move to global war germany

Schlieffen Plan

failed plan to eliminate a two-front war for Germany

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

treaty that takes Russia out of WWI

"Stabbed in the back"

phrase said by Paul von Hindenburg that stated the army did not lose the war (the politicians did)

Treaty of Versailles

treaty that ended WWI and put severe punishments on Germany

Georges Clemenceau

leader of France at the end of WWI; wanted Germany to never rise up again

Woodrow Wilson

US president who created the Fourteen Points

League of Nations

organization created to try and prevent war from occurring again after WWI

Article 231

"War Guilt Clause" of the Treaty of Versailles

Article 232

"Reparations Clause" of the Treaty of Versailles

Rhineland

demilitarized zone

"Gross Deutschland"

term that states Germany should be unified with any place that had German minorities under the rule of other states (such as Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Poland)

Anschluss

German for "union"; used to describe Austria's unification with Germany

Lebensraum

German for "living space"

Freikorps

German military volunteer/paramilitary units common in early 1920s Germany

Kapp Putsch

failed coup d'etat by German military in Berlin; led to capital being moved to Weimar

Munich Putsch

failed coup d'etat by Adolf Hitler that led to his arrest

Mein Kampf

"My Struggle"; book written by Adolf Hitler in prison

Gustav Stresemann

chancellor and foreign minister of Germany during the Golden Years

Kellogg-Briand Pact

agreement signed by Stresemann on behalf of Germany that outlawed war in many countries

Locarno Treaty

agreement signed by Stresemann on behalf of Germany that solidified Germany's western borders but left the eastern borders open to future negotiation

Locarno Spring

term for the hope of a new period of peace after the 1925 Locarno Treaty

Rapallo Treaty

treaty signed between Germany and the USSR in 1922 that had secret provisions for Germany to illegally train their military in Russia

Reichstag fire

event after Hitler became chancellor that allowed for him to take freedoms away from the people

Enabling Act

legislation that gave Hitler the power to pass laws without the Reichstag's consent

Gleichschaltung

term for "Nazifying" politics and society in Nazi Germany

Disarmament Conference

conference of the League of Nations that led Hitler to withdraw from the League of Nations after France did not want to disarm to Germany's military level

Plebiscite

term for a special vote that allowed areas to return to Germany

Saar

region of Germany rich with coal

Franco-Soviet Mutual Assistance Treaty

agreement between France and the USSR that Hitler said violated the Locarno Pact

Guernica

location in Spain that became "target practice" for the new German air force

Condor Legion

Germany's air force that was used in the Spanish Civil War

Rome-Berlin Axis Pact

agreement between Hitler and Mussolini that made Germany and Italy allies

Hossbach Memorandum

a document that was considered Hitler's "last will and testament"; those that had hesitations about Hitler's plans were removed from power

Four-Year Plan

a plan that stated Germany would be ready for war in four years' time; Germany traded war material to Eastern Europe in exchange for food and raw materials

Sudeten Crisis

event in which Hitler wanted to take over the German parts of Czechoslovakia

Berchtesgaden

meeting between Hitler and Chamberlain that stated Sudeten German areas would be transferred to Germany

Godesberg

meeting between Hitler and Chamberlain which showed Hitler's desire for German troops to occupy the Sudetenland within a week

Munich

meeting between Hitler and Chamberlain that allowed for full German occupation of the Sudetenland and Germany agreed to the independence of the rest of Czechoslovakia

"Liquidation of Czechoslovakia"

event in which Hitler decided to take over the rest of Czechoslovakia anyway

Poland

country that Hitler invaded that actually started World War II

Pact of Steel

agreement between Germany and Italy that they would come to each other's aid if either one were attacked by Britain or France

Nazi-Soviet Pact

agreement between Germany and the USSR to invade and divide Poland; was a non-aggression pact in which neither country would attack each other

Phoney War

term for the declaration of war across Europe in 1939 but no action taking place in Western Europe

Stresa Front

a formal protest against Hitler's rearmament that reaffirmed their commitment to the Locarno treaty

Non-Intervention Committee

the decision of many European countries to stay out of the Spanish Civil War (only France and Britain actually did)