History Review - WWII and Nazi Germany

Flashcards to review key concepts from lecture notes on WWII and Nazi Germany, covering topics from Hitler's rise to power to the Holocaust and the end of the war.

Who were the candidates in the 1932 presidential election in Germany?

Paul von Hindenburg, Adolf Hitler, and Ernst Thalmann

What was the outcome for Hindenburg in the 1932 presidential election?

He was reelected with 53% of the vote in the second round.

What was the result of the July 1932 Reichstag elections?

The Nazi party became the largest party with 37.4% of the vote, but still lacked a majority.

When was Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany?

January 30, 1933

What did the Nazis use the Reichstag fire to justify?

The Reichstag Fire Decree, which suspended civil liberties and allowed them to intimidate opponents.

What act, passed in 1933, gave complete power to Hitler and the Nazi party?

The Enabling Act

How did Hitler consolidate power after Hindenburg's death?

He combined the titles of Chancellor and President, becoming known as Der Fuhrer.

What happened to trade unions and the Communist party under Hitler's rule?

They were banned.

How did Hitler force parties to vote for him?

Through fear and intimidation.

What happened to professionals, judges, teachers, and doctors under Nazi rule?

They had to join the Nazi party or be fired.

Where were law courts placed under Nazi control?

Nazi Germany

Where were opponents of the Nazis sent?

Concentration camps run by the SS

What is a police state?

A state where police have complete power to arrest, punish, and execute anyone considered an enemy of the state without using normal law.

Which organizations were used to crush opposition to the Nazis?

The SS and the Gestapo

Name three of the first concentration camps set up for political prisoners.

Dachau, Buchenwald, and Sachsenhausen

What does the term 'anti-Semitic' mean?

Hatred of Jewish people.

What was Hitler and the Nazis' goal regarding Jewish people?

To eliminate all Jewish people to 'purify' German society and create the master race.

What happened to the Jews of Germany between 1933 and 1938?

They lost all their rights.

What action did Hitler order against Jewish businesses and professionals in 1933?

A boycott of Jewish shops, doctors, and lawyers.

What happened to Jewish people who worked at universities, schools, post offices, and government departments?

They were fired.

What did the Nuremberg Laws of 1935 forbid?

Marriages and sexual relations between Jews and citizens of German blood, and the ability for Jews to be German Citizens.

What happened on the 9th and 10th of November 1938?

Jewish shops, homes, and synagogues were attacked.

Besides Jewish people, who else were sent to concentration camps?

Communists, socialists, and others.

Why were Jehovah's Witnesses sent to concentration camps?

They refused to swear allegiance to Hitler and disobeyed civil laws against their beliefs.

Which group of people were considered 'impure' by Hitler and killed?

Roma (Gypsies)

Why were homosexuals persecuted by the Nazis?

They were considered a threat to the prosecution of the master race.

How were Slavs used in the concentration camps?

They were used as slave labor.

What happened to blacks and people of mixed race under Nazi rule?

They were sterilized and over 400 were killed.

What happened to mentally or physically disabled people in Nazi Germany?

They were sterilized and subjected to euthanasia.

What were some characteristics of Nazi Germany that define it as a fascist state?

There was one leader, the Führer, and no individual human rights.

What were Hitler's main aims that led to WWII?

To create a united Germany and an aggressive expansionist policy.

What treaty did Hitler want to break the terms of?

The Treaty of Versailles.

What actions did Hitler take in 1935 to prepare for war?

He began to rearm Germany and reintroduced conscription.

What event triggered the declaration of war on Germany in September 1939?

Britain and France declared war on Germany.

What event marked the outbreak of World War II?

When Britain and France declared war on Germany for invading Poland.

Which countries formed the Axis powers?

Germany, Italy, and Japan

What was the initial reaction of Britain and France to Hitler's violations of the Treaty of Versailles?

Britain and France did nothing when Hitler broke the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.

When did Britain and France declare war on Germany?

When Hitler invaded Poland.

When did the USSR join the Allies?

In June 1941 when Hitler invaded the USSR.

When did the Nazis increase their persecution of Jews?

After Kristallnacht.

What happened to the Jewish people living in the Soviet Union after the Nazis invaded Russia in 1941?

Special groups called the Einsatzgruppen (death squads) were formed to kill them.

Who ended these killings of 1.5 million people because it was causing too much stress for the men doing the killing?

Himmler.

What decision was taken in mid-1941 regarding the Jewish population?

The decision to systematically exterminate the Jews.

Where were death camps established as part of the Final Solution?

Six death camps were set up in Poland, including Auschwitz-Birkenau and Treblinka.

When aurrvig in the death camps, How were The transported Jewish people being classified?

Auschwitz was one to gas chambers, another to labour camps, and the last group(twins and dwarfs) to be expirimented on

Approximately how many Jews were killed by the Nazis during the Holocaust?

At least 6 million Jews.

Who created a movement that posted pamphlets condemning Hazi polices and Hazi Treatment of the Jews

Sophie Scholl and the White Rose Movement

Who created an organisation that resisted the Nazis and helped all of those who were prosecuted

Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Confessing Church

What was one instance were armed jews fought back against the Nazis?

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

How did the Jewish Fighting Organization prepare for resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto?

They built underground passages and bunkers and smuggled weapons into the ghetto.

What are examples of 1941 events that influenced WWII?

Russia joined Britain as an ally and Japan bombed pearl harbour USA entered war against Japan and Germany

What defined the 1942-1945 time period in WWII?

The Allied forces strengthened and were able to push the Germans out of the USSR and Western Europe.

What event initiated US involvement in WWII and where

Surprise attack on Pearl Harbor

Where were Japanese-Americans placed at during WWII

Forced into internment camps to due to fears they might be loyal to japan

What terrible act did the Japanese conduct after invading China

The Rape of Nanking (Today Naning)

Why were the conditions in Japenese POW camps so terrible

Japanese did not have resources to look after them

Define Anti-Semitic

Hatred against Jews

What does sterilize mean

To make someone unable to have children

What does internment mean?

People are legally detained as the enemy