1: World War I and the Pursuit of Peace

Vocabulary flashcards covering major terms, events, and concepts from the lecture on World War I, the Paris Peace Conference, and the League of Nations.

Alsace-Lorraine

Resource-rich territory taken by Germany from France in 1871; France sought its return at the Paris Peace Conference.

Anschluss

The political union between Austria and Germany forbidden by the 1919 Treaty of Saint-Germain.

Appeasement

Diplomatic policy of conceding to an aggressive power to avoid conflict; concept foreshadowed in inter-war diplomacy.

Armistice

Formal agreement by warring parties to stop fighting, often preceding a peace treaty (e.g., 11 November 1918).

Big Three

Woodrow Wilson (USA), David Lloyd George (Britain), and Georges Clemenceau (France) who dominated the Paris Peace Conference.

Collective Security

System in which an attack on one state is treated as an attack on all; core principle of the League of Nations.

Diktat

German term for the Treaty of Versailles, implying a peace imposed without negotiation.

Disarmament

Reduction or elimination of a nation’s armed forces and weapons; major aim of the League of Nations and a ToV requirement for Germany.

Fourteen Points

Woodrow Wilson’s 1918 blueprint for peace advocating open diplomacy, self-determination, free trade, and a League of Nations.

Hyperinflation

Extremely rapid price increases that wiped out German savings in 1923, fuelled by reparations and Ruhr occupation.

Kaiser

Title of the German emperor; Kaiser Wilhelm II was forced to abdicate in 1918.

Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928)

International agreement in which signatories renounced war as a means of resolving disputes.

League of Nations (LoN)

International organisation proposed by Wilson to resolve disputes peacefully and promote collective security after WWI.

Paris Peace Conference (1919)

Meeting of Allied victors to set post-WWI terms, resulting in the Treaty of Versailles and other settlements.

Reparations

Financial compensation demanded from Germany (£6.6 billion) by the Treaty of Versailles for war damages.

Rhineland

Western German region demilitarised under the Treaty of Versailles to act as a buffer for France.

Sarajevo

Capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina where Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, sparking WWI.

Self-determination

Principle that peoples may choose their own sovereignty; central to Wilson’s Fourteen Points.

Triple Alliance

Pre-WWI military pact of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy (Italy later switched sides).

Triple Entente

Alliance of Britain, France, and Russia before and during WWI; later joined by the USA and Japan.

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (1918)

Peace treaty where Bolshevik Russia ceded territory to the Central Powers; cited to justify harsh terms on Germany.

Treaty of Versailles (ToV)

1919 peace treaty ending WWI with Germany, imposing territorial losses, reparations, military limits, and the War Guilt Clause.

War Guilt Clause (Article 231)

Provision in the ToV assigning full responsibility for WWI to Germany.

Woodrow Wilson

U.S. President during WWI; architect of the Fourteen Points and the League of Nations concept.

Aaland Islands Dispute (1921)

League of Nations successfully mediated sovereignty dispute between Sweden and Finland.

Upper Silesia Plebiscite (1921)

League-supervised vote dividing industrial region between Germany and Poland peacefully.

Corfu Incident (1923)

League failed to force Italy’s withdrawal from Corfu until Greece paid compensation.

Vilna Crisis (1920)

League’s inability to make Poland leave Vilna, partly due to French and British reluctance.

Rapallo Treaty (1922)

Agreement between Germany and Soviet Russia re-establishing diplomatic relations and economic cooperation.

Locarno Treaties (1925)

Agreements guaranteeing Germany’s western borders and promoting reconciliation with France and Belgium.

Dawes Plan (1924)

U.S.-devised scheme easing Germany’s reparations payments and stabilising its economy through loans.

Young Plan (1929)

Revised German reparations schedule, reducing total payments and extending the period to 1988.

February Revolution (1917)

Russian uprising that forced Tsar Nicholas II to abdicate and installed a Provisional Government.

October Revolution (1917)

Bolshevik seizure of power in Russia, leading to a communist government under Lenin.

Russian Civil War (1918-1922)

Conflict between Bolshevik (Red) forces and anti-communist (White) factions; Bolshevik victory created the USSR.

Stab-in-the-Back Myth

German belief that the army had not truly been defeated in WWI but betrayed by civilian politicians who signed the ToV.

Collective Security

Mechanism where member states of an organisation agree to defend each other against aggression; cornerstone of the LoN.