Civil Unrest

Ryan Donovan
Civil Unrest

1. What is Civil Unrest and how does it pertain to what we have just read?
Civil unrest is when a group of citizens in a country revolt and protest against a higher power. They convey their messages through protests, rallies, riots, and public demonstrations. They can be peaceful or violent. This relates to “Persepolis” because it takes place during the Iranian revolution. During this time, the people were revolting against the new government and their strict rules and regulations. They had violent protests in the streets where several people were wounded or killed.

2. What is the name of the country, and the context information that is pertinent?
In the early 1920’s, just following World War I, Germany’s government and economy were crumbling. Many citizens, mostly veterans from the war, were angry at the state of their country, and were rejecting the post-war treaties and agreements. They believed that their country’s troubles were caused by Jews, communists, and other groups that were considered “inferior” to the Aryan race.
In the 1930’s, the National Socialist Party, or Nazi party arose and began to persuade the German public that they were the solution to Germany’s troubles. With their leader, Adolf Hitler, they were able to gain political power in 1933, with Hitler being named Chancellor of Germany. In 1934, Hitler became supreme dictator, or “Fuhrer” of Germany, and had total power. Hitler and the rest of the Nazi party were idolized by the public in hopes that they would restore their country to prosperity and become powerful.

3. What is the source of the civil unrest in the country? When did it begin and what is happening now?
The source of the civil unrest in the country was Germany’s defeat on World War I. After the war, Germany was in great political and economical turmoil. The public was looking for a solution to bring Germany back from the ground. The rise of the Nazi party gave them hope, with its promises to rid Germany of the impurities that caused their problems, and to make Germany an all powerful nation.
The unrest began in the early 1920’s after World War I. The Nazi’s power began to rise in the 1930’s, with its peak during the early 1940’s during World War II. The civil unrest involving the Nazi party came to an end in May 1945. After this, Germany was divided into territories to each of the Allied powers. The country, including the city of Berlin, would then be strictly divided between the allies, with the West being Democratic, and the East being Communist. This created another large scale civil unrest between the West and East. This unrest would last until 1989. 4. Are there specific leaders or organizations leading the protest or being protested against?
The main organization involved with the civil unrest was the Nazi party. Their leader, Adolf Hitler, was a respected, idolized figure that represented a new, bright future for Germany to many citizens. The Nazis were the organizers of protests and rallies to sway the German people to support them. They promised prosperity for their country, as well as purifying their country from all the inferior races that supposedly caused their country to be thrown into the state that it was in. They did so through speeches, rallies, radio broadcasts, and other forms of propaganda.
The Nazi party was also protested against, both internally and externally. Some citizens of Germany, as well as Nazi soldiers and high ranking officials saw through the evil ideals that the party stood for. There were several attempts to kill Hitler and other high ranking figures during World War II, and thus overthrow the Nazi party. The majority of the world rejected the Nazi party and was allied against them. This plunged the world into World War II. 5. What are positive impacts and negative impacts from the civil unrest on the country’s society and the world order?
There were very few positive impacts to Germany’s civil unrest by the Nazi party. Unemployment in the country was reduced in the fueling of war efforts. The country’s citizens also became more nationalized.
Most of the outcomes from the civil unrest were very negative. As a result of the party’s beliefs and strong influence and grip over the German people, the public became blinded to things that were morally right. The party destroyed the Democratic society in Germany. In an effort to make Germany an ultimate power, the Nazis made efforts to take over the world, invading several European countries, including France, Poland, and even the Soviet Union. Their quest for world domination caused World War II, which would eventually lead to the country’s downfall once again. In their radical views of purifying the world of the people who caused their problems, they killed over twelve million people, including Jews, communists, homosexuals, gypsies, blacks, handicapped, and mentally disabled people during the Holocaust. Their government also restricted the freedoms of the German people, which is the opposite of what the public was led to believe. People could be killed for being against the party. All political freedoms were lost. 6. What are the views of the rest of the world when it comes to this country’s civil unrest?
In response to Germany’s civil unrest, some countries joined forces with the Nazis and accepted and agreed with their ideals. The countries of Italy, Austria-Hungary, and Japan joined with Germany to create the Axis powers. They joined to have world power and prevent the spread of communism.
While Germany had support of some nations, the majority of the world was against them. Because of their quest for world domination and the mass murdering of millions of people, Britain, Russia, the United States, Canada, France, and many other countries formed the Allied powers. They became involved in the war to put a stop to the Nazi’s global takeover, and restore peace to Europe. They spread propaganda in their own countries, as well as Axis-controlled countries to convince people to turn against the Nazis and reject their views. 7. What is being done within the country or out of the country to manage the civil unrest?
During the time of the civil unrest in Germany, the rest of the world made several attempts to bring it to an end. The Allied nations planned a full scale invasion of Europe to bring an end to the tyranny of the Nazi party and restore peace to Europe. This invasion was known as “D-Day”. The invasion began on June 6, 1944 when the Allies invaded France at the beaches of Normandy. In under a year, the Allied powers created a double front, and were able to liberate Europe and dissolve the Nazi empire. Inside Germany and its conquered territories, several resistance groups formed to attempt to overthrow the government and/or prevent them from doing more harm. Several resistance groups were dedicated to hiding those people who were being persecuted by the Nazis, putting themselves at great risk. Many were successful, and many peoples’ lives were saved. There were also military operations put into place to attempt to overthrow the Nazi regime. One instance, known as Operation Valkyrie, was an attempt on Hitler’s life and an attempt to secure the government and end the war. Both attempts were thwarted, and those involved were imprisoned or killed. Most of the conspirators were members of the Nazi party, which shows that there were internal revolutionaries against the party. This in itself is like a form of civil unrest inside a larger civil unrest. 8. Has the civil unrest in this country affected pop culture or the media somehow?

Modern day pop culture has been strongly influenced by the civil unrest in Germany in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Since then, several films, novels, and television series have been made telling the stories from inside Nazi Germany. Many of these works are true stories, such as “The Diary of Anne Frank” and “Valkyrie”, while others are works of historical fiction, such as “Inglourious Basterds” and “Saving Private Ryan”. These films and novels have spread knowledge about Nazi Germany to the modern generation, who were born far beyond the time period of these events. 9. What are your own personal views about your country’s civil unrest? Where do you stand on the subject?

In my opinion, I am opposed to the major civil unrest that occurred in Germany in the 1940’s. The reasoning for the Nazi party’s total takeover was because of strong persuasive influences, and false hope and promises given to the German people. They were able to gain control and political dominance due to their country’s pathetic state. The people were willing to believe anything that would save them. I think that it was a very good tactic for the Nazis to have used. However, in regards to the views of the Nazis, I am totally opposed. They blamed all their country’s problems on one race, which actually didn’t destroy their country. The country’s former political system destroyed the country because of their quest for power. To rebuild, they should have used a different approach, because they didn’t learn from their mistakes in the First World War. The actual desires of the party were abominable, and in no way should have been condoned by anyone. Killing twelve million people to “purify” the country is inhumane and led to their downfall. It didn’t purify their race, it was just senseless killings. I think that the Nazis were extremely misguided, and that they should have been stopped before they rose to a high power.