ULTIMATE REVIW unit 8
🧠 8.1 Interwar Europe (1920s–1930s)
Q: What were the main economic problems in Europe after WWI?
A: War debt, reparations, destroyed infrastructure, inflation, and unemployment.
Q: Why was the League of Nations ineffective?
A: No military power, U.S. didn’t join, couldn’t enforce decisions.
Q: What happened in the Ruhr Valley (1923)?
A: France occupied it when Germany failed to pay reparations → workers went on strike → hyperinflation.
Q: What was hyperinflation in Weimar Germany?
A: Currency became nearly worthless; people needed wheelbarrows of money.
Q: What did the Dawes Plan (1924) do?
A: U.S. gave loans to Germany → stabilized economy temporarily.
Q: What was the Treaty of Locarno (1925)?
A: Agreement to respect borders in Western Europe → hope for peace.
Q: What caused the Great Depression?
A: U.S. stock market crash (1929) → global economic collapse.
Q: How did the Great Depression affect Europe?
A: Massive unemployment, political extremism, collapse of trade.
Q: What was Keynesian economics?
A: Government should spend money during economic downturns.
Q: What was the New Deal?
A: Franklin D. Roosevelt’s program of relief, recovery, reform.
🇮🇹 Fascist Italy
Q: Who was Benito Mussolini?
A: Founder of fascism, dictator of Italy (1922).
Q: What were the Squadristi (Blackshirts)?
A: Violent groups that attacked political opponents.
Q: What did the Acerbo Law do?
A: Guaranteed Mussolini’s party majority in parliament.
Q: What was the OVRA?
A: Secret police in Fascist Italy.
🇩🇪 Nazi Germany
Q: Who was Adolf Hitler?
A: Dictator of Germany (1933–1945), leader of Nazis.
Q: What was the Beer Hall Putsch (1923)?
A: Failed Nazi coup → Hitler imprisoned → wrote Mein Kampf.
Q: What is Mein Kampf?
A: Hitler’s book outlining racism, anti-Semitism, Lebensraum.
Q: What was Lebensraum?
A: Expansion eastward for German living space.
Q: What was the Enabling Act (1933)?
A: Gave Hitler dictatorial powers legally.
Q: What were the Nuremberg Laws (1935)?
A: Stripped Jews of citizenship and rights.
Q: What was Kristallnacht (1938)?
A: Nationwide destruction of Jewish property and synagogues.
🧠 8.2 Totalitarian States
🇷🇺 Soviet Union
Q: What was War Communism?
A: Government control of all industry during Russian Civil War.
Q: What was the New Economic Policy (NEP)?
A: Limited capitalism to rebuild economy.
Q: Who was Joseph Stalin?
A: Totalitarian leader of USSR after Lenin.
Q: What were Five-Year Plans?
A: Rapid industrialization goals.
Q: What was collectivization?
A: Forced consolidation of farms → famine (esp. Ukraine).
Q: What were the Purges?
A: Elimination of political enemies (millions killed).
⚖ Comparison
Q: How were totalitarian states similar?
A: One-party rule, propaganda, censorship, secret police.
Q: Key difference between Stalin and Hitler?
A: Stalin → class-based repression; Hitler → race-based genocide.
🧠 8.3 Culture & Society
📺 Mass Culture
Q: How did totalitarian states use propaganda?
A: Control public opinion, glorify leaders, suppress dissent.
Q: What was the purpose of the 1936 Olympics?
A: Showcase Nazi Germany’s strength.
🎨 Art & Ideas
Q: What was Dadaism?
A: Anti-rational, anti-war movement.
Q: What is Surrealism?
A: Focus on dreams and subconscious.
Q: Who was Sigmund Freud?
A: Developed ideas about unconscious mind.
Q: What was Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle?
A: You cannot know exact position and momentum at same time.
🧠 8.4 Causes of WWII
⚠ Appeasement
Q: What was appeasement?
A: Giving in to aggression to avoid war.
Q: Who was Neville Chamberlain?
A: Supported appeasement.
📍 Key Events
Q: What was the Anschluss (1938)?
A: Germany annexed Austria.
Q: What was the Munich Conference (1938)?
A: Allowed Hitler to take Sudetenland.
Q: Why did appeasement fail?
A: Encouraged Hitler to expand further.
Q: What was the Nazi-Soviet Pact (1939)?
A: Non-aggression + secret division of Poland.
🧠 8.5 WWII Major Events
⚔ Early War
Q: What is Blitzkrieg?
A: Fast attacks using tanks (panzers) and planes.
Q: What happened to France in 1940?
A: Quickly defeated; Vichy government formed.
🌍 Turning Points
Q: Why was Stalingrad important?
A: Turning point in Europe; Germany begins losing.
Q: Why was Midway important?
A: Turning point in Pacific; Japan weakened.
🇺🇸 U.S. Involvement
Q: What happened at Pearl Harbor (1941)?
A: Japan attacked U.S. → U.S. enters war.
Q: Who was Dwight D. Eisenhower?
A: Led D-Day invasion.
☢ End of War
Q: Who was Harry Truman?
A: Ordered atomic bombings.
Q: Why did the U.S. drop atomic bombs?
A: Force Japan to surrender quickly, avoid invasion.
🧠 8.6 Holocaust
Q: What was the Holocaust?
A: Systematic genocide of 6 million Jews.
Q: What were the stages of the Holocaust?
A: Discrimination → ghettos → shootings → death camps.
Q: What were Einsatzgruppen?
A: Mobile killing squads.
Q: What was the Final Solution?
A: Plan to exterminate Jews.
Q: What was the Wannsee Conference (1942)?
A: Coordinated genocide plan.
🧠 8.6 Home Front
Q: What is total war?
A: Entire society mobilized for war.
Q: What happened to civilians?
A: Bombing (ex: Dresden), rationing, propaganda.
Q: What role did women play?
A: Factory work, military support.
🧠 8.7 End of War & Cold War
Q: What was the Tehran Conference?
A: Planned D-Day.
Q: What was the Yalta Conference?
A: Divided Europe, planned postwar world.
Q: What was the Potsdam Conference?
A: Finalized division of Germany.
Q: Why did the Cold War begin?
A: Conflict between U.S. (capitalism) and USSR (communism).
⚔ Big Picture Connections
Q: How did WWI lead to WWII?
A: Harsh Treaty of Versailles → resentment → rise of dictators.
Q: Why were dictators able to rise?
A: Economic crisis + weak democracies.
Q: What made WWII different from WWI?
A: More civilian deaths, genocide, advanced weapons, total war.
🔥 HOW TO USE THIS
Paste into Quizlet (term = question, definition = answer)
Study in chunks:
Day 1 → Interwar + dictators
Day 2 → WWII events
Day 3 → Holocaust + Cold War