Galtung's Triangle of Violence and Causes of WWII

Vocabulary flashcards covering peace studies theories (Galtung's Triangle of Violence) and key terminology, figures, and historiography surrounding the main causes of WWII.

Direct Violence

A visible form of violence involving directly harming someone or something, such as through war, invasion, killing, or bombing.

Structural Violence

An invisible form of violence that occurs when political, economic, or social systems create harm, inequality, or prevent people from meeting basic needs.

Cultural Violence

The use of cultural aspects such as ethnicity, religion, language, or art to legitimize or excuse structural and direct violence.

Treaty of Versailles

The peace settlement signed on June 28, 1919, at the Palace of Versailles, ending the state of war between Germany and the Allies.

The Big Four

The victor nations—Britain, France, USA, and Italy—who negotiated the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and imposed them upon Germany.

Dawes Plan

A 1924 financial arrangement that provided American loans to prop up the German economy following post-WWI debt and hyperinflation.

Wall Street Crash

The event on October 24, 1929, that triggered the Great Depression, causing global bank failures, trade collapses, and mass unemployment.

Lebensraum

The Nazi concept meaning 'living space' in the East, set out by Adolf Hitler in his 1925 book Mein Kampf.

Hossbach Memorandum

A 1937 document recording Hitler informing his military commanders that war for living space was necessary and imminent.

Intentionalist Historians

Historians, such as Lucy Dawidowicz, who argue that Hitler possessed a coherent, planned programme for war from very early on.

Functionalist Historians

Historians, such as Hans Mommsen, who argue that Nazi aggressive policy evolved chaotically in response to changing circumstances.

League of Nations

The permanent international body created in 1920 under the Treaty of Versailles to maintain peace through collective security, arbitration, and disarmament.

Manchurian Crisis

A 1931 to 1933 conflict in which Japan invaded Manchuria and faced no effective punishment, demonstrating the League of Nations' inability to enforce collective security.

Abyssinian Crisis

A 1935 to 1936 conflict in which Italy invaded Abyssinia, exposing the failure of the League of Nations' sanctions.

Appeasement

The diplomatic policy, primarily associated with British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, of conceding to Hitler's territorial demands to avoid war.

Munich Agreement

An agreement reached on September 29–30, 1938, between Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, allowing Germany to annex Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland.

Guilty Men

A 1940 book advancing the traditional historiographical view blaming Neville Chamberlain for weakness and failure regarding appeasement.