Serbian

First World War er d in an t of Austria by a

Arch Duke F
The murder of immediate
(1914-1918) on Ju ne 28 , 1914 was the
lo Princep 4-1918). The
student Gavri e F ir st World War (191
Germany had become a great tbreak of th Aus-

cause of the ou io n of w ar against Serbia by

industrial country and wanted
to have more markets for trade.
Germany was jealous of the co-
lonial and naval greatness of
England. Wilhelm II, Kaiser of
Germany, was very ambitious
and wanted to gain influence in
Turkey by linking Berlin with
Baghdad by a railway line. This
gave rise to great rivalry be-
tween England and Germany.
Submarine warboat (U-boat)
used by Germany in the war was
a great menace.
Woodrow Wilson was the Presi-
dent of America during the First
World War.
Lloyd George was the British
Prime Minister and Clemenceaue
was the French Prime Minister
during the War.
The Treaty of Versailles was
signed between the Allies and
Germany on 28th June 1919.
The Treaty of Versailles re-
sulted in the foundation of
League of Nations in 1919.
League of Nations was formed
on the basis of the Fourteen
Points put forward by
Woodrow Wilson in 1918.
League of Nations was the pre-
decessor of the UNO.
League of Nations was dis-
banded in 1945 and even before
that it lost its importance in 1939
when the Second World War
broke out.
The First World War was fought
as a war to end all wars.
One of the most important re-
sults of the First World War was
at
d by the declar
war was starte rt icip an ts in the war were th
The main pa
tria - Hungary.
ntral pow ers)
Alliance (the ce
he w ar en de d with the Treaty
e war. T
Alliance lost th
illes is a city ne
in 1919. (Versa
the Great Depression which
started in USA in 1929.
Only one European country
which was not affected by great
depression was Russia.
Three major powers during the
interwar period were USA,
USSR and Japan.
Ku Klux Klan was a white ter-
rorist gang working in America
during the period of Great De-
pression.
Franklin D. Roosevelt became
American President during the
great depression in 1932.
Parties to the War :
Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria,
Hungary), Turkey and Bulgaria.
Triple Entente (England, France,
Russia), Serbia, Belgium, Japan and
Italy.
Unification of Italy
& Fascism
After the decline of the Roman
Empire Italy was divided into a
number of small independent
states.
Joseph Massini is known as the
Prophet of Italian National-
ism
Massini founded Young Italy.
Garibaldi was another famous
e Triple
The Triple
an d th e Triple Entente.
of Versailles
ar Paris).
leader of Italian Nationalism. He
founded an organisation known
as Red Shirts.
The initiative for the war of 1848
was taken by count cavour by
uttering the hour of fat has
struck for the Sardinian monar-
chy. One road only is open that
of immediate war.
Cavour came as the head of the
government from 1852 to 1860.
The unification of Germany was
completed in 1870.
Political organisations which
originated in Europe after the
First World War were collec-
tively known as Fascist Move-
ments.
Benitto Mussolini, the worlds
first fascist dictator who came
to power in Italy in 1922, is
known as the father of Fascism.
Mussolini organised his follow-
ers into the Black shirts
In October 1922 he organised a
March to Rome and took over
as Prime Minister.
Mussolini was against Social-
ism and Communism and formed
an organisation known Fasci
di Combattiment.
When Italy surrendered after the
Second World War in 1945
Mussolini was captured and ex-
 Fa scism w hi ch means the axe su
rrounded by
in wor d fa sc es from the Italian
ri ved from the Lat R ep ublic, and also
The word Fas
ci sm w as de ancien t R om an its of agitation
es en ti ng th e authority of the ga ni se d as ea rly as 1914 as un
repr or
a bundle of rods scism had been
ea ni ng gr oup or band. Fa k shirts, and th
e
word fasc io m
m p of th e E ntente powers. us so li ni s w er e wearing blac sa lu te. In
the ca M
to bring Italy to n red shirts, so the old Roman
al di s vo lu nteers had wor th e ou ts tr etched hand of n to Rome.
As G ar ib
f. ... . I I Duce w it h
an d ra ised the cry O er e
Fascists salute
d thei r ch ie of revo lu ti on of Fasci sm w
us so lin i be ga n to talk openly e ot he r le ad in g doctrines
,M th
September 1922 rpor ate Sta te, d Militarism.
rt fr om th e idea of the co an ticism , A ut horitarianism an
Apa ealism, Rom
, Nationalism, Id
Totalitarianism
Nazism
ecuted at Como. Memoirs is his autobiogra-
phy. Nazism ( National Socialism)
After 2000 Medea Tycoon Silvio was the ideology and practice of
Berlysconi won the election and Customs Union was an
