History Lecture Notes Review

Flashcards generated from lecture notes on historical concepts, Treaty of Versailles, Weimar Government, rise of Hitler and the Nazis, World War II, the Cold War, and turning points in South Africa's history.

What is a Primary Source?

Sources that come from the time being studied or soon after the event, providing first-hand evidence.

What is a Secondary Source?

Sources created some time after the event has passed, interpreting primary sources to provide an overview.

What is Bias?

Favouring or disfavouring a particular side/perspective, identifiable through emotive or persuasive language.

What is Attitude in historical analysis?

The creator’s or historian’s feeling towards the historical event, either supportive (positive) or critical (negative).

What is the Intention behind the creation of a source?

The purpose of the source, such as informing, persuading, recruiting, commenting, or criticising.

What is Reliability of a historical source?

The extent to which a historian can trust the contents of a source, determined by its origin, intention, and limitations.

What is Usefulness of a historical source?

The extent to which the historian can use the information within the source for their research purposes, dependent on the source’s value and relevance.

What were the major terms of the Treaty of Versailles?

Germany had to accept blame for WWI, reduce its military, lose territory, pay reparations, demilitarize the Rhineland, form the League of Nations, and try officials as war criminals.

Why was the Treaty of Versailles unpopular in Germany?

Many Germans were bitter and angry towards the Weimar Government for signing the Treaty of Versailles and felt humiliated for losing WWI.

Why was the Weimar Government unpopular?

The Weimar Republic approved the Treaty of Versailles, experienced hyperinflation and economic ruin, and had a parliament with too many parties and no clear majority.

What factors contributed to the growth of the Nazi Party?

Hitler's ability to speak, hatred towards the Weimar Government, and the promise of a stronger Germany.

What does Fuhrerprinzip mean?

Removing democracy and replacing it with one leader who had complete control and authority over everything.

What factors influenced the Nazi’s electoral success in 1932?

The Great Depression, fear of Communism, weakness of the Weimar Republic, organization of the Nazis, and the role of Hitler.

What happened when Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933

Hitler was appointed Chancellor on 30 January 1933, where he began the process of Nazification in Germany. However, Hitler was careful to do this through legal means.

What was the significance of the Reichstag Fire Decree?

The Reichstag Fire Decree dismantled key constitutional rights and laid the foundation for Nazi dictatorship.

What was the Enabling Act of 1933?

This Act gave the government (Nazis) the power to pass any laws without consulting parliament. Hitler had proposed the Enabling Act earlier on but it was rejected by parliament until the Reichstag fire. This Act gave Hitler dictatorial powers.

What was the Volksgemeinschaft?

Hitler hoped that racial impurities would be removed from society. originally exclude Jews, the mentally ill, people with severe learning disorders, and people with genetic disabilities.

What was the Night of the Long Knives?

A purge of Hitler’s political opponents and SA (Stormtroopers/brownshirts) leadership that took place between 30 June 1934 and 2 July 1934 that was carried out by the SS and the Gestapo (secret police).

What was the purpose of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin?

To present Nazi Germany to the world.

What were the goals of Hitler's foreign policy?

Overturn the Treaty of Versailles, expand into Eastern Europe, unite German-speaking people, contain Communism, revive the military, form alliances, and implement the “Final Solution”.

What were the Nuremburg Laws?

Antisemitic laws that stripped German Jews of almost all rights and removed their right of citizenship.

What was Kristallnacht?

A series of pogroms against the Jewish population in Germany and recently incorporated territories on November 9–10, 1938, that came to be called because of the shattered glass that littered the streets after the vandalism and destruction of Jewish-owned businesses, synagogues, and homes.

What were the purposes of Nazi concentration camps?

To incarcerate perceived security threats, eliminate targeted groups, and exploit forced labour.

What was the Holocaust?

The systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million European Jews by the Nazi German regime and its allies and collaborators.

What was the main purpose of Ghettos?

Ghettos enabled Nazis to isolate Jews from the general population, giving themselves greater control.

What is appeasement?

A diplomatic strategy where a country makes concessions to an aggressive foreign power in an effort to avoid war.

Who fought in WWII

The Allies consisted of U.S., Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and China and The Axis consisted of Germany, Italy, and Japan.

What was the significance of Pearl Harbor?

Japan attacked the American naval fleet in Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, in order to destroy the Pacific fleet, they could continue their conquest of China.

Why did the U.S. and USSR feel threatened by each other?

