Strayer, Ways of the World with Sources for the AP® Modern Course, 4E - Chapter 12

World War I

The "Great War" (1914-1918), in essence a European civil war with a global reach that was marked by massive casualties, trench warfare, and mobilization of entire populations. It triggered the Russian Revolution, led to widespread disillusionment among intellectuals, and rearranged the political map of Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

total war

War that requires each country involved to mobilize its entire population in the effort to defeat the enemy.

Treaty of Versailles

The 1919 treaty that officially ended World War I; the immense penalties it placed on Germany are regarded as one of the causes of World War II.

Russian Revolution

Massive revolutionary upheaval in 1917 that overthrew the Romanov dynasty in Russia and ended with the seizure of power by communists under the leadership of Lenin.

Lenin (1870-1924)

Born Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, leader of the Russian Bolshevik (later Communist) Party in 1917, when it seized power.

Stalin, Joseph (1878-1953)

Leader of the Soviet Union from the late 1920s until his death.

collectivization of agriculture

Communist policies that ended private ownership of land by incorporating peasants from small family farms into large-scale collective farms. Implemented forcibly in the Soviet Union (1928–1933), it led to a terrible famine and 5 million deaths; a similar process occurred much more peacefully in China during the 1950s.

Great Depression

Worldwide economic contraction that began in 1929 with a stock market crash in the United States and continued in many areas until the outbreak of World War II.

fascism

Political ideology that considered the conflict of nations to be the driving force of history; marked by intense nationalism and an appeal to post–World War I discontent. Fascists praised violence against enemies as a renewing force in society, celebrated action rather than reflection, and placed their faith in a charismatic leader. Fascists also bitterly condemned individualism, liberalism, feminism, parliamentary democracy, and communism.

Mussolini, Benito (1883–1945)

Charismatic leader of the Italian Fascist Party who came to power in 1922 and ruled until his death.

Nazi Party

German political party that established a fascist state dedicated to extreme nationalism, territorial expansion, and the purification of the German state.

Hitler, Adolf (1889–1945)

Leader of the German Nazi Party and Germany’s head of state from 1933 until his death.

Revolutionary Right (Japan)

Also known as Radical Nationalism, this was a movement in Japanese political life during the Great Depression that was marked by extreme nationalism, a commitment to elite leadership focused around the emperor, and dedication to foreign expansion.

World War II in Asia

A struggle to halt Japanese imperial expansion in Asia, fought by the Japanese against primarily Chinese and American foes.

World War II in Europe

A struggle to halt German imperial expansion in Europe, fought by a coalition of allies that included Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States.

Holocaust

Name commonly used for the Nazi genocide of Jews and other “undesirables” in German society.

communism in Eastern Europe

Expansion of post–World War II communism to Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria, imposed with Soviet pressure rather than growing out of domestic revolution.

Ho Chi Minh (1890–1969)

Leader of the Vietnamese communist movement that established control first in the north and then the whole of Vietnam after 1975.

Chinese Revolution of 1949

An event that marks the coming to power of the Chinese Communist Party under the leadership of Mao Zedong, following a decades-long struggle against both domestic opponents and Japanese imperialism.

Mao Zedong (1893–1976)

Chairman of China’s Communist Party and de facto ruler of China from 1949 until his death.

Guomindang

The Chinese Nationalist Party led by Chiang Kai-shek that governed from 1928 until its overthrow by the communists in 1949. (pron. GWOHmihn-dahng)