December 7, 1941

Around seven in the morning on the seventh of December, 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on the United States, directed upon Pearl Harbor.  Pearl Harbor is a naval base- at that time it was holding a large amount of the US Pacific Fleet, which was reassigned to Hawaii just a year prior.

The attack upon Pearl Harbor was unexpected.  Although the US had learned of a potential Japanese attack, it was not predicted to be directed toward Hawaii, rather at certain European colonies or perhaps Panama.  However, the morning of, aircraft was detected on radar incoming from the west.  The aircraft was assumed to be back-up US fighters and dismissed.  By the time the strike had concluded, over 2.400 Americans were pronounced dead and 20 Navy vessels and 300 planes were either damaged or obliterated.

The mastermind behind the strike, Admiral Yamamoto, formulated the idea knowing a head to head war with America would lead to the demise of Japan.  Japan wanted America's industry because of their lack of resources.  Yamamoto saw the crippling of the US Pacific Fleet as a key in order to gain traction against the US, potentially forcing them into peace terms.  However, quite the opposite occurred- America was out for revenge, refusing to consider peace terms.

Although the Japanese gained numerous victories against the US Pacific Fleet for the following six months, the tides were soon to shift.  By the summer of 1942, the US successfully defended against the Japanese in the Battle of Midway, marking a turning point in the war against Japan.

Rosie the Riveter

Rosie the Riveter, while possibly not the most well-known name, is a tremendously well-known icon that originated in WWII but has been used ever since for more than war effort propaganda. In WWII times, she represented the women workforce in factories that had been newly implemented to help the war effort in production. Because so many people were required, and millions of troops (male) were sent overseas, women had to step up to aid in production of tanks, planes, and ammunitions. It also became a symbol of feminism for women in WWII times who felt they had a right to the same liberties and rights that were granted to men because they were contributing to their country's safety just as much as men were. Rosie the Riveter was most closely associated with Rose Will Monroe, a "riveter," or someone working in the factories who got their names from attaching rivets, similar to screws, onto the machines. However, the term "riveter" was applied to the majority of women who worked in factories, and Rosie the Riveter represented less a select person and more an entire group of people.

Kristallnacht

The Kristallnacht also known as the Night of Broken Glass was a pogrom against Jews throughout Nazi Germany on 9-10 November of 1938. It was carried out by SA paramilitary forces and civilians. Nazis in Germany torched synagogues, vandalized Jewish homes, schools, and businesses. Around 100 Jews were killed. In the after math of it some 30,000 Jews were arrested and sent to Nazi concentration camps. Prior to Kristallnacht the Nazi policies had primarily been nonviolent, but after Kristallnacht conditions for German Jews grew increasingly worse. The American President reacted by reading a statement to the media in which he harshly denounced the rising tide of anti-Semitism and violence in Germany.

Huey Long

Huey Long also is known as The Kingfish, an American politician and also the governor of Louisiana in between 1928-1932. Huey Long gave himself his nickname The Kingfish because he once said " I'm a small fish here in Washington. But I'm the kingfish to the folks down in Louisiana." He was the member of the US Senate from 1932 to 1935, which is the year he passes at the age of 42. Huey Long was assassinated on September 10, 1935, in Los Angles. He was such a big threat to Roosevelt, and Roosevelt didn't agree with what Huey believed. He believed that Roosevelt's New Deal was not going to be beneficial for the poor and the lower class. His solution was to the Share Our Wealth Act, which would help the poor and help them in many ways. Long split with  Roosevelt in June of 1933, where he then began to proceed his belief of taxing the wealthy. The Share our Wealth Act was a program that gave all American families a decent way of living and also a way to provide for themselves.

Radio in the 1920s

In the 1920s radios were still new, meaning that they weren't very popular especially in the early 20s. This was due to the amount of experimentation and research done on radios for the purpose of making them widely accessible across the country. The first radio broadcast done by KDKA station in 1920 featured the voice Reginald Fessenden, a scientist and engineer who had been working on radios for quite a while. Unfortunately, music radio wasn't very popular since at the time there wasn't much of an audience or market to justify broadcasting music to. Until the mid-to-late 1930s, radio would be used to hear people and voices.

