Interwar Years (1918 – 1939)

Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points

A plan to create a new international system aimed at solving conflicts through cooperation and preventing another world war.

League of Nations

An international organization created to solve disputes and establish new nations, which the U.S. did not join.

Henry Cabot Lodge

American senator who opposed Wilson’s Treaty of Versailles and League of Nations.

Finnish Independence

Finnish Independence declared in 1917 after the Russian Revolution, officially joining the League of Nations in 1920.

Poland's Independence

Achieved in 1918 as outlined in Wilson’s Fourteen Points after being partitioned multiple times.

Conspicuous Consumption

An excessive display of wealth and consumer goods that characterized the Roaring 1920s.

Black Tuesday

October 29, 1929, the day the stock market crashed, leading to a global depression.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)

U.S. President elected in 1932 who implemented the New Deal to combat the Great Depression.

Keynesian Economics

An economic theory advocating increased government expenditures and lower taxes to stimulate demand.

Italian Fascism

Political ideology led by Benito Mussolini focused on nationalism, public works, and suppression of opposition.

Francisco Franco

Military dictator of Spain who rose to power during the Spanish Civil War with the help of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.

Mein Kampf

Hitler's autobiography outlining his ideology, including anti-Semitism and rejection of the Treaty of Versailles.

Appeasement

The strategy of granting concessions to potential aggressors to maintain peace, which ultimately failed with Nazi aggression.

Lebensraum

Hitler’s concept of 'living space' for the German people, justified by the idea of natural selection.

Munich Betrayal, 1938

The agreement made without Czech representation that ceded Sudetenland to Germany, falsely celebrated by Chamberlain as peace.

Polish Corridor

A designated strip of land that gave Poland access to the Baltic Sea and separated East Prussia from the rest of Germany.

Gleiwitz Incident

A staged attack by Nazi forces used to justify the invasion of Poland in 1939.