Conflict in Europe 1935-1945 Flashcards
1
Q
Afrika Korps
A
Afrika Korps the name of the German forces sent to North Africa under Erwin Rommel.
2
Q
Anschluss
A
Anschluss the uniting of Austria and Germany.
3
Q
appeasement
A
appeasement the name given to the policies of Britain and France where they gave in to Hitler’s desires in the hope this would stop him from further aggression.
4
Q
Ardennes Forest
A
Ardennes Forest a densely forested area of rough terrain situated on the border between Belgium, France and Germany.
5
Q
Aryan
A
Aryan a ‘pure’ German race, usually featuring blonde hair and blue eyes.
6
Q
Atlantic Wall
A
Atlantic Wall a series of German fortifications along the coastal areas of France, Belgium and Holland.
7
Q
Auschwitz–Birkenau
A
Auschwitz–Birkenau Auschwitz was a concentration camp created in Poland in 1940, before additions in 1941 turned Auschwitz–Birkenau into a notorious death camp.
8
Q
Autarky
A
Autarky a policy of a government or country where they can survive without external assistance or trade.
9
Q
auxiliary duties
A
auxiliary duties any duties which support the carrying out of a broader role, such as nurses supporting doctors, or secretaries supporting lawyers.
10
Q
Battle of the Bloody Triangle
A
Battle of the Bloody Triangle a large tank battle in Ukraine, 1941.
11
Q
battleship Bismarck
A
battleship Bismarck one of two gigantic battleships produced by Nazi Germany, which was sunk after an engagement with the HMS Hood, and a chase from the Allied navy.
12
Q
battleship Tirpitz
A
battleship Tirpitz the second of the great German battleships conducted operations in the Atlantic before mines and constant British aerial bombing saw it sunk in a fjord of Norway.
13
Q
beachhead
A
beachhead a military term describing the ability of an army to gain an area of control (on the beach in this example), from which they could then deploy further troops.
14
Q
black market
A
black market an ‘underground’ trading market for goods which are rationed or in short supply.
15
Q
Bletchley Park
A
Bletchley Park the location of the massive effort to crack the Enigma code.
16
Q
Blitzkrieg
A
Blitzkrieg falsely attributed to Hitler, Blitzkrieg translates as ‘lightning war’. It involved a rapid, concentrated attack with combined forces (infantry, air, tanks, artillery).
17
Q
Bolshevism
A
Bolshevism the Bolshevik Party overthrew the Russian government, later changing its name to the Communist Party.
18
Q
British Expeditionary Force (BEF)
A
British Expeditionary Force (BEF) the name of the British forces in western Europe on the outbreak of World War II.
19
Q
Bund Deutscher Mädel
A
Bund Deutscher Mädel a branch of the Hitler Youth movement which targeted young women for indoctrination into Nazi ideology.
20
Q
Cold War
A
Cold War a time of political hostility between the United States and the Communist Soviet Union, lasting from 1945 to 1990.
21
Q
collaborative government
A
collaborative government a type of government which works with its occupier.
22
Q
collective security
A
collective security countries cooperating in an alliance to bring security to each other.
23
Q
Communism
A
Communism a type of government with no class structure where the ‘state’ owns everything and redistributes it to its people.
24
Q
Condor Legion
A
Condor Legion the Wehrmacht units who served in Spain during the Spanish Civil War.
25
conscientious objectors
**conscientious objectors** people that refused to participate in the war effort, or be conscripted, often due to personal or religious beliefs.
26
conscription
**conscription** a government policy which forces citizens (mostly men), usually aged between about 18 to 45, to join the armed forces of their country.
27
D-Day
**D-Day** simply stands for ‘Designated Day of attack’, but has come to represent the day the Allies landed on the beaches of Normandy.
28
death camp
**death camp** a prison camp designed with the specific intention of killing its occupants.
29
decadence
**decadence** a term used loosely by politicians, intellectuals and writers to criticise those aspects of France they did not like. There was no common definition of decadence in France.
30
deep war
**deep war** a Soviet military tactic which favoured multiple attacks on a front line with mechanised units, rather than one ‘war-ending’ battle.
31
demilitarised zone
**demilitarised zone** an area which cannot have military forces within it.
32
denazification
**denazification** the removal of all ideas associated with Nazism from German society.
33
disinformation
**disinformation** false information deliberately provided to the enemy to ensure they make false assumptions about plans or troop movement.
34
Dyle Plan
**Dyle Plan** the French plan to defend against a German attack by swiftly moving north and east to fight to protect Belgium and the Netherlands.
35
Einsatzgruppen
**Einsatzgruppen** Nazi death squads responsible for mass killings of enemy forces, civilians, or Jewish people, behind the main lines of the Wehrmacht forces.
36
Emergency Powers Act
**Emergency Powers Act** an act passed through the British parliament to allow the government to make laws during the war.
