ap euro unit 9 flashcards

great depression

1929, stock market crash started it, leading to widespread economic decline and unemployment across the globe.

popular front

spread of fascism prompted coalition of republicans, socialists, communists, and radicals

totalitarianism

dictatorship that tried to control every aspect of the lives of people, new tech made this possible, used censorship, indoctrination, and terror

marxist-leninist philosophy

theory of imperialism, imperialism is the highest form of capitalism

comintern

created in 1919, was to serve as a preliminary step towards the world wide victory of communism

war communism

the socialization (nationalization) of all means of production and central planning of the economy

kronstadt rebellion

1921, mutiny by pro bolshevik sailors in march at kronstadt naval base had to be crushed with machine gun fire

new economic policy

1921-1928, sought to eliminate harsh aspects of war communism, response to peasant revolts, military mutiny, and economic ruin

joseph stalin

believed in “socialism of one country”, establishment of a socialist economy without the aid of the west

leon trotsky

believed in “permanent revolution”, continuing a world revolution, and party leaders believed he was too idealistic

5 year plans

state-directed economic initiatives aimed at rapid industrialization and economic growth in the Soviet Union, emphasizing heavy industry and collectivization of agriculture.

collectivization

greatest of all costs, was to bring peasantry under absolute control of the communist state, consolidation of of individual peasant farms into large, state-controlled enterprises

kulaks

wealthiest peasants, offered greatest resistance to collectivization

great terror

1934-1938, first directed against peasants after 1929, terror used increasingly on leading communists, powerful administrators, and ordinary people, often for no apparent reason, resulted in 8 million arrests

NKVD

stalin’s secret police, arrested millions of citizens including army officers

show trials

used to eradicate “enemies of the people” (usually ex-party members)

purges

40,000 army officers were expelled or liquidated (weakened USSR in WWII)

benito mussolini

father of fascism - combination of socialism and nationalism: territorial expanion, benefits for workers, and land reform for peasants

blackshirts

fascist paramilitary forces attacked communists, socialists, and other enemies of the fascist program (later, Hitler’s “Brown Shirts” followed this example)

march on rome

october 1922: led to mussolini taking power. mussolini demanded resignation of existing gov and his own appointment by the king, large group of fascists marched on rome to threaten king to accept mussolini’s demands. gov collapsed; mussolini recieved right to organize a new gov

corporate state

economic basis for italian fascism - “everything in the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state”

lateran pact

1929, resulted in reconciliation with the papacy. vatican reorganized as a tiny independent state; recieved 92 million for seized church lands

adolf hitler

became leader of the national german workers party (nazi) after wwi

brown shirts

terrorized political opponents on the streets

beer hall putsch

1923, hitler failed to overthrow bavaria and sentenced to one year in jail, he realized he’d have to take control of germany legally, not through revolution

mein kampf

1923, written while in jail: became the blueprint for hitler’s future plans

lebensraum (“living space”)

germans should expand east, liquidate the Jews and turn the slavs of eastern europe into slave labor

third reich

1933-1945, hitler consolidates power

reichstag fire

occurred during violent electoral campaign: used by nazis to crack down on communists

enabling act

march 1933, passed by reichstag. gave hitler absolute dictatorial power for four years, only nazi party was legal

joseph goebbles

minister of propaganda effectively glorified hitler and the nazi state

night of long knives

june 1934, hitler realized the army and big business were suspicious of the SA. hitler’s elite personal guard - the SS - arrested and shot without trial about 1000 SA leaders and other political enemies

SS secret police/private army

led by heinrich himmler, joined with the gestapo to expand network

hitler youth

nazis indoctrinated german youths to obey the state, children encouraged to turn in teachers or even their parents if they seemed disloyal

nuremburg laws

1935, deprived jews of all rights of citizenship

kristallnacht (“the night of broken glass”)

