Current Affairs 9th Class

                        NAZISM AND THE RISE OF HITLER             IMPORTANT DATES AND EVENTS                      1914     -           First World War begins                    1918     -           Weimer Republic is established                    1919     -           Treaty of Versailles was signed by Germany. Hitler joins the 'National Socialist Germany Workers                                                  Party'.                    1929     -           The Economic Depression occurs in USA.                    1933     -           (a) President Roosevelt introduces the New Deal to deal with the Bionomic Depression.                                                  (b) Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany.                   1934     -           Hitler becomes President of Germany.                   1935     -           (a) Italy attacks Ethiopia.                                                 (b) Anglo-German Naval Agreement signed between Britain and Germany.                  1936     -           (a) A new constitution is introduced by Stalin                                                (b) Hitler occupies the Rhineland.                                                (c) Civil War starts in Spain.                  1937     -           (a) Japan attacks China                                               (b) Anti-Comintern pact signed by Germany, Japan and Italy.                  1938     -           (a) Hitler's troops march into Austria.                                               (b) Munich pact is signed. German troops acquire Sudetenland.                 1939     -           (a) Germany attacks Czechoslovakia.                                               (b) Soviet Union signs non-aggression pact with Germany.                                               (c) 1st September: Germany invades Poland.                                               (d) 3rd September Britain and France declare war on Germany.                  1940     -           (a) Italy declares war on Britain and France.                                               (b) Battle of Britain begins.                                               (c) Italy attacks Egypt.                                               (d) Germany invades Norway and Sweden.                                               (e) France surrenders.                  1941     _          (a) 8th April                   -           Germany invades the Balkans.                                               (b) 22nd June                 -           Germany invades the Soviet Union.                                               (c) 15th September          -           Siege of Leningrad by the Germans.                                              (d) 7th December            -           Japan attacks Pearl Harbour.                                                                                                                America joins the war.                                               (e) 11th December           -           Germany and Italy declare war on America.                     1942     -           United Nations declaration signed by the representatives of 26 nations.                  1943     -           Germany and Italy defeated by the Allied powers in North Africa.                  1944     -           6th June: D-Day - Opening of the Second Front.                  1945     -           (a) 25th - 26th August     -           Liberation of Paris.                                                (b) 28th April                  -           Italian partisans shoot Mussolini.                                                (c) 30th April                  -           Hitler commits suicide                                                (d) 2nd May                   -           Soviet army enters Berlin.                                                (e) 7th May                    -           Germany surrenders.                                                (f) 8th May                    -           VE (Victory in Europe) Day celebrated.                                               (g) 9th May                    -           Stalin announces defeat of the German forces by the Red Army.                                                                                                         German naval fleet surrenders.                                               (h) 6th August                -           U.S. drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima.                                               (i) 8th August                 -           more...

  NAZISM AND THE RISE OF HITLER          IMPORTANT PERSONALITIES          

Adolf Hitler. Founder of the Nazi Party, he led Germany during the Second World War and committed suicide on 30th April 1945.

 

Franklin D. The only American President to enjoy four successive terms in office. He led the USA during the Second World War and introduced the New Deal.

 

General Von Paulus. Commander of the German 6th army which was forced to surrender at Stalingrad in February 1943. This defeat shattered belief in the invincibility of Hitler's army.

 

President Harry S. The American President who was responsible for dropping two atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima and forcing Japan to surrender thus bringing the Second World War to an end.

 

Winston Churchill. A great leader, author and orator, he led Britain to victory during the Second World War.

 

General Tojo. The Prime Minister of Japan who adopted an aggressive foreign policy and was responsible for the attack on Pearl Harbour which brought America into the Second World War.

 Nazism and the Rise of Hitler   IMPORTANT TERMS AND CONCEPTS  

Dictatorship.  It is a form of government in which a person or a group of persons possesses absolute power without effective constitutional limitations.

                                                    

Nazism.  A political system introduced by Hitler in Germany. Akin to dictatorship and fascism, it also pagated extreme hatred against the Jews.

 

Nazi.  The short form of Nationalist Socialist German Workers Party. Formed by Hitler in 1921, it propagated Nazism.                               

 

Axis Powers. Italy, Germany and Japan formed the Axis powers.

 

Allied Powers. Britain, France, Russia and U.S.A. were the allied powers.

 

Second World War. The global war which took place from September 1939 to May 1945 in which over 50 million people were killed and many cities were reduced to rubble.

 

The Great Depression. A worldwide economic slump lasting from 1929 to 1935. During these yews, trade between nations dropped and around 25 million people lost their jobs.

