global history final

Coalition Government (Instability)

This means several political parties join together to form a government. In the Weimar Republic, there were too many parties, so coalitions were weak and fell apart often. This made the government unstable and unable to fix big problems.

Weimar Republic

This was Germany’s democratic government created after World War I in 1919. It had many problems like hyperinflation, unemployment, and blame for losing the war. These weaknesses helped extremists like Hitler rise to power.

Causes of the Great Depression

The Great Depression started with the 1929 stock market crash in the United States. Banks failed, factories closed, millions lost jobs, and world trade collapsed. This worldwide economic crisis caused anger and helped dictators gain power

Rise of Fascism

Fascism is a strong nationalist and militaristic movement. In Italy, Mussolini took power in 1922 and promised order and glory. In Germany, Hitler and the Nazis used the same ideas plus racism to take control in 1933 during the economic crisis.

Axis Powers

These were the main countries that fought against the Allies in World War II. They included Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan. They signed an alliance in 1940.

Appeasement

This was the policy of Britain and France to give Hitler what he wanted in order to avoid another war. For example, they allowed him to take Austria and part of Czechoslovakia. It failed because Hitler kept taking more land.

Treaty of Versailles

This was the 1919 peace treaty that ended World War I. It made Germany lose territory, limit its military, and pay huge reparations. Germans hated it and felt humiliated, which Hitler used to gain support.

Totalitarianism

This is a system where the government has complete control over every part of people’s lives. One dictator rules with one party, secret police, propaganda, and no freedoms. Examples include Nazi Germany under Hitler and the Soviet Union under Stalin.

Kristallnacht

This was a violent attack on Jews across Germany and Austria on November 9-10, 1938. Nazis and mobs smashed Jewish shops, burned synagogues, and arrested thousands of Jews. It showed the world that Nazi persecution was getting much worse.

Nazi invasion of Poland

On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland using fast Blitzkrieg tactics. This attack started World War II. Britain and France then declared war on Germany.

Blitzkrieg

This German word means “lightning war.” It was a fast attack method using tanks, airplanes, and soldiers working together. Germany used it to quickly conquer countries like Poland and France.

Battle of Stalingrad

This was a long and bloody battle from 1942 to 1943 on the Eastern Front. The Soviet Union defeated the German army. It was a major turning point because Germany began to lose the war after this.

Battle of the Bulge

This was Hitler’s last big attack in Western Europe in December 1944. German forces tried to break through Allied lines in Belgium but failed. It weakened Germany before the final defeat.

Nuremberg Trials

These were trials held after the war in 1945-1946 in Nuremberg, Germany. Nazi leaders were charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially the Holocaust. Many were executed or sent to prison.

Japanese Internment (USA)

After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, the U.S. government forced over 100,000 Japanese Americans into prison camps. Most were U.S. citizens. This is now seen as a major violation of civil rights.

Potsdam Conference

This 1945 meeting of Allied leaders divided Germany after the war. Stalin promised free elections in Eastern Europe but broke the promise and set up communist governments instead.

Iron Curtain

This term was used by Winston Churchill in 1946. It described the strong divide between the democratic countries of Western Europe and the communist countries of Eastern Europe controlled by the Soviet Union.

NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created in 1949. It was a military alliance between the United States, Canada, and Western European countries to protect against Soviet attack.

Warsaw Pact

This was the Soviet Union’s answer to NATO. It was a military alliance of communist countries in Eastern Europe formed in 1955.

Mao Zedong

He was the leader of the Chinese Communists. In 1949 he defeated the Nationalists and created the People’s Republic of China, a communist country.

Jiang Jieshi

He led the Chinese Nationalists. After losing to Mao in 1949, he and his followers fled to the island of Taiwan.

Korean War

In 1950, communist North Korea invaded South Korea. The United States and United Nations helped the South while China helped the North. The war ended in 1953 with no winner and the border still at the 38th parallel.

Great Leap Forward

This was Mao’s 1958-1962 plan to quickly industrialize China with communes and backyard factories. It failed badly and caused the worst famine in history, killing millions.

Cultural Revolution

This was Mao’s 1966-1976 campaign to remove his enemies and old traditions. Young Red Guards attacked teachers, officials, and anyone seen as not loyal. It created years of chaos and violence.

Ayatollah Khomeini (Iran)

He led the 1979 Islamic Revolution that overthrew the Shah of Iran. He created a strict Islamic Republic ruled by religious leaders and opposed the United States.

Nationalism in India (WWI)

After Indians helped Britain fight in World War I, they demanded independence. Nationalism grew as people wanted self-rule instead of British control.

Amritsar Massacre

In 1919, British troops fired on a peaceful crowd of Indians in Amritsar, killing hundreds. This event made Indians even more angry and determined to end British rule.

Mohandas Gandhi

He was the main leader of India’s independence movement. He used non-violent methods like civil disobedience and peaceful protests to fight British rule.

Salt March

In 1930, Gandhi led a 240-mile march to the sea to make salt and break the British salt tax law. This famous protest gained worldwide attention and support for independence.

Partition of India

When India gained independence in 1947, it was divided into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. The split caused massive violence and millions of refugees.

Battle for Kashmir

Since 1947, India and Pakistan have fought over control of Kashmir. It remains a disputed area and source of conflict between the two countries.

Negritude Movement

This was a movement in the 1930s-1950s by African writers to celebrate Black culture and identity. It opposed French colonial racism and built pride for independence.

Arab-Israeli Wars

These were several wars between Israel and Arab countries starting in 1948 after Israel was created. They were fought over land and recognition of Israel.

1956 Suez Crisis

Egypt took control of the Suez Canal from Britain and France. Britain, France, and Israel attacked but had to withdraw. It showed that European colonial power was ending.

Camp David Accords

In 1978, the United States helped Egypt and Israel make peace. Egypt recognized Israel and Israel gave back the Sinai Peninsula.

Six-Day War

In 1967, Israel fought and quickly defeated Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. Israel gained important territories including the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem.

Rise of the Taliban

The Taliban were strict Islamist fighters who took control of Afghanistan in 1996. They imposed harsh religious laws and later sheltered terrorists.

South African Apartheid

This was a system of laws from 1948 to 1994 that separated races and gave all power to the white minority. Blacks had few rights and lived under strict rules.

Nelson Mandela

He was the leader of the fight against apartheid in South Africa. He spent 27 years in prison and became the country’s first Black president in 1994 after apartheid ended.

Mikhail Gorbachev (USSR)

He was the last leader of the Soviet Union. He introduced Perestroika (economic reforms) and Glasnost (more openness) to try to save communism, but it led to the Soviet collapse.

Perestroika

This was Gorbachev’s policy of economic restructuring to fix the failing Soviet economy. It allowed some private business but came too late to save the system.

Ethnic cleansing in Bosnia

During the 1990s breakup of Yugoslavia, Serb forces killed and forced out Bosnian Muslims in a campaign called ethnic cleansing. The worst example was the Srebrenica massacre.

Solidarity Union (Poland)

This was an independent trade union led by Lech Walesa. It peacefully challenged communist rule in Poland starting in 1980 and helped lead to the end of communism in Eastern Europe.

Tiananmen Square

In 1989, Chinese students and workers protested in Beijing for democracy and against corruption. The government sent tanks and soldiers to crush the protests and killed many people.