The XXth Century

miércoles, 13 de junio de 2012

After the World War I, people started to practice a new dancing style. Their feet started to move faster, following a cheerful music. They started to wear exotic and short dresses, full of fringes and feathers; and high heels, in the case of women. Men wore suits, hats, sticks, and were really elegant. After the horrible World War I, people were happy because of the “peace” after this terrible situation, and this happiness was manifested in dancing. It represented an era of disregard: this joyful style was the Charleston.

This dancing style was originated in 1903, by the African Americans of South Carolina, as a folkloric African dance. That is why it has some similarities with the dances of Nigeria, and Ghana. The name “Charleston” comes from a city named like that, in South Carolina. At first Charleston dance was forbidden for considering it immoral and provocative. Its popularity grew due to the presentation in the Negro musical “Running Wild” in New York, presentation that spread al among the country. It achieved its popularity when Elizabeth Welch sung a song named Charleston (composed in 1923 by the pianist James P. Johnson) in this production. The dance itself was introduced in Irving C. Miller Liza (Broadway musical) in 1923. People started to like this joyful dance and it spread fast among the United States.

In the year 1926 a group of Americans presented Charleston in the Metropole Hotel of London. Rapidly, this dance started to spread among Europe, and imposed as the most popular dance in the time. Because of this spreading, the original forms of Charleston changed because of the expansion in the European country. It was the most “in” dance, always presented in shows and cabarets. In 1927, the Charleston style started to decay, because of the appearance of the Black Bottom, and later of the Quickstep.

The Charleston dance is rhythmically syncopated (a change in rhythm) in 4 beats from 4. In this style, people dance in couples. Some dance steps are for example the Susy Q and the twirl in one foot touching one heel and another, return, and back, clapping in an alternated way. Another dancing ways are walking one step to the front touching the floor, retuning, and making a step back, while the arms move just like a pendulum. People use to jump and smile, because they want to show this feeling of happiness after a World War.

The Charleston dance is a way of manifesting the happiness of the people. It was a really happy style, where people enjoyed and passed great times. The dancing was usually really fast and people used to jump and smile, and show that they had no worries. Art is the way of expressing feelings, and in this time, people expressed their feelings with music and body, and when watching the Charleston one can realize that the people enjoyed their life. It is not only a dance, it is the way of proving that the war has ended, life is beautiful, and one can be happy despite anything one has lived.

Women in Nazi society

By Antonella Chihizola

Does Nazi society had a male chauvinist basis?

Women’s role during Hitler’s regime was completely male chauvinist and discriminator. Their role in society was primary as housewives, supporting their husbands, community organizers and especially as mothers of further Aryans. Their duties could be summarized with three k-starting German words: Kirche (Church), Küche (kitchen), Kinder (children). Only once men unemployment was completely alleviated and labor shortages took place women were required and allowed to work in public professions.

One of the main purposes why Nazis discouraged women working outside home in common employees, was to alleviate the high unemployment rate of men. That’s why, after getting married, women were encouraged to work at home and take care of their husbands and families with the support of “generous” loans. Anyway, as these loans had reductions and rates of interests depending on the age and number of children, after having four a couple owed nothing.

Many facilities were given by the government to encourage women to get marry and have children. Abortion was made illegal, unless some specific cases of “genetic defects” demanded its enforcement… If the German baby was not an Aryan, why should it even be allowed to born and infect society with its impurity?

There was even an especial ceremony to reward prolific mothers. It was held on August 12, the birthday of Hitler’s mother, each year. The German blood and hereditarily healthy mothers who had four or five children were receiving a bronze medal, if they had from six to seven a silver one, and from eight on the golden one. All of them had the inscription “The child ennobles the mother”

However, only the genetically pure were allowed to procreate and received the benefits that the government offered. Before getting married, the couples needed to present a certificate of “fitness to marry” and of course if they didn’t had the particular features to give life to pure Germans; they were not getting married, and probably even eradicated… or at least sterilized. Millions of Germans suffered due to sterilization during these years.