 

Pearl Harbor. Situated on the Hawaiian island of Honolulu, it was the main base of the US Pacific Fleet. Japanese planes launched from aircraft carriers attacked the base on 7th December 1941. They destroyed 120 aircraft and killed 2,400 people.

 

Gestapo.  Short for Geheime Staatspolizei, the secret state police in Nazi Germany. It had the power to arrest people without trial and torture and kill them. As a result they were the most hated and feared organisation in Nazi-occupied Europe.

 

Holocaust.  It comes from the Greek word holos and kaustos which literally means 'completely bumf’. It is used to describe the persecution and mass murder of Jews by German Nazis between 1933 and 1945.

 

Semite.  Usually someone who belongs to any of the peoples of South-west Asia, especially Jews and Arabs. In Nazi Germany the word was used to describe only Jewish people.

 

Reichstag.  The name given to the German Parliament.

 

Reparation.  Making up for a wrong done.

 

Wall Street Exchange. The name of the world's biggest stock exchange located in the USA.

 

Propaganda.  Specific type of message directly aimed at influencing the opinion of people through the use of posters, films and speeches."

 

Concentration camp. A camp where people were isolated and detained without the due process of law.

 

Persecution.  Systematic, organised punishment of those belonging to a group or religion.

 

Jungvolk. Nazi youth groups for children below 14 years of age.

     

  Forest Society and Colonialism           IMPORTANT DATES                            1755     -           The Mataram kingdom of Java split into two kingdoms.                        1770     -           The Kalangs rose in rebellion against the Dutch but were suppressed.                        1864     -           The Indian Forest Service was set up.                        1865     -           The Indian Forest Act came into being.                        1890     -           Surontiko Samin started a movement against state ownership of forests.                        1906     -           The Imperial Forest Research Institute was set up at Dehradun.                       1910     -           The Bastar Rebellion first started in the Kanger forest area and then spread to other parts of the                                                       state.                       1946     -           The length of railway tracks laid by now were over 765,000 km.

 Forest Society and Colonialism            IMPORTANT PERSONALITIES    

Dietrich Brandis. He was the first Inspector General of Forests in India.

George Yule. A British administrator who killed 400 tigers.

Gunda Dhur. An inhabitant of Nethanar village, he was an important figure in the Bastar rebellion.

Surontiko Samin. An inhabitant of Randublatung village who started a movement against state ownership of forests.

Forest Society and Colonialism           IMPORTANT TERMS AND CONCEPTS  

Deforestation.  The disappearance of forests is referred to as deforestation.

Sleepers.  Wooden planks laid across railway tracks; they hold the tracks in position.

Scientific forestry. A system of cutting trees controlled by the forest department.

Taungya cultivation. A system in which local farmers were allowed to cultivate temporarily within a plantation.

Swidden agriculture. A traditional agricultural practice in many parts of Asia, Africa and South America whereby parts of the forest are cut and burnt in rotation.

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION   IMPORTANT PERSONALITIES  

Maximilian Robespierre. Leader of the Jacobin club whose policies led to the Reign of Terror.

In 1794, he was convicted and sent to the guillotine.  

Napoleon Bonaparte. The military dictator of France who conquered many European countries.

He was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo.  

Olympe de Gourges. One of the most important politically active women in revolutionary France.

In 1791, she wrote a Declaration of the Rights of Woman and Citizen. Critical of the Jacobin government, she was charged with treason and executed.  

Louis The King of France when the revolution occurred was a man of average intelligence who disliked any kind of brain work. He staunchly believed in the Divine Right of Kings and was completely unaware of the new ideas that were sweeping across his country and oblivious to the needs and fears of his subjects. He was obsessed with his beautiful wife and wasted money on festivities. He drove France into useless wars bringing the country to the verge of bankruptcy.

 

Montesquieu.  A French thinker and author of the book 'Spirit of Laws'. He believed that executive, legislative and judicial powers should not be concentrated in one person as it led to tyrannical rule. He stressed on the principle of separation of powers and individual liberty.

 

Jean Jacques Rousseau. His writings played a significant role in bringing about the French Revolution and encouraged people to fight for their rights. He believed that government should be based on the consent of the governed. His most famous work 'The Social Contract' talks of a contract between the ruler and ruled whereby the former would guarantee the freedom and happiness of his subjects. Implied in his writings was the belief that men had a right to change their government if they were not satisfi

 

Voltaire.  A famous and influential French writer, he stressed religious toleration and freedom of speech. He is credited with the famous statement on free speech 'I do not agree with a word you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it'. He savagely attacked all things he considered sham or superstition and was a vehement critic of the Catholic Church.

