The good thing about being in the 20th Century, is there are lots of video sources about the topics we are studying.
Over the weekend, you should read the rest of the chapter (chapter 38). Then choose one of the following videos linked below to go deeper into the material. We will focus on the so-called "Communist" rulers, who killed lots of their own people once they were in power. You should be ready to talk about whether or not these communists were really Marxists in their approach to economic systems.
1) Biography: Mao. This is 45 minutes long and covers the way Mao came to power and what he did once he got there. Bodycount: somewhere between 40 and 60 million Chinese were killed as a direct result of his policies.
2) Stalin Man of Steel. This is longer (an hour and a half) from the History Channel, and we will have watched some of it in class today. You want to see up through the detonation of the Soviet's nuclear bomb. Bodycount: Over 60 million Soviet citizens were killed as a direct result of Stalin's policies.
3) Cold War: Cuba. 45 minutes long. This CNN documentary tracks through the rise of Fidel Castro, the Bay of Pigs invasion, and the Cuban Missile Crisis (which is the major focus of the episode.) Bodycount: less than half a million. Castro doesn't play with the big boys.
4) Cold War: Korea. 45 minutes long. This CNN documentary covers the partition of Korea after World War II through the cessation of hostilities and establishment of the state of emergency that continues to this day. Bodycount: Hard to know with the Hermit Kingdom, but it looks like the Kim family has killed around 10 million since the war ended through famine and prison camps and executions. Around 3 million North Koreans were killed in the war. So Kim Jong-un has potential.
You are, of course, welcome to watch more than just one!
We will be having our last test on Friday, May 3rd. It will cover chapters 35-40 (though really not much on Chapter 35...) and follow the standard format of 70 multiple choice questions.
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