Key Historical Terms and Events

Flashcards covering important historical terms, events, and figures from the lecture notes.

Irish Republican Army (I.R.A.)

Militant group fighting for Irish independence from Britain, especially active during the early 20th century.

Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk)

Founder of modern Turkey; led reforms to secularize and modernize the nation after WWI.

Locarno Treaties (1925)

Agreements to guarantee European borders and promote peace after WWI.

Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928)

International agreement to outlaw war as a means of national policy.

Washington Naval Conference (1921–22)

Meeting to limit naval arms among major world powers to avoid conflict.

Années folles

"Crazy years" in 1920s France, marked by cultural, artistic, and social dynamism after WWI.

Flappers

Young women of the 1920s who defied traditional norms with bold fashion and behavior.

Guglielmo Marconi

Italian inventor of wireless telegraphy; pioneer of modern radio communication.

B.B.C. (British Broadcasting Corporation)

Britain’s main public broadcaster, established in 1922.

Lumière Brothers

Early French filmmakers who helped invent motion pictures.

Josephine Baker

American-born entertainer who became a French icon and civil rights activist.

New Physics

Revolutionary 20th-century developments in physics, including relativity and quantum theory.

Postmodernism

Cultural movement rejecting absolute truths, emphasizing fragmentation and skepticism.

Marie Curie

Physicist and chemist who discovered radioactivity; two-time Nobel Prize winner.

Max Planck

Physicist who originated quantum theory, altering our understanding of energy and matter.

Albert Einstein

Theoretical physicist who developed the theory of relativity, reshaping physics.

Theory of Relativity

Einstein’s theory that space and time are relative to the observer’s speed.

Friedrich Nietzsche

Philosopher who criticized religion and morality; promoted ideas like the "übermensch."

Nihilism

Belief in the absence of objective meaning, purpose, or value in life.

Übermensch

Nietzsche’s ideal superior individual who creates their own values beyond traditional morality.

Georges Sorel

French thinker who emphasized the power of myth and violence in political movements.

Sigmund Freud

Austrian founder of psychoanalysis, exploring the unconscious mind’s role in behavior.

Psychoanalysis

Freud’s method of treating mental illness by exploring the unconscious.

Young Fascists

Youth organizations in Fascist Italy aimed at indoctrinating children with fascist ideology.

March on Rome (1922)

Mussolini’s mass demonstration that led to his appointment as Prime Minister of Italy.

O.V.R.A.

Mussolini’s secret police force that suppressed political opposition in Fascist Italy.

Lateran Accords (1929)

Agreements between Mussolini and the Catholic Church recognizing Vatican City as an independent state.

Fascism

Far-right, authoritarian political ideology emphasizing nationalism, dictatorship, desires and conflicts.

Herbert Spencer

Philosopher who applied evolutionary theory to human societies ("Social Darwinism").

Social Darwinism

Application of "survival of the fittest" ideas to justify social inequality and imperialism.

Dadaism

Avant-garde art movement rejecting logic and embracing absurdity and chaos post-WWI.

Surrealism

Art and literary movement exploring dreams, the unconscious, and irrational imagery.

Salvador Dalí

Spanish surrealist artist known for bizarre, dreamlike paintings like The Persistence of Memory.

Virginia Woolf

British modernist writer known for novels using stream-of-consciousness technique (Mrs. Dalloway).

James Joyce

Irish modernist writer, author of Ulysses, known for complex language and stream-of-consciousness style.

Carl Jung

Swiss psychologist who developed theories of archetypes, the collective unconscious, and personality types.

Black Tuesday

October 29, 1929, the day the U.S. stock market crashed, sparking the Great Depression.

John Maynard Keynes

British economist advocating for government intervention to stabilize economies.

Labour Party

British political party promoting workers' rights and social justice; gained strength after WWI.

Popular Front

Leftist coalition governments in Europe (notably France and Spain) opposing fascism in the 1930s.

Bank Runs

Mass withdrawals of money from banks during financial crises, often causing bank collapses.

Dust Bowl

Severe droughts and dust storms during the 1930s that devastated U.S. farming regions.

New Deal

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s program to provide economic relief, recovery, and reform during the Great Depression.

Squadristi

"Black shirts" – Fascist paramilitary groups in Italy that used violence to intimidate political opponents.

Il Duce

Title meaning "The Leader," used by Benito Mussolini, head of Fascist Italy.

Night of the Long Knives (1934)

Purge in which Hitler eliminated SA leaders and other political enemies.

Autobahn

German highway system expanded under Hitler as a symbol of national strength and to reduce unemployment.

Schutzstaffeln (SS)

Elite Nazi military organization responsible for enforcing Nazi policies and running concentration camps.

Gestapo

Nazi secret police force tasked with suppressing opposition and enforcing Nazi rule.

Hermann Göring

High-ranking Nazi official, head of the Luftwaffe (Air Force), and a key figure in the regime.

Heinrich Himmler

Leader of the SS and a principal architect of the Holocaust.

