| A | B |
|---|
| coalition government | temporary alliance of several parties. This occured in several countries after WWI when no single party won majority. It was needed because the parties disagreed on so many policies. (example: France had forty governments from 1919-1939. |
| Weimer Republic | Germany's new democratic government set up in 1919. Named after city where national assembly met. Had serious weaknesses including lack of strong democratic tradition. Many citizens blamed Weimer government, not wartime leaders, for country's defeat and postwar humiliation ( Weimer Government signed Treaty of Versailles). |
| Great Depression | a long business slump or depression that touched every corner of Amercan Economy. Unemployment rates rise as industrial production, prices, and wages decline. Last straw was the crash of the stock market. 1932, factory prudiction cut in half, thousands of businesses close, banks closed, 9 million people lost the money in their saving, and farmers lost land. 1933 one forth of all Amercan workers had no jobs. |
| Franklin D. Roosevelt | first president elected after depression began. His confident manner appealed to millions of Americans who felt bewildered by the Depression. Wanted to resore American's faith in their nation. Leader of democracy in a world threatened by ruthless dictators. |
| New Deal | Program of reform set forth by Roosevelt. Large public works projects helped provide jobs for the unemployed. Roosevelt believed that government spending would create jobs and start recovery. Regulations imposed to reform stock market and banking system. Recovery slow. Eventually reformed economic system. |
| Fascism | new militant political movement who emphasized loyalty to the state and obedience to its leader. Promised to revive economy, punish those responsible for hard times, and restore national pride. No clearly defined theory but preached nationalism, struggle, loyalty to authoritarian, and uniformity. |
| Benito Mussolini | Italian Fascist dictator. Newspaper editor and politician before rise to power. Grand orator who promised to rescue Italy by reviving its economy and rebuilding its armed forces. Founded fascist part in 1919. Publicly criticized government. Groups of fascist Black shirts attacked communists and socialists. Used campagn of terror to weaken opponents. Played on fear of workers' revolt and won support of middle classes, aristocracy, and industrial leaders.October 1922 seized power of government from King Victor Emmanuel III. As Il Duce he outlawed strikes, used secret police, outlawed all other political parties, and became model fascist leader. |
| Adolf Hitler | Manipulated huge audiences wih his fiery oratory. At fist he was little known political leader. Bron in Austria in 1889 and failed as artist after dropping out of highschool. Twice awarded iron cross for bravery in WWI. 1920 joined National Socialist German Workers. Party, Nazi. Wanted to combat communism, overturn the Treaty of Versailles, and was German brand of fascism supported by middle and lover middle classes. As Der Fuhrer leader of group he Plotted to seize power. After German economy collapsed Germans turned to Hitler who became chancellor in 1933 by President Paul von Hindenburg and his advisors. Took command and put millions to work and unemployment dropped. Used media and art propaganda and cencored all aspects of German life. Leader of holocaust and Jewish geneside. |
| Nazism | German brand of fascism. Their symbol formed from swastika, or hooked cross. National Socialist German Workers' Party lead by Hitler. Against communists and Treaty of Versailles. Set up private militia caled the storm troopers or Brownshorts. |
| Mein Kampf | My Struggle. Written by Hitler while in jail for treason. Set forth his beliefs and his goals for Germany. Blueprint or plan of action for Nazis. Called Aryans the master race and diclared that non Aryans were inferior and subhuman. |
| lebensraum | living space. Hitler declared that Germany was overcrowded and needed more lebensraum and he promised to get that space by conquering eastern Europe and Russia. |
| Kristallnacht | Rampage meaning Night of Broken Glass. Signaled real start of the process of eliminating the Jews from German life. On November 9, 1938 Nazi mobs attacked Jews in their homes o the streets and destroyed thousands of Jewish-owning buildings. |
| Appeasement | giving in to an aggressor to keep peace. The British urged this to the french towards Hitler, not wanting to risk war. Hitler later admitted that he would have backed down if the French and British had challenged him. |
| Axis Powers | Germany Italy and Japan alliance. In October, 1936 Hitler and Mussolini reached an agreenet that became known as the Rome Berlin Axis. A month later they added Japan. |
| Francisco Ferdinand | General of Spanish army in civil war that was a Fascist. Hitler and Mussolini supported him during the civil war. Became Spain's Fascist dictator in 1939. |
| Isolationism | the belief that political ties to ther countries should be avouded. Won wide support in America. Argued that their entry in WWI had been a costly error and they were determined to prevent a repeat. 1935 Congress passed Neutraility Acts which outlawed loans and sale of arms to nations at war. This action was used to prevent US entry into another foreign war. |
| Third Reich | German empire under the leadership of Hitler. |
| Munich Conference | held Septemver 29, 1938 Brime Minister Chamberlain believed that he could preserve peace by giving in to Hitler's demands. Britain and France agreed Hitler could tkae Sudentenland in exchange for respecting Czech's new borders. Didn't work. |
| Nonaggression pact | ten year pact between Stalin and Hitler on August 23 1939. Publicly promised not to attack each other. Privately agreed to divide Poland. They also secretly agreed that the USSR could take over Finland and the Baltic countries. |
| blitzkrieg | "lightning war". Germany's newest military strategy which swiftly crushed all opposition. Used in the invasion of Poland. It involved using fast moving airplanes and tanks and massive infanty forces to take enemy by surprise. |