Adolf Hitler before WW2 and Nazis

One of Hitler's Art Pieces

Hitler's Early Life
Hitler was born on April 20th, 1889 and ironically, study shows that Hitler had Jewish Ancestors. Growing up, Hitler had an abusive father. After his younger brothers death, Hitler went from a confident and outgoing boy to one who constantly fought with others. Hilter grew up developing strong German nationalist views. After his father's death, Hitler tried to pursue fine art in Vienna. He applied for admission to the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna but was rejected twice. He became broke and homeless and tried to survive by making paintings and selling them on the streets of Vienna. Hitler was first exposed to racism, specifically anti-Semitism, after watching Lohengrin's 10 opera performances. Hitler grew extreme admiration towards Martin Luther and von Schonerer. Up to this point, he was racist and discriminating, however, he didn't take action against Jews yet. Historians believe that it was only after Germany's loss in World War I that he wanted to take action in his racism.

Hitler in WW1

During WWI; Hitler is on far right.

Hitler enlisted in the Bavarian Army, though historians have proved that his acceptance into the army was an error because he was an Austrian citizen and was supposed to be deported back to Austria. During WW1, he was awarded many medals for his bravery. He was wounded on the left thigh, temporarily blinded by mustard gas, and blinded temporarily again when he heard about Germany's loss. He blamed the loss on "the stab-in-the-back" myth in which he believed that Germany would have won, but Jews and others who lived in Germany betrayed Germany (where "stab in the back" comes from) and so they lost. As a proud German, Hitler was any that the Treaty of Versailles was an unjust humiliation on the Germans.

Irving Berlin

Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist, widely considered one of the greatest and most enduring songwriters in American history.  Berlin pushed the evolution of popular music in the transition from ragtime and jazz to the golden age of musicals.

Irving Berlin, a one of the greatest
composers in American history

Berlin was born to a family of Jewish immigrants in New York City.  He published his first song in 1907 at the age of 19, and wrote his first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band," in 1911.  "Alexander's Ragtime Band" sparked an international dance craze that reached all the way to Russia.

A group of modern dancers replicating the dance craze
sparked by "Alexander's Ragtime Band"

Over his entire career, Berlin wrote over 800 songs, many of which are classics today.  "Blue Skies," written in 1926, reflected the attitude of the Roaring Twenties with its jazzy melody and lyrics about the blue skies ahead.  "Puttin' on the Ritz" is an American classic, written in 1927 but famously covered by the band Taco in 1982.  "White Christmas," written in 1942, is an enduring Christmas carol.  At the time, its lyrics struck many of the soldiers fighting in WWII and their families, waiting to be reunited.

White Christmas, one of Berlin's songs
with numerous covers 

Berlin notably wrote the patriotic standard "God Bless America" in 1918.  Written in the American vernacular, it reached the American populace, whom Berlin saw as the soul of the country.  On November 10, 1938, Kate Smith performed the first broadcast radio performance of "God Bless America."  This patriotic song touched many Americans, horrified by the events of Kristallnacht and seeking something they could rely on.  "God Bless America" is an American classic that has instilled a sense of patriotism and community in Americans for generations.

Singer Kate Smith introduces "God Bless America"

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

     




















        Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is one of the Japanese officers that planned the air attack on US naval forces at Pearl Harbor. He worked as a naval attache for the Japanese embassy in Washington, DC, which enabled him to speak perfect English. Yamamoto experienced many promotions until he finally ended up as commander in chief of Japan's Combined Fleet. Yamamoto saw the US Navy as a folly, but also feared that prolonged conflict with them would end with Japan losing. Because of this, Yamamoto saw a surprise attack on the US Navy as the only way they could achieve victory and so planned the air strike on the US naval base. This strike, which happened at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, did exactly what Yamamoto had hoped - it hurt the US Navy and aircraft - but it did even more. Not only were there dive bombers, torpedo planes, and fighters destroying the US battleships, but there were more than 3,400 American casualties. Admiral Yamamoto met his end, however, when US forces ambushed his plane and shot him down over Bougainville Island in 1943.

