Survivors of the Russian famine during the first four years following the Great War. Hoover Institution Archives

VIDEO PROGRAM Volume 189   CONCEPTS AND THEMES Hatred, Hunger, Starvation, Blockade, Revenge, Despair KEY GENERALIZATIONS AND IDEAS Decisions that are shaped by hatred and revenge often create conditions that maintain if not increase the deprivation and suffering of individuals who were not the original targets of these decisions. Individuals and groups react to deprivation and suffering in a number of ways, including resorting to activities that under prior conditions they considered to be immoral, illegal or taboo. One cannot reliably predict a person's or group's reactions to prolonged and severe deprivation of basic human needs and the suffering generated by such deprivation. Consequently these reactions may but need not conform to moral, ethical or legal standards that guided personal or group actions prior to such deprivation. While individuals may make irrational and hasty decisions during times of intense emotional feelings, they do not necessarily revise their decisions after these feelings have abated. The emotions that were intense and important during a conflict may be retained to guide an individual's or group's decisions following the conflict. When this occurs, the post conflict emotions may adversely affect the rationality and fairness of the decisions that are made. Leaders and governments tend not to consider the terms of peace during a war. Consequently, the terms of peace are often decided under many of the emotions that guided decision-making during the war. Establishing a fair and lasting peace is often far more difficult and complex than guiding the actions of a nation during a war. In fighting a war as well as determining the conditions for peace, leaders vary in their ability to distinguish among the "nation," the leadership, and the people with whom they are at war and with whom they are to make peace. For instance, when the United States declared war, was the war declared against the nation of Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm II and his Ministers or each individual German citizen? If it was the German nation, what did this mean the United States was going to fight? ` STUDENT LEARNING EXPECTATIONS HATRED AND HUNGER describes a number of events, conditions and attitudes that contributed to the starvation, suffering, illness and death of millions of people in Germany, the other Central Powers, and Russia during the latter months of the war and even after the cease-fire. These conditions were the direct result of the continued naval blockade against these nations. This video includes details of the day-to-day living conditions of some of the people in these nations, and of the events, attitudes and ideas that shaped the final peace treaty between the warring nations. At the end of this lesson, students should be able to do the following: 1. Define "hatred," and cite examples of the postwar behavior of the British, Italians and French that illustrate their hatred of the Germans. 2. Define "hunger," and describe specific conditions in Germany, Austria and Russia that illustrate the hunger in these nations after the war. 3. Identify three reasons many people did not think that the world could go back to the way it had been before the war. 4. Describe the actions that were needed to set up the "new world order." 5. Describe the last days of Tsar Nicholas II and his family and the reasons for the treatment they received. 6. Explain why Tsar Nicholas II and his family were assassinated when and where they were. 7. Describe what the death of the tsar and his family symbolized for the Russian people as they sought to establish a new government for themselves. 8. Identify three reasons that the French, British and Americans landed in Russia in 1919 and fought the Bolsheviks. 9. Explain why historian Jay Winter claims that the "Cold War" between the Communists and the democratic nations of western Europe and the U.S. started on the tundra of Russia in 1919. 10. Describe the political and economic conditions in Germany after the Kaiser abdicated in November 1918. 11. Explain why the deaths of Rosa Luxemburg and her associates are attributed to the Great War. 12. Describe dadaism and explain why this movement emerged in Europe during the Great War. 13. Define "national self-determination," and describe what was done during the Paris Peace Conference to prevent or ensure self-determination. 14. Describe the initial reactions of the European people to President Woodrow Wilson and his ideas, and compare these to their later reactions. 15. Explain why historian Jay Winter claims that the Paris Peace Conference was like a "grand bazaar." 16. Explain why the Allies continued their blockade of their war enemies and Russia after the cease-fire. 17. Describe the political and economic situation in Russia during its civil war. 18. Describe the terms of the Treaty of Ver-sailles and explain Germany's reaction to it. 19. Describe the efforts of Herbert Hoover in Europe after the armistice, and explain why Hoover thought the job he was doing was important.   