Study Guide: Rise of Totalitarianism, WWII, & The Holocaust

These flashcards cover key vocabulary terms related to the rise of totalitarian regimes, World War II, and the Holocaust.

Vladimir Lenin

A revolutionary leader who led the Russian Revolution and transformed Russia into a communist state.

Leon Trotsky

Leader of the Red Army, later labeled as an enemy of the state and forced into exile; died in Mexico in 1940.

Joseph Stalin

Leader of the Soviet Union from 1924-1953.

Gulag

Soviet network of forced labor camps established for political opponents and perceived enemies of the state.

Collectivization

A policy of forced abandonment of individual and family farms in favor of large-scale, communal agriculture.

Kulak

Wealthier Russian peasants during the late Russian Empire and early Soviet Union.

Holodomor

A term meaning 'death by starvation,' used to describe the famine orchestrated by the Communist Party from 1932-1934.

Gareth Jones

A British reporter who risked his life to report on the devastating forced-famine occurring in Ukraine.

Weimar Republic

The German government established post-WWI.

Reparations

Amends made for wrongs done, often by paying money or providing assistance to those wronged.

Hyperinflation

Rapid and unrestrained price increases in an economy, often exceeding 50% each month.

Brownshirts

The early Nazi militia founded by Hitler in Munich in 1921.

Beer Hall Putsch

A failed coup d’état by Hitler and the Nazis in 1923.

Reichstag

The lower house of the German parliament.

Fascism

A mass political movement emphasizing extreme nationalism, militarism, and the supremacy of a powerful leader.

Totalitarianism

A political system that prohibits opposition and exercises high control over public and private life.

Eugenics

The study of arranging reproduction within a human population to increase desirable heritable characteristics.

Appeasement

A diplomatic policy of making concessions to an aggressive power to avoid conflict.

Anschluss

A term meaning union with Austria.

Sudetenland

A region of Czechoslovakia that Germany annexed in 1938.

Lebensraum

A German term for living space; a Nazi concept of expansionism and nationalism.

Anti-Semitism

Hostility or prejudice against Jewish people.

Deicide

The act of killing God.

Ghetto

A designated area where a religious or ethnic minority is forced to reside.

Nuremberg Laws

Legislation passed in 1935 that established who was considered a Jew and stripped them of citizenship and rights.

Kristallnacht

'Night of broken glass,' a pogrom that killed hundreds of Jews and destroyed many businesses.

Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

A non-aggression agreement between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union that included a secret protocol.

Blitzkrieg

Meaning 'lightning war,' an intense military campaign intended for swift victory.

Einstazgruppen

Mobile killing units responsible for mass murders during World War II.

Katyn Massacre

A series of mass executions of Polish military officers and intelligentsia by the Soviet Union in 1940.

Phoney War

A term for the eight-month period at the start of World War II with limited military operations.

Maginot Line

A series of fortifications along the French border with Germany.

Operation Dynamo

The evacuation of over 338,000 Allied soldiers from Dunkirk, France, during WWII.

America First Committee

An isolationist pressure group against U.S. entry into WWII.

Operation Barbarossa

The Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in summer 1941; the largest land offensive in history.

Generalplan Ost

Nazi Germany's plan for the ethnic cleansing and extermination of Slavs and other groups.

Rape of Nanking

Attack on Nanking civilians by the Japanese military, including looting, rape, and mass murder.

Pearl Harbor

U.S. naval base attacked by Japan on December 7, 1941, prompting U.S. entry into WWII.

T4 Program

Nazi operation that secretly executed roughly 300,000 citizens with disabilities.

Operation Torch

An Allied invasion of French North Africa during WWII.

Battle of Midway

A pivotal naval battle resulting in a major defeat for Japan.

GI Bill

A law providing benefits to WWII veterans, including education and housing support.

Dorothea Lange

A celebrated photographer known for documenting American workers and Japanese internment.

Operation Overlord

The Allied invasion of mainland Europe aimed at liberating Nazi-occupied countries.

Manhattan Project

A research program during WWII to develop the first nuclear weapons.

Historiography

The study of how interpretations of events can change over time.