Experiences of a Soviet Soldier: 1940

Take a moment to close your eyes and imagine. The year is 1940. You're a Soviet soldier, in cover near the front lines.

The incessant bark of guns fills the air. *CRACK!* Your friend Anatoli peeks out from cover and fires his Mosin-Nagant rifle. *CRACK!* He slides back behind a large rock outcrop and struggles with the bolt action. An artillery shell explodes nearby. *BOOM!* Now it's your turn to peek out. You grip your PPSH-41 sub-machine gun and inch around the tree. You point it in the general diction of the enemy. You press the trigger, and send a burst towards the enemy. *CSHHHHHHHH!* As you step back behind the large tree stump, a burst of German machine-gun fire tears into the front of the stump, right where you were a few seconds prior. *ACK-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K!* Another artillery shell impacts nearby *BOOM!* And suddenly, silence. You and Anatoli exchange confused looks. The silence seems strange, almost alien. Your leading officer fires his pistol twice *PAK! PAK!* and yells "Обвинять!" "CHARGE!" You, Anatoli, and the rest of your platoon charge forwards, yelling your battle cry "URAAAAAAAAA!" as you charge forwards. A single German machine gun 100 meters ahead opens up *ACK-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K!* A few men to your left fall. While still running forwards, you aim in the vague direction of the machine gun nest and fire off the entire 71 round drum of your trusty PPSH at the machine gun *CSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!* You quickly reload before you notice that the machine gun has fallen silent. Your commanding officer signals to stop the charge. You're in a meadow now, you take cover behind another rock outcropping. It's still eerily silent. As your ears start to adapt to the silence, you hear a low wailing noise, seemingly coming from everywhere at once. *awwwwwooooooooooooo...*The noise gets louder, and it's pitch starts to rise. *oooooooOOOOO...* You look up at the clear sky. There's nothing there, except for a dozen dots far above you. *OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...* Then someone in the next trench over yells the last thing you want to hear. *ooooooooOOOOOOO...* The one thing that strikes fear into the heart of every soldier on the Eastern Front. *OOOOOOOOO...* The one thing that you can do nothing against. "SHTUUUKKAAAAAAA!" You look up again, and see the last thing you want to see.

You see Anatoli dive for cover, and do the same. The noise is deafening. You swear you can feel the ground shaking. *OOOOVRRRRRROOOMMMMMMMmmmm* The first one passes over. The wait feels like forever. Then, *tiiuuuuuuuuuu-thud-BOOM!* the ground shakes and dirt rains from the sky as the first bomb detonates. The next aircraft zooms overhead (*tiuuuuuuuuuu...*), and you feel and hear a dull 'thud' as the 250 kilogram high-explosive bomb hits the ground next to you. Then, *BO-* everything goes black. 

You slowly wake up, and shake the dirt off of yourself. Your left arm huts slightly, and you can see a bit of shrapnel sticking out of your arm. You yank it out of your arm and look around. There's a large crater 50 meters away. Your trusty PPSH-41 is on the ground, partly covered with dirt. You pick it up and cycle the action. A bit of dirt falls out of the end of the barrel sleeve. The action opens back up with a satisfying 'click.' The sound of a large diesel engine starting up causes you to turn around and look around the rock. You see nothing. Then, there's a crashing in the treeline, 100 meters ahead of you. Then, it breaks out of the forest.

 Your heart sinks. It's a German tank. You don't remember seeing this one in basic tank-recognition training. It's big, much bigger than the Panzer I and II's you briefly studied. 