1938, ordered by hitler, well organized wave of violence destroyed homes, synagogues, and businesses. thousands of jews were arrested and made to pay for the damage

holocaust

6 million jews eventually killed during WWII. formal plan came at wannasee conference in 1942. six death camps build in poland in addition to hundreds of concentration camps. auchwitz most notorious. also persecuted slavs, gypsies, communists, homosexuals, mentally handicapped, and political opponents

treaty of versailles

did not create an enduring peace by severely punishing germany triggering future resentment against the “dictated peace.”

league of nations

without US and USSR, didn’t have will nor support to maintain peace

locarno pact

1925, “spirit of locarno” no longer relevant once hitler took power

kellogg-briand pact

1928, “war is illegal”, not enforceable

italian invasion of ethiopia

1935, league of nations ineffective in its actions and protests

spanish civil war

1936, mussolini and hitler use conflict as a testing ground for their military forces: italy’s army; germany’s air force- luftwaffe

francisco franco

fascism prevails under him in spain, also known as falangists

rome-berlin axis

alliance between fascist italy and germany

german reoccupation of the rhineland

1936, violated versailled treaty and locarno pact, france unwilling to enforce the treaty without british aid; british didn’t want another war

anschluss

germany annexed austria, 1938

sudetenland

hitler demanded the german-speaking province in czechoslovakia

munich conference

1938 arranged by british prime minister Neville Chamberlain, policy of appeasement adopted, czech forced to give away sudetenland

german invasion of czechoslovakia

spring 1939, hitler double crossed chamberlain, chamberlain proclaims if germany attacks poland there will be war, hitler doesn’t want a two front war against france and britain in west and russia in east.

nazi-soviet non agression pact

1939, nonagression treaty, but secretly germany and USSR would invade poland and split the country in half

germany invades poland

sept 1, 1939, marks beginning of WWII. sept 3, britain and france declare war on germany

blitzkrieg (“lightning war”)

new form of warfare used by germany to quickly defeat an enemy

fall of france

june 1940 occurred in less than six weeks

vichy france

puppet gov in southern france, hitler did not wish to waste time subduing all of france

free french

led by general charles de gaulle who fled to britain

battle of britain

one of the most critical battles of the war, hitler sought to soften britain up for an invasion

luftwaffe

led by german goring sent to destroy royal air force

winston churchill

emerged as an inspirational war leader of britain, prime minister

tripartite pact

1940, japan added to rome-berlin axis for mutual defense and military support

german invasion of soviet union

june 1941: hitler’s attempt at “lebensreaum”

atlantic charter

churchill and FDR meet secretly after invasion of soviet union, decide once axis powers defeated, there would be no territorial change contrary to the wishes inhabitants

attack on pearl harbor

japanese attacked US on dec. 7 1941, resulted in US entry into the war

the grand alliance

formed in 1942: britain, soviet union, US, and 2 dozen other countries

stalingrad

dec 1942: first nazi defeat on land; soviets began the 2.5 year campaign of pushing the german army back to berlin

el alamein

british drove the germans out of egypt, germany eventually defeated in north africa and suffered mass casualties and surrenders

d day

operation overlord, jun. 6 1944: invasion of normandy, western front established, hitler now fighting 3 fronts (russia, france and italy)

battle of the bulge

dec. 1944: hitler’s last gasp offensive to drive allies away from western german boarder; after it failed, allies quickly penetrated deep into germany in 1945

VE day

may 8 1945, germany surrenders. hitler committed suicide a few days earlier

end of the war against japan

US dropped atomic bombs on hiroshima and nagasaki

yalta conference

1945: big three met again for the second time. stalin agreed to enter pacific war against japan within 3 months after germany surrendered, agreed to a “declaration of liberated europe” which called for free elections, called for UN to meet in US beginning in april 1945, germany divided into occupied zones, USSR allowed to keep its pre 1939 territory

potsdam conference

july 1945, stalin, harry truman, and clement atlee. issued warning to japan of unconditional surrender or face utter devastation. stalin reversed his position on eastern europe stating there would be no free elections. approvals given to concept of war-crimes trials and the demilitarization and denazification of germany.