second world war and the collapse of imperialism 5...ussr. hitler made no secret of his plans to...

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Standard X - Social Science I

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We studied the havoc caused to humanity by the First WorldWar. "The war to end all wars" could bring neither peace nordemocracy in the world as it was promised. In the post-Warperiod enmity, and friction increased among the nations. Thisdragged the world into another terrible war. The Second WorldWar which lasted from 1939 to 1945 was a real threat to the veryexistence of humanity. The war which utilised new technologieswas more destructive than any previous wars. Though the Warbegan in Europe, very soon it turned out to be a global war.

BackgroundWe have already discussed the various treaties concluded atthe Paris Peace Conference after First World War. The victoriousAllied Powers revengefully imposed the Treaty of Versailleson Germany. German colonies and territories were partitionedamong the Allied Powers. Germany was held responsible forthe war. A huge war indemnity was imposed on her. She wasdemilitarised. These unilateral and unjust provisions of theTreaty of Versailles were highly resented by the Germans. Byexploiting this dissatisfaction, Hitler’s Nazism incited the spiritof revenge and aggressive nationalism among the Germans. Thecapture of power by Hitler in Germany and Mussolini in Italypaved the way for the outbreak of the Second World War.

The competitions among the imperialist countries became acuteafter the First World War. Most of the colonies and markets ofAsia and Africa were controlled by Britain, France, Holland, etc.Countries like Germany, Italy and Japan had neither coloniesnor markets. This affected their economy which led toconsiderable resentment. They tried to capture the colonies ofother countries and weak nations. The conquest of Manchuria

SECOND WORLD WAR AND THECOLLAPSE OF IMPERIALISM

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COLLAPSE OF IMPERIALISM

by Japan, Abyssinia by Italy and Rhinelandby Germany was part of this project. TheLeague of Nations, supposedly formed toensure world peace, was not successful insolving these problems. European powerslike Britain and France considered SovietUnion as their chief enemy. The appeal ofSoviet Union that Fascism should beencountered unitedly was not heeded bythem. Not only did they not try to solve theseproblems but they also followed a policy ofappeasement towards the fascist powers.

A cartoon by David Low from the London EveningStandard, 1936. This was a popular newspaper with a

large readership in Britain.

Arguments for appeasement

Arguments against appeasement

At least Hitler is standing up to CommunismHitler was not the only concern of Britain and its allies. He was not eventheir main worry. They were more concerned about the spread of

It encouraged Hitler tobe aggressiveWith hindsight, you cansee that each gamble hego away with encouragedhim to take a bigger risk.

It allowed Germany togrow too strongWith hindsight, you can seethat Germany was not onlyrecovering lost ground it wasalso becoming much morepowerful than Britain orFrance

It scared the USSRWith hindsight, you can seehow the policy alarmed theUSSR. Hitler made nosecret of his plans toexpand eastwards.Appeasement sent themessage to the SovietUnion that Britain andFrance would not stand inHitler’s way.

It put too much trust inHitler’s promisesWith hindsight, you can seethat Hitler often went back onhis promises. Appeasementwas based on the mistakenidea that Hitler wastrustworthy.

Our own economic problems are a higher priorityBritain and France were still suffering from the effects of theDepression. They had large debts and huge unemployment.

Britain is not ready for warBritish armed forces were notready for war against Hitler

The USA will not support us if we stand up to HitlerAmerican leaders were determined not to be dragged intoanother war. Could Britain and her allies face up toGermany without the guarantee of American support?

The attitude of Britain’s EmpireIt was not at all certain that British Empire and Common wealth states

We must not repeatthe horrors of theGreat WarBoth British andFrench leaders vividlyremembered thehorrific experiences ofthe First World War.

Hitler is right-the Treaty of Versailles is unfairMany felt that the Treaty of Versailles was unfair to Germany. They assumed that once thesewrongs were put right then Germany would become a peaceful nation again.

Communism andparticularly about thedangers to world peaceposed by Stalin, thenew leader in theUSSR. Many saw Hitleras the buffer to the threatof spreadingCommunism.

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What were the causes for Britain and France to follow a policyof appeasement towards Germany?

