Zionism
A movement founded in the 1890s to promote the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine
Zimmerman Telegram
The event that finally pushed America into WW1. In this intercepted document the German government offered to help Mexico reclaim American territory.
Weimar Republic
Democratically elected government which replaced the German empire at the end of WWI. Its leaders were blamed for signing the Versailles Treaty. It became especially unpopular in the Great Depression.
War of Attrition
A prolonged war or period of conflict during which each side seeks to gradually wear out the other by a series of small-scale actions.
U-boats
Also known as submarines, Germany used these to attack ships often carrying civilians.
Total War
When a nation's domestic population and its military is committed to winning a war. All of the state's resources are dedicated to the cause.
Trench Warfare
A type of warfare characteristic of the Western front in WW1; Long ditches dug in the ground with the excavated earth banked in front to defend against enemy fire; soldiers slept, ate and fought here for months at a time.
Spanish Flu/1918 Influenza Pandemic
Influenza outbreak at the end of WW1; led to deaths of 50-100 million people.
Spanish Civil War
Conflict in Spain; took on global significance as a struggle between fascism and democracy; Hitler intervened with the luftwaffe to support Franco's troops.
Rwanda Genocide
1994 Ethnic Hutu Militias took advantage of Rwanda's political turmoil and began killing Tutsi civilians
Reparations
An outcome of the Versailles Treaty; Germany was forced to pay billions to the allies for the War; contributed to German economic instability in the 1920s.
Propaganda
Communication meant to influence the attitudes and opinions of a community around a particular subject by spreading inaccurate or slanted information.
Paris Peace Conference
The peace conference that decided the terms of WWI peace and Treaty of Versailles.
Operation Barbarossa
The invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War.
New Deal
A group of policies and programs introduced by FDR in the United States to address the economic fallout of the Great Depression. Its goal was to bring relief, recovery, and reform to the American economy.
National Socialism
This party came to power in Germany legally after winning many parliamentary seats in 1932; Hitler was leader of the party.
Militarism
Aggressive military preparedness; celebration and romanticizing of war and the armed forces. A long-term cause of WW1.
Mao Zedong
Leader of the Chinese Communist Party; led the Long March.
Mandate System
A new form of colonialism established through the League of Nations which allowed WW1 victor states such as Britain, France and Japan to increase their imperial holdings by taking over former Central Powers territory.
Luftwaffe
Germany's Air Force
Long March
A year long, 6,000-mile-long retreat of Mao's communist forces into the interior of China, where they trained in hiding.
League of Nations
An organization established by the Versailles Treaty. It was created to be a forum where representatives of states could meet to discuss conflicts openly and avoid war. The United States did not join the organization.
Keynesian Economics
This economic theory argues that governments should use deficit spending to stimulate economic activity. It is a rejection of pure Laissez-Faire capitalism in favor of some government intervention to stimulate economic growth.
Indian National Congress
Indian nationalist group formed to work for rights and power for Indians under British rule.
Holocaust
The Nazi campaign to eliminate European Jews; known as the Final Solution; at least 6 million Jews and 6 million other "non-desireables" were murdered in this genocide.
Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
Territories that came under Japan in WW2 were called this; included Philippines, Dutch East Indies, British Malaya, Burma & numerous Pacific islands; Japan claimed to be liberating people from Western Imperialism.
Great Depression
Agricultural overproduction and the United States' stock market crash in 1929 were two major causes of this global economic downturn.
Genocide
The murder of a group of people based on their race, religion, or ethnicity.
Fourteen Points
Woodrow Wilson's list of ideas for rebuilding and creating a lasting peace in Europe after WW1. These ideas were discussed at the Paris Peace Conference. The creation of the League of Nations was one of the implemented ideas.
Five Year Plan
Plans outlined by Joseph Stalin in 1928 for the development of the Soviet Union's economy; wanted to rebuild the Soviet economy after WW1; tried to improve heavy industry and farm output, but resulted in famine.
Firebombing
Air warfare carried out by the US and other allies; a new type of deadly combat to civilians; German cities Hamburg and Dresden destroyed; a bombing technique designed to damage a target through the use of fire, caused by incendiary devices.
Fascist Corporatist Economy
An anti-capitalist economy where government controlled corporations and had political influence through them.
Fascism
A new political system that appealed to extreme nationalism, glorified the military and armed struggle, and blamed problems on ethnic minorities. This political system has no tolerance for opposition and actively promotes using violence for political ends.
Conscription
Compulsory enlistment in the armed forces
Collectivize
In the Soviet Union; a process by which farmland was taken from private owners and given to collectives to manage. Many farmers retaliated by killing livestock and burning crops; resulted in famine.
Central Powers
Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire were the major powers comprising this bloc during WWI.. Before the outbreak of fighting this alliance was called the Triple Alliance.
Bolsheviks
A party of revolutionary Marxists; led by Lenin, seized control of Russia in 1917.
Battle of Britain
German Luftwafe bombardment of British military bases and later British cities. Also called the Blitz.
Balfour Declaration
Statement issued by the British Government stating that Palestine should become a permanent home for the Jews of Europe.
Atomic Bomb
A weapon of mass destruction developed in the US in which in which enormous energy is released by nuclear fission; first used during WWII on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Armenian Genocide
An event which resulted in 600,000- 1.5 million Armenians being killed in the Ottoman Empire during WWI. Armenians were targeted because the Ottomans feared Christian Armenians were cooperating with the Russian Army.
Appeasement/Munich
European powers, including Britain followed this policy leading up to WWII. They agreed to cede territory, such as the Sudetenland, to Hitler in hopes of keeping the peace.