Germany 1918 - 1945 Key Terms Flashcards
Abdicate
Give up the throne of the country
Anti-semitism
Hatred of the Jews
Armistice
Agreement, or truce, to stop fighting
Article 48
Part of the Weimar Constitution that gave the president the right to rule in a time of crisis without requiring the support of the Reichstag
Aryan
Nazi term for a non-Jewish German, for someone of supposedly ‘pure’ Germanic stock. Correctly used, the term Aryan means a member of the peoples who speak an indo-european language
Assassinate
Murder an important person for political or religious reasons
Avant-garde
New and experimental ideas and methods in art, music or literature
Bauhaus
School of design orienting in Weimar Germany, which focused on modern, simple and practical designs, rather than more elaborate, ‘fancy’ designs of long ago
Bundesrat
Group made up of German state representatives who supported the Kaiser (Unlike the Reichstag, who were elected politicians who challenged the Kaiser)
Cabinet
The group or committee of senior politicians responsible for controlling government policy
Censorship
When the state controls the media, ie books, newspapers, plays, broadcasts, films etc. Under the Kaiser, censorship had been strict; the Weimar government was liberal, allowing artists free expression; the Nazi’s censored every aspect of German life on a scale never known before
Chancellor
In Germany, the chief minister in the government
Coalition
Government where two or more political parties combine to rule
Communism
Political system where all property is owned by the government; people are equal and they are paid by the government according to their needs
Concentration Camp
Camp in which people are held under harsh conditions and without the freedoms of the rest of society
Confessional Church
German Protestant group determined to have nothing to do with the Nazi’s or the German Christians
Conscription
Law making all men of a certain age join the armed forces and be available to fight at any time
Constitution
The rules by which a state is governed
Culture
The values, morals traditions and attitudes of a group of society; it relates to the music and films people listen to and watch, the art they create, the buildings they design and the behaviours they display
DAF (Deutsche Arbeitsfront)
German Labor Front, a Nazi organization that workers had belonged to
Dawes Plan
Agreement between the USA and European countries, allowing for US loans to be given to European countries (especially Germany) in order for them to build factories and roads, and stimulate the economy
Death Camp
Extermination camp where prisoners, mainly Jews, were put to death
Demobilise
To disband troops, particularly after a war
Democratic Republic
System of running a country in which all adults have the right to vote for the government they want
Depression
Time during the 1930’s when many banks and businesses failed and millions lost their jobs
Deh Fuhrer
Supreme leader, the title adopted by Adolf Hitler
Dictator
Ruler with total control over who a country is governed
Dictatorship
One-party state, governed by an absolute ruler; the opposite of a democracy, where the people choose the government, and opposing views are tolerated
Diktat
Nickname given by many Germans to the hated Treaty of Versailles; translated as ‘dictated peace’
Edelweiss Pirates
Rebel youth gang which went camping and song songs making fun of Hitler; they even physically attacked Hitler Youth Groups. The gang included boys and girls, including Jews.