It's short 75mm gun explodes with fire and smoke as it lobs a high-explosive shell over your head. *KA-BROOM!* You look at the target. A BT-7 fast tank is sitting on the other edge of the meadow, its right track completely blown off from the HE shell. The German tank gets closer. You can hear an armor-peircing round being loaded into th-*PAKttssssssssssssDINGGGGG!* The friendly BT-7's shell zips over your head, hitting the German tank. You barely sneak a look at the enemy tank. Other than a small dent in the upper front plate, it's completely unharmed. *ka-chunk* the breech-block closes and *KA-BROOM!* The Armour piercing shell tears through the air and finds its target. The BT-7 explodes, sending its flaming turret ten meters into the air.

As the German Panzer advances past your position, you take a small glass bottle full of petrol and rubber out of your belt. A Molotov cocktail. You light the rag around the neck of the bottle and throw it onto the engine deck of the tank. The bottle smashes and spreads burning petrol all over the deck of the tank, seeping into ventilation holes and gaps between panels. The enemy tank stops, and the crew make a hasty escape. All but one are mowed down by your fellow soldiers.

Such was the experience of a Soviet infantryman on the front lines of WWII.

Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling

In 1938 Joe Louis and Max Schmeling had a rematch after Max Schmeling won on a round-twelve knockout. What made this fight so popular was the fact that Joe was a black American and Max a German, and this enabled people to have this fight portray a battle of powers. Given most Americans opposed Hitler's belief of Germany's racial superiority, many protests were started once Schmeling arrived in the United States. To make matters worse President Franklin D. Roosevelt told Joe, "Joe, we need muscles like yours to beat Germany." As a result, President Roosevelt added more tension to the whole situation. In addition to this, a Nazi party publicist fanned the flames by writing newspaper reports suggesting that Joe being a black man had no chance in defeating a German and that Schmeling's victory would help fund Germany's further construction of tanks. This rematch only lasted 124 seconds, resulting in a victory for Joe, and Max Schmeling never fought in the United States again.

The Rise of the National Socialist German Worker's Party (Nazi Party)

When we her the word 'Nazi,' we think of terrible people, killing for the hell of it and brutally gaining power while advancing towards Moscow and Dunkirk. We think of them quickly gaining ground, committing atrocious war crimes, and of flaming convoy ships falling out of formation, struck by a U-Boot's torpedo.

And then we think of them getting quickly dismantled by the allies 1944-45. But how did they get there? How did a political party that suppressed freedom and believed in ethnic cleansing gain the popular vote? To see how, we need to travel back the end of WWII, where the Triple Entente along with some allies formed the Treaty of Versailles, or as I like to call it, the "how far can we screw Germany over" game. The Treaty limited almost all aspects of the German economy and government. The economically rich Rhineland was "given" to France, the military was cut down to a ridiculously small amount, and the submarine force, the pride of Germany, was all but destroyed. Suffice it to say that the German people were not happy. Germany also had to pay 132 billion gold marks (33 million 1919 USD, or 482 MILLION current USD) of reparations to France and Britain for "starting the war." The government somehow forgot how currency value worked and printed a ton of money to pay the reparations. This is really dumb because 1) currency value is based on how much there is (the more there is the less it's worth) and 2) if you print a ton of money, you're goinna to trigger hyperinflation (dun dun dunnnnnnn). So yeah. Everyone's cash money sorta became worthless. That was too cash money of them.

The situation closely paralleled the Great Depression, although it only lasted from 1921-23. During this time, everything went down in the Wiemar Republic. It became cheaper to burn bank notes then to buy firewood. People would bring literal wheelbarrows full of money just to buy bread. Children built kites and played with banknotes and literal stacks of money because the money was nearly worthless. In January 1915, 1 US dollar (1915 dollars) was equal to 4.18 Marks (German currency). Fast forwards only 9 years later to December 1923, 1 USD was worth .... 4.2 TRILLION marks. The value of Marks dropped by 1,000,000,000% in 9 years. This upset many people, and one of those people, Anton Drexler, a nationalistic man who was bitterly opposed to the Treaty of Versailles' terms. In January 1919, Drexler created the German Worker's Party. As early as 1920, the party was openly anti-Semitic, selling tobacco labelled "Anti-Semit." At around this time, the head of the Education and Propaganda Department, Captain Mayr, appointed Hitler as an intelligence agent, and told him to infiltrate the Nazi Party and 'influence other soldiers,' whatever that means. Hitler liked the ideas of the Party, and following the encouragement of his superiors (!) joined the party as member 555 (actually 55. The Party started counting from 500 to make themselves seem bigger). He later falsified his document by erasing the 555 and writing in 7.

