Rise of Totalitarianism and Post-WWI Peace Treaties

A set of vocabulary flashcards detailing the rise of totalitarian dictators Stalin, Mussolini, Hitler, Tojo, and Franco, alongside the consequences of the WWI peace settlements and the struggles of the Weimar Republic.

Totalitarianism

A political system characterized by a single-party dictatorship, rule through fear and terror, total command over the economy, and the use of censorship and propaganda.

Joseph Stalin

The leader of the Soviet Union after Vladimir Lenin who transformed the USSR into an industrialized power through Five Year Plans and a total command economy.

Collectivization

Stalin's policy of converting approximately $25$ million individually owned farms into large state-controlled grain factories to modernize agriculture.

Holodomor

A man-made famine in Ukraine between $1932$ and $1933$ caused by forced collectivization, resulting in an estimated death toll of $6$ to $7$ million people.

Benito Mussolini

The leader of the Italian Fascist Party known as "Il Duce" who seized power in $1922$ and aimed to return Italy to the glory of the Roman Empire.

Blackshirts

The fascist followers of Mussolini who marched on Rome in $1922$ and helped him seize political control.

OVRA

The secret police force established in Italy under Benito Mussolini's fascist rule.

Corporate State

Mussolini's economic system where government agencies oversaw private industries for the benefit of the state to stabilize the economy.

Adolf Hitler

The leader of the Nazi Party who became Chancellor of Germany in $1933$, establishing a totalitarian state based on nationalism and racial purification.

Gestapo

The secret state police of Nazi Germany responsible for suppressing political opposition and enforcing racial policies.

Dolchstosslegende

The "stab in the back" myth which claimed that the German army was not defeated on the battlefield but was betrayed at home by socialists, Jews, and democratic politicians.

Hyperinflation

An extreme economic event in $1923$ Germany where the value of the mark collapsed, leading to a loaf of bread costing $201,000,000,000$ marks by November of that year.

Hideki Tojo

The military leader and Prime Minister of Japan who preached service to the state, glorified war, and oversaw expansion into China and Manchuria.

Rape of Nanjing

The $1937$ massacre in which the Imperial Japanese Army captured Nanjing and killed an estimated $200,000$ to $300,000$ Chinese civilians.

Francisco Franco

The leader of the Nationalists who won the Spanish Civil War ($1936$-$1939$) with help from Hitler and Mussolini, establishing a long-term dictatorship.

Falange

The one-party government established in Spain under Francisco Franco's rule.

Paris Peace Conference

The $1919$ meeting of victorious Allied Powers to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following World War I.

The Big Four

The dominant leaders at the Paris Peace Conference: David Lloyd George (Britain), Georges Clemenceau (France), Woodrow Wilson (USA), and Vittorio Orlando (Italy).

Fourteen Points

President Woodrow Wilson's idealistic plan for peace, which emphasized national self-determination and the establishment of a League of Nations.

Treaty of Versailles

The primary $1919$ peace treaty between the Allies and Germany that imposed territorial losses, military restrictions, and massive reparations.

Clause 231 (War Guilt Clause)

The provision in the Treaty of Versailles that forced Germany to accept full responsibility for causing all the loss and damage of World War I.

Reparations

Compensatory payments imposed on defeated nations; Germany's were eventually calculated at $33,000,000,000$ in $1921$.

League of Nations

An international organization founded after the Paris Peace Conference with the mission to maintain world peace and promote international cooperation.

Diktat

The term used by Germans to describe the Treaty of Versailles, signifying a dictated peace settlement they were forced to sign without negotiation.

Weimar Republic

The democratic government of Germany established in $1919$ that suffered from economic instability and political revolts before its collapse in $1933$.

Article 48

The "suicide clause" of the Weimar Constitution that allowed the President to rule by decree and suspend democracy during a state of emergency.

Proportional Representation

The electoral system of the Weimar Republic where a party's seats in the Reichstag were based on its total percentage of the national vote.

Dawes Plan

A $1924$ agreement that reduced German reparations and provided US loans of $25$ billion to help rebuild Germany's industrial capacity.

Gustav Stresemann

The German Foreign Minister from $1924$ to $1929$ who stabilized the economy, ended hyperinflation, and led Germany into the League of Nations.

Locarno Treaties

The $1925$ agreements where Germany, France, and Belgium agreed to respect existing borders and the demilitarization of the Rhineland.

Young Plan

A $1929$ revision of German reparations that set a time limit for payments to last until $1988$ and reduced the annual amount owed.