Nazism and the Rise of Hitler - Vocabulary Flashcards

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering terms, people, and concepts from the Nazism and Hitler notes.

Nazism

A system of ideas and political movement led by Hitler that combined extreme nationalism, racism (especially anti-Semitism), and totalitarian control, with goals of territorial expansion (Lebensraum) and a racially pure state.

Hitler

Leader of the Nazi Party who became Chancellor in 1933 and established a dictatorship, pursuing expansion and genocidal policies.

Nazi Party (National Socialist German Workers' Party)

The political party led by Hitler that promoted Nazi ideology and ultimately ruled Germany.

Weimar Republic

The democratic government of Germany (1919–1933) established after World War I, weakened by economic crisis and political instability.

Versailles Treaty

Peace treaty ending World War I that imposed punitive terms on Germany, including military restrictions and reparations.

War Guilt Clause

Part of the Versailles Treaty (Article 231) blaming Germany for starting World War I.

Reparations

Payments demanded from Germany to compensate Allied countries for war damages.

Hyperinflation

Extreme and rapid collapse of the currency value, causing prices to soar and savings to vanish (notably 1923 in Germany).

Dawes Plan

1924 plan to reorganize German reparations and stabilize the economy with American loans.

Spartacist League

Left-wing revolutionary group in Germany; attempted a communist uprising in 1919 and helped spawn the Communist Party.

Proletarianisation

Process of becoming impoverished toward the working class, often through economic crisis and unemployment.

Proportional representation

Electoral system contributing to fragmented parliaments and fragile coalitions in Weimar Germany.

Article 48

Weimar Constitution provision granting the President emergency powers to suspend civil rights and rule by decree.

Enabling Act

1933 law that gave Hitler power to bypass Parliament and govern by decree, enabling dictatorship.

Reichstag

The German Parliament.

Weimar Constitution

The democratic framework of the Weimar Republic, outlining rights and the political system.

Spartacist uprising

1918–19 revolt in Berlin led by the Spartacist League seeking Soviet-style governance; crushed by authorities.

Ghetto

Urban quarters where Jews and other groups were confined under Nazi rule.

Nuremberg Laws

1935 laws stripping Jews of citizenship, forbidding intermarriage, and defining who was Jewish.

Star of David (yellow star)

Identity mark Jews were compelled to wear; the yellow Star of David became mandatory from 1941.

Pogrom / Night of Broken Glass (Kristallnacht)

Massive anti-Jewish pogroms across Germany in 1938, including destruction of synagogues and businesses.

Gas chambers

Facilities in extermination camps where mass killings by poisonous gas were carried out.

Auschwitz

Largest Nazi death camp complex in occupied Poland, central to mass murder during the Holocaust.

Concentration camp

Detention camps used by the Nazis to imprison political opponents, Jews, and others without due process.

Final Solution

The Nazi plan to annihilate the Jewish population, implemented in extermination camps.

Euthanasia Programme

Nazi program aimed at murdering the disabled and mentally ill.

General Government

Nazi-administered zone in occupied Poland where many killings occurred.

Lebensraum

Living space; expansionist policy to acquire land for Germans.

Aryan

Racial category used by Nazis to designate a supposedly superior, 'Nordic' race.

Nordic Aryans

Idealized, supposedly pure Germanic stock central to Nazi racial ideology.

Jews

Targeted minority subjected to persecution, segregation, and genocide under the Nazi regime.

Ghettos (Lodz, Warsaw)

Sections of cities where Jews were concentrated and deprived under Nazi occupation.

Propaganda

Systematic use of media—films, posters, radio—to shape public opinion in favor of the regime.

Der Sturmer

A virulently anti-Semitic Nazi newspaper used to disseminate hatred.

The Eternal Jew

Infamous Nazi propaganda film depicting Jews in dehumanizing ways.

Hitler Youth

Nazi youth organization tasked with indoctrinating children and teens; Jungvolk for under-14.

Jungvolk

Nazi youth group for children below 14 years old.

Volkswagen

People's car project symbolizing Nazi efforts to provide social mobility and economic progress.

Anschluss

Annexation of Austria into Germany in 1938, part of Nazi expansion.

Rhineland reoccupation

1936 reoccupation of the demilitarized Rhineland by Germany, violating Versailles.

Spontaneous reaction: Protests not widely resisted

Notes include reference to passive German complicity and lack of protest; used here to reflect historical commentary.