The USA developed the atomic bomb, which was kept a secret from the USSR and The USA believed that the USSR wanted to spread communism all over Europe and the USSR believed that the USA wanted to end communism and dominate Europe.

What problem did the beginning of then Nuclear Age create for Super Powers?

Created a problem for the Super Powers. In the past, when countries competed for power and influence, they went to war. The winner of the war determined who was stronger and who would dominate world affairs.

What were the two sides of the Cold War?

The Capitalist West led by the USA and The Communist East led by the USSR

How did the superpowers compete?

Used propaganda to convince people of their beliefs and Used spies to gather information about each other and Gave aid to smaller, poorer countries win their support (proxy wars) and Provided finances and weapons to countries during their civil wars.

What was decided at that Yalta Confernence?

At the Yalta Conference the Allied leaders realised they were going to win the war and decided that Germany needed to be divided into four zones to be controlled by one of the Allies, including France. The idea was that they would administer these zones until they were running smoothly again and ready to hold elections.

What was were the significances of the Truman Doctrine?

Created anti-Communist hysteria in America that led to the Red Scare of the 1950s, Convinced the Soviets that America was a threat to Soviet Communism, substantially inflaming the Cold War, Created a “sphere of influence” in Western Europe – reliance on American money.

What the Brlin Blockade?

The Berlin Blockade took place between 24 June 1948 and 12 May 1949 whereby the Soviets attempted to force the Western Allies out of Berlin by blocking off all entry points

Why was the Berlin wall constructed?

Conflict for control of Berlin had been going on since 1949 and Living standards in West Berlin were much higher than in East Berlin

What was the Arms Race?

After the US had developed, tested, and used the atomic bomb, many other countries followed suit in developing their own nuclear weapons. By 1949 the Soviet Union had successfully developed their own nuclear weapons. The threat of nuclear war became imminent once both the superpowers had these weapons at their disposal.

What was the Space Race?

The Space Race was a competition between the USA and the USSR for status in the eyes of the world disguised under the excuse of scientific experimentation and exploration.

How was the Cuban Missle Crisis resolved?

After the blockade, the US agreed to secretly remove its missiles from Turkey, and the USSR removed its missile bases from Cuba.

Why was 1948 a turning point in SA History?

The NP victory in 1948 was a turning point in South Africa’s history because it is the start of the policy of Apartheid.

What were the policies if Bantustans (Reserve Land)

The government turned the reserves into ten separate “homelands’, or ‘Bantustans’ that were meant to give Africans full political rights in these ‘homelands and they would be able to vote for their own rulers and develop separately and independently from whites.

What were some Apartheid Laws?

All public spaces were segregated, All political parties which the government did not agree with/like were banned and deemed as communist, Black children received an inferior and specialised education, Set up a system of ‘homelands’ or ‘Bantustands’ for black people to live in, Classified people into different race groups, All black men had to carry ‘passes’ in order to move through the rural and urban areas, Special areas set aside for different race groups, and No marriage between a person of colour and a white person.

What was a characterisitic of Repression and resistance to Apartheid?

During the 1940s-1960s resistance to the apartheid government was classified as “non-violent” . However, after the Sharpeville Massacre, the ANC and PAC were forced to go underground and began adopting more forceful methods of resistance (1970s-1980s).

What were the methods of the Defiance Campaing (1952)?

The ANC and SAIC planned a programme of civil disobedience by large groups of Africans who would deliberately break the law to challenge the apartheid regime.

What was the Freedom Charter (1955)?

The Freedom Charter was a landmark document in the history of South Africa’s struggle against apartheid that outlined the core principles and demands of the South African Congress Alliance.

What was the significance of the Women's March (1956)

The 1956 Women’s March, also known as the Women's March to the Union Buildings. that was led by some of South Africa’s most prominent anti-apartheid activists as a pivotal event in the history of South Africa’s struggle against apartheid and one of the most important demonstrations of women’s political activism in the country .

What happened at the Sharpeville Massacre (1960)?

The Sharpeville Massacre occurred on March 21, 1960, in the township of Sharpeville. It was a brutal massacre by heavily armed police on unarmed protesters that drew global attention to the brutality of the apartheid regime.

What was the Rivoria Trial (1962)?

Was when Nelson Mandela gave one of the most famous speeches in South African history in his defence stating to fight against white domination, and to live for and to achieve a democratic society and free of equal oppertunites in which all people live together in harmony.

What was the Soweto Uprising (June 1976)?

Was when students in Soweto organised a protest march to demand the right to be taught in their native languages and to protest against the broader system of racial inequality