History - WWI, WWII, and Revolutions

Flashcard 1

Front: Total War
Back: A war that requires the mobilization of all of a nation's resources—human, economic, and industrial—in support of the war effort, and which often involves the entire population, including civilians.

Flashcard 2

Front: Treaty of Versailles
Back: A peace agreement signed in 1919 that ended World War I, imposing heavy reparations and territorial losses on Germany and redrawing the map of Europe.

Flashcard 3

Front: Reparations
Back: Payments made by a country that has been defeated in war to compensate the victor for the damage caused during the conflict.

Flashcard 4

Front: 14 Points
Back: A proposal by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson in 1918 for a just and lasting peace after World War I, including the creation of the League of Nations and principles of self-determination and free trade.

Flashcard 5

Front: Collective Security
Back: A system in which a group of nations agree to act together to defend any member that is attacked, under the belief that an attack on one is an attack on all.

Flashcard 6

Front: Democratic Socialism
Back: A political ideology that advocates for a gradual and democratic transition to socialism, with a strong emphasis on political democracy alongside social and economic equality.

Flashcard 7

Front: Fascism
Back: An authoritarian, nationalistic ideology that promotes dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, strong regimentation of society, and often militarism.

Flashcard 8

Front: Black Hand
Back: A secret Serbian nationalist group responsible for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914, which led to the outbreak of World War I.

Flashcard 9

Front: Black Shirts
Back: A paramilitary group that supported Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime in Italy, known for their black uniforms and violent suppression of political opponents.

Flashcard 10

Front: Brown Shirts
Back: The paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party in Germany, also known as the SA (Sturmabteilung), which played a key role in Hitler's rise to power and used violence and intimidation against opponents.

Flashcard 11

Front: Weimar Republic
Back: The democratic government of Germany from 1919 to 1933, established after World War I and ended with the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party.

Flashcard 12

Front: Radical Nationalism
Back: A political ideology that emphasizes extreme patriotism and the belief that the nation-state should be the central organizing principle of society, often leading to xenophobia and the suppression of minority groups.

Flashcard 13

Front: Totalitarian State
Back: A government system where the state recognizes no limits to its authority, and seeks to regulate every aspect of public and private life, often led by a single party or leader.

Flashcard 14

Front: Socialist Realism
Back: An artistic and cultural movement in the Soviet Union that glorified the achievements of socialism, presenting an idealized image of the life of the working class and the state’s leaders.

Flashcard 15

Front: Soviet
Back: A political body or council in the former Soviet Union, representing workers, soldiers, or peasants, which played an important role in the Russian Revolution and later in the governance of the USSR.

Flashcard 16

Front: Cult of the Leader
Back: A political phenomenon in which a leader is idealized and portrayed as infallible, often through propaganda and personal glorification, to maintain power and influence.

Flashcard 17

Front: Gulag
Back: A system of forced labor camps in the Soviet Union, where political prisoners and others deemed undesirable by the state were subjected to harsh conditions and hard labor.

Flashcard 18

Front: Kulak
Back: A wealthy peasant in the Soviet Union who owned land and could employ laborers, often targeted by the government during collectivization as enemies of the state.

Flashcard 19

Front: Marshall Plan
Back: A U.S.-sponsored program to provide economic assistance to Western Europe after World War II to help rebuild economies, prevent the spread of communism, and stabilize governments.

Flashcard 20

Front: Great Leap Forward
Back: A campaign initiated by Mao Zedong in China (1958-1962) aimed at rapidly transforming China from an agrarian society into an industrialized socialist nation through collectivization and large-scale communes.

Flashcard 21

Front: Red Guards
Back: A paramilitary group of young students in China during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), who were mobilized to enforce Maoist ideology and attack perceived enemies of the revolution.

Flashcard 22

Front: Cultural Revolution in China
Back: A social-political movement initiated by Mao Zedong in 1966 to preserve Chinese communism by removing capitalist, traditional, and cultural elements from Chinese society, leading to widespread chaos and persecution.

Flashcard 23

Front: Socialist Market Economy
Back: An economic system used in China, combining elements of socialism with market-oriented reforms, where state-owned enterprises coexist with private businesses under government oversight.

Flashcard 24

Front: New Economic Policy
Back: A policy introduced by Lenin in Soviet Russia (1921-1928), allowing for limited market reforms, such as small-scale private enterprise, in order to stabilize the economy after the Russian Civil War.

Flashcard 25

Front: Prague Spring
Back: A period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia in 1968, marked by attempts to create a more democratic and open society, which was crushed by a Soviet-led invasion.

Flashcard 26

Front: Glasnost
Back: A policy of openness and transparency introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the Soviet Union in the 1980s, aimed at increasing freedom of expression and reducing government censorship.

Flashcard 27

Front: Perestroika
Back: A political and economic reform program initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev in the 1980s, aimed at restructuring the Soviet economy and improving efficiency through market-like reforms.

Flashcard 28

Front: Cold War
Back: The period of political and military tension between the United States and the Soviet Union, along with their respective allies, from the late 1940s to the early 1990s, marked by competition for global influence, without direct military confrontation.

Flashcard 29

Front: Proxy War
Back: A conflict where two or more powers use third parties as substitutes for direct conflict, often to avoid direct confrontation, as seen during the Cold War in places like Korea and Vietnam.

Flashcard 30

Front: Non-alignment
Back: A foreign policy approach where countries choose not to align themselves with any major power bloc, especially during the Cold War, promoting independence and neutrality in global affairs.

Flashcard 31

Front: Green Revolution
Back: A series of research, development, and technology transfer initiatives in the mid-20th century that increased agricultural production worldwide, particularly through the use of high-yield crop varieties and chemical fertilizers.