Hitler's Party membership card

In the early 20's, Hitler became Chief of Propaganda for the National Socialists, as his talent for persuasive speech was recognized by other party members. As Party membership grew, crowds flocked to see Hitler's speeches. The topics were always the same: The Treaty of Versailles, and the "Jewish Question." On July 29 1921, Hitler replaced Drexler as party chairman by a vote of 533 to 1. Yeah. Hitler was quite persuasive. In 1923, the Party (which now had a significant following) held a rally in a beer hall. Maybe everyone was drunk, or maybe they actually thought that it was a good idea, so they decided to try a coup d'etat, or putsch in German. They were quickly stopped by the police and the army. This became known as the Beer Hall Putsch, something you might remember from Freshman history class (or was it CWI?). Hitler and some other Nazis were arrested and given surprisingly short sentences, and so received only about a year of jail time. during this time, Hitler wrote his book Mein Kampf ("My Suffering"), a sorta bibliographical political manifesto. After getting out of jail, Hitler was surprised that the Nazi Party had been banned in Germany. In 1925, after a few months out of prison, Hitler convince some Bavarian officials to remove the ban on the Nazi Party.  By 1930, the leadership of the Party had all been handpicked by Hitler. Some of these officials might sound familiar: Heinrich Himmler, Joeseph Goebbels, and Hermann Goering. These men would go on to have a huge role in WWII. As the Great Depression impacted Germany, Hitler saw an opportunity for his party. In the 1932 elections, the Nazis became the largest political party by quite a bit. Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany in 1933. And then the Reichstag, the German parliamentary building, burned down. Hitler blamed this on political opponents (basically anyone who wasn't a Nazi). He pressured the President to issue the Reichstag fire Decree which removed most Civil liberties. One of the final blows came in 1933, when the parliament voted in the Enabling act of 1933. This gave the cabinet the power to enact laws without the approval of the parliament. This basically made Hitler a dictator. He used this power to the fullest extent, imprisoning political opponents, and abolishing labor unions and other political parties. By the end of the 30's, the Nazis had absolute power in Germany, using this power to carry out the Holocaust and wage the Second World War.

German Panzer V "Panther" medium tanks in action

Kristallnacht and the Assassination of Vom Rath

On November 7th, 1938, Ernst Eduard vom Rath was assassinated while working in the German embassy in Paris. Germany used this incident to villainize the Jews, saying the Jews had "fired the first shot" against Germany.

Ernst vom Rath, a German diplomat

Vom Rath was assassinated by Herschel Grynszpan, a 17-year old Polish-German Jew. Grynszpan went to the German embassy in Paris and requested to speak with an embassy official. Upon entry, he shot vom Rath five times, resulting in vom Rath's death.
Grynszpan was distraught by the news that his family was being deported from Germany back to Poland. When he was arrested, he insisted that he wanted to avenge the Jewish people. There is no clear indication that Grynszpan intended specifically to kill vom Rath, though the Germans spread propaganda that Grynszpan was aiming to kill the ambassador, Count Johannes von Welczeck.

Herschel Grynszpan shortly after his arrest

As a result of this assassination, an incident known as "Kristallnacht" occurred. From November 9th to 10th, 1938, Nazis in Germany went on a rampage, burning and vandalizing Jewish establishments and killing German Jews.
German Jews, prior to 1938, had been subject to repressive policies since Adolf Hitler became the chancellor of Germany in 1933. However, Kristallnacht marked the dramatic shift to violent Nazi policies. After Kristallnacht, the conditions for German Jews got progressively worse. Soon after, at the start of World War II, the number of people in concentration camps swelled to 21000 and increased to 715000 by the end of World War II.