• Enmity towards Soviet Union

•

•

Munich Conference

Czechoslovakia was an independent state which came into being after the First WorldWar. Sudetanland, a part of Czechoslovakia, was predominantly inhabited by people ofGermanic origin. Hitler decided to annex this region which was an industrial centre also.When the German army reached its borders, Czechoslovakia appealed to Britain and Francefor help. But these countries helped Hitler. In September 1938, the representatives of Britain,France, Germany and Italy met in the German city of Munich and approved the claim ofGermany over Sudetanland. Sudetanland was to be ceded to Germany. This decision wastaken without consulting Czechoslovakia nor Russia who had concluded a treaty with theformer. But Germany conquered the whole of Czechoslovakia on the strength of the Munichagreement. Upon this, Britain and France stopped the policy of appeasement and madepreparations for war.

In an essay titled "On the Brink of War", Nehru said: "If England, France andRussia stand united, the Nazi invasion could have been stopped". Do you agreewith this statement?

Germany signed a Non-aggression Pact withSoviet Union in 1939, though she wasconsidered as an enemy. Accordingly, boththe countries agreed not to attack each otherand to partition Poland. Thus Hitler was ableto avoid a possible invasion from SovietUnion. It also enabled Soviet Union toprepare herself to face an invasion fromGermany which she was expecting any time.

Examine the circumstances under which soviet Union, on the forefront ofanti-Fascist struggles, signed the Non-aggression Pact with Fascist Germany.

Non - aggression pact - a Cartoon

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Beginning of the War

After signing the Non-aggression Pact withSoviet Union, Germany turned againstPoland. Hitler demanded the PolishCorridor which separated East Prussia fromGermany and the city of Danzig. Poland didnot concede. On 18th September, 1939,Germany invaded Poland on the pretextthat Poland invaded the German radiostation. Britain and France joined hands withPoland and declared war on Germany. Thusbegan the Second World War.

War-time Alliances

Even before the commencement of the War,Italy and Germany had come to anunderstanding to assist each other. It wasknown as the Rome-Berlin Axis. In 1937Japan joined this alliance and thus wasformed the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis. Theywere generally known as Axis Powers.

Britain, France and China came together andformed the Allied powers. It was an anti-Fascist alliance. Later Soviet Union andAmerica joined the Allies.

Secret Plan

The Axis powers prepared a plan for conqueringthe whole world. Germany would proceed tothe East by conquering Central Europe andCentral Asia. Italy would move towards theEast after conquering North Africa and WestAsia. Far East and South East Asia would beconquered by Japan by moving towards theWest. These three powers would meet at Delhi.But the entry of Soviet Union and America inthe war foiled this plan.

Hitler's Programme

1933 Germany withdraws from the League ofNations and begins militarisation

1934 Attempts to conquer Austria, but Mussoliniprevents him

1935 Germany conducts a huge military rally1936 Compulsory military service is proclaimed in

Germany. German army is sent to Rhineland.Enters into an Anti-Communist Pact with Japan

1937 German arms are tested in the Spanish CivilWar. Enters into an Anti-Communist pact withItaly

1938 Sudetanland and Austria are conquered1939 Remaining parts of Czechoslovakia and

Poland are invaded

Phoney WarThough Britain and France declared war onGermany, a direct confrontation wasavoided. They kept out after giving aid toPoland. Hence the period from September1939 to April 1940 came to be known as'Phoney War'. This was a period when nobig war took place. After conqueringPoland, Germany turned against Norwayand Denmark. Then Holland, Belgium andLuxemburg were conquered.

France surrendersIn June 1940 the combined forces ofGermany and Italy invaded and occupiedParis. Pushed to the wall, the French army

The German attack on France

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1929-30C 1931-33C

1936-38C 1938C

1939C 1939C

1934-36C

1939C

C

Time Line towards War

Great Depression

m Unemployment

m Inflationm Poverty and

starvationm The countries which

co-operated with

each other before the

depression now

became self-seeking.

Machurian Crisis

Japan conqueredMachuria to expand

their commerce; League

of Nations failed to

intervene. Thisencouraged othernations to do whatever

they liked. Leaguebecame defunct.

Abyssinian Crisis

Mussolini conquered

Abyssinia in order to get

control over Africa.

League failed to help

Abyssinia. League

collapsed.

Hitler denounced the

Treaty of Versailles.

