Profile of World War II Colonel General Ludwig Beck

Profile of World War II Colonel General Ludwig Beck Early Career Born at Biebrich, Germany, Ludwig Beck received a traditional education before entering the German Army in 1898 as a cadet. Rising through the ranks, Beck was recognized as a gifted officer and was tapped for staff service. With the outbreak of World War I, he was assigned to the Western Front where he spent the conflict as a staff officer. With the German defeat in 1918, Beck was retained in the small postwar Reichswehr. Continuing to advance, he later received command of the 5th Artillery Regiment. Becks Rise to Prominence In 1930, while in this assignment, Beck came to the defense of three of his officers who were charged with distributing Nazi propaganda on post. As membership in political parties was forbidden by Reichswehr regulations, the three men faced a court-martial. Angered, Beck passionately spoke on behalf of his men arguing that the Nazis were a force for good in Germany and that officers should be able to join the party. In the course of the trials, Beck met and impressed Adolf Hitler. Over the next two years, he worked to write a new operations manual for the Reichswehr entitled Truppenfà ¼hrung. The work earned Beck a great deal of respect and he was given command of the 1st Cavalry Division in 1932 along with a promotion to lieutenant general. Eager to see German prestige and power returned to prewar levels, Beck celebrated the Nazi ascent to power in 1933 stating, I have wished for years for the political revolution, and now my wishes have come true. It is the first ray of hope since 1918. With Hitler in power, Beck was elevated to lead the Truppenamt (Troop Office) on October 1, 1933. Beck as Chief of Staff As the Treaty of Versailles prohibited the Reichswehr from having a General Staff, this office served as a shadow organization that fulfilled a similar function. In this role, Beck worked to rebuild the German military and pushed to develop new armored forces. As German rearmament moved forward, he was officially titled Chief of the General Staff in 1935. Working an average of ten hours a day, Beck was known as an intelligent officer, but one that often became obsessed by administrative details. A political player, he worked to expand his posts power and sought the ability to directly advise the Reich leadership. Though he believed that Germany should fight a major war or series of war to restore its place as a power in Europe, he felt that these should not occur until the military was fully prepared. Despite this, he strongly backed Hitlers move to reoccupy the Rhineland in 1936. As the 1930s progressed, Beck became increasingly concerned that Hitler would force a conflict before the military was ready. As a result, he initially refused to write plans for the invasion of Austria in May 1937 as he felt it would provoke a war with Britain and France. Falling Out with Hitler When the Anschluss failed to cause international protest in March 1938, he quickly developed the needed plans which were dubbed Case Otto. Though Beck foresaw a conflict to eliminate Czechoslovakia and officially advocated for action in the fall of 1937, he retained worries that Germany was not prepared for a major European war. Not believing Germany could win such a contest prior to 1940, he openly began advocating against a war with Czechoslovakia in May 1938. As the armys senior general, he challenged Hitlers belief that France and Britain would allow Germany a free hand. The relationship between Beck and Hitler rapidly began to deteriorate aided by the latters preference for the Nazi SS over the Wehrmacht. While Beck lobbied against what he believed would be a premature war, Hitler chastised him stating that he was one of the officers still imprisoned in the idea of the hundred-thousand-man army imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. Through the summer Beck continued to work to prevent a conflict while also attempting to reorganize the command structure as he felt it was Hitlers advisors that were pushing for war. In an effort to increase pressure on the Nazi regime, Beck attempted to organize a mass resignation of senior Wehrmacht officers and issued instructions on July 29 that as well as preparing for foreign wars the army should be ready for for an internal conflict which need only take place in Berlin. In early August, Beck suggested that several Nazi officials should be removed from power. On the 10th, his arguments against war were relentlessly attacked by Hitler at a meeting of senior generals. Unwilling to continue, Beck, now a colonel general, resigned on August 17. Beck Bringing Down Hitler In exchange for resigning quietly, Hitler had promised Beck a field command but instead had him transferred to the retired list. Working with other anti-war and anti-Hitler officials, such as Carl Goerdeler, Beck and several others began planning to remove Hitler from power. Though they informed the British Foreign Office of their intentions, they were unable to prevent the signing of the Munich Agreement in late September. With the beginning of World War II in September 1939, Beck became a key player in various plots to remove the Nazi regime. From the fall of 1939 through 1941, Beck worked with other anti-Nazi officials such as Goerdeler, Dr. Hjalmar Schacht, and Ulrich von Hassell in planning a coup to remove Hitler and make peace with Britain and France. In these scenarios, Beck would be the leader of the new German government. As these plans evolved, Beck was involved in two aborted attempts to kill Hitler with bombs in 1943. The following year, he became a key player, along with Goerdeler and Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, in what became known as the July 20 Plot. This plan called for Stauffenberg to kill Hitler with a bomb at the Wolfs Lair headquarters near Rastenburg. Once Hitler was dead, the conspirators would use the German reserve forces to take control of the country and would form a new provisional government with Beck at its head. On July 20, Stauffenberg detonated the bomb but failed to kill Hitler. With the plots failure, Beck was arrested by General Friedrich Fromm. Exposed and with no hope of escape, Beck elected to commit suicide later that day rather than face trial. Using a pistol, Beck fired but only managed to critically injure himself. As a result, a sergeant was forced to finish the job by shooting Beck in the back of the neck. Selected Sources World War II Database: Ludwig BeckJVL: Ludwig BeckGerman Resistance Memorial Center: Ludwig Beck

