History Study Guide: Weimar Republic, Antisemitism, and Nazi Seizure of Power

Vocabulary flashcards focusing on critical terms, key figures, dates, and analytical frameworks from the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany study guide.

Weimar Republic

Germany's first democratic republic, lasting from 1918/19 to 1933, which replaced the German Empire but faced major political, economic, and social instability.

Stab-in-the-back myth (Dolchstoßlegende)

A false but politically powerful claim that Germany's army was not defeated militarily in World War I, but was instead betrayed by people at home, including democratic politicians, socialists, and Jews.

Treaty of Versailles (1919)

The treaty that formally ended World War I between Germany and the Allied powers, subjecting Germany to significant territorial, military, and financial restrictions.

Wilhelm Marr

An individual associated with modern political antisemitism who helped popularize the term "antisemitism" in the 1870s and authored the 1879 publication The Victory of Jewry over Germandom.

The Victory of Jewry over Germandom

An 1879 publication by Wilhelm Marr that presented Jews through a secular and racialized antisemitic framework rather than a purely religious one.

Older religious anti-Judaism

Pre-19th-century anti-Jewish prejudice framed around the idea that Jews held the wrong religious beliefs.

Modern racial antisemitism

A pseudoscientific and discriminatory concept originating in the 19th century that falsely claims Jews constitute an inherently different and inferior biological or racial group.

Seizure of power (Machtergreifung)

The process through which Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party acquired and consolidated governmental power in Germany around 1933.

Reichstag Fire Decree

A decree issued on 28 February 1933 following the Reichstag Fire that restricted important civil liberties in Germany.

Enabling Act

A law passed in March 1933 that allowed Hitler's government to make laws without normal parliamentary approval, helping transform Germany from a democracy into a dictatorship.

Propaganda

Political communication designed to influence people's attitudes, beliefs, or behaviour, operating through selective information, repetition, emotional imagery, and simplification.

Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda

A ministry established by Hitler on 13 March 1933, headed by Joseph Goebbels, created to control public information, culture, and political opinion.

Hitler cult

The systematic presentation of Adolf Hitler across various media as an exceptional, heroic leader capable of restoring national unity and protecting the German people.

Censorship

The restriction or control of information, expression, and competing political messages so that opposing ideas cannot circulate freely.

Primary source

Historical evidence originating directly from the specific period under study.

Secondary source

A later historical interpretation or analysis of a past period.

Historical argument

The use of evidence and reasoning to support a specific claim about the past.

Historical judgement

A reasoned conclusion reached after weighing relevant historical evidence and competing explanations.

Conditions (Historical Framework)

Factors that create an environment or context in which a historical development can occur, such as economic crisis or political instability.

Causes (Historical Framework)

Factors or actions that directly contribute to a specific historical development, such as decisions by political elites or electoral campaigning.

Tools / Mechanisms (Historical Framework)

Instruments or methods used by a political movement to achieve its goals, such as propaganda, censorship, rallies, and political organization.