He sent his army to

Rhineland. Austria

was annexed to

Germany. Britain and

France failed to stop

Germany.

Munich Agreement

Hitler conquered

Sudetanland. Britain

and France accepted this

on condition that no

further conquests

would be made.

Hitler Conquered

Czechoslovakia.

Britain and France

threatened Germany

with war if she

committed any more

aggression.

Nazi-Soviet No War

PactHitler entered into a No

War Pact with Soviet

Union. Poland was

partitioned.

Hitler conqueredPolandBritain and France

declared war on

Germany. The War

begins.• Discuss how

each incident

pushed the

world close to a

war.

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surrendered. The province of Alsace-Lorraine was annexed by Germany.

Battle of Britain

With the occupation of France, it was evidentthat the aim of Hitler was the invasion ofBritain. The German plan to invade Britainwas named 'Sea Lion'. German air forcebombarded Britain. This was known asBlitzkreig. Britain retaliated under theleadership of Winston Churchill. Americarushed to the help of Britain without directlyparticipating in the war. This war, known as"Battle of Britain", brought unexpectedreversals to Germany.

During this period Italy conquered NorthAfrica. She occupied Somaliland, Eritria andthe Sudan. Germany occupied Greece,Yugoslavia and a major portion of NorthAfrica. Thus the whole of Europe exceptBritain and Soviet Union was occupied bythe Axis Powers.

Soviet Union enters the war

Emboldened by the recent victories, Hitlerinvaded Soviet Union in June 1941, byignoring the No War pact. The German armyconquered many parts of Russia and reachedthe outskirts of Moscow. Soviet Union struckback heavily. The Russian winter proved too

German aggressions

Do you think that it was the German invasion of Russia that changed the course ofthe Second World War? Disscuss.

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hostile to the German army. In the historicBattle of Stalingrad Germans were defeated.Millions of Soviet people became martyrsin this war. Vast farmlands and severalindustries were severely damaged. TheSoviet people met the Nazi invasionunitedly and against heavy odds.

Operation Barbarossa

The secret name of the Nazi plan to invade So-viet Union was Operation Barbarossa. Preven-tion of Communism, destruction of Soviet Un-ion and settling Germans there, annihilation ofthe Jews, enslavement of the Slav race, etc. werethe objectives of Hitler behind the invasion ofSoviet Union.

Enter America

The War was taken to Asia and America byJapan, the ally of Fascist powers. OnDecember 7, 1941, Japan bombarded theAmerican naval base at Pearl Harbour.Forced to enter the War, America declaredwar on Japan. America also declared waron Italy and Germany when these countries

proceeded to assist Japan. Thus the Warspread to all parts of the world.

Pearl HarbourPearl Harbour was the American naval base inthe island of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean.America utilised this base to control Japan,Philippines, Singapore, etc. Japan bombardedPearl Harbour with a view to preventing theentry of America into Asia and thwarting theAmericans in the Pacific.

End of War

In June 1944 the Anglo-American forcesopened a new front in the West to liberateFrance from German occupation. The Anglo-American forces landed at Normandy on theFrench coast and drove away the Nazi forcesfrom Holland and Belgium. They liberatedFrance and entered Germany from the West.The Soviet army liberated East Europe andentered Germany from the East. On 2ndMay, 1945 the Soviet army captured theGerman capital, Berlin. Hitler committedsuicide. Germany surrendered on 7th May.

The Allied forces captured the northernregions of Italy in April 1945. Mussolini wasmurdered by the people. Thus ended Fascistregime in Italy.

After the cessation of the war in Europe theAllied forces moved towards the East andasked Japan to surrender. Japan refused. TheSoviet army moved towards Japan throughthe trans-Siberian route. Before they reachedJapan, America dropped atom bombs inHiroshima on 6th August and in Nagasakion 9th August ,1945. On 15th August Japansurrendered. Thus ended the second worldwar.

Theatre of war in the Pacific Ocean

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Could the Allied Powers have defeated Japan without the use of atom bombs?What were the reasons which led to the use of the bomb?