The inside of a synagogue vandalized during Kristallnacht

Swastika

The Swastika, 卐, is a symbol that originated in Eurasia, that was meant to serve as a universal image for spirituality. It was also commonly used in the West as a design that brought good luck. However, upon the Nazi adoption of the symbol in the 1930s, it has since been a reminder of racism and antisemitism.

Individually, many region and religions had unique definitions and connotations for the symbol:

Europe
In ancient Europe, it is found in a notably large and diverse amount of places such as an Etruscan pendant with swastika symbols, Bolsena, Italy, 700–650 BCE, the Ancient Roman mosaics of La Olmeda, Spain, a Roman mosaic in Veli Brijun, Croatia, the Snoldelev Rune Stone, Denmark, the Lielvārde ethnographic belt, Latvia, stonework at Valle Crucis Abbey, near Llangollen, the Armenian Alphabet, a Venetian palace, at Palazzo Roncale, Rovigo, the vestments of the effigy of Bishop William Edington in Winchester Cathedral, and a Greek helmet with swastika marks on the top, 350–325 BCE from Taranto, found at Herculaneum. Generally, the symbol was used positively, however, the specific definitions ranged from God to electricity.

Meanwhile, in a more modern Europe, this symbol can be seen on the British Theosophical Seal, the 1880s, The Danish brewery company Carlsberg Group logo, 19th Century until mid 1930s, The Swastika Laundry was a laundry founded in 1912, located in Dublin, Ireland, Finnish Air Force until 1945, and air force flags today, Latvian Air Force until 1940, Swedish ASEA logo prior to 1933, and the Norwegian iron gate of the Oslo Municipal Power Station, 1932. It is evident that many of the logos that featured the symbol were discontinued at a similar time, mirroring the start of WWII.

     
East Asia
In Chinese, Japanese, and Korean the swastika represents the number 10,000. In China, during the Tang dynasty's rule from 684–704AD, the swastika served as the national symbol of the Sun. Also in China, the swastika can be found in the Forbidden City and the Imperial City. In both Chinese and Japanese art, the swastika is often found as part of a repeating pattern called sayagata, or the key fret motif in English.

(Can be seen in the lighter shade)

Africa
The swastika is the least popular in this continent as it can mainly be seen on Ashanti gold weights and among adinkra symbols in West Africa. It can also be found carved in the window of a Lalibela rock-hewn church in Ethiopia and rarely in clothing in British colonies to represent luck.


North America
Most significantly, the swastika can be found in Native American art and clothing. The symbol is seen throughout various tribes in both the United States and in Canada.

Additionally, it was the symbol for the 45th Infantry Division of the United States Army. Even this logo served as a tribute to the Native American population in the southwest.

In Central America, it plays a large part in the culture of the Kuna people of Kuna Yala, Panama.

Finally, the town of Swastika, Ontario, Canada is named after the symbol.

Religion:
In Hinduism, it is a positive symbol, that was meant to represent the sun and prosperity. The Swastika is used in Diwali, decorations, and in modern Hindu temples.

However, in Buddhism, it symbolizes the footprints of the Buddha. The shape exemplifies the idea of eternal cycling, a central theme of Buddhism.

In one of its earliest forms, it is seen in some remains of Christian artwork.


Despite its widespread use before WWII, and even today, it is best known as a design of hatred due to its modern association with the Nazi Party. Unfortunately, this use has both ruined parts of various cultures and removed its previous notion of positivity.

Great Depression v. Great Recession

Jesse Owens (1936 Summer Olympics)

According to the official Olympic website (olympic.org), "The Berlin Games are best remembered for Adolf Hitler's failed attempt to use them to prove his theories of Aryan racial superiority."




Instead of proving Aryan racial superiority, what happened was the opposite. An African-American man named Jesse Owens stole the spotlight and proved Hitler's theories wrong, to the delight of everyone who opposed his ideas.

