Modern Thought, Society, and WWI: Key Figures and Concepts

Max Planck

German physicist who formulated quantum theory by discovering that energy is emitted in discrete units called 'quanta.'

Albert Einstein

Physicist who developed the Theory of Relativity, stating that space and time are not absolute but relative to the observer.

Friedrich Nietzsche

Philosopher who claimed 'God is dead' and argued that Western society was decadent because of its reliance on reason and Christianity.

Sigmund Freud

Father of psychoanalysis who argued that human behavior is determined by the unconscious mind and repressed childhood experiences.

Social Darwinism / Herbert Spencer

The application of 'survival of the fittest' to human societies, used to justify imperialism and racism.

Emile Zola

Naturalist writer who depicted social problems like alcoholism and slums in a realistic, clinical manner.

Leo Tolstoy

Realist author of War and Peace, known for detailed character development and fatalistic views of history.

The Symbolists

Writers who believed that objective reality was a collection of symbols reflecting the true reality of the individual mind.

Impressionism

Art movement focused on capturing the changing effects of light and color in nature (e.g., Pissarro and Monet).

Camille Pissarro

A founder of Impressionism who focused on the landscape and the effects of light on the outdoors.

Claude Monet

Famous Impressionist known for his series of water lilies and haystacks, capturing 'impressions' of light.

Post-Impressionism

Art movement that followed Impressionism but used more structure and expressive color (e.g., Cezanne and Van Gogh).

Paul Cezanne

Post-Impressionist who sought to express the underlying geometric structure of nature.

Vincent Van Gogh

Post-Impressionist painter who used vibrant colors and swirling brushstrokes to express emotion (e.g., Starry Night).

Pablo Picasso / Cubism

Artist who co-founded Cubism, a style that broke objects into geometric shapes and multiple perspectives.

Abstract Expressionism

Art movement where the artist seeks to express emotion through non-representational, spontaneous forms.

Igor Stravinsky / The Rite of Spring

Composer whose revolutionary ballet caused a riot due to its dissonant music and primitive choreography.

The Pankhursts / Suffragettes

Led by Emmeline Pankhurst, they used 'militant' tactics (hunger strikes, protests) to win the right to vote for women.

The 'New Woman'

Late 19th-century ideal of women who sought independence, education, and careers outside the home.

Maria Montessori

Italian educator who developed a child-centered educational method based on natural learning.

Alfred Dreyfus

Jewish French officer falsely accused of treason; his trial revealed deep-seated anti-Semitism in France.

Theodore Herzl / Zionism

Leader of the movement to create a Jewish homeland in Palestine as a response to European anti-Semitism.

Fabian Socialists

British group that advocated for a gradual, democratic transition to socialism rather than revolution.

David Lloyd George

British Liberal politician who laid the foundations of the modern welfare state through social reforms.

Pan-German League

Nationalist group that advocated for German expansion and imperialism while opposing Jews and minorities.

Bloody Sunday

1905 massacre in Russia where peaceful protesters were shot by the Tsar's troops, sparking the 1905 Revolution.

Peter Stolypin

Russian Prime Minister who attempted agrarian reforms to create a class of stable landowning peasants.

New Imperialism

The late 19th-century scramble by European powers to conquer territories in Africa and Asia.

'White Man's Burden'

Rudyard Kipling's poem arguing that Europeans had a moral duty to 'civilize' non-white peoples.

Cecil Rhodes

British imperialist and diamond tycoon who dreamed of a British railway from 'Cape to Cairo.'

Boer War

Conflict between Britain and the Dutch-descended Boers in South Africa; won by Britain at high cost.

Hong Kong

Island territory ceded to Great Britain by China following the Opium Wars.

'Open Door' Policy

US proposal that all nations should have equal trading rights in China.

Boxer Rebellion

Violent anti-foreign uprising in China (1900) that was crushed by an international coalition.

Meiji Restoration

Period in Japan marked by rapid modernization and Westernization, turning Japan into a world power.