 

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION                                     IMPORTANT DATES                                     1774                -           Louis XVI becomes King of France.                                   1789                -           Third Estate forms National Assembly. The Bastille is stormed.                                   1791                -           A constitution is framed to limit the powers of the king.                                   1792-93           -           France becomes a republic. The king is executed.                                  1804                -           Napoleon becomes emperor of France.                                  1815                -           Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo.                                  1848                -           Slavery was abolished in all French colonies.                                  1946                -           French women got the right to vote.

  The French Revolution   IMPORTANT TERMS AND CONCEPTS  

Nation.  People who share a language, culture, customs and history; a group united into a large political, economic and social unit which recognises no law or authority above its own, i.e., it is sovereign in nature.

 

Nationalism.  A feeling of intense loyalty and devotion to one's country.

 

Revolution.  The term means a recognised momentous change in any situation. A revolution can result in the sudden overthrow of an established government or system by force and bloodshed, e.g.. The French Revolution. It can also be a great change that comes slowly and peacefully, e.g., Industrial Revolution.

 

First Estate. French society was divided into classes called Estates. The First Estate consisted of the Clergy which held vast land, wealth and was exempt from taxation.

 

Second Estate. It consisted of the aristocracy and controlled all the top positions in the government, parliament and in the army and navy. They were also exempt from taxation and led an extravagant life.

 

Third Estate. This comprised everyone who was neither nobility nor clergy and constituted 98% of the population. Town dwellers, the wealthy upper middle class (merchants, bankers, doctors, lawyers), lower middle class, craftsmen, shopkeepers and peasants comprised the Third Estate. This class lacked political power, social position and was heavily taxed though there were many differences in their wealth and style of living.      

                                    

The Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen. In 1789, the French National Assembly adopted a set of basic principles called the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. Proposed by Lafayette and based on the ideas of Locke, Montesquieu and Jefferson, this document stated that "men are born and remain free and equal in rights" and that the "source of power resides in the people". It guaranteed all Frenchmen the basic rights of liberty, security, equal justice, fair taxes, speech, religion and thought.

                                                       

Physiocrats.  The French economists were called physiocrats. They believed that taxes should be imposed only with the consent of those on whom they are levied. Their beliefs undermined the feudal rights and privileges of the upper classes.

 

Livre.  Unit of currency used in France till 1794.

 

Clergy.  Group of persons invested with special functions in the Church.

 

Tithe.  A tax levied by the Church equal to one-tenth of the agricultural produce.

 

Taille.  Tax paid directly to the state.

 

Chateau.  Castle belonging to a king or nobleman.

 

Manor.  An estate consisting of the Lord's lands and his mansion.

 

Sceptre.  Symbol of royal power.                 

 

Negroes.  A term used for the indigenous people of Africa, south of the Sahara. A derogatory term not now commonly used.

Matter in Our Surroundings   Matter Matter is anything that has mass and occupies space. Examples of matter are iron, wood, oil, kerosene, petrol, rock, minerals, water, air, coal, etc. Matters are classified on the basis of physical and chemical properties. On the basis of physical properties, matter is classified as solid, liquid and gas. On the basis of chemical properties, matter is classified as elements, compounds and mixtures. Matter is made up of particles.   Characteristics of Particles of Matter The various characteristics of particles of matter are:  

• They are extremely small in size.
• They have spaces between them.
• They are constantly moving.
• They attract each other. The force of attraction between particles of same substance is known as cohesion. Particles of different matter exert different amount of force of attraction.

  Classification of Matter on the Basis of Their Physical Properties On the basis of physical properties, all the matters are classified into three groups namely solid, liquid and gas. In other words, it can be said that matter exists in three physical states namely solid, liquid and gas.   States of Matter States of Matter     The following are the properties of three states of matter:   Solid The various properties of solids are:  

• They have fixed shape and fixed volume.
• They have closely packed particles. There is a strong force of attraction between the particles that holds them together in fixed position.
• They cannot be compressed.
• They have high density.
• They do not flow.

Stone (Solid)     Liquid The various properties of liquids are:  

• They have fixed volume but not fixed shape.
• They cannot be compressed much.
• They have closely packed particles, but not as closely packed as in solids.
• They have moderate to high density. Liquids are usually less dense than solids.
• The force of attraction between the particles is strong enough to hold the particles together, but not strong enough to hold them in fixed position.
• They generally flow easily.

Water (Liquid)   Gas The various properties of gases are:  

• They neither have fixed shape nor fixed volume. Gases take the shape and volume of the container in which they are kept.
• They have particles that are much farther apart from one another as compared to solid and liquids. The force of attraction between particles of gas is negligible, therefore; the particles can freely move in any direction.
• They can be compressed easily.
• They have very low densities. Gases are very light in weight.
• They flow easily. They move from more...