English as a Global Language

English as a Global Language In Shakespeares time, the number of English speakers in the world is thought to have been between five and seven million. According to linguist David Crystal, Between the end of the reign of Elizabeth I (1603) and the beginning of the reign of Elizabeth II (1952), this figure increased almost fiftyfold, to around 250 million (The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, 2003). Its a common language used in international business, which makes it a popular second language for many. How Many Languages Are There? There are roughly 6,500 languages spoken in the world today. About 2,000 of them have fewer than 1,000 speakers. While the British empire did help spread the language globally its only the third most commonly spoken language in the world. Mandarin and Spanish are the two most commonly spoken languages on Earth.   From How Many Other Languages Has English Borrowed Words? English is jokingly referred to as a language thief because of it has incorporated words from over 350 other languages into it. The majority of these borrowed words are latin or from one of the Romance languages. How Many People in the World Today Speak English? Roughly 500 million people in the world are native English speakers. Another 510 million people speak English as a second language, which means that there are more people who speak English along with their native language than there are native English speakers. In How Many Countries Is English Taught as a Foreign Language? English is taught as a foreign language in over 100 countries. Its considered the language of business which makes it a popular choice for a second language. English language teachers are often paid very well in countries like China and Dubai. What Is the Most Widely Used English Word? The form OK or okay is probably the most intensively and widely used (and borrowed) word in the history of the language. Its many would-be etymologists have traced it variously to Cockney, French, Finnish, German, Greek, Norwegian, Scots, several African languages, and the Native American language Choctaw, as well as a number of personal names. All are imaginative feats without documentary support. (Tom McArthur, The Oxford Guide to World English. Oxford University Press, 2002) How Many Countries in the World Have English as Their First Language? This is a complicated question, as the definition of first language differs from place to place, according to each country’s history and local circumstances. The following facts illustrate the complexities: Australia, Botswana, the Commonwealth Caribbean nations, Gambia, Ghana, Guyana, Ireland, Namibia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States have English as either a de facto or statutory official language. In Cameroon and Canada, English shares this status with French; and in the Nigerian states, English and the main local language are official. In Fiji, English is the official language with Fijian; in Lesotho with Sesotho; in Pakistan with Urdu; in the Philippines with Filipino; and in Swaziland with Siswati. In India, English is an associate official language (after Hindi), and in Singapore English is one of four statutory official languages. In South Africa, English [is] the main national language- but just one of eleven official languages. In all, English has official or special status in at least 75 countries (with a combined population of two billion people). It is estimated that one out of four people worldwide speak English with some degree of competence. (Penny Silva, Global English. AskOxford.com, 2009)