37
encircled
**encircled** a feature of the rapidly moving Blitzkrieg. Attacking units passed around both sides of the enemy before rejoining deep behind their lines. This created isolated ‘pockets’ of resistance which could be bombed or starved into surrender.
38
Enigma code
**Enigma code** an encrypted message which the Germans used to code communications.
39
Falaise Pocket/Gap
**Falaise Pocket/Gap** the name given to a massive encirclement of German forces after the D-Day landings of 1944\.
40
Fall Blau (Operation Blue)
**Fall Blau (Operation Blue)** the name for the German offensive in southern Russia which targeted the oilfields of the Caucasus.
41
Fall Gelb (Plan Yellow)
**Fall Gelb (Plan Yellow)** the operational name given to Erich von Manstein’s plan, which involved diversionary attacks on Belgium and the Maginot Line, while the main German force assaulted through the Ardennes region.
42
Fascism
**Fascism** a political system based on a very powerful leader, state control and being extremely proud of country and race.
43
Fighter Command
**Fighter Command** a command of the RAF formed in 1936 to provide greater coordination and control of fighter aircraft.
44
Final Solution
**Final Solution** the name used by Heinrich Himmler to describe the deliberate murder of Jewish people.
45
fog of war
**fog of war** a term used to describe the chaos and confusion that occurs during war, or individual battles.
46
German High Command (OKH)
**German High Command (OKH)** the Oberkommando des Heeres, or German High Command of the Army, was responsible for the planning of Operation Barbarossa.
47
Gestapo (Geheime Staatspolizei)
**Gestapo (Geheime Staatspolizei)** the Nazi secret police who enforced terror and repression on German society.
48
ghetto
**ghetto** a closed-off area of a city where a minority group is forced.
49
ghost units
**ghost units** the name given to General Erwin Rommel’s units, as they advanced so fast they could appear and vanish, like ghosts.
50
Hitler Youth
**Hitler Youth** established in the 1920s, the Hitler Youth was an organisation for children which educated them in Nazi ideology while preparing them for a future war.
51
Holocaust
**Holocaust** the deliberate slaughter of Jewish people during World War II.
52
International Military Tribunal (IMT)
**International Military Tribunal (IMT)** a body created to legally resolve the crimes committed by people during World War II.
53
Kristallnacht
**Kristallnacht** the ‘Night of Broken Glass’ on 9 and 10 November 1936, when Nazis attacked the synagogues, homes, businesses and schools of Jewish people.
54
Kursk
**Kursk** a salient in the Soviet line near the city of Kursk, which resulted in the largest tank battle of World War II.
55
labour camp
**labour camp** a type of prison which forced occupants to work in harsh conditions, often leading to their death.
56
Lebensraum
**Lebensraum** an ideology of Hitler which translates as ‘living space’ for the German people, particularly in eastern Europe.
57
Lend-Lease
**Lend-Lease** the Allied program for ensuring the Soviet Union remained in the war, by supplying it with resources and technology to resist the Germans.
58
logistics
**logistics** the organisation of troop movements, supplies, equipment and accommodation which must occur to support soldiers fighting on the front lines.
59
Luftwaffe
**Luftwaffe** the German Air Force under Hermann Göring.
60
Maginot Line
**Maginot Line** over 1500 km of concrete fortifications, obstacles, tunnels and weapons installations running in a line along the French border.
61
Mein Kampf
**Mein Kampf** translating as ‘My Struggle’, Mein Kampf outlined Hitler’s ideas on a variety of topics, from Lebensraum and the Jews to the future of Europe.
62
Military Training Act
**Military Training Act** an act which made it compulsory for men to undertake six months of training between the ages of 20 and 21\.
63
Ministry of Information (MOI)
**Ministry of Information (MOI)** the government department created on the outbreak of World War II, which dealt with publicity and propaganda.
64
Mulberry
**Mulberry** a temporary harbour constructed by the Allies where they could deploy vital resources and supplies.
65
Munich Agreement
**Munich Agreement** a 1938 agreement surrendering the Sudeten area of Czechoslovakia to Germany, while Hitler committed to peace thereafter.
66
National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939
**National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939** an act which allowed for conscription of men aged 18–41.
67
nationalism
**nationalism** the promotion of the interests of one’s own nation above all others.
68
Night of the Long Knives
**Night of the Long Knives** a purge conducted by the Nazis in 1934, to remove political threats and secure the support of the Reichswehr.
69
Non-Aggression Pact
**Non-Aggression Pact** an agreement between two countries not to engage in any military action against each other.
70
Nuremberg Laws
**Nuremberg Laws** a series of anti-Semitic and racist German laws which passed in 1935\.
71
Nuremberg trials
**Nuremberg trials** the trials conducted post-war to bring high-ranking Nazis to justice.
72
Omaha Beach
**Omaha Beach** a famous beach in Normandy where the bloodiest fighting occurred.
73
Operation Bodyguard
**Operation Bodyguard** the Allied deception operations to convince Germany the Normandy landings would come at a different location, such as Calais in France.
