Auschwitz
Auschwitz was the largest Nazi concentration camp during World War II. The Jewish people that were taken there were killed, mainly by gas chambers, or were used as slaves for work at the camp. Some Jews were taken for medical experiments by Josef Mengele. Over one million people died when imprisoned in Auschwitz. In January of 1945, the Soviet army approached Auschwitz and the Nazi officials abandoned the camp and sent the rest of the 60,000 Jews to other camps. When the Soviets entered Auschwitz, they found thousands of corpses all around the camp.
Auschwitz is significant because it was the largest concentration camp. Auschwitz is known for being a terrible place with Nazis who killed Jews because they were different. The Nazis put Jews through the worst pain of their life and that is why Auschwitz is significant. It was the largest destruction of a group of humans in history and that is why it is significant. Auschwitz is so significant that many people start learning about it during late elementary school years because there was so much that occurred there.
Many historians don’t focus on Auschwitz in general, but focus on the three different sections of Auschwitz. They are Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II-Birkenau, and Auschwitz III-Monowitz. Auschwitz I was the headquarter but the smallest of the three. Here, Dr. Josef Mengele had medical tests on Jews. These tests could have been anything like, hypothermia and oxygen deprivation experiments, testing of twins, dwarves, and infants, to castrations and sterilisations. Auschwitz II-Birkenau was the main gassing camp. Historians say that as the number of Jews increased, so did the want to kill them, which meant more gas chambers and cremation chambers. Four additional crematories were built from early 1943 to the beginning of June, 1943. Auschwitz III-Monowitz was the largest of the three Auschwitz sites where they held most of the labor workers. Historians say that over 40,000 Jews lived at Monowitz and that Nazis went there to make selections and inspect the prisoners to see if they could still work or if they were to be gassed at Birkenau.
Pearl Harbor 1941
Pearl Harbor is a naval base in Honolulu, Hawaii, 4,000 miles from Japan. No one believed that Japan would start a war by attacking the Hawaiian Islands because they were so far away. The United States intelligence officials thought that an attack would occur in one of the South Pacific European colonies so Pearl Harbor was defenseless. Just before 8 a.m. on December 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked Pearl Harbor. The Japanese destroyed around 20 U.S. vessels, eight battleships, and around 300 airplanes. Over 2,400 Americans died, not only naval forces, but citizens as well. Over 1,000 more people were wounded. The day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war on Japan.
There is a lot of significance of Pearl Harbor. The main significance is that this attack on the United States brought the country into the war they fought so hard to stay out of. The United States was a neutral force and they were brought into the war because of an unplanned Japanese attack. From this, the U.S. worked and fought hard during the war, even though they weren’t planning on being involved in it anyway. Pearl Harbor is significant because even though it was unplanned for the United States, they fought hard during the war which shows us that if something doesn’t go as planned, you should keep fighting on.
Japan did not only attack Pearl Harbor on December 8, 1941. Shortly after 8 am, Japan invaded Hong Kong, which starts the Battle of Hong Kong. Hong Kong was defended by Canadian and British forces, which caused the United Kingdom to declare war on Japan. Another invasion occurred ten hours after Pearl Harbor that involved Japan. Japan invaded Luzon and destroyed an American aircraft. Japan then occupied the Philippines. Lastly, Japan invaded another place shortly after Pearl Harbor. This was an invasion of Shanghai International Settlement where Japan started to occupy the United States and British sections.
Battle of Coral Sea 1942
Battle of Coral Sea was the first air-sea battle in world history. It was a four day battle in May 1942. The Japanese wanted to control the Coral Sea by invading Port Moresby in New Guinea, but their plans were interrupted by the Allied forces. When the Japanese landed near Port Moresby, aircraft planes from the United States attacked under the command of Rear Admiral Frank J. Fletcher. Both sides suffered much damage but the attack left Japan with not enough planes to cover the ground attack, leaving the Allied forces with another victory.
There is a lot of significance of the Battle of Coral Sea. The main significance is because it was the first air-sea battle, it opened up a new way of war attacks. It was also significant because it was the turning point of the war in the Pacific as the Allies had stopped a Japanese advance. Before the Battle of Coral Sea, the Japanese were winning their battles but after this one, they had a run of defeats. The Battle of Coral Sea has become known as one of the most important naval battles and even today, it is still known as the battle that saved Australia.
