Ap World Unit 4 Vocab

Armenian Genocide

Campaign of extermination undertaken by the Ottomans against two million Armenian people during World War I.

Balfour Declaration

British policy from 1917 that supported the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

Black Hand

Pre-WWI secret Serbian society that assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, sparking the outbreak of WWI.

Bolshevik

Russian communist party headed by Lenin.

Central Powers

Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman empire during WWI.

Dreadnoughts

Class of British battleships that made all other battleships obsolete overnight due to their heavy armaments.

February Revolution

1917 uprising in Russia resulting in the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II and the end of the Romanov dynasty.

Fourteen Points

Idealistic post-WWI peace proposal by Woodrow Wilson calling for self-determination and an international peacekeeping organization.

Gallipoli

Failed Allied campaign during WWI to control the Dardanelles and open a supply route to Russia, leading to heavy casualties.

Home front

Term referring to the civilian sector during WWI and WWII, highlighting the demands of total war.

League of Nations

Forerunner of the United Nations, initiated by Woodrow Wilson, though its effectiveness was limited as the United States did not join.

October Revolution

1917 seizure of power in Russia by the Bolsheviks, establishing a communist regime.

Paris Peace Conference

1919 meeting of victorious Allied powers to negotiate peace terms after WWI.

Self-determination

Belief that all peoples have the right to determine their own political destiny.

Sykes-Picot Treaty

Secret agreement between British and French to divide modern Middle East after WWI.

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

1918 peace treaty ending Russia's involvement in WWI and ceding territories to the Central Powers.

Treaty of Versailles

1919 treaty imposing heavy reparations and blame on Germany after WWI.

Triple Alliance

Pre-WWI alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy.

Triple Entente

Pre-WWI alliance of England, France, and Russia.

Twenty-one Demands

1915 list of demands issued by Japan to China seeking increased control.

Zimmerman Telegram

Secret communication from Germany to Mexico proposing a military alliance against the U.S.

Black Thursday

October 24, 1929, the day the U.S. stock market crashed, marking the beginning of the Great Depression.

Collectivization of Agriculture

Stalin's process of forcing Russian peasants onto state-run farms during the late 1920s.

Economic nationalism

Policies aimed at achieving economic self-sufficiency during the Great Depression.

Eugenics

Movement aimed at improving the gene pool influenced by racism; adopted by Nazi Germany.

Fascism

Far-right political ideology characterized by extreme nationalism and authoritarianism.

Five year plans

Stalin's economic plans determining all aspects of production in advance for five-year periods.

Great Depression

Global economic crisis beginning in 1929 marked by unemployment and economic stagnation.

Great Purge

Stalin's campaign of political repression between 1936-1938 against perceived threats.

Kristallnacht

Night of coordinated attacks on Jews in Germany in November 1938, escalating anti-Semitic violence.

Kulaks

Land-owning Russian peasants affected by Stalin's collectivization policies.

Lost Generation

Group of disillusioned intellectuals post-WWI critical of materialism.

National Socialism

Nazi ideology characterized by nationalism, militarism, and racial purity.

New Deal

Economic reforms introduced by Franklin D. Roosevelt to combat the Great Depression.

New Economic Policy

Lenin's plan that included minor free-market reforms.

Nuremberg Laws

1935 laws stripping Jews of citizenship in Nazi Germany.

Pogrom

Organized massacre of a specific ethnic group, particularly Jews.

Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act

1930 U.S. legislation increasing tariffs that worsened the global economic crisis.

Xenophobia

Irrational fear or hatred of foreigners, leading to exclusionary policies.

Chinese Communist Party

Political party founded in 1921 that organized the working class and led to the establishment of communist rule in China.

Dollar diplomacy

U.S. policy of extending influence through economic investments rather than military intervention.

Good Neighbor Policy

U.S. policy aimed at improving relations with Latin America.

India Act

1935 British Act transferring institutions of self-governance to India.

Indian National Congress

Major Indian political party leading the independence movement.

Long March

Military retreat of Chinese Communists that solidified Mao Zedong’s leadership.

