Paper 1 Germany and Italy Vocab

Treaty of Versailles (1919)

Peace treaty ending WW1, which Germany aimed to revise.

Locarno Treaties (1925)

Agreements aimed at securing post-WW! borders; undermined later by German aggression.

Stresa Front (1935)

Agreement between Britain, France, and Italy to oppose German rearmament; later collapsed.

Anglo-German Naval Agreement (1935)

Britain allowed Germany to expand its navy, violating Versailles.

Rome-Berlin Axis (1936)

Military and political alliance between Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany.

Anti-Comintern Pact (1936)

Agreement between Germany, Italy, and Japan against communism.

Pact of Steel (1939)

Full military alliance between Italy and Germany.

Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (1939)

Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact including secret territorial protocols.

Reoccupation of the Rhineland (1936)

German troops remilitarized this demilitarized zone.

Anschluss (1938)

Annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany.

Sudeten Crisis (1938)

Hitler's demand for ethnic German areas of Czechoslovakia.

Munich Agreement (1938)

Britain and France allowed Hitler to annex the Sudetenland.

Invasion of Czechoslovakia (1939)

Full occupation of Czech lands by Germany.

Invasion of Poland (1939)

Triggered WWII; Germany invaded after signing pact with USSR.

Invasion of Albania (1939)

Italy's annexation of Albania under Mussolini.

Abyssinian Crisis (1935-36)

Italy's invasion of Ethiopia, exposing League of Nations' weakness.

Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)

Conflict where both Germany and Italy supported Franco's nationalists.

Adolf Hitler

Führer of Nazi Germany; key figure in expansionist policies.

Benito Mussolini

Fascist dictator of Italy; pursued imperial ambitions in Africa and the Balkans.

Neville Chamberlain

British Prime Minister associated with policy of appeasement.

Joseph Stalin

Soviet leader who signed the non-aggression pact with Hitler.

Haile Selassie

Ethiopian emperor who appealed to the League after Italy's invasion.

Lebensraum

Hitler's concept of 'living space' for German expansion.

Fascism

Authoritarian ultranationalist ideology under Mussolini.

Nazism

German variant of fascism emphasizing racial purity and anti-Semitism.

Autarky

Economic self-sufficiency pursued by both Germany and Italy.

Irredentism

Policy of reclaiming lost or "unredeemed" territories.

Militarism

Belief in military power as a tool of national policy.

Anti-Communism

Common ideological basis for Nazi and Fascist alliances.

Appeasement

Policy of giving in to aggressors to maintain peace.

League of Nations

Ineffective in preventing aggression by Germany and Italy.

Hoare-Laval Pact (1935)

Secret plan to appease Italy in Abyssinia; heavily criticized.

Non-Intervention Committee

Western policy during Spanish Civil War, ignored by Germany and Italy.

Collective Security

League's principle that was undermined by lack of enforcement.

Sanctions

Economic penalties imposed on Italy after Abyssinia, but not enforced effectively.

Orthodox View

Germany and Italy as primary aggressors violating peace treaties.

Revisionist View

Some blame placed on Western powers for weak resistance and Versailles.

Counterfactual History

Debates over whether stronger responses could have prevented WWII.