BACKGROUND DISCUSSION Of all the momentous events of 1918, the most momentous was the Armistice - the cease-fire that occurred on November 11th. The celebrations lasted for days in some cities around the world. The world could not return to the way it was - to what was "normal." Four empires had disappeared, a new menace labeled "Bolshevism" arose, and millions of people tasted the ideas and feelings associated with nationalism, national self-determination and democracy. The peace that followed the war was not one that was likely to last for a long period. The efforts to adjust to the war and what people experienced during and after the Great War would dominate decisions in every area for the rest of the century. And, for millions the war continued for months, years and even decades after November 11.   LESSON PLAN SUGGESTIONS 1. Write the Concepts and Themes words on the board or overhead. Ask students to define each. Help them list the characteristics of "hatred" and "hunger." Ask them to describe what it would be like to live with widespread and severe shortages of food, clothing, medicine and money. Ask them to explain why the citizens of one nation would want to continue to punish the civilians of another nation, even after its armed forces had surrendered. Unless students consider these concepts immediately before, during and immediately following this video, they will miss many details. Also, the Concepts and Themes will help them see the video segments as related, complementing one another to describe the moods, events and contexts of the period. 2. Using an overhead or handout, ask students to consider the Key Generalizations and Ideas for this module. Ask them to paraphrase the ones that you want to emphasize. Ask them to watch the video with these points in mind, looking for relevant information. 3. Distribute Student Handout 7-A, Questions. You may want them to pay particular attention to specific questions, stopping the video after a segment to give them time to make notes. 4. Distribute Student Handout 7-B, Context and Overview of the Great War. Ask them to read this summary and answer the questions before watching the video. You might supplement this reading with textbooks, other readings or a lecture. 5. Distribute Student Handout 7-C, The Paris Peace Conference: Different Hopes and Expectations. Ask students to read these fictionalized summaries of the positions of the leaders of the major nations involved in the peace negotiations. They should understand the reason for each person's position. Ask students to compare the different positions and to consider what the peace terms might look like if each person had decided the terms by himself. 6. Distribute Student Handout 7-D, People Are Dying Like Flies. Students can use this sheet to imagine what it was like among the civilian populations of the defeated nations as a direct result of the Allied blockade and the fighting in the Russian civil war. 7. Distribute Student Handout 7-E, A Confession of Guilt Would Be a Lie. This sheet in-cludes two statements that present the German position on its responsibility for starting the Great War and its guilt for acts committed during the war. Students should evaluate the accuracy of the ideas presented, answering the questions that are included. 8. Distribute Student Handout 7-F, Managing Without the Kaiser. Ask students to read this essay to understand the issues that had to be resolved in order for the Germans to establish and preserve a republican form of government. 9. Ask the students to consider the title of the module, HATRED AND HUNGER, and ask them to watch for the events, attitudes, conditions and decisions that contributed to the continuing punishment of the German civilians, even after the cease-fire. 10. Ask students to reflect on one quote from Student Handout 7-G, Noteworthy Quotes. Ask them to interpret the quotation in the context of the person speaking and the situation in which the statement was made. You might want to ask them to interpret these both before they watch the video and afterward, and then to compare the differences in their interpretations. Students might also offer their personal reactions to particular quotes.   ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES 1. Ask students to investigate the origins and additional characteristics of the "DADA Movement" and to make a list of reasons why this ideas behind the Movement reflected the mood and thoughts of a large number of people during the later part of the Great War and the years after it. Have them find selected examples of art work by members of this Movement and then describe how the work reflects the characteristics of and reasons behind this Movement. 2. Have students investigate the initial actions of the Bolsheviks after their seizure of power in November, 1917. Ask them to make a list of actions they took that helped them secure their position as leaders of the Russian government and actions that would lead others to oppose their rule. Given these actions, for what reasons might the British, French and United States have opposed the Bolshevik government? Also have students answer the question, "What are the reasons why the "Cold War" may have started with the Bolshevik seizure of power in November 1917?" 