Jesse Owens won gold in the 100m, 200m, 4 x 100m, and long jump. Taking home four gold medals, he had the highest number of gold medals, with the best-scoring German athlete only getting two gold medals. He was named the most successful athlete of the 1936 Games, marking his place in Olympic history. His record number of gold medals was unbroken for 48 years.

Owens was already oppressed in Germany as an American in the Olympics, but being black made things even tougher for him, being referred to as an animal by some people and being seen as not worthy by others. In addition to Hitler's plan to show the world the idea of Aryan superiority, the pressure on Owens was very high. He had to endure the prejudice against him in Germany and keep thinking about his friends back in America who were endlessly supporting him in order to stay determined. People back in the US, no matter if they were white or black, were depending on him and many other American athletes to make their country proud and relevant in the international setting.

Record crowds showed up, and the tension between countries was high. Owens came close to not succeeding in some places (such as him fouling in the long jump) but was able to persevere and win four Olympic gold medals, making Owens the most popular hero of the Olympics. Thanks to the hard work of Jesse Owens, Hitler wasn't able to further his theories of Aryan superiority, and the international community was relieved.

Kristallnacht: The Bridge to Violence Against Germany's Jews

From the ninth to the tenth of November, 1938, a mass scale event of destruction and violence against Jewish businesses, neighborhoods, and churches executed by German Nazi followers occurred.  The structural and morale damage dealt was immense; by the end of the event approximately one hundred Jews were dead.

Herschel Grynszpan, a seventeen year old Jewish refugee, had heard of the deportation of his family from Hanover, Germany.  At the time, Herschel was living with his uncle in Paris.  To this day, historians are still uncertain what exactly motivated Grynszpan to take the following action.  Herschel bought a revolver and headed to the German embassy, where he shot Ernst Vom Rath, an embassy official.  Upon hearing of  the death of Vom Rath, Joseph Goebbels delivered a speech in the place of Hitler, ordering riots to not be prohibited, even if they were targeted against certain ethnic individuals.

Until this point, persecution and harassment of Jewish citizens of Germany had not involved much violence.  Kristallnacht was essentially a turning point and pivotal event in transitioning between discrimination against the Jews to violence and concentration camps.  Hitler wielded this event in order to build more tension and momentum against Jewish residents of Germany, until he finally reached the point of massacre.

Concentration Camps

Concentration Camps were something created right after Hitler and his Nazi Party had gained control. Concentration camps were Hitler's way of capturing the Jewish people of Germany and torturing them. Hitler's concentration camps quickly spread across Europe and there was many of them. This was one of the main ways that people got separated from their families because they all got sent to different trains and the trains all went to different camps but you didn't know which camp you were going to. Most of the people who were sent to concentration camps usually ended up dying there because they were treated very horribly there and the people who survived were very lucky. One of the most famous and well-known concentration camps was Auschwitz in Poland. It was well known because of the number of people there (1.3 million!!) and because of how many people died there (1.1 million!!!)

The Fight of the Century

In 1938, America was still trying to pull itself out of the Great Depression. It was not a time of great economic strength in America, and the last thing that was needed was a fascist Nazi leading Germany to world domination. Americans saw Hitler and his values as anti-American, and absolutely detested everything he stood for. Hitler, on the other hand, had instilled his beliefs in most of the German population. Not only was this a threat to America, but also to France and Britain. The Treaty of Versailles from World War I firmly prohibited Germany from rearmament, and the fast-growing strength and size of the army were alarming to the Allies.  Although the fight between Joe Louis, a black American man, and Max Schmeling, a Nazi favorite, was not a political event, it was politically charged. The American people saw the fight as their potential victory against the Nazis, a win that they desperately needed to feel powerful in this time of unknown outcomes. Over an estimated half of the American population was listening to every word of the fight on their radios, and Joe Louis' win was a national victory, showing Americans that they were not as weak as they felt. The fight captivated the country and reinstated a faith in the American people that was previously diminishing, convincing them that they could stand for something. 

