| A | B |
|---|
| Appeasement | The act of countries not addressing Hitler's aggression before WWII |
| Fascism | A political ideology created by Mussolini that was nationalistic, elitist and militaristic in nature |
| Nazism | Hitler's brand of fascism which had an extreme racist element |
| 14 points | Woodrow Wilson's attempt to create a more democratic world free from war |
| Isolationism | American policy after WWI that focused on its own issues and economy rather than international problems |
| Manchuria | Area of China taken over by fascist Japan before WWII. This agressive action was not stopped by the League of Nations |
| League of Nations | International body after WWI that was to address global issues of peace and security. Was not attended by USA, Germany, USSR or Japan |
| Black Thursday | Day of the stock market crash October 24, 1929 that led to a decade of economic woe world-wide |
| New Deal | US President Roosevelt's attempt to create work projects for the millions of unemployed in USA uding the Depression |
| N.E.P. | New Economic Policy of Lenin in Russia after WWI that included some capitalist elements - meant to kickstart their economy |
| General Secretary | Dictatorial position created by Stalin in USSR |
| Treaty of Brest-Litovsk | Lenin signed this treaty to take Russia out of WWI with Germany. Lost a great deal of land and citizens |
| November Revolution | The Communist Revolution in Russia which enabled Lenin and the communists to take power from the Czar |
| Five Year Plans | Stalin's attempt to industrialize and collectivize USSR in the 30s |
| Collectivization | Large-scale, government-managed farms in the USSR, created by combining smaller peasants' holdings. The peasants were allowed to live on the farms and worked together to increase agricultural production |
| Industrialization | A rapid movement from a peasant agricultural society to an industrial one by focusing on the creation of factories and industrial output (Stalin - 1930s) |
| Command Economy | An economy in which all production and distribution of goods are controlled by a central power (Stalin) |
| Kulaks | a new class of farmers making money under the capitalist system weren’t interested in a communist society |
| Purges | Stalin's attempt to rid the USSR of any who would question his leadership |
| Abyssinia | Area of Africa (today Ethiopia) taken over by fascist Italy before WWII. This agressive action was not stopped by the League of Nations |
| Black Shirts | Mussolini's group of thugs that helped him gain power in Italy (Squadrisi) |
| Il Duce | Mussolini's nickname (the leader) |
| Rhineland | Hilter's first act of aggression was to remilitarize this area between Germany and France. First step in his Spiral of Aggression |
| Anschluss | Union of Germany with Austria - forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles |
| Sudentenland | Area of Czechoslovakia populated by German-speaking people that Hitler took over in 1938 |
| Self Determination | One of the 14 points of Woodrow Wilson that encouraged the creation of new countries out of the old empires of Europe for certain ethnic, cultural and religious groups |
| Article 231 | War Guilt Clause - clause of the Treaty of Versailles that put all the blame for WWI on the German Empire |
| Reparations | Germany was forced by the Treaty of Versailles to pay millions in damages mainly to France in the 1920s |
| Lebensraum | Hitler felt that Germany needed to expand its borders because of growth ("living room") |
| Night of the Long Knives | Night when Hitler's loyalists killed a number of people in his own party that he felt could be unloyal in the future |
| Kristalnacht | Night of Broken Glass - Night when Jewish shops and buildings were broken into and torched - marked the beginning of the aggression towards the Jewish people |
| Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact | Secret deal between Hitler and Stalin that guaranteed Hitler that the USSR would not join WWII when it started - Hitler would only have to worry about one front |
| Franco | Leader of the fascist movement in Spain in the 30s |
| Anarchy | the absence of a system of government and law |
| Authoritarian Government | a political system in which those in power are not controlled by the people but rather dictate to the people |
| Backbencher | a Member of Parliament who is not a member of Cabinet or one of the leading members of an opposition party |
| Bourgeoisie | according to Marxist theory, those holding a commanding position of economic power in a capitalistic society; the owners of the means of production |
| Bureaucracy | a system that administers the affairs of a government or business enterprise through employed officials; in government, this is also called the civil service |