The Battle of Coral Sea is similar to the Battle of the Philippine Sea. The naval forces on both sides, Japan and the United States, could have taken what happened at the Battle of Coral Sea as a way to plan the Battle of the Philippines in terms of naval forces and not air forces. The United States were in the waters near Guam, ready to invade, like the Japan were going to in the Battle of Coral Sea. The Japanese took what they saw and already knew and prepared for a fight. The United States took what they knew from the previous battle and attacked the Japanese forces before the Japanese could do it to the United States naval forces.
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a code name for the United States’ effort to create an atomic weapon during World War II. The creation and use of the atomic bomb used the minds of some of the worlds smartest scientific people and the United States military. Most of the work and creation was done in New Mexico, Tennessee, and Washington, not New York. The Manhattan Project was started as a response to worries that the Germans had been working on a nuclear weapon since the 1903s and that Hitler was about use it. On July 16, 1945, the first atomic bomb,named the Trinity Test, was tested in a desert near Alamogordo, New Mexico. It successfully went off creating a 40,000 foot high cloud.
The Manhattan Project had both positive and negative significance. The Manhattan Project and the creation of the atomic bomb put World War II to and end by forcing Japan to surrender. The negative significance is that it also gave opportunities to other countries to create more powerful nuclear weapons. The Manhattan Project made great advances in engineering and physics and was the start of nuclear medicine and nuclear energy. The Manhattan Project brought out the power of the United States from a country that was suffering from the Great Depression.
There were many causes for the Manhattan Project. One main reason was because a lot of scientists were leaving their home countries and coming to the United States. One scientist, Leo Szilard, feared that Germany would be the first to make and use and atomic bomb with the scientists in the country. Two ex-German scientists who moved to England, Rudolf Peierls and Otto Frisch, shared that an atomic bomb could be made with uranium-235, with only fast neurons. Great Britain shared this information with the United States and they began to think about creating the atomic bomb.
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy was elected to be the 35th president in 1960. At only 43 years old, Kennedy became the youngest president and also the first Roman Catholic in office. John F. Kennedy was born into one of the United States’ most elite families and got the best education. He ran for Congress in 1946 and the Senate in 1952. As President, Kennedy dealt with the troubles of the Cold War in Cuba and Vietnam. He fought for public service and eventually gave federal support for civil rights. Kennedy’s assassination on November 22, 1963, shocked the world and turned him into a heroic figure. Today, many people consider him to be one of the most-loved presidents in history.
John F. Kennedy is a very significant person. He played a large role in changing politics to television, which made a larger impact on voters opinions. One significant thing he did was managing the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Kennedy’s military advisers believed that they could just bomb the missile pads in Cuba, and when Kennedy saw the danger of that, ordered a blockade of Soviet ships. At the end of this crisis, a peaceful agreement was made. Kennedy also opened a new vision for younger people as he was the youngest president. Younger people wanted to be more involved in the country and John F. Kennedy brought that feeling in.
I am comparing John F. Kennedy to Abraham Lincoln, who most people call the greatest president in history. Both presidents were concerned with civil rights in some way. Abraham Lincoln was fighting for black freedom and Kennedy was fighting for black rights as well. There are many similarities between their assassinations as well, including that they were both killed on the same day, a century apart, and their killers were both killed before their trials. There are some differences too. While Kennedy was born into a rich family and his father held a high political position, Lincoln was very poor and had to work very hard to get to the top.
Nixon Doctrine
The Nixon Doctrine was the announcement of President Nixon’s Vietnamization plan, where United States troops would leave the Southeast Asia conflict and be replaced by South Vietnamese troops over time. The United States would start to support allies with economic and military aid, rather than ground forces. This came after Nixon explained that America couldn’t afford to support their allies fully. In his first term in office, Nixon withdrew a large number of U.S. forces from Vietnam. In 1973, America and North Vietnam signed a peace treaty finally ending the war but in 1975, North Vietnam attacked South Vietnam and connected the divided country under a communist government.
The main significance of the Nixon Doctrine is that it set guides to United States alliance. It sets guidelines for relationships with Japan, Western Europe, Afghanistan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Iraq. A large part of the Vietnamese army fought successfully and effectively for a long time, with the support of United States aid, air power, and advice on many topics. The United States learned to make relationships with many countries which is significant.
The United States has kept many relationships that they made with the Nixon Doctrine. From the 20th century to present day, the United States and Japan have had a strong economic, military, and political relationships. America considers Japan to be one of their best allies and Japan is one of the most American favorited countries in the world. For South Vietnam, after 20 year stop because of cut ties. In 1995, former president Bill Clinton announced the normalization of diplomatic relations.