Jessie Owens

Jessie Owens, born James Cleveland Owens on September 12, 1913 in Alabama, was a famous track-and-field American athlete in the 1930's. One of his most defining moments came in the Summer Olympics of 1936 in Berlin, Germany, where he won 4 gold medals and set a world record for long jump (called "broad jump" at the time). It was an important historical moment because the Games were designed for Hitler to showcase his ideas on German superiority, specifically Aryan superiority, by winning as much as possible. An American, black man winning not one, not two, but four gold medals really stuck it to Hitler and struck a blow in his ideals. However, even with the politically-charged atmosphere of the 1936 Olympics and Hitler's ideals, Owen was well liked by the German public and even became a close friend of the German long jumper, Carl Ludwig Long. After retiring from running, he later became a public official and made goodwill visits to India and East Asia in the name of the U.S. Government. In 1976, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. After dying in 1980, he was awarded a posthumous medal in 1990 (the Congressional Gold Medal).

Great Recession vs. Great Depression Info graphic

Assassination of Huey Long

Huey Long was a politician in the 30's whose invigorating style of public speaking drew in audiences of various political affiliations. Much of his speeches catered to working-class individuals who were impacted heavily by unequal distribution of wealth. His most notable speech was his "Share the Wealth" speech in which he urged the government to redistribute the excess wealth of the uber-rich. Despite his popularity with blue-collar workers, Politicians found him to be a threat. His insurgent messages and militant-style conduct lead Roosevelt to consider him the most dangerous man in America.

Shortly before his death, Long claimed he was aware of the assassination plans as his associates overheard 4 congressmen plotting against him. Despite his knowledge of the plan, Long and his associates were not able to adequately prepare for the attempt, as it his assassination was successfully executed on September 8th of 1935 while he was in Baton Rouge for a meeting with the state legislature.

Great Depression vs. Great Recession Infographic (Peter, Samanyu, Sameera)

Great Depression v.s Great Recession

Info-graphic

Social Security

In 1935 President Roosevelt implemented federal Social Security programs. Through payroll tax, Social Security provided old age and disability insurance for Americans. The need for the programs came about as a result of the Great Depression. Due to the fact that American's were left with little to nothing and the inability to find jobs to get people back on track, federal aid was the solution that the Roosevelt administration came up with for people to fall back on in times of need. This was one of the many unprecedented actions taken by Roosevelt during the Hundred Days, which are still used to this day.

The Industrial Workers of the World

The Industrial Workers of the World is an international labor union that has existed for over a century. It was founded in Chicago in 1905 by a convention of 200 socialists, anarchists, and Marxists. The IWW was founded to oppose the American Federation of Labor, which it saw as excessively pro-capitalist and supportive of the discrimination between skilled and unskilled laborers. The IWW's motto is "An injury to one is an injury to all," which is credited to David C. Coates.

The black cat symbol was created by
Ralph Chaplin to symbolize sabotage

The Industrial Workers of the World promotes industrial unionism, which includes unskilled workers, instead of just trade unionism which is exclusive to skilled workers. The IWW pushed for social justice. They were the one union in America that accepted African-Americans, women, immigrants, and Asians.

There were over 900 unions and over 10,000 Industrial Workers of the World members that were assembled in the first few decades of the IWW's founding. Today, there are about 7,500 members of the Industrial Workers of the World.

The Flappers and Vamps (1920)

The Flappers and Vamps were a generation of young women from the West, who completely challenged the idea of how women should act during in 1920s. The word Flapper, was a American Slang word. They rebeled against the image of women during the 1920. By wearing short skirts, having short hair, wearing excessive makeup, drinking and smoking doing things that made them standout. The Vamps were very similar to The Flappers, except the Vamps didn't stop. They had no limit to their actions and were willing go against the idea of women even more. The Flappers were so well kown during the 1920's , there was a film named after them. The American silent comedy film is named The Flappers, and it is based on the wild lifestyle that these women lived everyday. The film starred Olivia Thomas, a sctress and model during the Roaring 20's. The Flapper were a big icon during the Roaring 20's and they were able to help increases movements after World War I.