| Caucus | the full meeting of the elected representatives of a political party in which party policies are discussed and approved, often by consensus |
| Command Economy | an economic system in which the basic questions of what, how, and for whom to produce are resolved by the government, which makes all major economic decisions |
| Checks and Balances | a system of government in which the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government are constitutionally vested with the right to check one another's actions in order to prevent concentration of power |
| Civil Liberties | the lawful freedoms of action and belief enjoyed by citizens of a democratic state |
| Coalition Government | a government that stays in power by combining with another political party or parties to form a majority |
| Conservative | a person who favours the retention of traditional values, especially in government, economics, religion and morals |
| Constituency | an electoral district used to elect members to parliament |
| Dictatorship | absolute rule by one person or by a small elite |
| Direct Democracy | a state in which all political decisions are made directly by qualified voters |
| Electorate | the body of citizens that has the right to vote |
| Enabling Act | the act passed by Hitler in 1933 that gave him absolute dictatorial powers in Germany for four years |
| First Past the Post | selection of the winning candidate by the largest number of votes (not necessarily a majority of votes) |
| Individualism | an ethical, economic, or political theory that emphasizes the importance and responsibility of individuals over groups |
| Interest Group | an organized or informal group representing a specific political, social, or economic position in society |
| Left | political groups representing the radical or liberal wing of socio-political reform parties |
| Liberal | a person who favours reform, especially in government, economics, and religion, and who prefers democratic or republican forms of government in a constitutional state |
| Satellite States | Nations under the power and influence of a greater, more powerful country. Soviet Union controlled Poland, E. Germany, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria |
| Buffer Zone | After WWII the countries between the soviet east and the democratic west in Europe |
| Iron Curtain | The ideological and political boundary separating the Soviet Union and its allies in Eastern Europe from the rest of the world |
| Denazification | The process of getting rid of former, active members and sympathizers of the Nazi party from defeated Germany. Denazification was undertaken by Briatin, the United States, France, and the Soviet Union |
| Balance of Power | A situation in which peace is ensuredd by an equalibrium of alliances between major powers of spheres of influence |
| Cold War | The name given to describe the tension and diplomatic confrontation between the superpowers, the US and USSR, after the Second World War |
| Dawes Plan | A financial plan offered by the United States to Germany to assist in the restructuring of reparation payments after WWI |
| Four Policemen Concept | The superpowers would divide the globe into spheres of influence in which they would guarantee stability and peace through their political, economic, and military power |
| Truman Doctrine | The US policy of supporting governments against communist uprisings from outside their national boundaries. |
| Detente | A lessening of tensions - an attempt on the part of nations to work together towards peaceful co-existence |
| Deterrence | The maintenance of military power for the purpose of discouraging attack |
| Containment | A policy to limit the expansion of rival spheres of interest by economic, political, and military means on a global scale |
| Domino Theory | A belief that if one of America's allies fell to communism, the others would follow suit. |
| Marshall Plan | American economic aid offered after WWII for the reconstruction of nations in Europe - helped to fend off communist takeover |
| Molotov Plan | A response to the Marshall plan by the Soviet Union which created trade relations with eastern European countries |
| Spheres of Influence | The extent to which a nation-state exerts its power beyond its borders |
| Brinkmanship | Nations that approach the verge of war without engaging. |
| Coup d'etat | The violent overthrow or alteration of an existing government by a small group |
| Mujahedin | Islamic guerrilla fighters who believe they fight in a holy war |
| Fundamentalism | A movement or attitude stressing strict and literal adherence to a set of basic principles |
| Perestroika | Gorbachev's doctrine of "restructuring" the way Soviet society worked. It included introducing capitalist elements into the economy |
| Glasnost | Gorbachev's doctrine of "openness". It included opening the society to scrutiny of the media and the world. |
