Holocaust & WWII Vocabulary Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering the rise of Hitler, Nazi ideology, propaganda themes, and the specific mechanisms used during the Holocaust.

German Workers' Party (DAP)

The political party Hitler first attended a meeting for in 1919.

Beer Hall Putsch

A failed 1923 coup attempt in Munich led by Adolf Hitler, which resulted in his arrest.

Mein Kampf

The book written by Hitler while he was in prison in 1924, outlining his ideology.

Enabling Act of 1933

Legislation that dismantled German democracy by allowing Hitler to pass laws without the Reichstag, even if they deviated from the Constitution.

The S.A.

A violent Nazi militia group used to recruit men and attack enemies of the party.

Hitler Youth

Nazi political clubs for children aged 10–18 years old.

Lebensraum

A core Nazi policy meaning 'living space,' used to justify the demand for territory such as the Polish corridor.

Anschluss

The annexation of Austria by Germany which took place from March 11–13, 1938.

Autarky

A key Nazi policy referring to German economic self-sufficiency.

Social Darwinism

A theory based on Eugenics aimed at perfecting the 'Aryan' race through the exclusion of minorities.

Ein Reich Ein Volk Ein Fuhrer

A policy meaning 'One empire, one people, one leader,' asserting that Germany needed a dictatorship rather than a democracy.

Deutschland Uber Alles

A principle meaning 'Germany over all else,' prioritizing the nation's wellbeing above all others.

Classification

The first of the 10 stages of genocide, characterized by an 'us vs them' mentality (e.g., German vs Jew).

Dehumanisation

The stage of genocide where members of a targeted group are equated with animals or disease.

Joseph Goebbels

The Propaganda Minister of Nazi Germany and chief instigator of Kristallnacht.

Kristallnacht

Meaning 'The Night of Broken Glass,' a wave of violent anti-Jewish pogroms on November 9 and 10, 1938.

Nuremberg Race Laws

Discriminatory legislation that stripped Jewish people of their citizenship and civil rights.

Evian Conference

A 1938 meeting in France where 32 countries discussed the Jewish refugee crisis, resulting in no significant efforts to relax immigration policies.

Kindertransport

An effort in 1939 that sent over 10,000 children from Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia to the UK to save them from Nazi persecution.

Sir Nicholas Winton

An individual who played a major role in the Kindertransport by helping to evacuate Jewish children aged 0–17.

Oneg Shabbos

A secret archive created by historian Emanuel Ringelblum to document daily life in the Warsaw Ghetto and Nazi crimes.

Judenrate

Jewish councils established by Nazis to administer ghettos and carry out orders, including organizing deportations.

Wannsee Conference

A January 1942 meeting in Berlin between SS and state officials to coordinate the 'Final Solution' for 11,000,000 Jews.

Einsatzgruppen

Mobile Nazi killing units formed by the SS that carried out mass killings of Jews, Roma-Sinti, and Soviet officials.

Operation Barbarossa

The June 1941 code name for Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union.

The SS (Schutz-staffel)

A paramilitary group established by Heinrich Himmler in 1929, responsible for the execution of the Final Solution.

The Gestapo

The secret police of Nazi Germany, established by Hermann Goring in 1933, known for interrogation and torture.

Lo Ta'amod al dam Ra'echa

A Jewish ethical principle meaning 'Do not stand idly by the blood of your fellow,' serving as a mitzvah to act against suffering.