Western civ ww1

Nuremberg Trials

Post‑WWII military tribunals where Allied powers prosecuted Nazi leaders for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes against peace.

Genocide

The deliberate and systematic destruction of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group.

The Final Solution

Nazi Germany’s plan to exterminate all Jews in Europe through mass shootings, ghettos, and extermination camps.

Holocaust

The systematic, state‑sponsored murder of six million Jews and millions of others by Nazi Germany during WWII.

Warsaw Uprising

A 1944 Polish resistance revolt against German occupation, lasting 63 days before being crushed.

Kristallnacht

A 1938 coordinated attack on Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues across Germany and Austria, marking a major escalation of Nazi persecution.

Ghettos

Segregated, overcrowded urban districts where Jews were forcibly confined before deportation to camps.

Concentration camps

Detention centers where the Nazis imprisoned, exploited, and murdered millions through forced labor, starvation, and execution.

Wannsee Conference

A 1942 meeting where Nazi officials coordinated the implementation of the Final Solution.

Invasion of Normandy D Day

June 6, 1944 Allied invasion of German‑occupied France, opening a Western front and turning the tide of the war.

Antisemitism in Germany and Europe

Longstanding prejudice and discrimination against Jews that intensified under Nazi ideology.

Nuremberg Laws

1935 Nazi racial laws stripping Jews of citizenship and banning marriage or relations between Jews and non‑Jews.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill

British prime minister during WWII who inspired resistance against Nazi Germany.

Operation Barbarossa

Germany’s 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union, opening the Eastern Front.

Battle of Stalingrad

A major 1942–43 Soviet victory that became a turning point against Germany.

Operation Overlord

The Allied plan for the D Day invasion and liberation of Western Europe.

Blitzkrieg

German “lightning war” strategy using fast, coordinated attacks with tanks, aircraft, and infantry.

Fall of Paris

Germany’s capture of Paris in June 1940, leading to French surrender.

Miracle at Dunkirk

The evacuation of over 300,000 Allied troops from Dunkirk in 1940.

Battle of Britain

1940 air battle where the Royal Air Force successfully defended the UK from German bombing.

Spanish Civil War

1936–1939 conflict between Republicans and Nationalists that became a prelude to WWII.

Francisco Franco

Leader of the Nationalists who became dictator of Spain after winning the civil war.

When did World War II begin

September 1, 1939 when Germany invaded Poland.

Sudetenland and Czechoslovakia

Regions taken by Hitler as part of his expansion, justified by claiming to protect ethnic Germans.

Munich Conference

1938 meeting where Britain and France allowed Hitler to annex the Sudetenland in hopes of avoiding war.

Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain

British leader known for his policy of appeasement toward Hitler.

Appeasement

Giving in to aggressive demands to avoid conflict, which encouraged Hitler’s expansion.

Alsace Lorraine

Territory contested between France and Germany, regained by France after WWI but later occupied by Germany in WWII.

Remilitarization of the Rhineland

Hitler’s 1936 violation of the Treaty of Versailles by sending troops into the demilitarized zone.

Annexation of Austria

Germany’s 1938 takeover of Austria, known as the Anschluss.

Anschluss

The political union of Austria with Nazi Germany in 1938.

Nazi Party

Hitler’s political party promoting fascism, racism, and totalitarian rule.

Mein Kampf

Hitler’s book outlining his ideology, including anti‑Semitism and expansionism.

Lebensraum

The Nazi idea that Germany needed more “living space” through territorial expansion.

Aryan Race

Nazi racial concept claiming Germans were a superior “master race.”

The Great Depression

Worldwide economic crisis beginning in 1929 that destabilized governments and helped extremist movements rise.

Rise of fascism

Growth of authoritarian, nationalist movements in Europe, especially in Italy and Germany.

Benito Mussolini

Fascist dictator of Italy who allied with Hitler.

Adolf Hitler

Leader of Nazi Germany responsible for WWII and the Holocaust.

Weimar Republic

Germany’s democratic government after WWI, weakened by economic crisis and political instability.

Inflation

Rapid rise in prices that devastated the German economy in the early 1920s.

Dawes Plan

1924 plan to stabilize Germany’s economy through loans and restructured reparations.

Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points

Wilson’s proposals for post‑WWI peace, including self‑determination and a League of Nations.

The League of Nations

International organization created after WWI to maintain peace but weakened by lack of enforcement.

The Treaty of Versailles impact on Germany

Severely limited Germany’s military, required reparations, and took territory.

War guilt clause

Treaty provision placing full blame for WWI on Germany.

Paris Peace Conference

1919 meeting of Allied leaders to set terms for post‑WWI peace.

Treaty of Versailles

The treaty ending WWI that punished Germany and contributed to future tensions.

The big four: Wilson (US), George (Britain), Clemenceau (France), and Orlando (Italy)

Leaders who dominated the peace negotiations.

Total war

A war requiring complete mobilization of society, economy, and resources.

Planned economies

Government‑directed economic systems used during wartime to control production and resources.

Suffrage

The right to vote, expanded for women in many countries after WWI.

War of attrition

A strategy of wearing down the enemy through continuous losses.

Central Powers

WWI alliance of Germany, Austria‑Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria.

Allied Powers

WWI alliance of Britain, France, Russia, and later the US.

Unrestricted submarine warfare

German policy of sinking ships without warning, contributing to US entry into WWI.

Eastern Front

WWI fighting between Germany, Austria‑Hungary, and Russia.

Western Front

WWI fighting in France and Belgium characterized by trench warfare.

Trench warfare

Static, defensive fighting from deep trenches, causing stalemate.

No man’s land

The dangerous area between opposing trenches.

Triple Entente (France, Russia, Britain) and Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria‑Hungary, Italy).

Pre-WWI alliances

The Schlieffen Plan

Germany’s strategy to quickly defeat France by invading through neutral Belgium before turning to fight Russia

Stalemate

A situation where neither side can gain ground, common on the Western Front.

Alliances

Agreements between nations that contributed to the outbreak of WWI.

Imperialism

Competition for colonies that increased tensions among European powers.

Nationalism

Intense pride in one’s nation that fueled rivalries and independence movements.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

His 1914 assassination sparked the chain of events leading to WWI.

Germany’s Wars of Unification: Denmark, Seven Weeks, Franco Prussian

Conflicts led by Prussia that unified German states under Prussian leadership.

Balance of power

The idea of keeping nations’ strength equal to prevent dominance by one state.

Balkans

Region known as the “powder keg of Europe” due to ethnic tensions and rivalries.

Militarism

Glorification of the military and buildup of armed forces contributing to WWI.

Kaiser Wilhelm I

First emperor of unified Germany.

Otto von Bismarck

Prussian statesman who unified Germany through diplomacy and war.

Realpolitik

Politics based on practical goals rather than ideals.

Blood and Iron

Bismarck’s belief that military force and industry would unify Germany.

Unification German and Italian

Movements in the 1800s that created unified nation‑states in Germany and Italy.

Mazzini Cavour and Garibaldi

Key Italian leaders who helped unify Italy through nationalism, diplomacy, and military action.

Nationalism

Loyalty to one’s nation that drove unification movements and increased European tensions.