Unit 1. History Glossary (World War Two)
Word/Term | Definition | # |
Ideology | A system or group of ideas and ideals, especially underpinning a set of political beliefs - e.g. Nazism, communism, etc | #ideasthatkill |
Imperialism | A policy of extending a country's power or influence through colonisation, use of military force, or other means. | #minenow |
Militarism | The belief that a country must maintain and grow their military capacity in order defend or promote their interests = strong spending on military and growing military numbers | #bigguns |
Nationalism | Excessive patriotism or pride in one’s own country to the detriment of other countries, the belief of superiority of one’s own nation | |
Authoritarianism | The enforcement of strict obedience to the state authority at the expense of personal freedom | |
Totalitarianism | A form of government and political system that attempts to assert total control over the lives of its citizens. Controlling dictatorship. | |
Communism | A type of government as well as an economic system. In this system individual people don't own their own land, factories, or machinery and it is instead owned by entire communities or governments. Everyone shares their wealth. | |
Socialism | A political and economic theory that promotes the public ownership of a nation's resources and means of production by all citizens. All citizens share equally in economic resources. | |
Fascism | A way of organising a society in which a government ruled by a dictator has complete power over the lives of people, commerce and industry, and any criticism of or opposition to the government is suppressed by force. | |
Holocaust | The deliberate and planned mass murder of Jews and other ‘undesirables’ by the Nazis during WWII. | |
Reparations | Compensation payments made after a war by one side to the other by the country blamed for war. Intended to cover damage or injury inflicted during a war. | |
Allied Powers | The partnership of countries in opposition to the axis powers in world war 2. They included Britain, the commonwealth and France, which were joined by the united states and the soviet union in 1941. | |
Axis Powers | The partnership of counties in opposition to the allied powers in world war 2. They included Germany, Italy and Japan. | |
Anschluss | Anschluss in German means the word ‘union’. | |
Dolchstoβlegende | (Dolchstoβlegende in German means The Stab-in-the-Back.) The Stab-in-the-Back myth was the belief that the German Army did not lose the First World War on the battlefield, but were instead betrayed by the communists, socialists and Jews on the home front. | |
Appeasement | A policy adopted by Britain and France towards Germany from the mid 30s until 1939. It was designed to avoid a second world war by granting certain allowances to Hitler and nazi government. | |
Blitzkrieg | A german term meaning ‘lightning war’; a military tactic adopted by German forces during world war II that involved launching sudden, intense attacks on enemies using fighter aircraft and tanks followed by the advance of ground troops. | |
Lebensraum | In german; living space. A German concept of expansionism and volkisch nationalism. | |
Aryanism | An ideology of German racial supremacy which views the supposed Aryan race to be superior and entitled to rule the rest of humanity. | |
Atomic Bomb | On the 6th of 9th of August 1945, the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and nagasaki. The bombing killed between 150,000 and 246.000 people, most of whom were civilians and this remains as the only use of nuclear weapons in an armed conflict. | |
League of Nations | An international organisation established at the end of world war 1 to maintain world peace and prevent the outbreak of future wars by encouraging other nations to negotiate with one another. Initially had some success but ultimately failed in its purpose of preventing future wars. | |
The United Nations | Established after world war 2 in an attempt to maintain international peace and security. | |
Treaty of Versailles | The treaty that ended world war 1; It forced Germany to accept responsibility for starting the war and to pay reparations. | |
Evacuation of Dunkirk | Operation Dynamo was organised by the Royal Navy and involved the rescue of more than 338,000 British and French soldiers from the French port of Dunkirk between May 26 and June 4th 1940. | |
Antisemitism | Prejudice, hatred or discrimination against Jews. | |
Annexation | The forceful takeover of a states territory by another | |
World War II Timeline
Year | Date | Description of Event | Location of Event |
1919 | June 28 | The Paris Peace Conference is held and the Treaty of Versailles is signed, leaving Germany humiliated. | Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles, Versailles, France |
1929 | October 29 | The Wall Street Crash of 1929 occurs and the Great Depression begins all over the world. | New York |
1933 | 30 January | Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany, leading the Nazi Party. | Germany |
1933 | 22 March | The Nazi party establishes the first concentration camp | |
1938 | 9-10 November | A series of attacks take place on Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues (place of worship for jews and samaritans) across Germany and Austria. The attacks become known as Kristallnacht (Night of the broken glass) | Germany |
1939 | 1 September | Germany attacks Poland and German troops cross the border, causing Britain and France to declare war on Germany. All countries in the British Empire, including Australia, also declare war on Germany. War begins. | Poland |
1940 | May 26 - June 4 | France, Belgium, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands fall to Germany. The Dunkirk evacuation takes place. | Dunkirk, France |
1940 | 27 April | Heinrich Himmler, Commander of the SS, gives out the order to establish a concentration camp in the former artillery barracks in Oświęcim, known at the time as Auschwitz. | Germany |
1940 | 14 June | German authorities direct the first transport of political prisoners to Auschwitz – 728 Poles, including a small group of Polish Jews. This day is recognized as the day the camp started functioning. In the period 1940-1945 about 405,000 prisoners were registered at the camp, of which 270,000 were men. | Germany |
1941 | 22 June | Operation Barbossa (The German invasion and betrayal of the Soviet Union) begins. | Leningrad in the north, Moscow in the centre and the Ukraine in the south |
1942 | 19 February | The Japanese bomb Darwin. Australia is put on a ‘total war’ footing (ready to fight war) | Darwin |
1942 | July- November | The Kokoda campaign is fought between Australia and Japan in Papua. | Papua New Guinea |
1944 | 6 June | The D-Day landing of Allied troops in Europe takes place. | Beaches of Normandy |
1945 | 30 April | Hitler commits suicide, leading to the surrender of Gemrnay. | Berlin |
1945 | 8 May | VE (Victory in Europe) Day marks the end of the war in Europe. | All over Europe |
1945 | 6-9 August | The United States drops two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima (6th) and Nagaskai (9th) leading to Japan's surrender. | Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan |
1945 | 15 August | VP (Victory in the pacific) Day marks the end of the war in the Pacific | Everywhere in the world. |