Contemporary History - Other Missing Links Quiz

Answer: Volkswagen Beetle

The true history of the automobile began in the eve of 20th century, although self-powered vehicles had already been developed as far as two centuries earlier. Based on the technical achievements, the history of the automobiles has been divided into two eras:
The Antique Era (1885-1979)
with subdivisions Veteran (1885-1904), Brass/Edwardian (1905-1918), Vintage (1919-1930), Classic Pre-War (1931-1948) and Classic Post-war (1949-1979);
The Modern Era (1980-present).
The models listed in the question were all successful automobiles, mass-produced during the Brass, Vintage and Pre-War eras.

Answer: Sevres

These were the peace treaties signed by the winning powers (the Allies) and the losing side (the Central Powers) in the aftermath of World War I, which regulated the situation of the latter. The treaty of Versailles (June 1919) was the most important, officially putting an end to the war and dealing with the situation of Germany.

The treaties of St. Germain (September 1919), Neuilly (November 1919), Trianon (June 1920) and Sevres (August 1920) dealt separately with Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. (The Turks, however, rejected the Treaty of Sevres, resumed fighting and a new treaty - the Treaty of Lausanne - was signed in 1923.

Answer: John Gotti

In the 20th century American society was deeply affected by the scourge of organized crime. The major figures of the American crime world were, to a significant extent, of Italian, Irish and Jewish descent. In the early twenties, the Prohibition encouraged the organized crime to turn toward "bootlegging" activities. The most famous gangster of this period was without a doubt Al Capone. For a decade, his henchmen imposed a reign of terror over the city of Chicago, assuring that his illegal alcohol dealings wouldn't be hampered by anyone. At the same time, mobsters like Dutch Schultz and Frank Costello were conducting their bootlegging activities elsewhere.
A legendary figure in the organized crime world, Lucky Luciano laid the basis of a national crime syndicate, including not only the representatives of the Mafia, but also gangsters of different ethnicities. Together with long time friends Meyer Lansky and Bugsy Siegel they dominated the organized crime stage for a few decades.
After the fifties, the "Gambino crime family" emerged as the new dominating mafia organization, establishing its headquarters in New York. Albert Anastasia, Carlo Gambino, Paul Castellano and John Gotti succeeded each other as bosses of the organization. The imprisonment and later death of John Gotti eventually reduced the power of the Mafia in the US.

Answer: Georgi Zhukov

The Second World War was fought on many fronts and gave capable generals the opportunity to show their strategic and tactical qualities on the battlefield.
Field Marshal Montgomery was a very controversial commander, but nevertheless one of Britain's top generals during WWII. After successful campaigns in North Africa and Sicily, he was given the command of all the allied ground forces in the first months after the D-Day invasion.
General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower was the supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II. Generals George Patton and Omar Bradley were the main US Army field commanders in the campaigns of North Africa and Europe and have brought a great contribution to the defeat of the German army on the Western front.
Douglas MacArthur was one of the most famous generals of the XX-th century, having fought in three wars. His main theater of action in WWII was the South Western Pacific area, where he managed to recapture the Philippines from the Japanese.
Soviet general Georgi Zhukov was one of the most successful military commanders in WWII. After securing the defense of Moscow, Zhukov was responsible for the Soviet counter-offensive as he managed to lift the sieges of Stalingrad and Leningrad. In the last years of the war, he pushed back the German forces and eventually captured Berlin.
Heinz Guderian, Gerd von Rundstedt and Erich von Manstein were all outstanding generals of Nazi Germany, who proved their military valor during the Fall Gelb and the Barbarossa invading operations. Still, perhaps Germany's most skilled (and popular) general during WWII was Erwin Rommel, who became famous after his campaign in North Africa and his stubborn defense of Normandy.
Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku was the exceptional commander of the Japanese naval forces in the Pacific.

Answer: Nikola Tesla

Every day living became more comfortable as a consequence of the numerous remarkable inventions patented during the 20th century. Listed above are some of the most important inventors of the past century, who contributed with their ingenious devices to improve the practical aspect of our lives. Thomas Edison needs no introduction, as his many important inventions (naming the phonograph, the electric bulb) made him famous. Belgian Leo Baekeland invented plastic. American inventor Lee de Forest patented over 300 inventions, but it is worth mentioning the triode. Robert Watson-Watt is generally credited with the invention of the radar.