74
Operation Dynamo
**Operation Dynamo** the codename given to the evacuation at Dunkirk by British ships.
75
Operation Lightfoot
**Operation Lightfoot** the opening operation of Montgomery’s plan to secure Egypt and drive the Axis forces back across North Africa.
76
Operation Overlord
**Operation Overlord** the Allied operation to invade the Normandy beaches.
77
Operation Sealion
**Operation Sealion** the name of the proposed German invasion of Britain.
78
Operation Uranus
**Operation Uranus** the name of the 1942 Soviet counterattack which encircled the German 6th Army in Stalingrad.
79
partisan
**partisan** a member of a secret group or force, who resist the country which has occupied their own.
80
Phoney War
**Phoney War** the six months following the fall of Poland during which none of the British, French or Germans fought.
81
plebiscite
**plebiscite** a vote by all citizens of a country to decide an important issue, such as a constitutional change.
82
Polish Guarantee
**Polish Guarantee** the statement made by the British that if Germany attacked Poland, the English would declare war.
83
precedent
**precedent** a legal term where a case can be decided based on the same situation occurring in a prior case.
84
Rasputitsa
**Rasputitsa** a period of heavy rain which made Russian roads impossible to travel.
85
reconnaissance
**reconnaissance** observation of an area or forces in order to gain a tactical advantage.
86
Red Army
**Red Army** the name for the military forces of the Soviet Union.
87
Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda
**Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda** the German ministry created in 1933 which ensured all elements of the media delivered a pro-Nazi message.
88
Reichswehr
**Reichswehr** the name of the German army from the end of the war in 1919 to 1935, when it became the Wehrmacht.
89
Royal Air Force (RAF)
**Royal Air Force (RAF)** the RAF was formed during World War I, and would be the primary defender against the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain and the Blitz.
90
Schlieffen Plan
**Schlieffen Plan** the plan Germany used during World War I. It involved a rapid attack on France through Belgium and the Netherlands, before moving south to Paris.
91
Schutzstaffel (SS)
**Schutzstaffel (SS)** initially founded in 1925 as Hitler’s bodyguard, the SS became the elite of Nazi followers, and undertook duties such as fighting in the armed forces, surveillance, enforcing racial policies, or controlling the concentration camps.
92
scorched earth
**scorched earth** a policy of destroying everything as an enemy advances, in order to deprive them of resources or infrastructure.
93
Sickle Cut
**Sickle Cut** the name given to the German tactics which isolated French forces as they moved to defend Belgium and the Netherlands.
94
Siegfried Line
**Siegfried Line** over 630 km of German defensive fortifications built opposite the Maginot Line in the 1930s.
95
Social Darwinism
**Social Darwinism** theories applying Charles Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest to human society and politics.
96
sovereignty
**sovereignty** the authority of a country to govern itself.
97
strategic/area bombing
**strategic/area bombing** using bombers to deploy bombs widely and indiscriminately. This form of bombing was used to demoralise populations through destruction and civilian deaths.
98
Stresa Front
**Stresa Front** Italy, Britain and France met at the small town of Stresa in 1935 to declare they were united in their opposition to German rearmament. Their unity was soon abandoned.
99
Sudetenland
**Sudetenland** Czech territory on the German/Czechoslovakian border where German-speaking people lived.
100
Suez Canal
**Suez Canal** a man-made waterway constructed in 1869 through Egypt, between the Mediterranean and Red Seas.
101
T-34
**T-34** a plain but effective Soviet tank, which combined speed, defence and firepower.
102
tactical bombing
**tactical bombing** using bombers to target specific infrastructure, like a munitions factory or an airfield.
103
testament
**testament** the last ‘will’ or wishes of a person that usually determines what will be inherited, and by whom.
104
Third Reich
**Third Reich** the official name in Germany for the period during which the Nazi Party ruled.
105
Treachery Act
**Treachery Act** this introduced the death penalty for spying, or imprisonment for lesser crimes.
106
Treaty of Berlin
**Treaty of Berlin** a treaty which committed Russia and Germany to remain neutral if either were to be attacked by another country.
107
Treaty of Rapallo
**Treaty of Rapallo** a treaty negotiated between Russia and Germany, where both countries dropped their claims to territory in the east of Europe, and committed to positive relations.
108
unconditional surrender
**unconditional surrender** a form of surrender where one side admits complete defeat to the other. This differs from ‘conditional surrender’ where one side negotiates their surrender, and generally gains more favourable conditions.
109
United Nations
**United Nations** the post-war body established to replace the League of Nations, with the intention of promoting peace and prosperity.
110
V1/V2 rockets
**V1/V2 rockets** known as Hitler’s miracle weapons, the V1 and V2 (vengeance weapons) were rockets tipped with explosives which were used on British cities.
111
Vichy France
**Vichy France** the government which controlled France under German occupation.
112
Waffen SS
**Waffen SS** the military branch of the Schutzstaffel (SS).
