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Category History & Events

When was the Berlin Wall demolished?

In August 1961, the German Democratic Republic began under the leadership of Erich Honecker to block off East Berlin and the GDR from West Berlin by means of barbed wire and antitank obstacles. Streets were torn up and barricades of paving stones were erected. Tanks gathered at crucial places. The subway and local railway services between East and West Berlin were interrupted. Inhabitants of East Berlin and the GDR were no longer allowed to enter the West. In the following days, construction brigades began replacing the temporary barriers with a solid wall, which stood in place for nearly 30 years. In November 1989, after weeks of discussion about new travel laws, the Berlin Wall was demolished.

Fact File:

With the end of communist rule in the USSR, many of the symbols of communism, for example statues of former leaders such as Lenin, were dismantled.

 

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When was the Cold War?

After World War I, the United States and the USSR emerged as the two main powers in the world – known as ‘superpowers’. Although they had fought together to defeat Nazi Germany, differences between the two superpowers soon led to the start of the ‘Cold War’.

The Cold War started in August 1945, and it was a political war between the USSR and its communist allies, and the USA and other non-communist countries. It did not involve any fighting, although there was a threat of military action on several occasions.

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Mikhail Gorbachev introduced political, social and economic reform, known as perestroika, when he came to power in Russia.

 

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When did India gain independence?

Many Indians wanted independence from British rule, and a chance to build up industry and wealth in India itself. By the end of World War II it was clear that Britain could no longer ignore the demands of the Indian people. But negotiations were complicated by the demands of Muslims in India. Violence broke out between Hindus and Muslims, and Indians and British leaders eventually agreed to divide India into the two states of Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan.

India gained its independence in August 1947. Millions of Hindus and Muslims fled from their homes. As people tried to move to their new homes, hundreds of thousands of them were killed.

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Mohandas Gandhi was known as Mahatma Gandhi. He was assassinated in 1948, at the end of India’s long struggle for independence.

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When was the first atomic bomb explosion?

Technological advances in the machines and weapons of war were rapid during the 20th century. During World War I, inventions included the tank and the fighter aircraft. At sea, one of the major advances in military marine technology happened before the war, with the building of the battleship Dreadnought.

During World War II, the Germans used a new type of warfare, known as Blitzkreig (lightning war). But even more horrifying was the invention of the atomic bomb in the United States.

The first atomic bomb was exploded in an experiment in New Mexico, USA in July 1945. Only month later, atomic bombs were used to end the war. The bombs dropped on Japan killed about 130,000 people. Many more suffered terrible after effects such as radiation and burn injuries. This same terrifying bomb was used to bring the war against Japan to its catastrophic end.

Fact File:

Both the British and the French armies experimented with tanks during World War I. These armoured vehicles were first used to effect at the battle of Cambrai in 1917.

 

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When was the Bombing of Pearl Harbor?

On December, 1941, there was a surprise attack by the Japanese airforce on the United States navy base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Although the attack crippled the US navy in the Pacific Ocean, it also drew the Americans into World War II. The USA and their Allies declared war on Japan on December 8, 1941. Japan joined Germany and Italy to form the Axis alliance.

During the summer of 1942, US forces successfully halted the Japanese advance at the battles of Midway Island, Guadalcanal and Coral Sea. After Pearl Harbor, however, Japanese forces quickly took control of much of Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Burma and the Philippines.

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On the morning of 6 June, 1944, thousands of Allied troops went ashore along the coast of Normandy in northern France, in what became known as the D-Day landings.

 

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When was World War II?

In March 1939, the German leader Adolph Hitler threatened to invade Poland. Hitler had already shown the seriousness of his intentions by taking over Austria (in 1938) and Czechoslovakia (in 1939). Both Great Britain and France gave guarantees to help Poland if it was attacked. So when Hitler invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, Britain and France were forced to declare war on Germany.

Under Hitler’s leadership, Germany had been well prepared for war. During 1939 and 1940, German troops scored victories in Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands and France. Before the war started, Hitler had signed a ‘non-aggression pact’ with the Soviet Union, both sides promising not to attack the other. As German troops swept across Europe, Soviet troops attacked Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland. World War II ended in 1945.

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Winston Churchill was Britain’s wartime leader from May 1940 until just before the war ended. Here he is seen making his famous ‘V for victory’ sign.

 

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When was the rise of Fascism in Europe?

Many people hoped that World War I was the ‘war to end all wars’. However, during the 1920s and 1930s there were a lot of political changes in many countries. In 1922 these changes led to the growth of the Fascist movement, (‘Fascism’ comes from the word fasces, meaning a bundle of branches.) fascism promised strong leadership and to restore the national economy and pride. This was a very powerful message in the years of the Great Depression, and many people in Europe supported the various Fascist parties.

Italy was the first country to have a Fascist rule. In 1922, Benito Mussolini marched to Rome and demanded that the Italian king, Victor Emmanuel III, make him Prime Minister.

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Oswald Mosley set up the British Union of Fascists after a visit to Italy in 1932. His supporters were known as ‘the Blackshirts’.

 

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When was the Wall Street Crash?

In the late 1920s, the price of shares on the New York Stock Exchange increased rapidly. More and more people bought stocks and shares in the hope of selling them again when their price had gone up – therefore making a large profit. When prices dropped in October 1929, people rushed to sell their stocks and shares before it was too late, but prices fell even further. This event is known as the Wall Street Crash. Thousands of people lost all their money, many businesses and banks shut down and unemployment soared.

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During the worst years of the Depression, many people were forced to rely on charity and government hand-outs for their most basic needs. In 1932 Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected Us present. His ‘New Deal’ aimed to create jobs and to protect people’s savings by regulating banks more closely.

 

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When did World War I begin?

As the 19th century drew to a close, there was an increase in rivalry between the different nations of Europe. They competed against each other for control of colonies, and for industrial and military power. In 1882, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy (known as the Central Powers) formed in alliance called the Triple Alliance, promising to protect each other in the event of an attack. In 1904, Britain joined with France in a similar alliance. They were joined by Russia in 1907 to form the Triple Entente. Europe was finally plunged into war by the action of an assassin in the Bosnian city of Sarajevo in 1914. Soon all the major European powers were drawn into conflict. Russia, backed by France, supported Serbia. Then Germany invaded neutral Belgium and attacked France, drawing Britain into the conflict.

Fact File:

A British soldier from World War I. Typically, soldiers would spend a week or more in a frontline trench before going back to their dugout in a support trench.

 

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When did the first settlers arrive in Australia?

 

In April 1770, Captain James Cook had sailed along the east coast of Australia. He and his crew had landed at a place called Botany Bay and claimed the land for Britain, naming the region New South Wales.

Eighteen years later, in 1788, the first ships full of settlers arrived from Britain. These settlers were all convicts, transported from Britain for their various crimes. Under the command of Captain Arthur Philip, the convicts were set to work founding a penal colony in Botany Bay. About 300,000 Aborigines were living in Australia when the settlers first arrived from Europe. They were divided into about 500 tribal groups.

Fact File:

Convicts were to be transported to Australia and confined in prison ships like this one. By 1830 about 58,000 convicts had come to Australia. Many were more or less habitual urban thieves, some political, while substantial proportions were Irish.

 

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