3. Have students read excerpts from Dr. Zhivago (or see parts of the movie) and examine other documents to generate a narrative that reflects the living conditions during and reactions of the Russian people to the Civil War that followed the Bolshevik takeover of power in November 1917. Ask them to find the major ideas that each of the conflicting sides supported. Then ask them to investigate government policies and living conditions of most Russians during the 1920s and compare these with living conditions prior to and immediately after World War I. Ask them to determine during which of the three periods did most Russians experience the "best" living conditions? 4. Have students investigate the activities, time line, issues and individuals involved with the Paris Peace Conference and then support or refute Historian Jay Winter's claim that this Conference was like a "grand bazaar." 5. Have students investigate the activities of Herbert Hoover in providing massive relief assistance to the nations of Europe following the War. Ask them to assess the need for such a program as well as its consequences on economic and political life in the United States as well as in particular European nations such as Austria, Hungary, Russia and Germany. Hoover's program has been called America's first "foreign aid" program. Ask students to consider the pros and cons of foreign aid programs and to consider Hoover's program in light of these pros and cons. They might also investigate instances of foreign aid in the world today in light of their list of pros and cons. 6. Ask students to consider the policies and actions of the British, French, Italians and Americans following the armistice that resulted in widespread suffering, social chaos, hunger, illness, starvation and death among civilian populations in the Euro-pean nations that opposed them. Ask them to determine the Allies's justifications for these policies and actions. Ask them to describe what they would have done to punish the Germans had they been the leader of Britain, France or Italy. Then ask them to decide what would have been the best policies for the Allies to follow in their treatment of Germany after the war.   ADDITIONAL POST-VIEWING QUESTIONS In addition to the questions on the student handouts and in the section on Student Learning Expectations, the following questions may be asked: 1. What actions were needed to set up the "new world order"? 2. Describe the last days of Tsar Nicholas II and his family. 3. If they had not executed the Russian royal family, what should the Bolsheviks have done with them? 4. Why does historian Jay Winter claim that the "Cold War" between the communists and the democratic nations of western Europe and the U.S. started on the tundra of Russia in 1919? 5. What is "national self-determination"? What happened during the Paris Peace Conference to prevent or ensure self-determination for people in the defeated nations? for people in the colonies of the victorious nations? 6. Why are the deaths of Rosa Luxemburg and her associates attributed to the Great War? 7. What tasks did Herbert Hoover undertake after the armistice to end the starvation and suffering of the civilians in Europe? Why did he think this was such an important mission? 8. What were the specific results of the Treaty of Versailles? Identify at least five results. 9. How did Germany react to the terms of the treaty?   STUDENT RESOURCES 7-A. Questions. This resource provides a set of questions to focus students' attention on the important content in each segment of the video. 7-B. Context and Overview of the Great War. This resource provides background details of the period just after the war to help the students understand the dominant conditions and moods of the time. It includes questions to be answered before seeing the video, questions that you may ask them to reconsider after the viewing. 7-C. The Paris Peace Conference: Different Hopes and Expectations. This sheet summarizes the positions of the leaders of the major nations at the Paris Peace Conference. A set of questions is included. 7-D. A Confession of Guilt Would be a Lie. This sheet includes two statements by a German official, outlining the position of the Germans on who was responsible for starting the Great War and who were the guilty parties. A set of questions is included. 7-E. People Are Dying Like Flies. This sheet describes the conditions of suffering, starvation and death among the civilian populations in two nations as a direct result of the naval blockade by the Allies. A set of questions is included. 7-F. Managing Without the Kaiser. This sheet is a short history of the efforts of the people of Germany to establish a republic to replace the monarchy of the Kaiser. A set of questions is included. 7-G. Noteworthy Quotes. This resource provides a number of quotes from individuals whose words express the thoughts and feelings of the period just after the war.