After the WarThe Allied Powers convened a meeting atPotsdam to discuss the nature of treaties tobe concluded with the vanquished powers.Accordingly, Germany was divided intofour regions. Each region was taken over byone of the victorious nations, viz., Britain,America, France and Soviet Union. Britain,

America and France accused Soviet Unionof trying to make East Germany aCommunist state and unified the regionsunder their control into a democratic state.This was known as the federal Republic ofGermany. East Germany, controlled bySoviet Union, came to be known as GermanDemocratic Republic.

War for Profit !

The country which benefited most out of theWar was America. Like in the First World War,no battle was fought in America during theSecond World War too. But most of thecombating nations used the arms andammunitions manufactured by Americancompanies. American companies earned profitthrough the sale of pharmaceutical goods. Thusthe Second World War was a boon to America.She became rich. Most nations became herdebtors. America became the "arsenal ofdemocracy".

Berlin Wall

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

For the first time in history, atom bombs were droppedin the Japanese city of Hiroshima at 8.15 am on Mon-day, 6th August, 1945. More than one lakh people diedimmediately. About 74000 persons died in Nagasaki asa result of the dropping of the atom bomb at 11.02 am on9th August. There is no estimate of the number of peoplewho died as a result of atomic radiation after the War.The names of the two bombs were 'Little Boy' and 'FatMan'.

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Ferocity of the WarThe Second World War had devoured aboutforty million people. It was Soviet Unionwhich tried hard to defeat the Nazis and hadsuffered the loss of the greater number ofmen. Many countries suffered from epidem-ics. Cities and buildings were razed to theground. Factories, farms, roads, rail tracks,

communication systems, etc. were de-stroyed. Each nation was faced with thegrave problems of inflation, price hike, fam-ine, unemployment, health hazards, povertyand similar other problems. Millionsbecame refugees. The Second World Warwas so ferocious.

"Each gun manufactured, each cruiser launched and each rocket fired, in thefinal analysis, is robbed off from the hungry man who did not eat and the nakedman who shivers in cold. A militarised world not only squanders money butalso the bread of the toiling ,the wisdom of the scientist and the aspirations of thechildren". Examine this statement of President Eisenhover of America.

Colonies become freeAnti-colonial struggles were furtherintensified in Asia and Africa when the Warcame to an end. The imperialist nationscould not suppress these liberationmovements. Colonies began to liberatethemselves from the imperialist control.What were the factors which led this processof decolonisation?

You have studied the struggle forIndependence in India against the British.The British left the country after dividing theit into two. Burma (Myanmar) and Ceylon

(Sri Lanka) also became independent. InGold Coast (Ghana) the liberation struggleunder Kwame Nkrumah became successful.In 1980 Southern Rhodesia becameindependent under the name of Zimbabwe.Thus the 'Empire where the Sun Never Set'disappeared. Countries like Spain,Portugal, Italy, Belgium and Holland werecompelled to grant independence to theircolonies as a result of intensive struggles.With the liberation of Namibia in 1990,European colonial rule came to an end inAfrica.

Discuss the circumstances which led to the disintegration of the British Empireover which the sun never set. Prepare a chart of the British colonies whichbecame independent.

Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War was entirely different fromthe kind of anti-colonial struggles which tookplace elsewhere. The countries of Laos,Campuchia and Vietnam were togetherknown as Indo-China, a French colony.

During the Second World War Japanoccupied Indo-China. The liberationstruggle against Japan in Vietnam was ledby Ho Chi Minh. The Vietnamese peopleresisted Japan forming a popular liberationarmy called Viet Min. When the Second

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World War ended in 1945 the DemocraticRepublic of Vietnam came into being withHo Chi Minh as President. The French armycame to Vietnam in 1946 to recapture theirlost power. America helped the French.Vietnam put up a heroic resistance. In 1954the French were defeated at Dien Bien Phuby the Vietnamese army. The French cameround for an agreement.