Indian National Congress

Political group formed in 1885 to demand greater self-rule and eventual independence from Britain.

Bismarckian System

A series of alliances created by Otto von Bismarck to isolate France and maintain European peace.

Congress of Berlin

1878 meeting that reorganized the Balkans and diminished Russian influence in the region.

Triple Alliance

The defensive alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy.

Emperor William II

German Kaiser who dismissed Bismarck and pursued an aggressive foreign policy (Weltpolitik).

Triple Entente

The informal alliance between Great Britain, France, and Russia.

Balkans' Crises

A series of regional conflicts over territory that earned the Balkans the nickname 'the powder keg of Europe.'

Black Hand / Gavrilo Princip

Serbian nationalist group and the individual who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, sparking WWI.

'Blank Check'

Germany's promise of unconditional support to Austria-Hungary in its conflict with Serbia.

Schlieffen Plan

German military strategy to avoid a two-front war by quickly defeating France before turning to fight Russia.

Trench Warfare

Static combat in which opposing troops fight from dug-in positions, leading to a deadly stalemate.

New Weapons of WWI

Tanks, airplanes, poison gas, submarines (U-boats), and machine guns.

Central Powers

The wartime alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria.

Lawrence of Arabia

British officer who incited Arab revolts against the Ottoman Empire during the war.

Lusitania

British passenger liner sunk by a German U-boat in 1915, killing 128 Americans and shifting US opinion.

Hindenburg

German General and war hero who, along with Ludendorff, effectively ruled Germany as a military dictator.

Georges Clemenceau

French Prime Minister ('The Tiger') who pushed for harsh punishment of Germany at Versailles.

Nineteenth Amendment

Amendment to the US Constitution (1920) granting women the right to vote.

Nicholas II and Alexandra

The last Tsar of Russia and his wife; their poor leadership led to the collapse of the monarchy.

Rasputin

Siberian 'holy man' who gained influence over the Tsarina but was assassinated by Russian nobles.

'Peace, Land, and Bread'

The simple, effective slogan used by Lenin and the Bolsheviks to win popular support.

Bolsheviks vs. Mensheviks

The radical wing of Russian socialists (Bolsheviks) vs. the more moderate, gradualist wing (Mensheviks).

V. I. Lenin

Leader of the Bolshevik Party who returned to Russia in 1917 to lead the October Revolution.

Alexander Kerensky

Leader of the Provisional Government in Russia who made the fatal mistake of staying in WWI.

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Harsh treaty that ended Russia's involvement in WWI, ceding massive amounts of land to Germany.

Leon Trotsky

Revolutionary leader and commander of the Red Army during the Russian Civil War.

'War Communism'

The Bolshevik policy of seizing grain and nationalizing industry to provide for the Red Army.

Cheka

The Bolshevik secret police used to eliminate 'class enemies' through the Red Terror.

November 11, 1918

The date of the armistice that ended the fighting in World War I.

Karl Liebknecht / Rosa Luxemburg

Leaders of the German Communist (Spartacist) revolt; they were suppressed and executed.

Wilson's Fourteen Points

US President Woodrow Wilson's plan for a 'just and lasting peace,' including self-determination.

Treaty of Versailles

The 1919 peace treaty that ended WWI, forced Germany to accept 'war guilt,' and pay reparations.

League of Nations

An international organization proposed by Wilson to prevent future wars through collective security.

Reparations

Payments mandated by the Treaty of Versailles for Germany to pay for war damages.

Yugoslavia

New nation created after WWI combining various Slavic peoples (Serbs, Croats, Slovenes).

League of Nations' Mandates

A system where former Ottoman and German colonies were administered by Britain and France.

First Battle of the Marne

1914 battle that stopped the German advance into France and began the stalemate of trench warfare.

Verdun

One of the longest and deadliest battles of the war; a symbol of French determination ('They shall not pass').

Somme

A massive British/French offensive in 1916 that resulted in over 1 million total casualties for very little gain.

Second Battle of the Marne

The turning point of 1918 where the final German offensive failed, leading to their eventual defeat.