WWs: WWII Intro Vocabulary

Imperial Army

Name of Japanese Army

Communism

A theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state.

Fuhrer

Adolf Hitler's title as chancellor and head of state in Germany.

Western Allies

United States, Britain, France

Mein Kampf

'My Struggle' by hitler, later became the basic book of nazi goals and ideology, reflected obsession

Homefront

The efforts by many that were home in the U.S. to support the war effort. The home-front was called to support the war effort by supporting rationing, buying war bonds, and planting Victory gardens.

Wehrmacht

The term used for regular German army.

Red Army

the name of the Soviet Union's military

Luftwaffe

the German air force before and during World War II

Dictatorship

A government controlled by one person or a small group of people

Democracy

A political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them

Holocaust

A methodical plan orchestrated by Hitler to ensure German supremacy. It called for the elimination of Jews, non-conformists, homosexuals, non-Aryans, and mentally and physically disabled.

Capitalism

An economic system based on private ownership of capital

Totalitarianism

A political system in which the government has total control over the lives of individual citizens.

Fascism

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

Munich Pact

Signed in 1938 between Great Britain, Germany, and France that gave part of Czechoslovakia to Germany; Chamberlain said it guaranteed "peace in our time"

Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

Agreement between Germany and Soviet Union that they would not invade each other and would split Poland prior to WWII; Germany broke pact during WWII and was defeated

Treaty of Versailles

the treaty imposed on Germany by the Allied powers in 1920 after the end of World War I which demanded exorbitant reparations from the Germans... Leads to WWII

Anti-Semitism

hostility to or prejudice against Jews.

Appeasement

A policy of making concessions to an aggressor in the hopes of avoiding war. Associated with Neville Chamberlain's policy of making concessions to Adolf Hitler.