Studied by 9 people
Dates of WWI
1914-1918
Who was involved in WWI
Central Powers vs Allies
The Central Powers (WW1)
Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire (Turkey)
Triple Entente (Allies) WW1
France, Britain, Russia (later USA replaces Russia)
Schlieffen Plan
German plan to invade France through Belgium then invade Russia to avoid fighting a two front war
Alliances at the end of the war (How it ended)
Russia exits war, then the Ottoman Empire, followed by Austria-Hungary. There is an uprising in Germany.
Treaty of Versailles
The treaty imposed on Germany that forced them to return/ give away territories, pay for damage, and accept blame for the war; restricted army size and the manufacturing of military equipment.
Weimar Republic
Officially known as the German Reich, a constitutional federal republic, Nazis hated it because it was seen as a historical aberration.
Mussolini
understood the power of media and rose through the ranks of the Fascist party; people liked him a lot.
Nazis
group of veterans who hated the Weimar Republic and who rose because people hated the Republic and loved Hitler
Reichstag Fire
the German Parliament building, Reichstag, was set on fire a few days before elections and blamed on the communists
Enabling Act
created a state of emergency and allowed Hitler to pass legislation without other approval, gave Nazis total power
Reichstag and Enabling Act
Hitler is able to get the Enabling Act through the Reichstag without the opposition of communists who were targeted and arrested after the fire
Blackshirts
Italian veterans, the paramilitary army of the Fascist party
Brownshirts
Nazi militarized core of supporters, many of whom were veterans, and the Freikorps aka SA or Stormtroopers
Freikorps
German paramilitary group (militia) formed of unhappy veterans who used violence to undermine other groups, they hated the Weimar Republic and wanted the monarchy
Russian economy plans
War Communism, New Economy Plan, 5 Year Plan
War communism
production is run by the state and extra food needed to be given to the army first, it tried to abolish money, failed
New Economy Plan
abolished state confiscation of extra food but instituted a 10% tax, brought private businesses back and currency reform
5 Year Plan
Stalin's plan to reorganize the industry and agriculture to catch up with the west with collectivization of farms and unrealistic production quotas in factories
Big Three (WW2)
Great Britain - Winston Churchill, The U.S. - FDR, The Soviet Union - Joseph Stalin
Axis Powers (WWII)
Germany - Hitler, Italy - Mussolini, Japan - Emperor Hirohito
appeasement
give Hitler what he wants to avoid a war
Territories Hitler took before the war
March 7, 1936 - Nazis occupy the Rhineland, March 12/13, 1938 - Nazi troops enter Austria, Oct 15, 1938 - Nazi troops occupy Czechoslovakia
why did Hitler take territories before the war
so that Germans could have more "living space", and to unify all German regions to make one large country with shared nationalism
Hitler-Stalin nonaggression pact
the Soviet Union signed the treaty after attempts to create a military alliance with France and Britain failed, for Germany it protected against another two-front war
Germany and USSR after the war
Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
the propaganda for Japan's new empire, focused on Japanese racial purity and supremacy
Fall of France
In June 22, 1940, it was occupied by Germany who got northern France and the coast
What happened after France fell
the country was split in two but the south (Vichy) was run by Marshall Henri Pétain who collaborated with Germany. Britain was now alone
Battle of Dunkirk May 26 - June 4, 1940
German soldiers cornered French and British soldiers at the coast, they were rescued at Dunkirk by civilian crafts
The Blitz 7 Sept 1940
Hitler assumed Britain would surrender but they didn't so they were bombed a crazy amount destroying many English cities, Britain never surrendered
Battle of Stalingrad Aug 1942 - Feb 1943
turning point because Germany lost a lot, the largest and bloodiest battle ever with 1.7-2 million Axis and Soviet casualties
D-Day
Allied invasion of France to establish a second front, allowed them to gain a foothold on the continent to push Germany back
Midway
Turning point in the Pacific, Japan was defeated, its advances stopped, and there was a shortage of pilots after, important to move forward into Japan
Iwo Jima
an invasion was needed to push towards Japan, one of the bloodiest battles in the war, with 20,000 out of 21,000 Japanese soldiers killed
Okinawa
an invasion to provide a staging area for invasion of Japanese mainland, all 110,000 Japanese defenders killed
Turning point on Western Front
Operation Torch - allied victory in North Africa and invasion of Italy. D-Day - allies invade Normandy and took hold of the continent to push Germany back
Turning point on Eastern Front
the battle of Stalingrad - German army defeated and captured, began a long retreat, largest and bloodiest single battle in history
Turn in the Pacific
the battle of Midway - Japanese hoped to capture the atoll to use as a base, US caught Japanese by surprise after overhearing plans on the radio, Japanese advances were stopped
Operation Barbarossa
Nazi operation consisting of an attack army of 4 million men on a 2,000 mile front to invade the Soviet Union, 90% of German deaths happened on the eastern front
Operation Torch
Allied victory in North African colonies which lead to an invasion of Italy
Operation Sea Lion
Hitler's plan to invade Britain by air and sea
How did the European war end
turning points on the western and eastern fronts led to a race to Berlin. Germany surrendered unconditionally on May 7, 1945
What happened to Hitler and Mussolini
Hitler committed suicide on April 30 as Russian troops took Berlin, Mussolini was captured and killed by Italian Partisans on April 28
V-E day
German surrender and victory in Europe, May 8, 1945
V-J day
Japanese surrender and victory in the Pacific, August 15, 1945
the boycott of Jewish businesses
April 1, 1933, a response to the so-called anti-German "atrocity propaganda" that was allegedly being spread abroad by the "international Jewry" Germans were told to buy only from german owned businesses
Book burnings
German students gather in Berlin to burn books with unGerman ideas
which authors were targeted in the Nazi book burnings?
Freud (Jewish), Einstein (Jewish), Marx (communist), Remarque (anti-war), London (individualist), Wells (socialist)
The Ghettos
created as holding areas for Jews awaiting deportation, food rations were insanely low, very crowded, many died of disease and starvation, not allowed to leave
Nuremberg Laws
1935 laws that took away Jewish German citizenship, forbid Jewish/Aryan marriage and sexual relations, defined a "full Jew" as someone with 3 Jewish grandparents
the Manhattan project
began in 1939, a secret government project to create a nuclear weapon in response to German nuclear ambitions, and was the best-kept secret of the war, partially run by Oppenheimer
Potsdam Declaration
an ultimatum to Japan about terms of surrender, and promised "prompt and utter destruction" if they did not comply
Trinity test
secret testing of the atomic bomb in New Mexico on July 16, 1945
Nagasaki
August 9, 1945, a plutonium bomb named Fat Man is dropped at 11:02 am, 70,000 people killed
Hiroshima
August 6, 1945, a uranium bomb named Little Boy is dropped at 8:15 am with no warning, 140,000 people killed
arguments against the bomb
evidence that Japan was already planning surrender 2. its use was militarily unnecessary because of previous fire bombing 3. effect on civilians may be a war crime
arguments for the bomb
a warning to the Soviets 2. wanted and needed unconditional surrender from Japan 3. to prevent an invasion of Japan, saving millions of lives
Note 
Flashcard (46)