Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
World
Volume 1 | Issue 1
October 2015
Man cannot
discover new
oceans unless
he has the
courage to lose
sight of the
p.6
shore.
~Andr Gide
Journ
al
Entry
After all this waiting and hard work, Japan can finally have access to the
resources she needs. After countless of souls lost, it was all worth it. Manchuria is in
our hands and now rightfully belongs to the Japanese as Manchukuo. After staging
that bomb attack, we lost many good souls and brave warriors, however I know that
they would have gladly sacrificed themselves if they knew. There had been days
where my country would desperately be trying to thrive without resources like iron
ore, land or coal. When we discovered the resources in Manchuria, we subtly began
to invade by doing small things, such as building a railroad. There was no doubt
about it that we, the Japanese, were the most aggressive. It is because of our
aggression that Japan invaded Manchuria and also staged that bomb attack in order to
conquer Manchuria completely. It was all for the good of our people and our nation.
What else were we supposed to do? Stand by and watch our nation crumble to the
ground all due to the fact that we didn't have what it took to keep it standing? Never.
Should Japan remain content with 142 270 square miles, much of it barren, to feed
60 million mouths while countries like Australia and Canada had more than 3 million
square miles to feed 6.5 million people each? (Araki Sadao, 155). As long as my
lungs are receiving oxygen and I exhale carbon dioxide, I will do what it takes to
protect and save my country. But I cannot say for sure that we will remain untouched.
There is still the League of Nations to worry about. Maybe dropping out of the league
can get rid of any responsibilities we have to the rest of the world. By dropping out,
we may be able to conquer more than just Manchuria and rid Asia of Western control
- purging it. Until then, Sayonara.
Sincerely,
Araki Sadao
Poem Found
from the
Time of
Japanese
Expansionis
Xiao Lins mama and papa are going to die they say,
After exploration of Japans ancient sites and historical villages, many artifacts
Poem
and timeworn articles have been uncovered. These items range from the Edo
Rationale
Period the time of Japans isolation to the Second World War. One of these
items is a heart-wrenching poem that seems to have been left by a young Japanese
child during the time of Japans expansionism prior to the beginning of World War
II. The young girl seems to be addressing a friend she had. A friend who resided
in China, one of the countries Japan was attempting to dominate at the time. It is
unknown how the two girls seemed to have come in contact, however, they
appeared to have upheld an innocent friendship. Japan, at the time, had begun to
colonize surrounding nations due to various economic, social and political
reasons. Japan was, and is, a country with more people than land and resources.
They were unable to support their nation without outside resources and had
become reliant on trade. They needed to dominate other surrounding regions to
boost their economy as this happened also in response to the Great Depression,
a time where international trade had collapsed and allow their country to
prosper. They believed they were ridding Asia of foreign, western control by
trying to establish the control of an Asian country instead, over these nations. The
young Japanese girl portrays her concern of these factors in an innocent, yet
poetic, way. At the end of her poem, it seems that she has given in to her country,
as she apologizes to her friend. What seems to be of extreme interest however, is
that she apologized in Chinese. This concocts the idea of how deep this innocent
relationship may have been for these young girls. However, it seems, Rin-Chan
was never able to explain her sorrows to Xiao Lin. The depth of this simple
sadness pulls at your heart strings as you think about how both left this world,
without a Sayonara, nor a Zi Jin.
Lette
r to
the
Edito
r
This weeks article relates to me on a very personal level. I am part Ethiopian and this
makes me somewhat angry and I have some choice words for the editor. My grandparents
were only teens/children when the events of the Italian Expansionism commenced. The
things that happened forever changed my family history. To begin, two of my
grandmothers' uncles died in war, whilst my great grandfather was publicly executed. My
mother's side of the family owned lots of land that was abundant in cattle, gold and coal,
their only means of survival. It was inherited land that was in the family for years, but
was soon confiscated by the Italians. My grandfather was out of work for months on end,
and the brutal marginalization began to take toll. 1937-1938 was a composition of
famine and hardships for the people of Abyssinia (present day Ethiopia), and it was time
to take action. The European "Pursuit of Prosperity" was the beginning of the African
"Colonial Legacies". My family came to the conclusion of immigration, and you know by
now it was not legal, safe or easy to make a trip during those times, and especially not to
Mali (a collection of 3 weeks travel). My great aunts and great uncles relied on their
supplies and the generosity of others to make the distance, and it still couldn't save their
children. My mothers cousins and some of her uncles passed away before they could see
the fortunate land of Mali. The rest of their days in Mali were spent in poverty and
revived with the recollection of pain. Mustard gas was a smell they clearly recall as their
own in Ethiopia, and my grandmothers features tainted with the effects of it. She passed
away some years ago, her land not recovered, her struggles not avenged or justified, and
her last words "What happened in Ethiopia was only a factor among others for WWII".