Joseph Goebbels

Nazi Minister of Propaganda who controlled media and promoted Nazi ideology and suppression of opposition.

Benito Mussolini

Italian dictator and founder of Fascism; ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943.

German Revolution (1918–1919)

Political upheaval that ended the German Empire and led to the Weimar Republic.

Weimar Republic

Democratic government of Germany between WWI and the rise of Hitler (1919–1933).

Paul von Hindenburg

German general and president who appointed Hitler as Chancellor in 1933.

Rentenmark

Currency introduced in Germany (1923) to stabilize hyperinflation during the Weimar Republic.

Dawes Plan (1924)

U.S.-backed plan to restructure Germany’s reparations and stabilize its economy.

Freikorps

Right-wing paramilitary groups composed mainly of WWI veterans; fought against communists in Germany.

Stab-in-the-back myth

False belief that Germany was betrayed internally (especially by Jews and communists) in WWI, rather than militarily defeated.

Adolf Hitler

Leader of the Nazi Party who became dictator of Germany and instigated WWII and the Holocaust.

Mein Kampf

Hitler’s autobiography outlining his ideology of Aryan supremacy and anti-Semitism.

Sturmabteilung (brown shirts)

Nazi paramilitary force used to intimidate rivals and protect Nazi rallies.

Beer Hall Putsch (1923)

Failed Nazi coup attempt in Munich; Hitler was arrested and imprisoned.

N.S.D.A.P. (Nazi Party)

National Socialist German Workers' Party; Hitler’s political party in Germany.

Reichstag Fire (1933)

Fire at the German parliament building, used by Nazis to justify cracking down on communists and consolidating power.

Enabling Act (1933)

Law giving Hitler dictatorial powers by allowing him to enact laws without parliamentary approval.

Society of the Godless

Soviet organization promoting atheism and opposing religious institutions during Stalin’s rule.

Komsomol

Communist youth organization in the Soviet Union aimed at training young people in party loyalty.

Spanish Civil War (1936–1939)

Conflict between Republicans and Nationalists in Spain; Nationalists under Franco ultimately won.

Francisco Franco

Spanish general who led the Nationalists to victory in the Spanish Civil War and ruled as dictator until 1975.

Abraham Lincoln Brigade

American volunteers who fought for the Republicans against fascism in the Spanish Civil War.

Appeasement

Policy of making concessions to aggressive powers (like Nazi Germany) to avoid conflict.

Lebensraum

Hitler’s idea of "living space" for Germans, used to justify expansion into Eastern Europe.

Rome-Berlin Axis (1936)

Alliance between Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany.

Blitzkrieg

"Lightning war"; German military strategy emphasizing rapid, overwhelming attacks.

Neville Chamberlain

British Prime Minister associated with the policy of appeasement toward Hitler.

Sudetenland

Region of Czechoslovakia with many ethnic Germans; annexed by Hitler.

Aryanism

Racist belief in the superiority of the "Aryan" (pure Germanic) race, central to Nazi ideology.

Führerprinzip

Nazi leadership principle stating that the Führer's word is absolute and unquestionable.

Nuremberg Race Laws (1935)

Nazi laws that institutionalized racial discrimination, especially against Jews.

Triumph of the Will

Propaganda film directed by Leni Riefenstahl glorifying Hitler and the Nazi Party.

Kristallnacht (1938)

"Night of Broken Glass," violent Nazi attacks on Jewish businesses, synagogues, and homes.

Hyperinflation

Extreme devaluation of currency, notably experienced in Weimar Germany in the early 1920s.

U.S.S.R.

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; communist state established after the Russian Revolution.

Joseph Stalin

Soviet dictator who industrialized the USSR, led during WWII, and initiated mass purges.

Great Purge

Stalin’s campaign of political repression, involving mass arrests, executions, and labor camps.

Collective farm

Large government-controlled farms formed by consolidating smaller private farms in the Soviet Union.

Five Year Plans

Stalin’s programs for rapid industrial and economic growth in the USSR.

Holodomor

Man-made famine in Soviet Ukraine (1932–1933) causing millions of deaths.

Gulag

Soviet system of forced labor camps for political prisoners and dissidents.

Siege of Leningrad

Prolonged German blockade of the Soviet city of Leningrad (1941–1944) causing mass starvation.

Battle of Stalingrad

Major Soviet victory in WWII; turning point against Germany on the Eastern Front.

Pearl Harbor (1941)

Surprise Japanese attack on U.S. naval base in Hawaii; led the U.S. to enter WWII.

Erwin Rommel

German general, known as the "Desert Fox," who led forces in North Africa.

Afrika Korps

German expeditionary force in North Africa under Rommel.

El Alamein (1942)

Key Allied victory in North Africa, turning the tide against Axis forces.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during WWII; later became U.S. President.

D-Day (June 6, 1944)

Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France at Normandy, crucial for liberating Western Europe.

George S. Patton

Aggressive and successful U.S. general during WWII, known for leading armored divisions.