The Interwar Years and the Rise (and Fall) of Nazi Germany Key Terms

Vocabulary practice cards detailing major concepts, figures, policies, events, and terminology from the study guide on interwar Germany and the Nazi regime.

Volkische

German nationalist movement emphasizing a unified ethnic German people and traditional culture.

Munich Putsch

Hitler's failed 1923 attempt to overthrow the Bavarian government and launch a national revolution.

SA (Brownshirts)

Nazi paramilitary organization used to intimidate opponents and protect Nazi meetings; led by Ernst Röhm for much of its early period.

SS

Nazi organization originally created as Hitler's personal guard that became a powerful security, police, and military organization.

Von Papen

Franz von Papen, conservative German politician who helped bring Hitler into the chancellorship in 1933.

Nobility of Labor

Nazi idea that manual labor should be honored as valuable service to the nation.

Decree for the Protection of People and State

1933 decree suspending important civil liberties and allowing the Nazi government to suppress political opposition.

The Enabling Bill

1933 law giving Hitler's government power to make laws without the Reichstag, helping establish dictatorship.

The Night of the Long Knives

1934 purge in which Hitler ordered the killing or arrest of SA leaders and other perceived enemies.

Ernest Rohm

Ernst Röhm, leader of the SA whose power and demands alarmed Hitler and the German military; killed in 1934.

Von Hindenburg

Paul von Hindenburg, German president who appointed Hitler chancellor in January 1933.

Lebensraum

Nazi concept of acquiring additional territory, especially in Eastern Europe, for German settlement.

Chancellor/President/Fuhrer

Chancellor headed the government; president was head of state; Führer was Hitler's title after he combined the offices of president and chancellor.

Self-Sufficiency

Economic goal of reducing dependence on foreign goods and making Germany more self-reliant.

German Girls League

Nazi youth organization for girls that promoted Nazi ideology, physical fitness, domestic skills, and preparation for motherhood.

Motherhood

Nazi ideal that women should primarily bear and raise children considered racially desirable by the regime.

Labor Front

Nazi-controlled replacement for independent trade unions that organized and controlled German workers.

Albert Speer

Nazi architect and later armaments minister who became important in Germany's wartime industrial production.

Socialism of the Deed

Nazi phrase describing social programs and benefits presented as practical help for Germans rather than Marxist socialism.

Beauty of Work

Nazi program intended to improve workplace conditions while promoting worker loyalty to the regime.

Strength through Joy

Nazi program providing organized leisure, recreation, and cultural activities for workers.

Fatherland

Term meaning the German homeland/nation, often used to emphasize national loyalty.

Labor Conscription

Compulsory labor service imposed by the Nazi regime, especially on young Germans.

West Wall

German defensive fortification system along the western border, also called the Siegfried Line.

The Law to Reduce Unemployment

Nazi economic measures and public-works programs designed to lower unemployment.

Autobahn

German highway system expanded under the Nazi regime as part of public works and infrastructure programs.

Nuremberg Laws

1935 laws that stripped Jews of German citizenship and prohibited marriage or sexual relations between Jews and people classified as German or related blood.

Personal Loyalty Oath

Oath requiring members of the German armed forces to swear personal loyalty to Hitler.

Law Concerning the Formation of New Parties (1933)

Law that made the Nazi Party the only legal political party in Germany.

Schacht

Hjalmar Schacht, German economist and central banker who helped stabilize Germany's economy and support Nazi rearmament.

Bilateral Trade Agreements

Trade agreements between two countries, used by Nazi Germany to secure imports and markets while limiting foreign-currency problems.

The Third Reich

The Nazi regime in Germany, commonly referring to the period 1933–1945.

Hermann Goring

Leading Nazi official who headed the Luftwaffe and held major economic and political positions.

Four Year Plan

1936 Nazi economic program intended to prepare Germany for war and increase self-sufficiency.

Himmler

Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS and a major organizer of Nazi racial persecution and mass murder.

Goebbels

Joseph Goebbels, Nazi propaganda minister who controlled major propaganda and media efforts.

Hyperinflation

Extremely rapid price increases that greatly reduce the value of money.

Reichswehr/Wehrmacht

Reichswehr was Germany's post–World War I armed forces; Wehrmacht was the German armed forces under the Nazi regime from 1935.

Reparations

Payments imposed on Germany after World War I to compensate the victorious Allied powers for war-related costs and damages.

Mein Kampf

Hitler's political autobiography and ideological work outlining major Nazi beliefs and goals.

Aryan

Nazi racial term for people the regime falsely classified as belonging to a supposedly superior Germanic racial group.

Social Democrats

Supporters of Germany's Social Democratic Party, a major democratic political force opposed to Nazi dictatorship.

Weimar Republic

Germany's democratic government from 1919 until Hitler's dictatorship was established in 1933.

