HO CHI MINH1890-1969

“I only follow one party: the Vietnamese party.”

AKANguyen Sinh Cung

Nguyen Tat Thanh (Nguyen Who Will Be Victorious)Nguyen Ai Quoc (Nguyen the Patriot)

Bac Ho (Uncle Ho)

BIO

Born on May 19, 1890, in the village of Kimlien,

Annam (central Vietnam),

Son of an official who had resigned in protest against French domination of his country

Attended school in Hue, expelled for anti-French sentiments

In 1911 he was employed as a cook on a French steamship liner Worked in London and Paris, where he was exposed to socialism

1919 attempted to present a list of reforms to the delegations present at the peace conference at Versailles; he was turned away

In 1920 he became one of the founding members of the French Communist Party, where he advocated for Vietnamese independence.

He went to Moscow for training and, in late 1924, he was sent to Canton, China, where he organized a revolutionary movement among Vietnamese exiles.

He was forced to leave China when local authorities cracked down on Communist activities, but he returned in 1930 to found the Indochinese Communist Party (ICP).

June 1931: Ho was arrested in Hong Kong by British police and remained in prison until his release in 1933.

He then made his way back to the Soviet Union, where he reportedly spent several years recovering from tuberculosis.

1938: Ho returned to China and served as an adviser with Chinese Communist armed forces.

When Japan occupied Vietnam in 1941, Ho founded a new Communist-dominated independence movement, the League for the Independence of Vietnam ( Việt Nam Ðộc Lập Ðồng Minh Hội); the Viet Minh.

2 August 1945, when Japan surrendered, the Viet Minh seized power and Ho proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) in Hanoi.

Prime Minister (1946 -1955)

President (1955 - 1969)

With Giap, controls military and political strategy to defeat French and US

During his presidency, North Vietnam attempted agrarian reforms that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths

Landowners were publicly denounced as oppressive capitalists and executed

Ho dies 1969

1975: When the former capital of South Vietnam, Saigon, was captured it was renamed Ho Chi Minh City within 24 hours.

Ho personality cult was built in North Vietnam and increased after his death. It remains a powerful symbol for the ruling Communist Party today with propaganda posters promoting Vietnamese values such as hard work, Ho’s face on currency and his mausoleum in Hanoi

LEGACY

LEGACYSUPPORTERS: Ho Chi Minh is viewed positively as a committed Nationalist and Vietnamese Communist, who dedicated his life to a united, independent Vietnamese state.

OPPONENTS: Ho was a tyrant and dictator - they claim he was a heartless and vainglorious communist who was more concerned with power than the impoverished state of his people. The claim that he mandated the invasion of South Vietnam, which resulted in the deaths of over a million of its citizens. Many more, as much as two million, fled South Vietnam after it was occupied in 1975. Thousands of others were sent to reeducation camps. Many also criticise Viet Cong, for terrorism in the South.

HO CHI MINH QUOTES

• “You will kill 10 of our men, and we will kill 1 of yours, and in the end it will be you who tire of it. •

• “We have a secret weapon...it is called Nationalism”

• “It was patriotism, not communism, that inspired me.”

• "The poet should also know how to lead an attack."

• "It is better to sacrifice everything than to live in slavery"

• "If the Tiger does not stop fighting the Elephant, the Elephant will die of exhaustion." (referring to Vietnam War)

• "If the Tiger does not stop fighting the Elephant, the Elephant will die of exhaustion." (referring to Vietnam War)

• "In (Lenin's Theses on the National and Colonial Questions) there were political terms that were difficult to understand. But by reading them again and again finally I was able to grasp the essential part. What emotion, enthusiasm, enlightenment and confidence they communicated to me! I wept for joy. Sitting by myself in my room, I would shout as if I were addressing large crowds: "Dear martyr compatriots! This is what we need, this is our path to liberation!" Since then (the 1920s) I had entire confidence in Lenin, in the Third International!"

ON THE ROADAlthough they have tightly bound my arms and legs,All over the mountain I hear songs of birds,And the forest is filled with the perfume of spring flowersWho can prevent me from freely enjoying these,Which take from the long journey a little of its loneliness?

~Ho Chi Minh, Prison Diaries

Section III: Personalities in the Twentieth Century (25 marks)

• There will be one question in two parts that is generic to the twenty-seven personalities.• You must attempt the question in relation to ONE personality.• The question will require a response in two parts. The first part will require a description, outline or narrative and the second part will require analysis, assessment or evaluation of the personality. (SYLLABUS DESCRIPTION)

The second part will require analysis, assessment or evaluation. To do that knowing different interpretations of the personality is essential e.g. Ho - was he a hardline Communist who caused the deaths of millions of Vietnamese or was he a freedom fighter, fighting to free Vietnam from imperialism and poverty. YOU NEED evidence from his life and from other people to support either interpretation. Finally you MUST MAKE A JUDGEMENT. You can't sit on the fence.

Your assessment, evaluation of the evidence is what gets the marks along with a clear judgement regardless of what that judgement might be. It is possible for two students to assess and evaluate the same evidence and reach totally different conclusions

Previous Questions• 2006 HSC Paper

'To what extent does history present us with a balanced interpretation of this personality?'

Trial Question'Those who have the greatest impact on history are remembered as much for their faults as their virtues.'

To what extent does your study of your chosed personality support this view?

'Important historical people are judged by their contribution to their nation'To what extent does the study of your personality support this view?

"The impressive figure in history is not the one who reflects the character of their society, but rather the one who attempts to change it"To what extent does the study of your personality support this view?

"The most remarkable figures in history are those who have more than one talent to offer their society"To what extent does the study of your personality support this view?

"The career aspirations of talented individuals do not necessarily serve the needs of the society in which they may hold high positions"To what extent does the study of your personality support this view?

"The most successful individuals in any society are those who can adapt to the demands of changing times"To what extent does the study of your personality support this view?

"Those who are inspired by an ideal rather than self-interest make the biggest impact on history".To what extent does the study of your personality support this view?

"This history of a nation is shaped by its leaders".Discuss, making specific reference to the personality you have studied.

'Those who have the greatest impact on history are remembered as much for their faults as their virtues.'To what extent does your study of your chosen personality support this view?

"This history of a nation is shaped by its leaders".Discuss, making specific reference to the personality you have studied.

'Those who have the greatest impact on history are remembered as much for their faults as their virtues.'To what extent does your study of your chosen personality support this view?

“People who are remembered by history are those who have pursued their goals with a single-minded purpose”.To what extent does the study of your personality support this view?

To what extent does history present us with a balanced interpretation of your chosen personality?