Final Review Flashcards
Treaty of Versailles—impact on Germany
Germany lost colonies and agricultural resources-economic collapse
Had to give reparations to Allied powers-economic collapse, hyperinflation
Germany had to take blame for the war-humiliation, desire for revenge
The German military limited in size- desire to rebuild due to resentment
Weimar Republic (type of government, problems)
Republic with president, Chancellor and Reichstag (parliament) Problems: Hyperinflation Political extremism (Nazis) Weak government A large number of political parties Lack of democratic traditions
Hyperinflation (causes, effects)
Causes:
Germany decided to stop repaying reparations payments to Allies
France and Belgium invade the Ruhr valley
Germany ordered their workers to strike
To make up for their loss of salary, the German government printed money
Effects:
Savings and pensions were lost overnight
People were paid by the hour
Cost of living dramatically increased
People were paid with wheelbarrows full of money
Mass homelessness
Rise of Hitler
Through gradual elections through the Reichstag
Once the Nazis were the majority party, Hitler was named Chancellor by the President
Then he changed the constitution
Common features of Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini?
All nationalistic Economic crisis Weak previous leadership Fear of other parties Political instability
What was mien kampf?
Hitler’s book that set out Nazi ideology
Set out his plan for the future of Germany
Wrote it in prison
Aspects of a dictatorship
Propaganda Rule through terror Lack of civil rights Supressed political opponents Control over all aspects of government, including military
Appeasement
Allied policy to prevent aggressive dictators from gaining more power
It promoted the idea of giving into the dictator in order to prevent war
Considered a failure in history
Japan’s aggression towards China
Japan wanted to expand
Japan invaded Manchuria for iron and coal
Japan withdrew from the League of Nations and nothing was done (appeasement)
German occupation of the Rhineland
The Rhineland was supposed to be demilitarized (Treaty of Versailles)
Germany decided to remilitarize it (violated Treaty of Versailles)
League of Nations did nothing (appeasement)
Neville Chamberlain
Prime Minister of GB before WWII
Negotiated the Munich conference
Munich Conference
Decision between the Allied to allow Hitler to take the Sudetenland
In exchange, Hitler agreed to not invade anymore parts of Europe
Negotiated by Neville Chamberlain who said he had secured “peace in our time”
Failure because Hitler took over the rest of Czechoslovakia and then Poland
WWII MANIA, Militarism
Remilitarization of the Rhineland
Invasion of various areas of Europe (Austria, Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia, Poland)
Invasion of Manchuria
Invasion of Ethiopia
WWII MANIA, Alliances
Tripartite Pact: Germany, Italy, Japan
Alliance among Spain, German, Italy
Nazi-Soviet Non-Agression Pact: Germany and USSR, Hitler agreed to not invade USSR
WWII MANIA, Nationalism
They view other as subhumans, thus able to be conquered
Germany invaded Austria because they speak German
WWII MANIA, Imperialism
Japan invaded Manchuria for iron and coal
Japan conquering other Pacific Islands for colonial purposes
Italy invading Ethiopia as revenge for their loss in the 19th century
WWII MANIA, Appeasement
Japan left the League of Nations and nothing was done
Italy invaded Ethiopia and nothing was done
Germany remilitarized the Rhineland and nothing was done
Germany invaded Austria and nothing was done
Munich Conference
Blitzkrieg
Lighting war
Meant to quickly surprise the enemy
Fast paced
Sending in airplanes and paratroopers first, then sending in tanks and the military
Charles de Gaulle
Led the French free forces from GB after the Miracle of Dunkirk
Miracle of Dunkirk
Operation Dynamo
British and French troops were evacuated from France to GB
They had been surrounded by German forces and were about to be slaughtered
The British and French lost a lot of troops due to constant bombardment
Churchill called for British civilians to go and pick up their soldiers
Significant: it was improvised civilian armada that was successful against the Germans
Winston Churchill
Prime Minister of GB during WWII
Inspired the British to fight and remain strong
Battle of Britain
Operation Sea Lion
When Hitler tried to bomb GB in preperation for an invasion
Hitler LOST!!!
Decided to invade the USSR
Operation Barbarrossa / Invasion of Russia
Code name for the German invasion of the USSR
By invading, Hitler broke the Nazi Soviet Non-Agression Pact
Stalin ignored warnings because he didn’t believe Hitler would attack
Scorched-earth policy by the Russians
Why does Hitler choose to invade the USSR?
He lost against GB
He hated communists
Hitler wanted “living space”
Hitler hated Slavic people (he thought they were “sub-human)
Stalingrad
Germans surrounded the Russian city
Russian then surrounded them
They would for two weeks over a single building
Germans wanted to surrender, but Hitler would not let them even when winter hit resulting in mass casualties
USSR won and pushed Germany out completely
Franklin Roosevelt
President of US during most of WWII
Pearl Harbor
Japan surprise attack on ha US military base
Roosevelt referred to it as “a date that will live in infamy”
Ushered in US direct involvement in WWII
D-Day
Allied invasion of France
In preparation, Allied bombers flew constant mission over Germany tergeting factories, air crafts, and cities
Paratroopers were dropped behind enemy lines
Soldiers were ferried across the English Channel
They fought their way to shore under enemy fire
Allied forces WON
Dwight D. Eisenhower
US general
Led the invasion of Normandy
The Supreme Allied Commander of D-Day
Battle of Bulge
Marked the final German offensive
Erwin Rommel
Desert Fox
German general
US use of atomic bomb
Quick and efficient way to end the war and to save American lives
Kristallnacht
Germans destroyed Jewish homes, businesses, synagogues
“Night of the Broken Glass”
Deportation of the Jews to concentration camps
Significance: first government sanction acts of violence against the Jews
Genocide
State sponsored killing of mass amounts of people based on ethnicity
Hitler’s view on the Jews
He blamed for Germany’s loss in WWI
He felt that they had “stabbed Germany in the back”
Nuremburg Laws of 1935
Outlined what made someone Jewish (grandparents)
Prevented marriage between Jews and German citizens
Took away German citizenship from the Jews
Significance: legalized anti-Semitism into law
Ghettos
Part of a city in which members of a minority group live
Warsaw, Poland had the largest in WWII
Acts against the Jews by Nazis
Forced labor/slave labor
Death squads
Doctors experimented on the prisoners
Final Solution
Mass murder of Europe’s Jews and others
Nuremburg Trials, Significance
First time in history someone could be tried acts committed during war
Nuremburg Trials, Defense of the Nazis
Following orders
Denial of knowledge
Mentally unstable (amnesia)
National sovereignty: Another country cannot interfere with the policies in another country
What happened to Hitler in the end?
He commited suicide
Human rights
Rights that every human is born with and cannot be taken away
Freedom of expression, political rights, rights to an education, rights to health, shelter, food, religion
Purpose of the United Nations
To maintain peace after WWII
To avoid war in the future
To promote a standard of living for all
To promote cooperation amongst all countries