The Geneva Conference of 1954 decided todivide Vietnam at the 17th parallel intonorth and south and to hold elections in thetwo regions within two years. But theGovernment which came to power in SouthVietnam with the help of America was notready to respect the Geneva Agreement. Theestablishment of Communist regime inVietnam was their possible apprehension.Popular revolts began in 1960 in South

Vietnam. North Vietnam was accused ofinstigating these revolts and hence Americaunleashed war on her. America usedbiological weapons such as the NapamBomb, which destroyed only the livingbeings. Even children were not spared.Several North Vietnamese villages wereburnt. World opinion turned againstAmerican brutalities in Vietnam.Processions were held in several countriesChildren fleeing seared by Napam Bombing

Ho Chi Minh

Korean War

When Japan surrendered at the end of theSecond World War, Korea which was underthe control of Japan, was divided into two at

the 38th Parallel. North Korea came under thecontrol of Soviet Union and South Korea underAmerica. Though Soviet Union and Americawithdrew from Korea, the two nations were notunified. The enmity between the two countriesbecame intense. In 1950 war broke out betweenthe two countries. China came to the help ofNorth Korea and America supported SouthKorea. The United Nations denounced NorthKorea and passed a resolution in support ofSouth Korea. The War which lasted for threeyears ended in 1953. The two Koreas are notunited till date.

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proclaiming solidarity with the people ofVietnam. Anti-American opinion becamestrong.

Left with no other option, America wasforced to withdraw from Saigon, the capitalof South Vietnam on 30th April, 1975. In 1976Vietnam was unified. Ho Chin Minh, whopassed away during the course of the war,was commemorated by renaming Saigon asHo Chin Minh city. The Vietnam War was agreat rebuff to America.

National movement in SouthAfricaThe national movement in South Africa hadthe dimension of a struggle against racialdiscrimination. The white minorityGovernment of the country was highlydiscriminatory towards the black majority.Through the struggle against this policy ofApartheid led by African NationalCongress, South Africa won independence.In the elections held in 1994 African NationalCongress was voted to power and agovernment was formed under its leaderNelson Mandela. The transfer of power fromthe White to the Black was a milestone inthe history of the 20th century.

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela was the heroic leader of theblack people of South Africa who fought againstthe white minority rule and their policy of ra-cial discrimination. He was the leader of theAfrican National Congress, the members ofwhich were predominantly black. He led thestruggle against the policy of Apartheid forwhich he was accused of treason and impris-oned in 1962. After 28 long years of solitaryconfinement he was released in 1990. Worldopinion was raised against racial discrimina-tion of South Africa and for the release ofMandela. The U.N.O imposed embargo onSouth Africa against her policy of 'Apartheid'.It was as a result of this global pressure thatMandela was released. After his release he heldconversations with the President P.W.de Clerkand became successful in the abolition of Apart-heid. As the leader of African National Con-gress which came out victorious in the electionsheld in 1994, Mandela became the President ofthe country. He was awarded the Nobel Prizefor Peace in 1993.

Chinese Revolution

You have learnt about the establishment ofthe Chinese Communist Party in 1921. It wasunder the leadership of Mau Ze Dong thatthe Chinese Revolution took place. Thepolicies of the government of Koumingtangwere extremely anti-people. Chiang KeiShek ruled the country like a dictator. Thegovernment protected the interests of theindustrialists and the big land lords. Theworkers and the peasants were tired of thisrule. The government was not able to preventthe Japanese occupation of Manchuria.

Nelson Mandela

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Mao found that the peasants were the chiefrevolutionary force of the country andtherefore they were organised and foughtagainst the Koumintag government. Heorganised the Red Army for this. Heconducted the 'Long March' in order toescape from the attack of Chiang Kei Shek.The March began on the 16th October 1934from Kang Shi and ended at Shensi aftercovering 6000 miles on foot within one year.They crossed 18 mountain ranges, 24 riversand 12 provinces. They captured 62 cities.Land from big land lords was confiscatedand distributed among the land lesspeasants.

When Japan invaded China in 1937, theCommunists and Koumintang formed aunited front to resist the common enemy. In1945 when the Japanese were defeated , theCommunists revived their struggle againstKoumintang. America helped them bysupplying men, money and weapons o fightthe Communists. But the People's Armyunder the leadership of Red Army foughtagainst the Koumintang by adoptingtechniques of Guerilla war. On 23rd April,1949, the Koumintang capital of Nanking

was captured by the Red Army. Chiang KeiShek and his army fled to the island ofFormosa. On 1st October 1949, the People’sRepublic of China came into being with MauZe Dong as the Chairman and Shou En Laias Prime Minister.