the Nazi Party and of Nazi
became the PM. In 2006 he was organisation which supported
Germany. The Nazis believed in
defeated by the former Presi- German unification indirectly.
the supremacy of Aryan
dent of EU Romano Prodi. Nazism in Germany was a Ger- master race and claimed that
man form of Fascism in Italy. Germans represent the most pure
Unification of Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) was the Aryan nation.
Germany & Nazism leader of the Nazi Party in Ger- The Nazis claimed that Jews
many. He was known as the were the greatest threat to the
Germany was known as Prussia
Fuehrer (Leader). Hitler was Aryan race and the German
in olden times.
born in Austria in 1889. nation. They argued that
The process of German Unifica-
tion began when King William I National Socialist German Work- Germany's survival as a modern
appointed Otto Von Bismark as ers Party founded in 1920 was great nation required it to create
his Prime Minister in 1862. known as Nazi Party. a New Order an empire in
Austria was excluded from Ger- Nazi Party wanted the exclusion Europe. The end of the First
many (Prussia) by the Austro- of Jews from German citizenship. World War gave rise to another
Prussian war of 1866. The supporters of Nazi Party totalitarian movement in Germany
were known as Sturn Abteilung called Nazism, led by Adolf
The unification of Germany was
or Brown Shirts. Hitler. It was strongly opposed
completed by the Franco-Prus-
sian war ended with the Treaty to democracy, liberalism and
Hitler became the head of Nazi
of Frankfurt (1871). internationalism. It collapsed
Party in 1923.
with Germanys defeat in the
The German Empire (1871-1914) Hitler wrote his autobiography
Second World War. (Note that
came into force with Kaiser as Mein Kampf (My Struggle)
Bismarck was the founder of
its head. while he was in Jail.
modern Germany. He dominated
Bismark is known as the Iron Hitler became the Chancellor of the politics of Europe from 1870
man of Germany Germany on 30 January 1933.
to 1890 A.D.) The book Mein
His policy was known as Blood In 1935 under the Nuremberg Kampf was written by Adolf
and Iron Policy. Law German Jews were deprived Hitler.
of their citizenship.
 rld War an invasion of
Second Wo39
Hawai.
with the Germ
19 On 8 December 1941 US declared
on September 1, under treaty ob
ligations
The war started , as th ey w er e war on Japan. Thus US formally
and France 3. Ger-
Poland. Britain on G er m an y on September . entered the Second World War.
declared war ught on one side
to aid Poland, calle d th e Axis Powers, fo on th e Second World War became a
Japa n, ht
many, Italy and d the Allies, foug
.S .R ., Fr an ce , U.S.A. etc., calle Global war in 1941.
U.K., U.S 45.
on August 14, 19 The first country to surrender
other. It ended
.
of World War II in the war was Italy and last to
19 39
y in va de d Po land; outbreak m any. surrender was Japan.
Sept. 1 :German war against Ger
: B ri ta in an d France declared On 2 September 1945 Japan sur-
Sept. 3
19 41 rendered and the Second World
harter.
14 : Fr am ing of Atlantic C . naval base, whi
ch
War ended.
Aug .
ta ck ed Pe ar l Harbour, a U.S
Nov. 7 : Japan at ican declaratio
n of war. The Axis powers lost the Sec-
led to the Amer ond World War. This war led to
19 45 the foundation of UNO in 1945.
war in Europe. on Hiroshima A
ugust 6
May 8 : End of d at om bo mbs
.A. droppe The UN Charter was signed at
Aug. 6 & 9 : U.S August 9 in Ja
pan.
and agasaki on
N San Francisco on 26th June 1945
ide.
committed suic d. by fifty nations and UN came
April 30 : Hitler II formally ende
rm istice si gn ed. World War into force on 24 October 1945.
Sept. 2 : A
founded. Nuremberg.
Oct. 24 : UNO ar cr iminals open at
The Nuremberg Trials were the
m aj or w
Nov. 20 : Trial of trials of the major war criminals
of the Second World War. It be-
gan on November 20, 1945.
On 3 September 1939 Britain and
Hitler became the President of The Soviet Union and the
France declared war on Germany,
Germany in 1934 when United States emerged as rival
thus began the Second World
Hindenburg died. super powers, setting the stage
War.
Secret Police force of Hitler was for the Cold War, which lasted
known as Gustapo. The Second World War was be-
for the next forty-six years.
In 2006 June Germany decided tween The Axis Powers (Ger-
to open up a huge archive of Nazi many, Italy and Japan) and the
records on Concentration camp Allied Powers (Britain, France,
inmates. Russia, USA etc)
The German plan of conquering
Second World War Britain during the Second World
(1939-45) War was known as Sea - Lion.

