QUESTIONS ON EPISODE 2
OF WAR OF THE WORLD AND
EXTRA-CREDIT QUESTIONS ON EPISODE 3
(assignment 27)

(1) assignments appear in the syllabus on the day assigned, not the day due

(2) You must submit your written work by blackboard

(3) BE SURE TO FOLLOW THE FILE-NAMING CONVENTIONS FOR THIS COURSE (5% penalty if you do not).

All files should be saved on your computer as: your last name, followed by an underscore ("_"), followed by the first two letters of your first name, followed by an underscore ("_"), followed by the assignment number. So if a student named Saddam Hussein were to submit assignment number 27, the file name would be:

hussein_sa_27.doc

THIS IS ASSIGNMENT 27


(while you you should read these questions before watching the episode, wait until you have seen the whole video to answer the questions)

1) Niall Ferguson argues that many of the methods used by the Axis powers (Germany and Japan) in World War II had their origins in Stalin’s Russia, a nation allied with America and Britain during the war. For example, Ferguson describes Stalin’s Russia as practicing before the start of World War II a race-based slavery on a giant scale and of diabolically cruel nature. In a detailed paragraph explain how this system worked, how it was race-based, and why Stalin pursued it.

2) Why did British and Americans, according to the documentary, devote such resources to bombing cities? Was the carnage justified, according to the documentary? Why or why not?

3) Why, according to the documentary, is inaccurate to speak of the “liberation” of concentration camps of Eastern Europe at the end of World War II.

In some political contexts the term fellow traveler refers to a person who sympathizes with the beliefs of a particular organization, but does not belong to that organization. The phrase must be understood as referring to people who "walk part of the way" with an organization, without committing themselves to it.

4) Ferguson says in this episode “Suddenly the western powers looked like totalitarian fellow travelers.” What does he mean by that phrase in this context and how does what he refers to when using that phrase advance his thesis about the West's “tainted victory” in World War II? Keep in mind the meaning of totalitarianism.

EXTRA-CREDIT QUESTIONS ON EPISODE 3

(potentially worth 9% of final grade--but you must get at least a "B-" to get any extra-points. Extra-credit in this class can only help you -- it can not hurt you. I simply add points to your final score. But you must always cross a certain grade threshold in order to receive those extra-points.)

(while you you should read these questions before watching the episode, wait until you have seen the whole video to answer the questions)

1) Ferguson says, “You may have missed it, but the Third World War really happened.”
Describe in a paragraph what the author mean and give two examples that demonstrate his argument.

2) What was “mutually assured destruction” and what did that mean for where violence in 20th century would take place? To answer this question, you will have to understand the meaning of the phrase “proxy war.” If “proxy” is a new word to you, be sure to look it up.

3) What larger point is Ferguson trying to make about U.S. foreign policy in Latin America with his extended discussion of Guatemala?

4) “Proxy wars” according to Ferguson were as much about what as they were about a battle between capitalism and communism?

5) What “proxy war” was the tragic and unintended consequence of President Nixon’s opening to China. How and why did this war emerge?

6) What made this war like the one in Guatemala?

7) Why does Ferguson think 1979 is more important pivot point than 1989 (and the efforts of Ronald Reagan) for recent history—a history that Ferguson’s believes is more a story about “the descent of the west” (Europe/America) than it is about the “end of communism.” Pay attention to the documentary’s discussion of Deng Xiaoping (Dung Chow Ping). Keep in mind that when Ferguson discusses “The Year of Miracles,”he does so ironically.

8 ) China sought to reform itself through capitalism; how did Iran seek to reform itself?

9) With the end of communism, as Ferguson notes, there was a broad expectation that there had been “an end to history”—that the battles between communism and capitalism had ended and the world was entering a new era of peace that would be untroubled by the “all of the problems” of the past. But, as Fergusen points out, the recent war in Bosnia (and its capital, Sarejevo) made it obvious the causes of war in the beginning of the 20th century would also be the causes of war at the end of the 20th century. In a detailed paragraph, explain how and why. Pay particular attention to the actions of the once-communist Serbian leader Slobodan Milos¹evic´. Why, according to the documentary, did he “play the ethnic card”?


10) According to Ferguson, did the war in Bosnia reflect age-old ethnic tension that stretched back far into the past? Or were the hatreds of a more recent creation? What evidence does Fergussen present to make his point and how does he interpret that evidence?