Key Terms

Treaty of Versailles

1919 peace treaty that punished Germany after WWI with harsh terms, leading to resentment and economic crisis.

Weimar Republic

Germany’s democratic government from 1919–1933, blamed for losing WWI and signing the Treaty.

Hyperinflation

A period in early 1920s Germany when money lost all value, causing chaos and distrust in the government.

Nationalism

Extreme pride in one's country; used by Nazis to justify expansion and superiority.

Communism

Political ideology promoting class equality; feared by many, used by Nazis to gain support.

Antisemitism

Hatred or prejudice against Jewish people; central to Nazi beliefs.

NSDAP / Nazi Party

Hitler’s political party that rose to power in Germany by promising to fix economic and national problems.

Adolf Hitler

Leader of the Nazi Party and Germany (1933–45); led the country into WWII and orchestrated the Holocaust.

Joseph Goebbels

Nazi propaganda minister who spread Nazi messages and antisemitic ideas.

The Great Depression

Global economic crash in 1929; hit Germany hard and helped Nazis gain power.

The League of Nations

Weak international peacekeeping group after WWI; failed to stop aggression in the 1930s.

European Theatre

The part of WWII fought in Europe, mainly between Nazi Germany and Allied forces.

Pacific Theatre

Area of WWII fighting between Japan and the Allies across Asia and the Pacific.

Tripartite Pact

1940 agreement between Germany, Italy, and Japan to form the Axis Powers.

Munich Agreement

1938 deal where Britain and France let Hitler take part of Czechoslovakia to avoid war (appeasement).

Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

1939 secret agreement between Nazi Germany and the USSR to not attack each other and split Poland.

The Axis Powers

Alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan during WWII.

The Allied Powers

Countries fighting against the Axis, mainly Britain, USA, USSR, France, and others.

Invasion of Manchuria

1931 Japanese takeover of part of China; start of Japanese aggression in Asia.

Winston Churchill

British Prime Minister during most of WWII; strong leader against Hitler.

Invasion of Abyssinia

1935 Italian invasion of Ethiopia, showing the League’s failure to stop aggression.

Benito Mussolini

Fascist leader of Italy who joined Hitler and Japan in the Axis.

The Hoare-Laval Pact

Failed 1935 British-French deal that tried to appease Italy for invading Abyssinia.

Appeasement

Giving in to an aggressor to avoid conflict; used with Hitler before WWII.

Japanese expansionism

Japan’s aggressive takeover of Asia for resources and power.

Bombing of Darwin

1942 Japanese attack on Australia, the largest ever on Australian soil.

Fall of Singapore

1942 capture of British stronghold by Japan; major loss for Allies and Australia.

Bombing of Pearl Harbour

Surprise 1941 Japanese attack on US naval base; brought the USA into WWII.

The Kokoda Campaign

1942 battles in Papua New Guinea where Australians fought to stop Japanese invasion.

Propaganda

Biased media used to shape opinions; Nazis and Allies used it during WWII.

Classification

First stage of genocide—dividing people into groups (e.g., Jews vs. Aryans).

Symbolisation

Using symbols to identify groups (e.g., Jews had to wear the yellow star).

Discrimination

Denying rights (e.g., under the Nuremberg Laws).

Dehumanisation

Making people seem less than human (e.g., comparing Jews to rats).

Polarisation

Dividing society and silencing moderates (e.g., Kristallnacht).

Organisation

Planning genocide (e.g., SS and Nazi government).

Preparation

Victims forced into ghettos, camps; plans for extermination made.

Extermination

Mass killings in camps (e.g., Auschwitz).

Persecution

Targeted attacks on Jews' rights, lives, and communities.

The Nuremberg Laws

1935 Nazi laws stripping Jews of citizenship and banning intermarriage.

The Yellow Star badge

Symbol Jews were forced to wear to identify themselves.

Ghettos

Enclosed city areas where Jews were forced to live in terrible conditions.

Concentration camps

Places where Jews and others were imprisoned, tortured, and used for forced labor.

Death camps

Special camps designed for mass murder (e.g., Treblinka, Auschwitz).

The Final Solution

Nazi plan to exterminate all Jews in Europe.

The Wannsee Conference

1942 meeting where Nazi leaders planned the Final Solution.

The SS

Hitler’s elite force who ran the camps and carried out mass killings.

Pogrom

Violent attacks against Jews (e.g., Kristallnacht).

Kristallnacht

1938 “Night of Broken Glass” – Jewish businesses, homes, and synagogues destroyed.

Aryanisation

Removing Jews from jobs and businesses, giving them to non-Jews.

Der Stürmer

Nazi newspaper spreading antisemitic lies.

Lebensraum

Nazi idea of needing “living space” for Germans in Eastern Europe.

Volksgemeinschaft

Nazi idea of a “people’s community” that excluded Jews and minorities.

Operation Barbarossa

1941 German invasion of the Soviet Union, breaking the Nazi-Soviet pact.

Einsatzgruppen

Nazi killing squads who shot Jews in Eastern Europe before camps.

Heinrich Himmler

SS leader who helped run the Holocaust.

1933 Boycott of Jewish businesses

Nazis told Germans not to shop at Jewish stores.

Global warming

Long-term rise in Earth’s temperature.

Anthropogenic Climate Change

Climate change caused by human activity.

Natural Climate Change

Climate change from natural events like volcanoes or solar cycles.

Environment

The natural world around us, including land, air, water, and life.

Urbanisation

Growth of cities as more people move from rural areas.

Atmosphere

The air layer surrounding Earth.

Biosphere

All living things on Earth.

Lithosphere

Earth’s crust and upper mantle (landforms).

Hydrosphere

All water on Earth (oceans, rivers, lakes, etc.).

Interconnection (environmental change)

How one environmental change can cause another.

Direct environmental change

Immediate, visible impacts (e.g., cutting trees).

Indirect environmental change

Long-term or chain effects (e.g., pollution causing ocean warming).

Enhanced greenhouse effect

More gases trap more heat = Earth warms faster.

Deforestation

Cutting down forests for farming or building; harms ecosystems.

PQE

Pattern, Quantify, Explain – a method to describe geographical data.

SHEEPT

Factors causing change: Social, Historical, Economic, Environmental, Political, Technological.

Short-term environmental change

Quick changes (e.g., flood, fire).

Long-term environmental change

Gradual changes (e.g., climate change, desertification.