Impact of NGOs on Chinas Labour Rights CSR Component Essay

Impact of NGOs on Chinas Labour Rights CSR Component - Essay Example The role of NGOs is growing more important in China given the lack of political independence, as well as freedom of association, for work councils and trade unions on the factory floor. This vacuum is filled partially by labour support and labour rights NGOs, which bargain for labour rights and offer support to work for councils at factories and other workplaces. These organizations have more room to manoeuvre since they can bypass political aspects because of their business model, although this can also lead to additional dependencies that hamper their strategies for collective action focused labour rights (Lin, 2010). NGOs, thus, face the delicate task of balancing dependencies between businesses and states and expanding on what current labour laws, both national and international, provide. Their effectiveness against this backdrop will be discussed with regards to labour rights within their larger CSR monitoring mandate. NGOs working in the labour rights and labour support sector in China have several government-recognized frameworks to ensure adherence to CSR, particularly labour rights. One of this is the 2008 Labour Law that was passed in mid-2007 and implemented the next year. In passing the new labour law, the Chinese legislature strengthened worker protection and made a real attempt at adhering to internationally recognized labour regulations (Zheng, 2009). This law required that employees in all Chinese companies give their workers a written contract and restricted use of casual labourers, while also making it more difficult to lay off workers. The law also softened its stance on foreign companies that were a threat to those in China, as well as enhanced the role of the state-owned union in collective bargaining. The law also requires that all employers give equal treatment to immigrant and local employees. In addition, the law also requires that the written contracts offered by employers to w orkers meet minimum safety and wage regulations (See, 2009). For NGOs in China, most of which are funded by foreign labour rights organizations, this moves the country towards a European-style regime of labour regulations.

History of Eastern Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

History of Eastern Philosophy - Essay Example They believe that religion and philosophy are mutually exclusive and drastically different (Carr, pp. 241-243). They have various arguments in this regard. First, the most important difference between these two is the fact that philosophy aims at uncovering the truth about the universe through a systematic and logical process of rational inquiry and even if any knowledge obtained from some other source or object cannot meet the rational requirements would be discarded. On the other hand, religion promotes rationality to the extent to which it does not collide or negate the existence of a supernatural force or its Holy books. Furthermore, the â€Å"knowledge† gained through the holy books or prophets, is also a consideration as the ultimate truth without testing it through any rational or logical means. Second, religion is not complete in the absence of rituals (Ram-Prasad, pp. 85-89). Every religion requires its followers to follow some practices, norms, ceremonies and others, which complete his followership. However, a philosopher can endorse philosophy without having to practice any ceremonies. Third, a closer look would reveal that philosophy is a thinking, which has a beginning but no end. Despite the fact that the whole premise has its basis on awareness the problem, that outweighs the search of a final answer (Bretzke, pp. 141-145). In fact, every answer in philosophy gives rise to new problems and questions. On the other hand, religion takes an approach, which aims at finding a specific answer that puts a full stop to all the discussion. This paper is an attempt to look at the various eastern philosophies such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. The paper will explore these religions and the link with the philosophies, which they have founded over the period. Discussion Taoism, also known as â€Å"Daoism, is an eastern religion and philosophy† (Bretzke, pp. 141-145), which is more than two millenniums old. Statistics reveal tha t there are more than 225 million followers of this religion; however, the numbers is doubtful since many of its followers accept it as a philosophy and associate himself or herself with Confucianism or Buddhism as well at the same time. The founder of this school of thought, Loa Tzu lived a few years before Confucius (Bretzke, pp. 141-145). A comparison of Confucianism and Taoism would reveal that Confucius has actually build upon many of the teachings of Lao Tzu has many of his teachings are an evolved form of Taoists ideals. Loa Tzu believed that the best way of achieving happiness is to stop complaining about the way thing are going, sit back and let nature take care of things (Bretzke, pp. 141-145). His way of doing things is not by doing anything. He believed that everything in the nature has a life and shared a force in the total universal force. Therefore, humans should align their forces and power with that of the universe to achieve satisfaction. Taoism believes that every person has a Yin (the dark side) and Yang (the light side). The best way is to keep them balanced in order to lead the best life. Furthermore, Taoism also appears to be in line with anarchism which believes that there should be no rules or regulations formed by the government. Some Taoists have gone to say that there should be no governments at all since it is against the principle of â€Å"doing by doing nothing† (Leaman, p. 74-76). People should have the right to decide everything for themselves.

Loneliness in Of Mice and Men Essay Example for Free

Loneliness in Of Mice and Men Essay Explore the issues connected with loneliness in John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men. Loneliness is examined carefully in Of Mice and Men. In the world of itinerant ranch-hands, loneliness is an inescapable part of life and Steinbeck records this through the plot and characters in his novel. Being lonely is the lack of an emotional, mutual bond, which leads the characters to lose a sense of self-worth and dignity. This essay explores what Steinbeck discusses about loneliness in Of Mice and Men and how he uses the characters of Candy, Crooks, George, Lennie and Curleys wife to express these views. George and Lennie are the most interesting starting point for such an exploration since they are the only two characters in the novel who are defined by their companionship rather than loneliness. George proclaims proudly to Lennie in the early pages of the novel, that itinerant ranch-hands, typical of the economic Depression in the USA in the 1930s, are the loneliest guys in the world but with us [them] it aint like that. Both George and Lennie know that their friendship gives them a future and gives their life purpose and significance. They want to own a farm where they can live off the fatta the lan' and rear animals; where their feeling of self-worth will not stem from gambling and prostitutes, but from their camaraderie-their importance to each other. On the other hand, other wandering workers got no family and they dont belong no place. George and Lennie know that their companionship sets them apart-it makes them dignified enough to have a dream and think about putting down roots, a dream that most ranch-hands would have had at the time, but would never achieve. Other ranch-hands remained as islands, their lives cut off from anybody elses. The fact that the bond between George and Lennie would have been rare-it is the only instance of true friendship between men in the novel-shows that at the time of the Great Depression, every man was for himself. Indeed, a few characters are suspicious of their friendship, thinking it financially exploitative: You takin his pay away from him? Well, I never seen a guy take so much trouble for another guy. The only reason their friendship exists is because Lennie is so simple; his vulnerability and dependence on George make him loyal and trustworthy, unlike any other ranch-hand. Although George says, When I think of the swell time I could have without you, I go nuts, he knows that Lennies presence makes him feel more important and confident than an average itinerant worker like him would normally-being in charge with Lennie makes him feel in charge of his life. Tragically, however, by the end of the novel this is what George becomes-an average itinerant worker; he has to kill Lennie and after losing the only emotional human connection he had, Georges dream and dignity are both destroyed: He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would [be able to have the farm.] The fact remains that such an honest friendship has a flawed foundation-Lennies mental debility, although making a friendship possible, also makes him too vulnerable to make prudent decisions. Loneliness is thus inevitable for George and all his fellow wanderers. In many ways, George and Lennies relationship is mirrored by that between Candy and his dog. Again, Candy is able to gain true loyalty and trust only from a dog-a one-dimensional, vulnerable being. When the thick-skinned Carlson asks, He aint no good to you Whynt you shoot him Candy? the only answer Candy can produce is that he had him so long. Over the years, Candy has developed a special bond of care, as opposed to simple utility, with his dog. To Carlson, who can only understand the value of a person in terms of their practical usefulness, due to his experience of the Great Depression, this bond is meaningless. After his dog is shot, Candy is reduced to a useless old cripple, also encapsulated in solitude. The dogs companionship had allowed Candy to cherish his past and be hopeful for his future, but now he has nothing to look forward to: When they can me here I wisht somebodyd shoot me I wont have no place to go an I cant get no more jobs. The dream farm tempts Candy, too, because he feels that owning a place will prevent him from becoming a lonely monument for passing ranch-hands to observe. His desperation for the farm is so intense that even after Lennies death he hopes George may work towards it, but to no avail-Candy too is destined to be alone, unknown and uncared for once he can no longer serve a practical purpose.

Nineteenth Century Views on Charity as Depicted in Charlotte Bronte’s Life and Novel, Jane Eyre :: Bronte

Nineteenth Century Views on Charity as Depicted in Charlotte Bronte’s Life and Novel, Jane Eyre In the nineteenth century, the role of charity was portrayed differently by many individuals depending on what religion they followed. On one hand, many people felt obligated to help the unfortunate to comply with religious responsibility and to become better individuals. On the other hand, Others, felt that the misfortunes of the poor weren’t their responsibility. The different concepts of charity can be viewed in Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre, as she reveals to us the various experiences Jane underwent as an orphan. Many of the instances that Bronte mentions in her novel are references to some of the incidents she encountered in her school years. To know why charity was significantly one of Bronte’s main focuses in the novel, we will look at the conceptions that the Anglicans and other Christian groups had of charity in the nineteenth century, as well as a history of Bronte’s familial background. The Anglicans and other Christian groups viewed charity differently in the nineteenth century. Each religion had and preached its own concept. We learn that the Anglicans’ views are more in opposition to charity when Cheryl Walsh indicates that, "Through this type of religion, there was very little encouragement for the development of a social conscience—of recognition of any kind of responsibility for the welfare of fellow human beings"(353). Walsh also mentions that Anglicans "Felt neither responsible for the suffering of the poor nor called on to help alleviate that suffering"(353). The belief of not being responsible for the misfortunes of the poor and not attempting to help them in any way draws the notion that Anglicans clearly didn’t favor charitable acts. On the other hand, according to St. Paul, Christianity’s view on charity was more an act of duty than the expected one of kindness. Christianity propagated charity as one of the necessary acts that a good Christian should follow. Graham Gordon believes that in Christianity, "Charity is considered chief of the Christian virtues," and that "Charity is commended by St. Paul for being the true way to the end which religious practices seek"(10). We can see that in being a chief virtue, charity is highly encouraged in the sense that helping others is considered to be a great deed of good doing. Therefore, we can draw the notion that those who wish to follow the "true way to the end," are those that contribute the most to the poor, as opposed to those mentioned by Walsh who see themselves as "not responsible for the welfare of human beings.

Management Power and Change Essay

1 Abstract The dynamics of power relations and their effects on organizational change was often underestimated by researchers. Analyses of the role played by power in organizational change are increasing in intensity, scale and impact (Munduate and Bennebroeck-Gravenhorst 2003). The appropriate and effective use of power is fundamental for managers engaged in major change processes. This report deals with the topic of management power and change. It focuses on the exercise of power and its function in organizational change. At first power and change management will be defined and then the bases or sources of power and the responses which are provoked according to the type of power being applied .how power can be used to influence and facilitate organizational change. 2 Definition of Power There are many variations to the definition of power and there are disagreements on its definition and what the best way is to measure it. The definition also depends on the context in which power is used. In this case, since the report focuses on the explanation of the use of power in the setting of organizational change, power is â€Å"the potential ability to influence behavior, to change the course of events, to overcome resistance, and to get people to do things that they would not otherwise do† (Pfeffer, 1993: 204-5). 2.1 Power and Influence In trying to understand how change is achieved, social psychologists have used the concepts of social power and influence (Raven 1999) and therefore the terms power and influence are sometimes used synonymously, but there are discrepancies between them. Social power indicates the various tools a person has to influence the environment or the other party, while influence is referring to the actual use of a specific tool in a particular situation (Munduate and Medina 2009). According to French and Raven (1959) influence is a force one person (the leader or agent) exerts on someone else (follower or target) to induce a change in the latter, including changes in behaviors, attitudes, and values. Social power was subsequently defined as the potential ability of a person to influence someone else. â€Å"Basically, influence is the effect a person’s actions have on the attitudes, values, beliefs, or behavior of others. Whereas power is the capacity to cause a change in a person, influence may be thought of as the degree of actual change† (Daft, 2006: 679-680). Boddy defines influence as the process by which one party attempts to modify the behavior of others by mobilizing power resources. Hence, in order to apprehend the function of the change agent in the promotion of change in an organization, the reactions of the targets involving a proactive disposition toward change have to be considered first and then the available tools for the change agent to influence the targets (Munduate and Medina 2009). 2.3 Types of Influence Processes There are clear differences in the way followers comply to direct and indirect social pressure from a leader and actually being convinced by him. In one case the influence may just be sufficient to exercise control over the followers’ behavior, guaranteeing a public agreement no matter if the followers are privately convinced. In another case the influence could be so strong that it changes the followers’ opinion and merely makes him committed to the leader’s request. Consequently, different types of influences have been proposed by social psychologists, whereby the most important was Kelman’s distinction (1961) between compliance, internalization, and identification. 2.4 Bases of Power For a manager to be effective, he has to possess a source of power which he can use to influence employees to take actions or carry out orders which they would not have done in the absence of that power source.