The Treaty of Versailles and the German attack on Russia during

rise of the Nazi Party in Germany the war was known as Opera-
were the main causes of the war. tion Barbosa

Hitlers armies invaded Poland on In 7 December 1941, the Japa-

1 September 1939. nese bombers attacked the US
naval base at Pearl Harbour in

Mussolini (Italy) and Hitler
Benito Amilcare Andrea
Mussolini, was the National
Fascist Party leader. He held the
supreme military rank of First
Marshal of the Empire and also
Prime Minister of Italy. On 10
June 1940, Mussolini led Italy
into World War II on the side of
the Axis powers. In late April
1945, with total defeat looming,
Mussolini attempted to escape
to Switzerland, only to be
quickly captured and summarily
executed near Lake Como by
Italian partisans.
Adolf Hitler was the leader
of the National Socialist
German Workers Party com-
monly known as the Nazi
Party.
He was Chancellor of Germany
from 1933 to 1945 and, after
1934, also head of state, ruling
the country as an absolute
dictator of Germany.
His famous book: Mein Kampf
Hitler ultimately wanted to
establish a New Order of
absolute Nazi German hege-
mony in Europe.
Germany and the Axis powers
had occupied most of Europe,
and most of Northern Africa,
East and Southeast Asia and
the Pacific Ocean. However,
with the reversal of the Nazi
invasion of the Soviet Union,
the Allies gained the upper
hand from 1942 onwards. By
1945, Allied armies had
invaded German-held Europe
from all sides.
In the final days of the war,
during the Battle of Berlin in
1945, Hitler & wife Eva Braun
to avoid capture by Soviet
forces less than two days later,
the two committed suicide on
30 April 1945.
Causes of the
First World War
The Morocco crisis (1905 - 06)
The British Agreement with
Russia (1907).
The Bosnia crisis (1908)
The Agadir crisis (1911)
The assassination of Austrian
Archduke (1914)
Causes of the
Second World War
Harsh treatment of Germany
under the Treaty of Versailles.
Clash of economic interests of
powers.
Extreme nationalism.
Failure of the League
Failure of the Disarmament
Problems of national minorities
Attitude of Western powers to-
wards Russia.
Policy of Appeasement
Ideological conflict.
Middle East Conflict
First Arab Israel War - 1948
Second Arab Israel War - 1956
Third war in 1967
Some trace the beginning of the
conflict to large-scale Jewish
immigration to Palestine, espe-
cially after the establishment of
the Zionist movement.
The Arab states proclaimed
their aim of a "United State of
Palestine" in place of Israel and
an Arab state.
Israel Palestine conflict is
popularly called Middle-East
Conflict. The conflict became
worse by the formation of Is-
 rael by dividing Palestine in
1948. In the battle that occurred
in 1948, Israel came out victori-
ous.
Egypt nationalised Suez Canal
in 1956.
Egypt and Israyel and the US
signed Camp David Accord in
1978 offering limited autonomy
to Palestinians.
Palestine Liberation
Organisation (PLO) was
formed in 1964 to defeat Israel.
The Israel - Palestine Peace
Treaty was signed in 1994 and
PLO leader sworn in as the head
of Palestine National Authority.
The historic Israel-PLO agree-
ment was signed in Washington
on September 28, 1995. River
Wye Agreement was signed by
Israel and Palestine for solving
the crisis.
Golan Height was a place cap-
tured by Israel from Syria in 1967
West Bank : This place was
captured by Israel from Jordan.
As per the peace treaty of 1994
the administrative authority of
this place was given to Pales-
tine National Authority.
Gaza Strip is in the Egypt. It
was captured by Israel in the
1967 battle and as per the treaty
of 1994 it was handed over to
Palestine National Authority.
Sinai Peninsula : This place
was also captured from Egypt
in the 1967 war and handed over
to Palestine in 1982.
The official name of Israel is
Medinat Israel.
Hebrew and Arabic are the official
languages of Israel.
The conflict reached a turning
point with the election (Janu-
ary 2005) of Mahmud Abbas as
the new Palestinian leader fol-
lowing the death of Yassar
Arafat.
In 2006 July-August Israel in-
vaded Lebanon and tried to de-
stroy the so called extremist
organisation Hisbulla led by
Sheik Hassan Nasrulla.
Iran-Iraq War
First Gulf War, was a war be-
tween the armed forces of Iraq
and Iran lasting from September
1980 to August 1988.
Iraq attacked Kuwait in August
1990.
Richard Butler, head of the
UNSCOM (United Nations Spe-
cial Commission on Iraq) left Iran