May Fourth Movement

Movement demanding national unity and the end of imperialist influences in China.

Mukden Incident

1931 railway explosion used as a pretext for Japanese invasion of Manchuria.

Pan-Africanism

Movement promoting the unity of African people globally.

Satyagraha

Gandhi's principle of nonviolent resistance.

United Fruit Company

American corporation symbolizing U.S. imperialism in Central America.

Allied Powers

Alliance of the United States, Soviet Union, Great Britain, and China during WWII.

Anschluss

1938 union of Austria with Nazi Germany achieved through intimidation.

Appeasement

Policy of making concessions to Germany in the 1930s to maintain peace.

Auschwitz

Nazi concentration and extermination camp in occupied Poland.

Axis Powers

Alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan during WWII.

Battle of Britain

Air campaign by Germany against the UK in 1940, marking a significant defeat for Hitler.

Bay of Pigs

Failed U.S.-backed invasion of Cuba in 1961.

Berlin Wall

Barrier built by East Germany in 1961 to prevent East Berliners from fleeing.

Blitzkrieg

German rapid attack strategy using coordinated mobile forces.

Brezhnev Doctrine

Soviet policy of intervention in socialist countries.

Cold War

Geopolitical tension between the U.S. and Soviet Union from late 1940s to early 1990s.

Comfort women

Women forced into prostitution for Japanese troops during WWII.

Cuban missile crisis

1962 confrontation over Soviet missiles in Cuba, nearly leading to nuclear war.

D-Day

June 6, 1944 Allied invasion marking a turning point in WWII.

de-Stalinization

Khrushchev’s efforts to reform Soviet policies and lessen Stalin's oppressive practices.

Detente

Period of eased tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union in the 1970s.

Domino theory

Belief that if one nation fell to communism, neighboring countries would follow.

Final solution

Nazi plan for the systematic extermination of Jews.

German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

1939 agreement between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union to not attack each other.

Hiroshima

Japanese city devastated by the first atomic bomb in 1945.

Holocaust

Nazi genocide of Jews during WWII.

Iwo Jima

1945 battle crucial for U.S. strategy in the Pacific.

Kamikaze

Japanese suicide pilots during WWII.

Lebensraum

Hitler's term for expanding German territory in the east.

Luftwaffe

German air force during WWII.

Manchukuo

Japanese puppet state established in Manchuria after the 1931 invasion.

Marshall Plan

U.S. initiative offering economic aid to post-WWII Europe.

Munich Conference

1938 meeting granting Germany territory in Czechoslovakia.

Nagasaki

Japanese city destroyed by an atomic bomb, contributing to Japan’s surrender.

NATO

Military alliance formed in 1949 among Western nations.

Okinawa

Crucial battle in 1945 before the planned invasion of Japan.

Operation Barbarossa

Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.

Pearl Harbor

Surprise attack by Japan in 1941 leading to U.S. entry into WWII.

Prague Spring

1968 reform movement in Czechoslovakia crushed by Soviet invasion.

Rape of Nanjing

Japanese atrocities in the Chinese city during the 1930s.

Spanish Civil War

Conflict between Republicans and Nationalists in Spain leading to dictatorship.

Stalingrad

Key Soviet victory in WWII, marking a turning point on the Eastern Front.

Sudetenland

Region annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938.

Truman Doctrine

U.S. policy to contain communism globally starting in 1947.

United Nations

International organization established after WWII to promote peace and cooperation.

Vichy

French government collaborating with Nazi Germany during WWII.

Wannsee

1942 meeting planning the Final Solution.

Warsaw Pact

Military alliance formed by Soviet bloc nations in response to NATO.

African National Congress

Political party opposing apartheid in South Africa.

Apartheid

System of racial segregation and discrimination in South Africa.

Decolonization

Process through which colonies gained independence post-WWII.

Geneva Conference

1954 meeting addressing issues in Vietnam post-French defeat.

Great Leap Forward

Mao's campaign to rapidly industrialize China leading to famine.

Cultural Revolution

Mao's campaign to eradicate capitalist influences from Chinese society.

Intifada

Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation.