(test tuesday 10/27/26) World War II and the Rise of Totalitarian Regimes

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering the rise of European dictators, Axis expansion, and the onset of World War II.

Anschluss

The political union of Austria and Germany established in March 1938 when Hitler invaded and took control of Austria.

Sudenten land

A region of Czechoslovakia targeted by Hitler and conceded to Germany at the Munich Conference.

Munich Conference

A September 1938 meeting where Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain of Great Britain and Premier Daladier of France met with Hitler and Mussolini to attempt appeasement.

Appeasement

The failed policy of granting Hitler concessions, such as allowing him to take the Sudetenland if he promised not to take all of Czechoslovakia.

Non-Aggression Pact

An August 1939 agreement between Germany and the Soviet Union where both countries pledged not to attack each other and secretly agreed to divide Poland.

Blitzkrieg

A type of warfare meaning 'lightning warfare,' used by Hitler during the invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939.

Francisco Franco

The leader who attempted to overthrow the Republican government in Spain with the support of Mussolini and Hitler, winning the Spanish Civil War to become dictator.

Abraham Lincoln Brigade

A group of 3,000 Americans who volunteered to help the Republican government in Spain during the Spanish Civil War.

Manchuria

The part of China invaded by Japan during its 1930s territorial expansion, prompting condemnation from the League of Nations and Japan's subsequent withdrawal from the League.

China Incident

The conflict marked by the Japanese military attack on Shanghai and Nanking.

Economic Sanctions

Measures designed to stop trade, imposed by the League of Nations against Italy after it invaded Ethiopia in October 1935.

Haile glassic

The Ethiopian Emperor who appealed to the League of Nations for help after Mussolini's armies invaded Ethiopia in October 1935.

Mein Kampf

The book written by Adolf Hitler outlining his ideas and political ideology.

Rome-Berlin Axis

The alliance formed between Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini in 1936.

Rhineland

The territory into which Hitler moved German troops in defiance of the Treaty of Versailles while France and Great Britain took no action.

Scorched Earth Policy

A defensive strategy ordered by Stalin after the Germans invaded the Soviet Union that left nothing behind for the invading forces.

New Order

Hitler's plan to organize Europe under the rule of the Nazis.

Reinhard Heydreyh

The SS official who administered Hitler's 'Final Solution' to kill the Jews.

Auschwitz and Treblinka

Concentration camps to which millions of Jews were deported between 1939 and 1944.

Holocaust

The Nazi extermination of Jews, Gypsies, and Slavs, during which 6 million Jews were killed.