WWII_Ch1_Webquest-causes

=**Chapter 1 Web Quest: Causes of the War**=

Below is a video from February 2, 2015 in which Bill O'Reilly compares ISIS with the Nazis. ISIS is an Islamic terror group that seized portions of Syria and Iraq. They have beheaded numerous innocent civilians who were not militant Muslims. The world condemned their actions, but has not really taken a stand against them or developed a policy to stop them. In the 1930s, Hitler's actions were often condemned, but nothing else done to him. Watch the video and answer the following: Read the excerpt below or [|click here]for transcript: "Over the weekend I watched the documentary 'Night Will Fall,' which contained footage from German concentration camps liberated at the end of World War II. Flash forward to this past weekend, when we heard that a Japanese journalist was beheaded by ISIS on camera. That makes seven beheadings added to the thousands of other human ISIS fanatics have murdered. So I ask, what is the difference between ISIS, al Qaeda, the Taliban - which recently slaughtered 132 children - and the Nazi killers? There is no difference, it is the same mentality. During World War II, the allied forces fought hard to defeat Germany and Japan, but that was after they had declared war on us. The USA was not proactive in destroying the Nazi menace or Tojo's militaristic government. The result: close to 100 million human beings killed. That is what we are facing now with the jihad, especially because Iran is close to getting a nuclear weapon. President Obama does not want to hear any of this. He says, 'We are doing exactly what we should be doing to make sure that, while we're pushing back ISIL, we are not creating another situation in which we are deploying massive numbers of U.S. troops.' Well here's a bulletin: Americans are being murdered and, if the jihadists can, they will massacre millions of us. President Obama should be convening a worldwide conference on the jihad. The nations that cooperate will launch operations against ISIS, al Qaeda, the Taliban and other groups. Surely Japan will now be on board; France and Britain have to cooperate. But it would be fascinating to see how cowardly the world really is, which nations will sit it out. The major mistake President Obama is making is telling the jihadists what he will not do. It is true that most Americans don't want another ground war and that should not happen. But targeted strikes from many nations should absolutely happen. The goal should be to wipe the jihadists off the face of the earth. Again, it goes back to the Third Reich. Many people knew what their intent was, but the world looked away and the worst Holocaust on earth took place. That is brewing once again."


 * 1.** O'Reilly said there is no difference between radical Islamic terror groups (al Qaeda, ISIS, Taliban) and the Nazis in terms of mentality. Do you agree? Why or why not?
 * 2.** How was the U.S. not proactive in helping to destroy Nazi Germany or Imperial Japan before declaration of war? How about the world for that matter? How does that compare with ISIS, the radical terror group that has grown in the Middle East (to be clear, there is some fighting and bombing of ISIS, but if the entire non-terror world united against ISIS with massive force, they wouldn't exist?
 * 3.** Why did the world allow Hitler and the Nazis to rise even though Hitler was clear about his objectives? How does that compare with ISIS today?
 * 4.** What should the world learn from history when it comes to negotiating with evil...appeasement failed for Chamberlain in handling Hitler - appeasement made Hitler more aggressive...do you think appeasement would work with ISIS, or how about Iran pursuing a nuclear weapon (Iran is open against Israel)?

Below is a video from April 2014 after Russia's dictator Vladimir Putin seized the Crimean Peninsula, which is part of Ukraine. Putin has gotten away with this as the world leaders didn't have the will to confront Putin, who knew that his opponents in the world didn't have support in their own nations to confront him. The United States public certainly didn't want to go to war (after a decade plus fighting Islamic terror in the world). Bill O'Reilly will compare the situation to the 1930s. You may agree or disagree with his assessment of the situation.

Read the excerpt below: "It is now becoming clear that Russia will try to seize part of Ukraine, an independent country. The Ukrainian government is desperately asking the West for help, but so far the response has been timid. Talking Points understands that President Obama does not want a military engagement with Russia because our allies will not back him up. Therefore, little is likely to happen to Putin. There is no question that Putin is a villain who is violating international law. Russia wants to seize as much of Ukraine as it can, it doesn't really care about world opinion. And public opinion in America is pretty much non-existent, the level of concern about Ukraine is paltry. Once again, the situation mirrors what Hitler did in the 1930s, and back then the West did not want a confrontation with the dictator. 75 years later, we're looking at a similar situation with Putin. The only question that remains is, how crazy is this guy? Eastern European nations like the Baltic states, Moldova, and even Poland are very worried. They know the USA is a paper tiger meaning America will condemn Putin's actions but does not have the will to intervene militarily nor does Europe. This is exactly what happened.


 * 5.** How are the actions of Putin in 2014 similar to Hitler in the late 1930s?
 * 6.** How was the mood in the world similar in 2014 in regards to stopping Putin (remember, Ukraine is a nation and Putin simply went in and seized the Crimean Peninsula claiming to be protecting Russians who lived there and nothing happened to him) with the mood of nations regarding Hitler's violations of the Versailles Treaty in the 1930s?

Read the excerpt of Winston Churchill's speech November 16, 1934. Churchill isn't well known yet. He is a Member of Parliament in Britain. His fame as Prime Minister won't be until the war has broken out. Click here for the speech, then answer the following from the reading:
 * 7.** Summarize Churchill's speech
 * 8.** Why does Churchill see Germany under Hitler as a danger (seeing as how Hitler hasn't been aggressive yet - he just gained power)?
 * 9.** Why do you think Britain (and the world for that matter) wasn't willing to listen to his warning?

The final part is to mark key places on your map that are relevant for WWII (there is a map on the test). Click here for the map questions you need to know.

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