Italians Marconi and Meucci invented the radio and respectively the phone, while Russian Vladimir Zworykin pioneered television. Buckminster Fuller became famous for his geodesic domes. Serbian born Nikola Tesla was the inventor of the induction motor and alternating current polyphase power distribution, among many other things.

As a more recent achievement, Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau patented the World Wide Web.

Answer: Soviet Union

The world's political map has changed dramatically during the course of the 20th century. The main reasons for this were the two World Wars, the dissolving of artificially created countries and the colonies' struggle to affirm their rightful independence.
Listed are some of the former countries, that have ceased to exist either by being dissolved, annexed or renamed during the 20thth century:
In Africa: Zanzibar and Tanganyika merged to form Tanzania; Transvaal became a part of South Africa; Rhodesia gained international recognition as Zimbabwe; Abyssinia, Zaire, Upper Volta, Dahomey were renamed Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burkina Faso, Benin.
In Asia: Ceylon became Sri Lanka, Kampuchea was renamed Cambodgea, while Siam was the former name of Thailand; Manchukuo was a Japanese puppet state in Manchuria and was reincorporated into China.
In Europe, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, which formed after World War I, dissolved early in the 1990s.

Answer: Aung San Suu Kyi

The people listed in the question are some of the most important civil rights activists of the 20th century.
Here are some selected quotes of these exceptional people, who raised their voice to speak against injustices:

"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." (Mahatma Gandhi)

"Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time." (Martin Luther King, Jr)

"Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you're a man, you take it." (Malcolm X)

"I am sick and tired of being sick and tired" (Fannie Lou Hamer)

"My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness" (Dalai Lama)

"The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear." (Aung San Suu Kyi)

"I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." (Nelson Mandela)

Answer: Romania & Bulgaria

The countries listed in the question are the members of the European Union. Romania and Bulgaria were the latest countries to join the EU (January 1, 2007).

The European Union, which is in fact a supranational organization of European countries, was created in order to give Europe more economical and political power. The organization has four main institutions: the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament, the European Court of Justice and the European Commission. The Euro is the currency currently adopted by most the the EU states.
In 1957, the six founding member states of the European Community were France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. The First Enlargement took place in 1973, when the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark joined. The Second Enlargement (1981) added Greece to the union. Spain and Portugal joined the EC after the Third Enlargement (1986).
In 1993, the Treaty of Maastricht changed the name of the EC to the European Union. It was shortly followed by the Fourth Enlargement (1995), which added Austria, Finland and Sweden to the EU.
The Fifth Enlargement took place in 2004 and integrated 10 new states: the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Cyprus.
A further enlargement took place in 2007, admitting Romania and Bulgaria into the union. Croatia and Turkey are candidates for membership.

Answer: Chick Corea

Jazz is a musical art form characterized by blue notes, syncopation, swing, call and response, polyrhythms, and improvisation. Its roots are found in the Western African music culture, but it all started in America, in the African American communities of the early 20th century. Jazz rapidly started to flourish in the US, spreading its rhythms across the country from several regional centers, with New Orleans arguably being the most important.
The twenties belonged to big names like King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Paul Whiteman and Fletcher Henderson. The next decades witnessed the rise of the Big Bands (lead by such famous musicians as Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway and Glen Miller) and the development of the bebop style (pioneered by Charlie Parker Bud Powell and Dizzy Gillespie).
Ever since the late fifties, jazz has diversified into an incredible number of styles, absorbing influences from other genres like blues, pop and rock. Worth mentioning here are Latin jazz, cool jazz, free jazz, jazz fussion, acid jazz and "nu" jazz.
Experimentation, innovation and improvisation were all key elements in the development of jazz over the years. Today, this successful musical genre is still held in high regard by the public.

Answer: Hanover

World's Fairs are large-scale expositions, where every participant nation puts on display a pavilion, reflecting the country's opinion on the theme of the fair. There are two types of fairs as approved by the BIE (Bureau of International Expositions): universal and international (specialized).
The ones listed in the question refer to the Universal Expos of the past 50 years.
Worlds Fairs usually last between 3 and 6 months and often leave behind exceptional structures, as each country tries to raise the most impressive pavilion. These include the Atomium from Brussels, the Space Needle from Seattle, the Habitat 67 built for the Montreal Expo, the Biosphere (the American pavilion from Montreal Expo) and the Casino de Montreal (the French pavilion).
The next World's Fair (Expo 2005) is due to be held in the Aichi Prefecture of Japan.

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