of the diagram shows how the USA being poorer meant that they had to cut their loans of money to other countries. This meant again other countries were getting poorer; therefore couldn't afford to buy the American products.
 
The bottom loop shows how the fact that the States was becoming poorer, that companies were starting to go bankrupt. This had disastrous consequences as unemployment was starting to rise. The United States Government then decided to introduce tariffs to stop cheap imports. This then meant that the trading nations could not sell their products and prices fell. Countries around the world were now getting poorer and the whole world was sinking into a recession.
 
The global financial situation had distracted countries from world issues and had started to look at their own countries in an attempt to try and soften the blow of the recession. This therefore had an effect on the League Of Nations as there was a lack of trust between nations; and due to the fact that the League was funded by countries was a problem; as the funding countries simply didn't have enough funds to give the League.
 
Links for further reading:
 
 
 
 
 
 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/21745/Eurofighter_202.jpg http://posterous.com/people/10FxDtJ9mgN Merrick S Merrick Merrick S Fri, 13 Feb 2009 02:33:00 -0800 League Of Nations - Gift Horse (Voicethread) http://merricks.posterous.com/league-of-nations-gift-horse-v http://merricks.posterous.com/league-of-nations-gift-horse-v

http://voicethread.com/#q.b349291.i0.k0

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/21745/Eurofighter_202.jpg http://posterous.com/people/10FxDtJ9mgN Merrick S Merrick Merrick S Tue, 10 Feb 2009 09:48:00 -0800 The League Of Nations 5W's http://merricks.posterous.com/the-league-of-nations-5ws http://merricks.posterous.com/the-league-of-nations-5ws

The League Of Nation’s was the predecessor to the United Nations that we have today. It was set up after the First World War in 1919. It was designed to be a group of nations which would try to keep the world at peace. It was faded out in 1939 due to a number of failures in the 1930’s and was then replaced by the United Nations after World War II

The League Of Nations was set up primarily to try and maintain peace in Europe and to try and stop all future wars. The continent had just seen the worst war ever recorded in history, so peace and stability  were wanted strongly. European and American Nations made up most of the group; however Germany were not allowed to attend until years after it was set up. It was based in Switzerland, due to the fact that they had a very neutral attitudes. It ended in 1939 at the outbreak of the Second World War. The League Of Nations was one of Woodrow Wilson’s (U.S President) ideas and was included in his fourteen points. They would impose sanctions such as:

·         Verbal Sanctions, as a warning to the axis countries to warn them of the consequences.

·         Economic Sanctions were then enforced, such as trading, was not allowed with the hostile axis nations. This was designed to be able to disable the hostile nation from continuing its war effort by disabling the transportation of oil and other vital substances.

·         Physical sanctions could also be applied. This means military force would be used in order to prevent conflict or disable the axis nations.

The League was weak in many respects however the main ones were:

·         Germany were not allowed to join the League. This would have reduced the strength of the League.

·         Communists Russia were not allowed to join.

·         The founders of the League refused to enter, America. This was devastating as a major power had now pulled out.

This had left three major powers out of the League with only France and Britain remaining. This would have weakened the League severely.

Links:

Wikipedia = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Nations

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/leagueofnations.htm

 

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/21745/Eurofighter_202.jpg http://posterous.com/people/10FxDtJ9mgN Merrick S Merrick Merrick S Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:45:46 -0800 My Political Compass http://merricks.posterous.com/my-political-compass-1 http://merricks.posterous.com/my-political-compass-1

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/21745/Eurofighter_202.jpg http://posterous.com/people/10FxDtJ9mgN Merrick S Merrick Merrick S Fri, 06 Feb 2009 08:48:18 -0800 My League Of Nations Game http://merricks.posterous.com/my-league-of-nations-game-0 http://merricks.posterous.com/my-league-of-nations-game-0

http://classtools.net/my/quiz49952.htm = my game :)

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/21745/Eurofighter_202.jpg http://posterous.com/people/10FxDtJ9mgN Merrick S Merrick Merrick S Fri, 06 Feb 2009 02:42:29 -0800 League Of Nations Keystone (VoiceThread) http://merricks.posterous.com/league-of-nations-keystone-voi http://merricks.posterous.com/league-of-nations-keystone-voi

http://voicethread.com/#q.b338747.i0.k0

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/21745/Eurofighter_202.jpg http://posterous.com/people/10FxDtJ9mgN Merrick S Merrick Merrick S Sun, 01 Feb 2009 02:33:52 -0800 The League Of Nations - Useful Resources http://merricks.posterous.com/the-league-of-nations-useful-r-1 http://merricks.posterous.com/the-league-of-nations-useful-r-1

Mr Belshaw in his infinite goodness has kindly prepared a section of his website that can be accessed here. The following should also come in jolly handy when it comes to that dreaded revision time:

 

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/21745/Eurofighter_202.jpg http://posterous.com/people/10FxDtJ9mgN Merrick S Merrick Merrick S Fri, 30 Jan 2009 02:27:26 -0800 Treaty Of Versailles - Useful Resources http://merricks.posterous.com/treaty-of-versailles-useful-re http://merricks.posterous.com/treaty-of-versailles-useful-re

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/21745/Eurofighter_202.jpg http://posterous.com/people/10FxDtJ9mgN Merrick S Merrick Merrick S Fri, 12 Dec 2008 02:50:00 -0800 The Treaty Of Versailles - Problems http://merricks.posterous.com/the-treaty-of-versailles-probl http://merricks.posterous.com/the-treaty-of-versailles-probl

For a diamond 9 of the problems that occured in The Treaty Of Versailles, click on the following link:

http://classtools.net/my/diamond996413treaty_of_versailles___problems.htm

My Rankings:

1. I chose 'The 'Big 3' wanted different things from the Paris Peace Conference.' as my most important problem becuase it would have created the most conflicts between the three leaders, and non of them would have wanted to budge on their beliefs on what should happen to Germany.

2. The 'reparations' Germany had to pay to the Allies (especially France) were extremely high at £6,600m.

3. The League of Nations, set up as a result of the Paris Peace Conference was not very influential or powerful.

4. Woodrow Wilson persuaded representatives from France and Britain to support the principle of self-determination.

5. Public opinion back home in the countries of the 'Big 3' meant huge pressures on Clemenceau, Wilson & Lloyd George.

6. Britain soon came to see the Treaty of Versailles as a mistake.

7. The secret Treaty of London (1915) between the Allies and Italy was not upheld at the Paris Peace Conference.

8. The end of the Austro-Hungarian empire led to nationalist uprisings calling for independence across Eastern Europe.

9. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk that ended Russia's involvement in WWI meant huge areas of land were given to Germany. I chose this as least important because I do not think Germany gaining any land will have caused any issues.

 Links for further reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Versailles

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/treaty_of_versailles.htm

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/21745/Eurofighter_202.jpg http://posterous.com/people/10FxDtJ9mgN Merrick S Merrick Merrick S