Glossary: Depth Study Germany

Question 1

armistice

Answer 1

ceasefire, an end to the fighting

Question 2

Treaty of Versailles

Answer 2

the Treaty that ended WW1

Question 3

reparations

Answer 3

the compensation Germany was made to pay to the allies (set at 6.6 billion pounds)

Question 4

diktat

Answer 4

an agreement forced upon someone

Question 5

dolchstoss

Answer 5

‘the stab in the back’ said about the Weimar politicians when they signed the TofV

Question 6

November Criminals

Answer 6

term used for politicians that signed the TofV

Question 7

Weimar Republic

Answer 7

name given to the new democratic government Germany got after WW1 (1918-1933)

Question 8

Reichstag

Answer 8

main house in the German Parliament

Question 9

Proportional representation

Answer 9

system of voting where the numbers of seats you have in the Reichstag is based off the % of votes gained. Led to lots of political parties

Question 10

coalition

Answer 10

a Government formed from two or more political parties

Question 11

compromise

Answer 11

where no-one gets precisely what they want, they have to give way to other parties’ wished and views

Question 12

article 48

Answer 12

rule in Weimar Constitution that says President can pass laws alone if no agreement can be reached in the Reichstag

Question 13

hyperinflation

Answer 13

were the value of money falls so rapidly it becomes worthless

Question 14

Ruhr region

Answer 14

part of Germany the French and Belgian soldiers occupied to seize goods when the Germans failed to pay reparations

Question 15

sabotage

Answer 15

deliberately breaking equipment and machinery to prevent others using it

Question 16

Rosa Luxembourg

Answer 16

leader of the Spartacists

Question 17

Karl liebknecht

Answer 17

leader of the Spartacists

Question 18

Wolfgang Kapp

Answer 18

leader of the Freikorps’ attempt to seize power

Question 19

Spartacists

Answer 19

left wing group who wanted a Communist revolution, like in Russia. Attempted to seize control of Berlin in 1919

Question 20

Freikorps

Answer 20

right wing group made up mainly of returning soldiers. Gave military support to right wing political parties

Question 21

Rentenmark

Answer 21

the new currency issued by Stresemann to replace the worthless German mark

Question 22

Dawes Plan

Answer 22

introduced in 1924 to reduce Germany’s annual reparation bill

Question 23

Young Plan

Answer 23

introduced in 1929, reduced the overall amount of reparations to 2 billion pounds and gave them another 59 years to pay

Question 24

Locarno Pact

Answer 24

1925 - improved relations between France, Germany and Belgium

Question 25

League of Nations

Answer 25

international org. set up after WW1 to try and maintain peace

Question 26

Gustav Stresemann

Answer 26

Key political figure (chancellor, then foreign minister) during Germany's good years (1924-1928)

Question 27

Kellogg-Briand Pact

Answer 27

agreement between 69 countries, including Germany, not to use war to achieve foreign policy aims

Question 28

DAP

Answer 28

The German Workers Party - the party that later became the Nazi Party

Question 29

Anton Drexler

Answer 29

leader of DAP

Question 30

NSDAP

Answer 30

National Socialist German Workers Party - the official name for the Nazi party

Question 31

Swastika

Answer 31

the crooked cross symbol of the Nazi Party

Question 32

Mein Kampf

Answer 32

'My Struggle'. The book Hitler wrote whilst in prison

Question 33

Munich Putsch

Answer 33

Hitler's failed attempt to seize power in 1923

Question 34

Propaganda

Answer 34

Methods (speeches, posters etc) to make people believe what you want them to believe. Used very effectively by the Nazis

Question 35

Josef Goebbels

Answer 35

Nazi minister for propaganda

Question 36

Wall St Crash

Answer 36

The collapse of USA's financial markets in Oct 1929 which led to the worldwide Great Depression

Question 37

SA (stormtroopers/brownshirts)

Answer 37

the first private army of the Nazi Party

Question 38

SS

Answer 38

replaced the SA in power and influence - began as a personal bodyguard for Hitler

Question 39

Ernst Rohm

Answer 39

leader of SA murdered in 1934

Question 40

Night of Long Knives

Answer 40

term used to describe the culling of the SA

Question 41

State of emergency

Answer 41

a crisis so great that normal rules of government are suspended and the rulers are given extra powers

Question 42

Gestapo

Answer 42

secret police - could arrest and send people to concentration camps without trial

Question 43

Concentration Camps

Answer 43

Nazis ultimate weapon against their own people. Harsh forced labour camps. Many deaths through beating, lack of food, overwork

Question 44

The 3 Ks - Kinder, Kirche, Kuche

Answer 44

Children, Church, Kitchen, the Nazi ideal for women

Question 45

Lebensborn programme

Answer 45

Life Springs Programme 'donate a baby to the Fuhrer'

Question 46

Hitler Youth

Answer 46

Youth Groups set up by the Nazis to train young people to be good Nazis

Question 47

Edelweiss Pirates

Answer 47

rebel groups of teenagers who did not conform with Nazi expectations

Question 48

Scapegoat

Answer 48

an individual or group who is blamed for everything that goes wrong

Question 49

Nuremberg Laws

Answer 49

laws passed in 1935 that persecuted Jews and other minority groups

Question 50

Kristallnacht

Answer 50

Night of Broken Glass - state organised violence against German Jews and their property

Question 51

Einsatzgruppen

Answer 51

special SS squads responsible for mass shooting of Jews, especially in Russia

Question 52

Ghettos

Answer 52

small areas in cities walled off where Jewish people were forced to live in appalling conditions

Question 53

Wannsee Conference

Answer 53

Conference in Jan 1942 where leading Nazis took he decision to try and exterminate the remaining Jews of Europe through gassing

Question 54

Concordat

Answer 54

an agreement made between Hitler and the Pope about the Catholic Church

Question 55

rearmament

Answer 55

policy of increasing armed forces and weapons in preparation for war

Question 56

Strength through Joy (KDF)

Answer 56

Set up to replace banned trade unions. Gave people leisure time activities

Question 57

Beauty of Work

Answer 57

designed to improve working conditions for people (eg canteens, better lighting, washing facilities)