Expansion of SocialismThe changes brought about by the SecondWorld War led to the expansion of socialism.Socialist government came to power in theEast European countries of Poland,Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Rumania,Bulgaria and Yugoslavia. Socialist ideologygathered strength in West Europeancountries like France and Italy. Asiancountries like China and Vietnam and manycountries of Africa came under the influenceof socialism. The upper hand gained bysocialist ideology the world over scared thecapitalist countries. The capitalist countrieswere afraid of the spread of socialism andthese countries under the leadership ofAmerica tried to destroy socialism.

Mau Ze Dong greets people

Spread of Socialism

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Iron Curtain Speech

into blocs on the basis of ideologicaldifferences. They were the Socialist blocunder the leadership of Soviet Union and theCapitalist bloc under America. However, theenmity nurtured by these blocs did notassume the nature of an open war. Hence itwas known as Cold War. In the anti-colonialstruggle the two blocs were on either side.

Policy of ContainmentThe attempt made by America to containCommunism within the borders of Soviet Unionwas the main plank of their foreign policy.America tried to keep the newly independentnations with her by extending all kinds ofassistance to them.

The phrase 'Cold War' was first used bythe American diplomat Bernard Berooch.The book written by Walter Lipman titledCold War gave currency to this idea.

Cold war was neither a state of war nor ofpeace. It was a diplomatic war. Ideologicalhatred and political distrust were the basesof this phenomenon.

Military PactsThe mutual distrust and fear generated bythe Cold War led to the formation of militarypacts and alliances. America organisedmilitary alliances against the Socialist blocunder Soviet Union. Similarly Soviet Union

Winston Churchill looks through the ‘IronCurtain’ - British cartoon

"A shadow has fallen upon the scenes so latelylighted by the Allied victory. From Stettin onthe Baltic to Trieste on the Adriatic, an ironcurtain has descended. Behind that line lie allthe states of central and eastern Europe. TheCommunist parties have been raised to powerfar beyond their numbers and are seekingeverywhere to obtain totalitarian control. Thisis certainly not the liberated Europe we foughtto build. Nor is it one which allows permanentpeace. (Winston Churchill speaking in the USA,in the prresence of President Truman, March1946).

Cold WarAmerica and the Soviet Union became superpowers after the Second World War. Thefriendship and alliance which theyestablished during the War had come to anend after the War. The world was divided

Winston Churchill sets outto deliver his Foulton speech

Coldwar-Cartoon in the EnglishNews paper ‘Daily Mail’

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formed alliances against the Capitalist blocled by America. North Atlantic TreatyOrganisation (NATO), South East Asian

NATO allies and the allies of U.S.S.R

U.S.S.R and its allies

NATO allies

NATO SEATO CENTO WARSAW PACT

$ $ $ $

$ $ $ $

$ $ $ $

$ $ $ $

Complete the chart with the names of the member nations of each military pact withthe help of the world map.

UNO and World PeaceThe destructions caused by the SecondWorld War made it clear that an internationalorganisation was essential for ensuringworld peace and security. World leaders hadmade several efforts in that direction. War

time conferences were convened for therealisation of this objective. As a result, theUnited Nations Organisations came intobeing on 24th October, 1945. A detaileddiscussion of the UNO is given elsewhere.

Treaty Organisation (SEATO), Central TreatyOrganisation (CENTO) and the Warsaw Pactwere the most important among them.

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The UNO intervened in international eventsto find peaceful solutions to them. But acriticism exists that it is a puppet in thehands of the super powers. The countries ofSouth America and Africa are notrepresented in the Security Council of UNO.It is alleged that the UNO became an agency

to implement the American agenda after thedisintegration of the Soviet Union. It is saidthat the World Bank and the InternationalMonetary Fund, which function with thefinancial backing of America, implementpolices beneficial to that country.

Discuss the important challenges faced by the UNO in the changinginternational context.

U.S.A.

• American society is rooted in two ideals:Democracy and Capitalism.

• By democracy it is meant that The Presidentand the US Congress( Parliament) come to

power through free elections.

• Capitalism means that wealth, property,etc. are owned by individuals or

companies.

• USA is a wealthy state. But Islands of

wealth and poverty exist side by side.

• To an American individual freedom(freedom of expression and profession) ismore important than right to equality.

• Most Americans are proud of their life style.

