Unit 6-1 World History

Albert Einstein

Physicist born in Germany who formulated the special theory of relativity and the general theory of relativity.

Weimar Republic

German republic founded after the WWI and the downfall of the German Empire's monarchy.

Hyperinflation in Germany

1921-1924; money became worthless...

Stock Market Crash

Another leading component to the start of the Great Depression. The stock became very popular in the 1920's, then in 1929 in took a steep downturn and many lost their money and hope they had put in to the stock.

Great Depression

the economic crisis beginning with the stock market crash in 1929 and continuing through the 1930s

Franklin D. Roosevelt

32nd US President - He began New Deal programs to help the nation out of the Great Depression, and he was the nation's leader during most of WWII

New Deal

A series of reforms enacted by the Franklin Roosevelt administration between 1933 and 1942 with the goal of ending the Great Depression.

Fascism

A political system headed by a dictator that calls for extreme nationalism and racism and no tolerance of opposition

Benito Mussolini (Il Duce)

The Italian founder of the Fascist party who came to power in Italy in 1922 and allied himself with Adolf Hitler and the Axis powers during the Second World War.

Totalitarianism

A form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.)

Adolf Hitler

Austrian born Dictator of Germany, implement Fascism and caused WWII and Holocoust.

Nazism

Adolf Hitler used fascism to create this type of government based on totalitarian ideas and was used to unite Germany during the 1930s.

Lebensraum

Hitler's expansionist theory based on a drive to acquire "living space" for the German people

Anti-Semitism

Prejudice against Jews

Hirohito

Emperor of Japan during WWII

Hideki Tojo

This general was premier of Japan during World War II while this man was dictator of the country. He gave his approval for the attack on Pearl Harbor and played a major role in Japan's military decisions until he resigned in 1944

Blitzkrieg

"Lighting war", typed of fast-moving warfare used by German forces against Poland in 1939

Appeasement

A policy of making concessions to an aggressor in the hopes of avoiding war. Associated with Neville Chamberlain's policy of making concessions to Adolf Hitler.

Winston Churchill

A noted British statesman who led Britain throughout most of World War II and along with Roosevelt planned many allied campaigns. He predicted an iron curtain that would separate Communist Europe from the rest of the West.

Japanese Imperialism

authoritarian constitutional monarchy; sphere of influence in Korea/Manchuria/China

Rape of Nanjing

Japanese attack on Chinese capital from 1937-1938 when Japanese aggressorts slaughtered 100,000 civilians and raped thousands of women in order to gain control of China.

Treaty of Versailles

Treaty that ended WW I. It blamed Germany for WW I and handed down harsh punishment.

Axis Powers

Alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan during World War II.

Munich Conference (1938)

During the Munich Conference of 1938, Britain and France met with Hitler, allowing him to take over Czechoslovakia as long as he agreed to expand no further. The agreement was seen as an assurance of peace.

Non-Aggression Pact

1939-Secret agreement between German leader Hitler and Soviet Leader Stalin not to attack one another and to divide Poland

Battle of Britain (1940)

series of air strikes on Britain by Germany from August to November of 1940 in an attempt to gain air supremacy.

Pearl Harbor

7:50-10:00 AM, December 7, 1941 - Surprise attack by the Japanese on the main U.S. Pacific Fleet harbored in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii destroyed 18 U.S. ships and 200 aircraft. American losses were 3000, Japanese losses less than 100. In response, the U.S. declared war on Japan and Germany, entering World War II.

Battle of Midway

1942 World War II battle between the United States and Japan, a turning point in the war in the Pacific

Operation Overlord (D-Day)

June 6th 1944, Invasion of the beaches of Normandy France (Largest amphibious invasion ever)

Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943)

Unsuccessful German attack on the city of Stalingrad during World War II from 1942 to 1943, that was the furthest extent of German advance into the Soviet Union. Each side sustained hundreds of thousands of casualties; Germany's defeat marked turning point in the war.

General Douglas MacArthur

commander of the US forces in the Philippine Islands who directed the Allied occupation of Japan

Island Hopping

A military strategy used during World War II that involved selectively attacking specific enemy-held islands and bypassing others

Firebombing

Military tactic used to target and destroy strategic and large cities to weaken the enemy (WWII) (ex. Tokyo, Hamburg, Berlin)

Holocaust/Final Solution

The attempted physical extermination of the Jewish people by the Nazis during WWII; between five and six million Jews were killed, essentially two out of three European Jews.

Ghettos

Sections of towns and cities in which Jews were forced to live.

Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

on August 6 and August 9, 1945; this effectively ended the US war with Japan in World War II

Nuremberg Trials

Trials of the Nazi leaders, showed that people are responsible for their actions, even in wartime

United Nations

an organization of independent states formed in 1945 to promote international peace and security

crimes against humanity

a category of activities, made illegal at the Nuremberg war crime trials, condemning states that abuse human rights

Harry Truman

Became president when FDR died; gave the order to drop the atomic bomb

Mao Zedong

(1893-1976) Leader of the Communist Party in China that overthrew Jiang Jieshi and the Nationalists. Established China as the People's Republic of China and ruled from 1949 until 1976.

Chaing Kai-Shek

Leader of the nationalist party in 1928, after Sun Yat-sen's death in 1925, he favored a capitalist state supported by a military dictatorship.

Chinese Civil War

War between communist Mao Zedong and nationalist Chaing-Kai Shek. The communists took over and forced the nationalists to retreat to Taiwan

Communes/Collective Farms

Large apartment-like complexes.

Large units of combined farms or small factories.

Great Leap Forward (1958)

- Mao Zedong launched a program

- urged people to make a superhuman effort to increase farm and industrial output and created communes

- rural communes set up "backyard" industries to produce steel

- program failed b/c "backyards" produced low-quality

- communes had slow food output, bad weather, and a famine

Cultural Revolution (1966-1969)

Mao Zedong trained young "Red Guards" to go to local villages and put traditional Confucianists on trial for betraying the revolution. This was done to distract from his failure in the Great Leap Forward

Red Guards

the Radical youth of the Cultural Revolution in China starting in 1966. Often wore red armbands and carried Mao's Little Red Book.