The Ruhr

Industrial region of western Germany occupied by French and Belgian forces in 1923 after Germany fell behind on reparations.

The Rhineland

Western German region along the Rhine that was demilitarized under the Treaty of Versailles until Hitler remilitarized it in 1936.

The Polish Corridor

Territory given to Poland after World War I that provided access to the Baltic Sea and separated East Prussia from the rest of Germany.

Treaty of Versailles

1919 peace treaty that ended the war between Germany and the Allied powers and imposed territorial, military, and financial restrictions on Germany.

Fascism

Authoritarian nationalist ideology emphasizing dictatorship, militarism, obedience, and suppression of political opposition.

Anti-Semitism

Hostility, prejudice, or discrimination against Jews; a central element of Nazi ideology.

The Poisonous Toadstool

Nazi antisemitic propaganda, including imagery portraying Jews as dangerous or harmful to society.

Kristallnacht

November 1938 Nazi-organized pogrom against Jews in Germany and Austria involving destruction, arrests, and killings.

Communists

Followers of communism; in Nazi Germany they were treated as major political enemies and persecuted.

Unions

Organizations formed by workers to represent their interests; independent unions were abolished by the Nazis.

Social Regimentation

Nazi effort to control and organize society through state-directed groups, institutions, and ideology.

Autocracy

System of government in which one ruler or a small group holds concentrated power.

Electoral Results 1930/33

Election results showing the major rise of Nazi electoral support between 1930 and the 1932–33 political crisis.

Legal Revolution

Transformation of Germany's legal and political system through laws and decrees that dismantled democracy and established Nazi rule.

Conservatives

Political groups favoring traditional institutions and order; some conservative leaders supported Hitler's appointment as chancellor.

Civil Service

Government employees and institutions; the Nazis purged or excluded Jews and political opponents from public service.

The Nazi Party

National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP), Hitler's political party that established a dictatorship in Germany.

The Center

The Catholic Center Party, a major German political party that was dissolved during the Nazi consolidation of power.

Four Power Blocs of Germany

The major political groupings described in the source's study framework for Germany's political landscape.

2/38

February 1938 reference in the study materials, associated with Hitler's increasing control over German foreign and military policy.

Armed Forces

Germany's military organizations; under Hitler they were expanded and rearmed in violation of Versailles restrictions.

Curriculum Changes

Nazi changes to education designed to promote racial ideology, nationalism, obedience, and loyalty to Hitler.

Guns and Butter

Phrase describing the tension between military spending and consumer/economic needs; Nazi policy prioritized rearmament while trying to maintain public support.

Munich Pact

1938 agreement allowing Germany to annex the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia in exchange for Hitler's promise of no further territorial expansion.

Czechoslovakia

Central European state targeted by Nazi expansion; Germany occupied the Sudetenland in 1938 and later destroyed the state as an independent country.

Sudetenland

German-speaking border region of Czechoslovakia annexed by Germany in 1938 after the Munich Pact.

Anschluss

1938 annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany.

Auschwitz

Nazi concentration and extermination camp complex in occupied Poland where enormous numbers of people, especially Jews, were murdered.

Working Toward the Fuhrer

Historian Ian Kershaw's concept describing how Nazi officials often anticipated Hitler's wishes and competed to carry out radical policies.

Ian Kershaw

Historian known for major scholarship on Hitler and Nazi Germany, including the concept of 'working toward the Führer.'

One Reich, One People, One Fuhrer!

Nazi slogan expressing the goal of a unified German state, people, and leadership under Hitler.

Euthanasia Program

Nazi program that murdered people with disabilities and others deemed 'unfit' under racist and eugenic ideology.

Blitzkrieg

German term meaning 'lightning war,' referring to rapid military operations combining movement, armor, aircraft, and coordinated forces.

Gestapo

Secret State Police of Nazi Germany, used to investigate, arrest, and terrorize political opponents and other targeted groups.

Concentration Camps

Detention camps established by the Nazi regime for political prisoners and later for many persecuted groups; some became sites of mass murder.

Richard Evans

Historian whose work examines the history of Nazi Germany and the causes and consequences of the Third Reich.

Lawrence Rees

Historian and documentary maker known for work on Nazi Germany and World War II, including interviews with survivors and participants.

The Road to War… (Kissinger and Beyond)

Study section examining the international developments and diplomatic choices leading toward World War II, including interpretations associated with Henry Kissinger and others.

Collective Security

International system in which states agree to respond together against aggression.

Realpolitik

Practical, interest-based approach to politics and diplomacy rather than one based primarily on ideology or moral principles.

League of Nations

International organization created after World War I to promote cooperation and collective security and help prevent future wars.

Article 231 (War Guilt)

Treaty of Versailles article assigning responsibility for causing the war as the basis for Germany's reparations obligations.

Bulwark against Bolshevism

Idea that Germany could serve as a barrier against the spread of Soviet communism/Bolshevism.