in 1998 alleging that Iraq was fail-
ing in its commitment to destroy
weapons of mass destruction.
The Iraq War, also known as the
The Second Gulf War which be-
gan on March 20, 2003, with the
invasion of Iraq by a multina-
tional force led by troops from
the United States and the United
Kingdom.
The Gulf War (1991) was
fought between the US led mul-
tinational forces and Iraq to ex-
pel Iraqi troops from Kuwait. Its
code name was Operation
Desert Storm.
Operation Desert Fox was the
continuation of operation
Desert storm.
Operation Iraqi Freedom was
launched in 2003 to expel
Saddam Hussain from Iraq. USA
and England jointly launched
the operation. This war is
known as Gulf War II.
United States and the United
Kingdom claimed that Iraq's al-
leged possession of weapons of
mass destruction (WMD) posed
a threat to their security and that
of their coalition/regional allies.
Saddam Hussein was captured
on December 13, 2003 on a farm
near Tikrit.
Saddam Hussein was hanged on
December 30, 2006 after being
found guilty of crimes against
humanity by an Iraqi court after
a year-long trial.
The withdrawal of American mili-
tary forces from Iraq has been a
contentious issue within the
United States since the begin-
ning of the Iraq War.
Big Powers and
Cold War
The Cold War was a war of
words or ideologies and of
nerves. This Cold War created
great international tension. The
Cold War was announced by
Winston Churchill in his fa-
mous iron curtain speech at
Fulton, Missourie in 1946.
The word Cold War was first
coined by Bernard Baruch in
1946.
The years 1945-47 are generally
taken to mark the beginning of
the Cold War.
The first shot of Cold War was
fired by Winston Churchill.
The biggest crisis of the early
stage of Cold War was the Ber-
lin Blockade which began in
1948.
In 1954 the US brought most of
 the South East Asian Countries
under a common framework
modell ed on NATO called
SEATO.
The Arab states formed CENTO
in 1955. (Central Treaty
Oganisation)
The Cold War continued upto
the collapse of Soviet Union in
1990.
HOTLINE is a telecommunica-
tion link established since 1963
between the Kremlin (Moscow)
and White House (Washington
DC, USA) to avoid misunder-
standing. Now hotline means
a direct exclusive line of com-
munication especially for an
emergency.
Warsaw Pact was a military alli-
ance formed under the Soviet
Union against NATO in 1955.
Now Russia is in a more or less
stable condition under the
Presidentship of Dmitri
Medvedev.
Latin American
Nationalism
Countries to the south of USA
are collectively called Latin
America.
Mexico, Central America, South
America and the Islands of West
Indies are the major countries of
Latin America.
There are altogether 46 coun-
tries in Latin America. 33 inde-
pendent nations and 13 depen-
dent countries.
The major economic problem is
the increase in population.
Brazil is the largest Latin Ameri-
can country in area and popula-
tion.
Spanish is the most widely spo- Soccer (Football) is the most
ken language in Latin America. important game of Latin Ameri-
Guarani is the language of In- can countries.
dian origin spoken in Paragua. Aguaretiente is a liquor ob-
tained from sugarcane used in
Quechua is the Indian language
Latin America
in Peru. Latin American Tea is known as
Aymara is the Indian language Mate.
spoken in Bolivia. Most of the Latin American
Christopher Columbus was the countries follow Christianity.
first European to reach Latin Since the 2000s, or 1990s in
America. some countries, left-wing politi-
cal parties have risen to power.
Francisco De Miranda (1750-
Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, Lula
1816) was one of the most im-
da Silva in Brazil, Fernando Lugo
portant leader of Latin America. in Paraguay, Nstor and his wife
He fought for the liberation of Cristina Fernndez de Kirchner
Venezuela and came out victori- in Argentina, Tabar Vzquez
ous in 1910 and it proclaimed its and Jos Mujica in Uruguay, the
independence in 1911. Ricardo Lagos and Michelle
Simon Bolivor (1783-1830) Bachelet governments in Chile,
worked for the liberation of Co- Evo Morales in Bolivia, Daniel
lumbia, Venezuela, Equador, Ortega in Nicaragua, Manuel
Zelaya in Honduras, Rafael
Peru and Bolivia. He is consid-
Correa in Ecuador, and Mauricio
ered as the father of their nation Funes of El Salvador, are all part
by all these countries. He is of this wave of left-wing politi-
known as the Liberator or the cians who also often declare
Washington of South. themselves socialists.