| Charles de Gaulle | French General who fled to London where he set up a government in exile committed to reconquering France. June 18, 1940 told ppl of France to resist on English broadcast. De Gaulle went on to organize the Free French military forces that battled the Nazis until France was liberated in 1944. |
| Winston Churchill | new British prime minister who declared Britain wouldn't give in. (1874-1965). When he was young he had a speech defect he grew to become a great orator. he used all his gifts as a speaker to rally the people behind the effort to crush Germany. |
| Battle of Britain | British vs. Germany Hitler attacked by night with bombs to avoid Royal Air Force attacks. Until May 10, 1941 Britain resisted German attacks until Hitler gave up. Showed Hitler's attacks could be stopped. |
| Atlantic Charter | joint declaration between Roosevelt and Churchill after secret meeting in Newfoundland on August 9. Upheld free trade among nations and right of poeple to choose own government. Later served as Allies peace plan at end of WWII. |
| Erwin Rommel | General in Germany who took the key port city of Tobruk in June 1942. On July 20 1944 an attempt to assinate Hitler by a group of German officers failed Rommel was connected to the plot and though there is still much doubt of his involvement Hitler gave him two choices: trial or suicide and state funeral. On Oct 14 1944 Rimmel took poison and died |
| Bernard Montgomery | With Robruk's fall, London sent "Monty" to take control of British foces in North Africa. He took control against Rommel on November 3, 1942. |
| Dwight D Eisenhower | American General who led Operation Torch on November 8. |
| Battle of Stalingrad | began August 23, 1942. Major industrial center of Stalin vs. Germany. By November 1942 Germany had taken control of 90% of city. After long Soviet winter with no supplies 90000 Germans surrendered as survivors out of 330000. Cost soviets 1 million soldiers. 99% city destroyed. |
| D Day | June 6, 1944 day chosen for Normandy invasion. Gresatest land and sea attach in history. Code name operation. Brit, American French Canadien invade Normandy. Allies won July 25 and Sept last of fight. |
| Battle of the Bulge | the push into Allies by Germany gave campaign its name. Germany eventually retreated. |
| Kamikaze | japanese suicide pilots. They sank Allied ships by crash diving into them in their bomb filled airplanes. |
| Nuremberg Trials | International Military Tribunal represented 23 nations. Put Nazi war criminals on Trual in Nuremberg Germany. 22 Nazi leaders charged with waging war of aggression and accused of violating laws of war and "crimes against humanity"-murdering 11 million people. 12 sentenced to death. Hanged October 6, 1946. |
| Demilitarization | disponding Japanese armed forces done by MacArthur. |
| Isoroku Yamamoto | Japan's greatest naval strategist who planned attacks on Southeast Asia and wanted to destroy US Hawaii fleet. Argued that the U.S. fleet in Hawaii was a threat and needed to be destroyed. |
| Pearl Harbor | December 7th 1941, when Japan attacked Hawaii by surprise. Sunk and damaged 18 ships and whole US Pacific fleet. 2400 killed Americas, 1000 wounded. Stunned the American people. Lasted two hours. President Roosevelt described it as "a date which will live in infamy". |
| Battle of Midway | Japan targeted Midway Island. When America broke the code of the attack to the key American airfield Admiral Chester Nimitz of the U.S. Pacific fleet knew that 150 ships were heading to midway. Japanese fleet was largest naval force ever assembled. Yamamoto hoped that the American force would come from Pearl Harbor to defend the island so they could finish them off. On June 3 1942 American forces hid while the enemy launched the first strike. Their strategy of attack was successful and American pilots destroyed 322 Japanese planes, 4 aircraft carriers and 1 support ship. By June 6 1942 battle was over and America had finally avenged the Japanese. The Battle turned the tide of war in the Pacific against the Japanese. |
| Douglas MacArthur | General commander of Allied forces in Pacific. Loved action and adventure. Wanted to crush Japanese strong points and led the attack in the Battle of Guadacanal. He was a son of a civil war army officer. He inspired deep loyalty among his men |
| Battle of Guadacanal | 6 months. Ended Feb 1943 on land and sea. Dawn Aug 7 1942 19000 US marines attacked air base Japan was building. Japan lost 23000 out of 36000 and abandoned "the Island of Death". |
| Holocaust | mass slaughter of civilians esp Jews. Started with Nazi propaganda gainst the Jews which eventually led to persecution across Germany. They made persecution a government policy and passed laws depriving them of basic rights and citizenship. |
| ghettos | dismal and overcrowded segregated Jewish areas in certain Polish cities. The Nazis then sealed off the ghettos with barbed wire and stone walls. They wanted the Jews inside to starve or die from disease. Yet the Jews hung on. |
| Final Solution | Hitlers more direct plan to kill off Jews. Hitler came up with this plan of complete genocide after growing impatient for Jews to die from starvation or disease in the ghettos. Hitler believed that his plan of conquest depended on the purity of the Aryan race. To protect the purity the Nazis had to eliminate all subhuman races ie Jews gysies Poles Russians homosexuals the insane disabled and incurably ill. The Final Solution reached its final stage in early 1942. |
| genocide | systematic killing of an entire people. What Hitler did to Jewish people.Hitler believed that his plan of conquest depended on the purity of the Aryan race. To protect the purity the Nazis had to eliminate all subhuman races ie Jews gysies Poles Russians homosexuals the insane disabled and incurably ill. The mass killing began in 1939 and reached its final stage in early 1942. Also nicknamed mass extermination. |
