The Rise of the Third Reich

Adolf Hitler

Austrian-born Dictator of Germany implemented Fascism and caused WWII and the Holocaust. Believed WWI was a betrayal by the Jews and Bolsheviks. Realized party must come to power illegally

Reichstag

the parliament of Germany before 1945 (and the name of its building). Previously the general assembly of the Holy Roman Empire, and later the North German Confederation. After 1949 it was replaced with the current German parliament, the Bundestag.

Reichwehr

German Army who hate the SA. Nationalists, want to restore the army.

SA or Brownshirts

Hitler's private army. Storm Troopers who killed anyone who didn't like Hitler or who Hitler didn't like

Ernst Rohm

Leader of the SA (another paramilitary organization, a part of the old Nazi party, predecessor to SS) German officer and early Nazi leader, was executed by Hitler as a potential rival

Heinrich Himmler

German Nazi who was chief of the SS and the Gestapo and who oversaw the genocide of six million Jews (1900-1945)

Herman Goring

Commander of german air-force, Hitlers senior military officer. Captured by US forces and found guilty of war crimes, involvement in holocaust and sentenced to death at Nuremberg. Committed suicide in jail.

Joseph Goebbels

German propaganda minister in Nazi Germany who persecuted the Jews (1897-1945)

Rudolph Hess

prominent politician in Nazi Germany. He was appointed Deputy to Adolf Hitler

Hindenburg

A war hero, was elected to be german president when he was 84 and in poor health. the nazis took full advantage of his old age

The SS

The (Schutzstaffel) was the elite guard of the Nazi regime and a virtual state within the Third Reich. Controlled police, death camps, secret police, etc.

The Enabling Act

An act pushed through the Reichstag by the Nazis that gave Hitler absolute dictatorial power for four years.

Night of the Long Knives

30th June 1934. Nazi purge of Ernst Rohm and the SA

Concordat

a formal agreement - especially one between the pope and a government, dealing with the control of Church affairs

Reichstag Fire

February, 1933; the Reichstag was set on Fire by a secret order of Joesef Goebbels; called a communist plot;Hitler convinced president Hindenburg to suspend all civil rights for Communists, socialists, liberals, and trade unionists

Facism

A political system headed by a dictator that calls for extreme nationalism and racism and has no tolerance for opposition

Lebensraum

Hitler's expansionist theory based on a drive to acquire "living space" for the German people

Rhineland

A region in Germany designated a demilitarized zone by the Treaty of Versailles; Hitler violated the treaty and sent German troops there in 1936

Mussolini

founded fascism and ruled Italy for almost 21 years, most of that time as dictator. He dreamed of building Italy into a great empire, but he led his nation to defeat in World War II (1939-1945) and was executed by his own people.

Sudtenland

german region of Czechoslovakia annexed by Hitler into Germany. Contained richest land for mining and farming

Neville Chamberlain

1938; gullible British Prime Minister; declared that Britain and France would fight if Hitler attacked Poland.

Munich Conference

1938 conference at which European leaders attempted to appease Hitler by turning over the Sudetenland to him in exchange for promise that Germany would not expand Germany's territory any further.

Polish Corridor

A strip of German territory awarded to newly independent Poland by the Treaty of Versailles. gave Poland access to the Baltic Sea and separated East Prussia from the rest of Germany. large minority of the population was German-speaking, caused friction between Poland and Germany, culminating in the German invasion of Poland in 1939

Non-Aggression Pact

Germany and the Soviet Union signed this pact and promised not to attack each other. Germany offered Stalin control of Eastern Poland and the Baltic States.

Maginot Line

Line of defense built by France to protect against German invasion. Stretched from Belgium to Switzerland.

Winston Churchill

A noted British statesman who led Britain throughout most of World War II and along with Roosevelt planned many allied campaigns. He predicted an iron curtain that would separate Communist Europe from the rest of the West.

Battle of Dunkirk

Allied forces met the Germans in Belgium, the Allies where pushed back to the beaches in Dunkirk they were rescued by private boats evacuating them across the English Channel

Blitzkrieg

"Lighting war", typed of fast-moving warfare used by German forces against Poland in 1939.

Battle of Britain

An aerial battle fought in World War II in 1940 between the German Luftwaffe (air force), which carried out extensive bombing in Britain, and the British Royal Air Force, which offered successful resistance. Britain won

Pearl Harbor

Base in hawaii that was bombed by japan on December 7, 1941, which eagered America to enter the war.

Stategic Bombing

Br. bomb at night; US: bomb during the day; Allies begin to bomb military bases feul depots, factories, anything that is . military target

D-Day

June 6, 1944 - Led by Eisenhower, over a million troops (the largest invasion force in history) stormed the beaches at Normandy and began the process of re-taking France. The turning point of World War II.

Roosevelt

President of the US during almost all of WWII

Hirohito

Emperor of Japan during WWII

Shogun

In feudal Japan, a noble similar to a duke. They were the military commanders and the actual rulers of Japan for many centuries while the Emperor was a powerless spiritual figure.

Stalingrad Battle

Major battle of WWII in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in Southern Russia, on eastern boundary of Europe.

General Tojo

Japanese army officer who initiated the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and who assumed dictatorial control of Japan during World War II

Manchukuo

Japanese puppet state established in Manchuria in 1931

Harry Truman

Became president when FDR died; gave the order to drop the atomic bomb

Commodore Perry

the Commodore of the U.S. Navy who compelled the opening of Japan to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854.

Dismantle treaty of Versailles, Unite german people in one country, Living space

what were Hitler's 3 goals?