• They wish that other nations would alsofollow their life style. They fear thatCommunism would obstruct their free life.They are apprehensive about Communistrevolution.

• Americans think that the policies of thestate should be beneficial to them. Theyprefer individual interest to state interest.

U.S.S.R.

• Soviet society is rooted in Communistideology.

• Single party rule exists there. Theypractise election. But all seats are won by

Communists.• Industries are in public sector and owned

by the State.

• Unemployment and poverty are less. Butthe standard of living of an averageSoviet citizen is below that of an

American.

• Welfare of the society is given priorityover individual rights. Hence severalrestrictions on the freedom of theindividual. Eg: Freedom of movement,

Freedom to practice any profession etc.

• Communist writers wish thatCommunist revolutions should also takeplace in other countries

• Most Soviet citizens oppose Capitalism.

The conflict between two different social systems led to the Cold War. Discuss?

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Third World and Non-AlignmentWhen the world was divided into two blocs,many newly independent states of Asia andAfrica decided not to join any of these blocsand remained independent. These countries,which suffered under long years of colonialoppression, came to be known as ThirdWorld Countries. These countries wereeconomically and politically ruined.

The Non-Alligned Movement was initiatedat the conference held at Bandung inIndonesia in 1955.

Architects of the Movement• Nehru (India)

• Tito (Yogoslavia)

• Nasser (Egypt)

• Sukarno (Indonesia)

The draft proposal of the Non-alignedmovement was prepared at the conferenceheld at Brion in Yugoslavia in 1956. It wasofficially declared in 1961 at the BelgradeConference. Non-aligned movement is apolicy of neither neutrally nor nonintervention. It demands the activeintervention in the international events.

Imperialism and Late CapitalismIn the post-War period, a new kind ofimperialism emerged. There is no directconquest or political hegemony. It triumphswith the capitalist countries intervene in theeconomic and cultural lives of the people ofother countries. Some multi-nationalcompanies work behind this. It is known asneo-imperialism. The multinationalcompanies of Europe and America whichaim to control the resources of the world putforward this ideology of late capitalismthrough the capitalist countries. It is alsoknown as globalisation.

Protest movements are organisedthroughout world against globalisation byraising the idea that 'another world ispossible'. The collective effort of theseprotests is the World Social Forum. It is theconcerted efforts of human rights activists,environmentalists, trade unions, peasants,youths and activists.

Disintegration of the Soviet UnionThe world was bewildered at thedisintegration of Soviet Union. The countrywhich held out an alternative to capitalismdisintegrated in 1991. The deviation from thebasic principles of socialism caused itsdisintegration. The external interventions aspart of globalisation weakened the SovietUnion. The policies adopted by Mikhail

Gorbachev

World Social Forum held in Mumbai

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Gorbachev, who came to power in 1985, ledthe country to the capitalist path. This led tointernal problems both in the party andgovernment and corruption becamerampant.

With the resignation of Gorbachev from theoffice of the President on 25th December,

1991, Soviet Union formally came to an end.Fifteen independent states appeared in itsplace. With the disintegration of SovietUnion, there is no power to question thepretentions of imperialist powers. Thebipolar world came to an end and a unipolarworld took its place.

Activities

Can you see differences in strategy and the use of technologyas well as the results between the two World Wars? Hold adiscussion based on the following points:

• Modernity of weapons• Differences in the strategy of war• Destructive turn of science and technology• Horror of war• Shifts in the balance of power• Results of the war

• Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo were responsible for the Second World War. Discuss.• Does the Second World War bring home the necessity of disarmament? Discuss.• By organising the neutral nations did the Non-Aligned Movement succeed in

reducing the intensity of Cold War? Discuss.• Prepare a speech on the topic 'If another world war breaks out'.• Conduct an anti- war exhibition by collecting reports, news and pictures related to

war.• How do neo-imperialism and late capitalism affect the countries of Asia, Africa and

South America? Hold a discussion based on contemporary global events.• Prepare a note based on the autobiography and biography of Gandhiji on the

humiliations suffered by him in South Africa as a result of racial discrimination.• Prepare an article on the challenges raised by Cold War to world peace.• Conduct a debate on the impact of the disintegration of Soviet Union on international

politics and contemporary events.

second world war and the collapse of imperialism 5...ussr. hitler made no secret of his plans to...

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