San Martin (1778 - 1850) another
famous Latin American leader India and Pakistan
worked for the liberation of Ar- Muhammed Ali Jinnah was the
gentina, Chili and Peru. founder of Pakistan. He was the
Brazil got independence from first Governor General of the
Spain in 1822. Dominion of Pakistan.
Panama Canal was opened in Jinnah house is in Mumbai.
1914. Panama Canal connects
Pakistan observes its indepen-
the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. dence day on August 14.
II
Earth Summit I &nment and Development
ro
Conference on Envi
The United Nations it.
niser of Earth Summ
(UNCED) is the orga , Brazil in 1992.
rth Su m m it was held at Rio de Janeiro burg in South
The first Ea at Johannas
Summit was held
In 2002 the second
Africa.
y. .
April 22 is Earth Da mit was Substainable Development
of th e Su m
The motto,
 Jinnah is called the father of
Pakistan.
Pakistan proclaimed itself an Is-
lamic Republic in 1956.
Poet - Philosopher Muhammed
Iqbal, first articulated the con-
cept of Pakistan in 1931.
Pakistans first free elections
were held in December 1970.
Bangladesh was separated from
Pakistan in March 26, 1971.
On 28 and 30 May 1998 Pakistan
carried out five nuclear tests in
the desert of Baluchistan at the
Chagai Hills in response to
Indias test.
On 12 October 1999, General
Pervez Musharraf in a military
coup deposed the Premier
Nawaz Sherif and suspended
the constitution.
Now Asif Ali Zardari is the presi-
dent and Yousuf Raza Gillani
Prime Minister.
The Tashkent Agreement was
signed on January 10, 1966. This
Agreement was signed by Lal
Bahadur Shastri and Ayub Khan
just after the 1965 Indo - Pak War.
On January 11, Shastri died at
Tashkent.
Now Tashkent is the capital of
Uzbekisthan.
The Shimla Agreement of 1972
was signed between India and
Pakistan after the 1971 battles.
The Lahore Declaration was
signed between India and Paki-
stan just before the Operation
Vijay of 1999 in Kargil to expel
the ussurpers.
Th Radcliff line separates India
from Pakistan, the Durand Line
is between Pakistan and
Afghanisthan and the
McMohan Line is between In-
dia and China.
Siachin Glacier which lies be-
tween India and Pakistan is re-
ferred as the highest and the
coldest battle field in the world.
The Agra Summit (2002) be-
tween Musharraf and A.B.
Vajpayee ended in failure. Aim-
solving bilateral problems.
Relation worsened due to the
Mumbai blasts in July 2006
In the side line NAM summit in
Havana (2006 September) both
agreed to continue to the peace
process.

Well known Freedom Fighters

Angola ...................................................................................................... Antonio Agostinho Neto
Bangladesh ................................................................................................ Sheikh Mujibur Rehman
China ....................................................................................................................... Mao-Tse-Tung
Cuba ............................................................................................................................ Fidel Castro
Cyprus .......................................................................................................... Archbishop Makarios
France ................................................................................................................... Charles de Gaulle
Ghana ................................................................................................................... Kwame Nkrumah
Indonesia ............................................................................................................... Ahmad Sukarno
Kenya ...................................................................................................................... Jomo Kenyatta
South Africa ........................................................................................................... Nelson Mandela
Soviet Union ............................................................................................................. Vladimir Lenin
Tanzania ................................................................................................................ Dr.Julius Nyerere
Turkey ...................................................................................................................... Kernal Ataturk
Zambia .................................................................................................................. Kenneth Kaunda