AQA GCSE History Section A: Germany 1890-1945 Vocabulary

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering Germany from 1890 to 1945, including the Kaiserreich, Weimar Republic, and Nazi Dictatorship.

Kaiser

The ruler over all the states of Germany; established in 1871 when the king of Prussia became the national leader.

Bundesrat

A council in the German political system made up of representatives from each German state.

Reichstag

The German parliament elected by men over the age of 25, which debated and voted on laws drawn up by the Kaiser and ministers.

Militarism

The belief that a country should maintain strong armed forces; in Germany, Prussian military culture formed the foundation of the newly united state.

Weltpolitik

Meaning 'world policy', it was Kaiser Wilhelm II's strategy to transform Germany into a global power with an empire to rival Britain's.

Social Democratic Party (SPD)

A political party popular among German workers that believed in socialism and called for equal distribution of power and wealth.

Navy Laws

A series of laws introduced between 1898 and 1912 that massively increased funding to rapidly expand the size of the German Navy.

Kiel Mutiny

An October 28, 1918 mutiny by German sailors that spread across the country, leading to worker and soldier councils governing cities and forcing the Kaiser to abdicate.

Friedrich Ebert

Leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who temporarily took control of Germany on November 9, 1918, and led the new Weimar Government.

Spartacists

The German Communist Party, led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, which launched an unsuccessful revolution attempt in January 1919.

Freikorps

Ex-World War I soldiers paid by Friedrich Ebert's government to maintain order and suppress communist rebellions.

Weimar Constitution

The set of rules created in 1919 establishing Germany as a democracy with a President voted every 7 years, a Chancellor voted every 4 years, and voting rights for adults over 20.

Proportional Representation

The voting system under the Weimar Constitution that allocated seats based on percentage of votes, leading to many small parties in the Reichstag and frequent disagreements.

Article 48

A clause in the Weimar Constitution allowing the President to rule by emergency decree without consulting the Reichstag.

Treaty of Versailles

The June 1919 peace settlement that forced Germany to accept war guilt, pay £6.6 billion in reparations, reduce its army to 100,000 men, demilitarise the Rhineland, and lose 13% of its land.

Diktat

The term used by Germans to describe the Treaty of Versailles, meaning a 'dictated peace'.

Kapp Putsch

A right-wing rebellion in 1920 led by Wolfgang Kapp and backed by the Freikorps in an effort to overthrow the Weimar Government.

Passive Resistance

A policy of non-violent non-cooperation adopted by German workers in the Ruhr in 1923, involving strikes, sabotage, and refusing to produce goods for invading French and Belgian troops.

Rentenmark

The temporary new currency introduced by Gustav Stresemann in late 1923 to stabilize the economy and end hyperinflation.

Dawes Plan

A 1924 economic agreement that provided an 800,000,000 mark loan from the United States to assist Germany's recovery.

Young Plan

A 1929 agreement that reduced Germany's reparations bill by 67%.

Locarno Treaties

A series of 1925 treaties in which Germany agreed to accept its western borders with France.

Reichstag Fire

A 1933 arson attack on the parliament building that Hitler used to blame communists and pass emergency decrees restricting civil liberties.

Enabling Act

A 1933 law passed by the Reichstag that granted Hitler the power to enact laws without parliament's consent for 4 years.

Night of the Long Knives

An event in 1934 where Hitler ordered the execution of approximately 400 SA leaders, including Ernst Röhm, to eliminate political threats.

Führer

The supreme title adopted by Hitler after merging the offices of Chancellor and President following the death of President Hindenburg.

Gestapo

The Nazi secret police force responsible for monitoring citizens' loyalty and arresting state enemies.

Reich Labour Service (RAD)

A compulsory Nazi program requiring men aged 18 to 25 to complete 6 months of manual labour such as tree felling and ditch digging.

German Labour Front (DAF)

The Nazi organization that replaced independent trade unions to manage workers and settle employment disputes.

Strength through Joy (KDF)

A state-run organization designed to structure workers' leisure time by offering discounted events, holidays, cruises, and schemes to save for VW Beetle cars.

Autarky

The policy of economic self-sufficiency aimed at making Germany independent of foreign imports, especially during wartime.

Concordat

The 1933 agreement signed between Hitler and the Pope stating that the Nazi state and the Catholic Church would not interfere in each other's affairs.

Nuremberg Laws

Anti-Semitic legislation enacted in 1935 that stripped German Jews of citizenship and banned marriage or sexual relations between Jews and German citizens.

Kristallnacht

A state-instigated violent attack on November 1938 against Jewish businesses, homes, and synagogues across Germany.

Untermensch

A Nazi term meaning 'sub-humans', used to classify groups targeted for persecution, such as Jews, Gypsies, and Slavs.

Edelweiss Pirates

A working-class youth opposition movement that attacked members of the Hitler Youth and aided concentration camp escapees.

Swing Youth

A middle-class youth group that rejected Nazi culture by listening to jazz music and frequenting clubs.

White Rose Movement

A group formed by university students that distributed anti-Nazi leaflets urging Germans to oppose World War II.

Confessional Church

An independent Protestant movement established by pastors such as Martin Niemöller and Dietrich Bonhoeffer to oppose Nazi state interference in religion.