Also, in order to “bear a child for the Führer”, unmarried women that count with good racial credentials were encouraged to become pregnant with selected SS (Schutzstaffel ‘protective squadron’) men as fathers.

Mothers were in charge of ensuring the education of their children as “national comrades”… at least they wanted the Nazi government to take away their children’s custody.

Nazis’ policies over women become contradictory when in 1933 almost 5 million women were paid employment outside the home and then in 1939 the number grew up to 7.14 million. This was a consequence of labor shortage and rising wages; it was just then when women were encouraged to go to universities and study a career to become professionals.

As a conclusion Nazi society was male chauvinist one, which only allowed women to develop intellectual and professionally after men had filled all the quotas and it was a necessary fact for maintaining government’s prosperity. Women were “used” as procreators of new Aryans, by giving birth new children and by ensuring their “correct path” in education. I have nothing against housewives who want to dedicate their life to their family and children, as long as it is their choice and there is nobody restricting their liberty to grow as professionals and therefore achieve self-realization.

martes, 12 de junio de 2012

USA Isolationism: selfishness or survival?

“In the large view the major forces of the depression now lie outside of the United Staes, and our recuperation has been retarded by the unwarranted degree of fear and apprehension created by this outside forces”

- Herbert Hoover

By Brenda Pedreschi

New York. A favorable boom in the economy of USA led the Americans to invest large amounts of money in stock market. To afford it many people asked for loans to banks, over $8.5 billion was out on loan. On October 24th the share on the New York Stock Exchange collapsed. About 16 million shares were traded, and the Dow lost an additional 30 points, or 12%. When the stock market collapsed it cause disastrous financial effects on worldwide markets.

The United States optes a system of isolation to survive the crisis after World War I, affecting not only their economy but also other nations. One of the main nations to be affected by this system was Germany as all their incomes from USA were cut and become loans.The Young Plan by Stresemann appealed to the USA for further assistance in paying reparations. The Young committee reduces Germany's liability to £2,000 million (about 1/3 of the original sum), to be paid over 59 years. This plan collapsed because of the Wall Street Crash on 1929.

The reality of a worldwide economic depression and the need for increased attention to domestic problems only served to bolster the idea that the United States should isolate itself from troubling events in Europe.

USA was not in a favorable position to continue supporting them neither was able to support with money foreign countries as Germany, causing the block of international payments and begun collecting loans back.

Isolationists held the view that USA's perspective on the world was different from that of European societies and that USA could advance the cause of freedom and democracy bu means other than war.

Even thought Isolationism did not mean disengagement from the world stage, USA isolated her in terms of trade. Tariffs were put on foreign goods to protect USA industry, and because Europeans couldn't sell their goods to hem they could not afford to buy agricultural goods from USA. This was one of the causes of the Depression.

But isolationism is not only applied for economy, isolationism refers to USA's longstanding reluctance to become involved in european alliances and wars, any conflict or international politics.

A main consequence of this isolation toward the world was shown in USA turning its back on Europe by restricting the number of immigrants permitted into the country. Until World War I, millions of people, mostly from Europe, had come to USA to seek their fortune and escape from poverty and persecution. Britons and Irishmen, Germans and Jews constituted the biggest groups. In 1921 the relatively liberal policy ended and quotas were introduced. By 1929 only 150,000 immigrants per year were allowed in.

Isolationism might be seen as a way to survive interwar crisis especially economical but in the end it just was a factor that gave place to the great Depression that followed also as it gave crisis to other nations it gave place to new leaders arrive, those leaders who will later be main characters in World War II. A cut in loans to foreign countries is undeniable a optimum decision as the nation couldn’t afford to keep doing it but that is just one way of isolation, some others were just over exaggerating decisions that could be managed in better situations and better ways. Isolation affected the whole country and will leaf serious consequences for the following years.