WW1 and WW2 terms

Pan Slavism

Pan-Slavism is the idea that all Slavic peoples should unite and support each other.

Lebensraum

Lebensraum means “living space,” the idea that a country needs more land to grow.

Enfranchisement

Enfranchisement is the right to vote in elections.

Segregation

Segregation is the practice of keeping people of different groups apart.

Concentration

Concentration refers to gathering people or things into one place, often with harsh control.

Extermination

Extermination means to destroy something completely, often referring to mass killing.

Trench Raid

A trench raid is a small surprise attack on enemy trenches during war.

Indirect Fire

Indirect fire is shooting bombs or shells at a target you can’t see directly.

Creeping Barrage

A creeping barrage is a moving wall of artillery fire advancing ahead of soldiers.

Buying on Credit

Buying on credit is buying now and paying later in small monthly payments.

Anti-Semitism

Anti-Semitism is hatred or discrimination against Jewish people.

Black Christmas

Black Christmas refers to a particularly tragic or dark Christmas period in history.

Black Tuesday

Black Tuesday is the stock market crash day on October 29, 1929.

Armistice

An armistice is an agreement to stop fighting in a war.

Kristallnacht

Kristallnacht was the "Night of Broken Glass" when Jewish businesses and synagogues in Germany were attacked in 1938.

Eugenics

Eugenics is the idea of improving humans by controlling who can have children.

Schlieffen Plan

The Schlieffen Plan was Germany’s plan to quickly defeat France by passing through Belgium in WWI.

Ultimatum

An ultimatum is a final demand that, if not met, leads to serious consequences.

Dominion

A dominion is a semi-independent territory within the British Empire.

Commonwealth

The Commonwealth is a group of countries that were once part of the British Empire and work together.

Genocide

Genocide is the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially a specific ethnic group.

Total War

Total War means a country uses all its resources and people to fight a war.

Self-determination

Self-determination is the right of people to choose their own government.

Collective Security

Collective security is when countries agree to defend each other against threats.

Appeasement

Appeasement is giving in to avoid conflict, like offering demands to a bully.

Tariff

A tariff is a tax on goods brought into a country from abroad.

Branch Plant Economy

A branch-plant economy is when foreign companies set up factories in another country, often with decisions made at home.

Stocks

Stocks are shares in a company that you can buy to own part of it.

Bonds

Bonds are loans you give to a government or company in return for interest.

Enemy Aliens

Enemy aliens are people living in a country considered enemies because of their nationality during wartime.

War Measures Act

The War Measures Act was a Canadian law giving the government special powers during war.

Internment

Internment is the forced imprisonment of people, often without trial, during wartime.

Halifax Explosion

The Halifax Explosion was a huge ship explosion in 1917 in Halifax, killing many people.

Africville

Africville was a Black community in Nova Scotia that was forcibly removed by the city.

Voyage of the Damned

The Voyage of the Damned was when a ship carrying refugees was denied entry to many countries in 1939.

MV Sun Sea

The MV Sun Sea was a boat that brought Tamil asylum seekers to Canada in 2010.

Komagata Maru

The Komagata Maru was a ship that carried Indian immigrants to Canada in 1914 but was turned back.

Prohibition

Prohibition was the time when selling alcohol was illegal (especially in the U.S. from 1920–1933).

On-to-Ottawa Trek

The On-to-Ottawa Trek was a 1935 protest by unemployed Canadian workers who traveled to Ottawa.

Labour Camps

Labour camps are places where prisoners or detainees must do hard work.

Person’s Case

The Person’s Case was a 1929 Canadian legal case that decided women were “persons” under the law.

Parts of a Trench

A trench has a front-line where fighting happens, a support area behind, and a reserve area further back.

CEF equipment

The CEF equipment was the gear carried by Canadian soldiers in World War I.

Enabling Act

The Enabling Act (1933) gave Hitler power to pass laws without the German parliament.

Beer Hall Putsch

The Beer Hall Putsch was Hitler’s failed coup attempt in Munich in 1923.

Nuremburg Trials

The Nuremberg Trials were court cases after WWII to punish Nazi leaders.

Manhattan Project

The Manhattan Project was the secret U.S. project that built the first atomic bombs.

Fat Man

Fat Man was the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945.

Little Boy

Little Boy was the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in August 1945.

Chinese Head Tax

The Chinese Head Tax was a fee China immigrants had to pay to enter Canada between 1885–1923.

Continuous Journey Act

The Continuous Journey Act (1908) banned immigrants who didn’t come by a continuous journey, aimed at Indians.

Chinese Exclusion Act

The Chinese Exclusion Act was a U.S. law in 1882 that stopped most Chinese people from immigrating.

Balfour Declaration

The Balfour Declaration (1917) said Britain supported a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

Chanak Incident

The Chanak Incident (1922) was a standoff where Britain asked Canada to send troops but Canada refused.

Halibut Treaty

The Halibut Treaty (1923) was Canada’s first independent treaty, with the U.S. on fishing rights.

King-Byng Affair

The King–Byng Affair (1926) was when the Governor General refused a prime minister’s request to dissolve parliament.

Imperial Conference

Imperial Conferences were meetings of Britain and its dominions to work together on policy.

League of Nations

The League of Nations was an international group formed after WWI to keep peace.

Alliance Systems

Alliance systems are agreements between countries to defend each other in war.

United Nations

The United Nations is an international group formed after WWII to promote peace.

Imperialism

Imperialism is when a country takes over other lands and rules them.

Militarism

Militarism is when a country builds up its military and ideals as the main force in society.

WWII Planes

WWII planes are military aircraft used during World War II, like fighters and bombers.

July Crisis

The July Crisis (1914) was the month of events after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand that led to WWI.

Bush Pilots

Bush pilots are pilots who fly small planes in remote, rural areas.

Big Band

Big band is a style of music from the 1930s–1940s with a large jazz orchestra.

Jazz

Jazz is a style of music from the African-American community with strong rhythm and improvisation.

Nanook of the North

Nanook of the North is a 1922 silent documentary film about Inuit life in Canada.

Mein Kampf

Mein Kampf is Adolf Hitler’s autobiography and political plan, published in 1925.

Regina Riot

The Regina Riot (1935) was a violent clash when police stopped a protest train of unemployed workers in Saskatchewan.

Winnipeg General Strike

The Winnipeg General Strike (1919) was a massive labor strike by workers in Winnipeg.

Conscription

Conscription is when the government forces people to join the army.

À chat chez nous

“À chat chez nous” is French Canadian and literally means “a cat at our house,” often used to signal conversation in Quebec.

Annexation of Austria

The annexation of Austria (Anschluss) was when Nazi Germany took over Austria in March 1938.

Invasion of Sudetenland and the Munich Agreement

The invasion of Sudetenland was when Germany took part of Czechoslovakia after the 1938 Munich Agreement.