Mengesha Tariku
Interviewer: We are here with the man that led Italy to its expansion.
Hello Mr. Benito Mussolini.
An
Intervi
ew
with
Benito
Musso
lini,
1921.
Journal Entries:
April 10
Being the leader of Italy there has been a huge amount of pressure on me.
After the war ended, our country has been trying to do its best to overcome the
catastrophe that occurred. Our people are still frightened but are recovering, one
step at a time.
April 17
Today is another new day to do work. The people are getting back on their
feet but still seem hesitant. Today, a citizen had decided to express their feelings.
They were scared and I understood why. The economy looked very troubled and
was surely not stable. We need to do something to get back and quickly too. Other
countries have already gone beyond us. WE NEED TO CATCH UP.
April 24
I remember years back, when many countries had begun to colonize
Africa. The Europeans seem to have occupied many countries. The more
countries they occupied, the larger the benefit for the economy. But there are other
reasons for colonizing as well. Its always based on our foreign polices too. The
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polices were aimed at competing countries in the European nations who tried
building colonial empires. In the next twenty to twenty five years, many countries
were colonized rapidly. They called this the Scramble for Africa. Due to any
countries competing we did not get a chance to colonize many countries. As a
result, we only colonized Libya, Eritrea and Somaliland. Now the same type of
issue has risen. This time I have the pressure on me to make our country strong.
The question is what I can do for that to happen.
April 30
As the upmost leader of Italy, I believe in the importance of the growth of
my empire, that is to say the expansion of the nation. That which strengths the
nation itself. A primary idea is to re-establish the great Roman Empire. This will
represent the power and repute of our nation. After losing 600 000 men in the war,
we have spent millions on the effort. The war had decreased our trade, and left
many unemployed. We were left wronged. The outcome of the Treaty of
Versailles have not bought towards us any advantage as our promised territory had
not been delivered. Our country deserved better.
May 7
Today, a part of our country has been given to new nation. The Dalmatia
Coast where a minority of Italians speaking people lived and had been part of the
Roman Empire was given. I believe the pursuit of colonies will bring wealth,
prestige and prosperity for us again. I called it Mediterranean Sea mare Nostrum
also called our seas. My dream is that one day Rome would have colonies
throughout Africa and the Middle East. Soon this dream became the foundation of
Italy foreign police.
May 14
Conquering foreign polices territories seems like the ideal plan for us. Expending
the Abyssinian land and resources signified vitality and jurisdiction of the Italian
nation. In my perspective. conquering overseas territory will bring us to the top. I
remember, during the scramble of Africa we had a few countries including
Abyssinia. But in 1896 we were defeated. Now its my reasonability to get it back.
I plan to unify the two colonies in Africa and get Abyssinia back as well. The
country contained many useful aspects such as Farmland, coal, iron, copper, gold
and platinum as well We need to have that country back.
May 21
My plan is coming together. Today I will send two Italian armies to invade
Abyssinia from Eritrea and Somaliland. As planned we had invaded the country
and taken it. They were no match for us. They suffered 16 000 Casualties and
were also executed by my soldiers. The international community had not done
much to stop this nor did the Britain. The country was once again ours. The
invasion of Abyssinia may have been the greatest method to repair the calamities
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that of which the First World War brought forward. Not only had that it brought
wealth and prosperity for Italy which made up for the loss of our promised land.
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13
14
An INTERVIEW
between Rema
Abdulghani, a
Calgary
Islamic School
student and
Werner
Wnendt,
Canadas
German
ambassador,
which delves
into the
history of
Germanys
expansion
during World
War I and
World War II.
15
Reference
Harding, C., Smith, T., Meston, J., & Yoshida, D. (Eds.). (2009). Perspectives on Nationalism. Don Mills,
Canada: Oxford University Press.
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