1930's Figure

Picking one figure from the 1930's with the biggest impact, I picked Hitler. Although he was known best for his atrocities and crimes against humanity, he was a man of immense national pride and great ambition. He took over Germany from the ranks of the Nazi Party, after the fall of the Wiemar Republic. He served in World War I in the grim trench warfare of the Eastern Front. Here he was molded and driven to his famous mindset of German Supremacy throughout Europe. After many attempted "Beer Hall Revolts", he was thrown in jail. Here he wrote his life work "Mein Kampf". In this he detailed all of his plans for the expansion of Germany and his plan for conquest. Although seen as one of the cruelest men in history, he was well known as a savior to the people of Germany and even a friend to his people. Cruel, bitter, greedy, and overly ambitious he was seen as but will forever be remembered as a great leader and representation of the power of corruption and over ambition.

World War I Russian Soldier

As a soldier of Russia during World War I, I saw death and destruction innumerably. I joined the army of the Russian Empire through conscription. The men who were conscripted with me were from all across the Russian Empire, I personally from the Urals. There I was a hunter and part of the lower class system as were many of the people that surrounded me. In the war, it was wide spread warfare due to the low amount of soldier density on the line. This lead to many breakthroughs and rare counterattacks, while retreating was the most intelligent and responsive way to deal with the very nature of the warfare on the Eastern Front. Still, war is war, and I constantly wished to leave the front.

Unionization-Male Factory Laborer

As a male factory laborer, I work many long hard hours in the factory doing grueling tasks that are charged to me. All the other workers in the factory are in the same boat. We have no set pay and only get to go home to our families when we are done with our tasks for the day. In the case of a worker's union getting organized, we male workers would have less hours and more pay, as well as more respectable tasks than the slave labor now. We would also have more say. As a male factory laborer we welcome the concept of unionization.

Enlightenment Monarchs: Peter the Great of Russia

Peter the Great of Russia(on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the greatest)

Cultural:8
Peter always put his country first. His people saw him as a deliverer and one who ruled for the common good of the country. He was never a tyrannical leader who ruled with the so called iron fist.

Educational:6
Led many reforms within the military of Russia. Established military academies and naval academies within Russia to fuel his army. The main branch of education, however, was kept to match those of other Western European countries. He wished to gain the type of education that these countries possessed.

Legal:7
Changed many political laws and placed safeguards for balance within the government. Also put laws on the churches of Russia. One such law was that no man could join a convent until he was 50, to make sure that those men would instead join his army.

Political:8
Was very active politically. Made sure that the government was constant, and never changing. Placed safeguards for himself throughout the government structure and kept his military in check.

Militarily:10
Ever since gaining the reigns, Peter wanted to declare war on the Ottoman Empire. He went West to find allies for this war, but all countries were interested in other matters of their own government. He returned, and raised his country of Russia to be entirely anti-Ottoman Empire. Peter was also involved in many coups within Russia, turning up the victor on every one. Peter's big war, however, was the war over the Baltic Sea with the Swedes. He ended up, not winning this, but benefiting from the territory he acquired.

30 Years War

The Thirty Years' War was a religious war between the Protestants and Catholics. It eventually spread to become a major war that covered most of Europe. The Bourbons and the Hapsburgs are the ones that initially began the feuding but it later become a war of France vs. the Hapsburgs. Disease and famine played major roles in the war because each contributed to the deconstruction of both sides. Germany took a huge loss during the war losing up to 30% of its total population.

The Reformation

The Anabaptists- The Anabaptists were a protestant spin off of the church during the reformation. Their beliefs all hinged on the religous ceremony of baptism. This was considered a form of herecy from within the Catholic Church and other protestant groups as well. As a group, they kept to themselves and mostly interacted with other Anabaptists. This sole interaction was the result of them being heavily persecuted in the 16th and 17th centuries. Their other beliefs included that a Christian should take part in no form of violence, take civil office within the government, and all heavy sinnners from within the Anabaptist Church ahould be excommunicated, unless they repent.

Columbus: Hero or Villian

In my opinion, Columbus was more a hero than a villian, but not a full-fledged hero either. He was credited with discovering the new world, hence the holiday that we have named after him. He was not believed, however to be the original and sole discoverer of America. There are disputes but there are the Vikings and the Chinese, along with many others, who lay claim to discovering America. He was the most commonly known one, therefore he is commonly given the title of discovering America. These traits lead him to be a hero around the world, but there are things that he did that connotate villiany. While he was in the New World, his soldiers killed innocent Indians, raped there women; all in the lust for gold. Unknowingly, he also introduced major diseases to the New World and the Indians, such as smallpox.