key terms Flashcards
Armistice
An agreement to suspend fighting in order to allow a peace treaty to be negotiated.
Republic
A system of government in which the Head of State, or President, is elected into office.
Constitutional
An established set of principles governing a state.
Mutiny
A revolt by soldiers or sailors against their officers.
Soviets
The workers’ and soldiers’ councils established in the Russia Revolution of 1917 (also known as the October Revolution), when the Russian Provisional Government was removed and the Bolsheviks, under the influence of Lenin, took control; the revolution was announced at the second Congress of the Soviets, which were democratic bodies that existed in parallel to the Provisional Government.
Reichstag
The elected lower house of the German parliament.
Universal Male Suffrage
A system in which every adult male has the right to vote in elections
Constituent Assembly
An elected body with the specific task of drawing up a new constitution, usually in the aftermath of a revolution.
Aristocracy
The highest class in certain societies, typically comprising people of noble birth holding hereditary titles and offices.
Proportional Representation
A system of elections in which parties are allocated seats in parliament according to the proportion of votes they receive.
Autocracy
A system of government in which power is concentrated in the hands of one person.
Diktat
An order or decree imposed by someone in power without popular consent.
National Self-Determination
Nations being able to decide whether they govern themselves, independent or larger empires or grouping of nations.
Reparations
The compensation for war damage paid by the defeated state.
The Ruhr
The heavily industrialised area of western Germany that includes the towns of Dusseldorf, Essen and Dortmund; at that time, it generated 85% of German coal and also had many large iron and steel works and engineering factories.
Paramilitary
A group of civilians organised into a military style group with uniforms and ranks; such groups take on military functions.
Mittelstand
‘Middle rank’.
A large but diverse social group including small farmers, small shopkeepers and artisans.
Without steady sources of income, they felt themselves to be vulnerable to inflation and tended to look to governments to protect their position.
Comintern
The Communist International, set up in 1919 to oversee the actions of Marxist parties across the world.
Socialist groups from other countries were invited to join and receive support, but leadership was in the hands of the Russian Communist Party.
Putsch
A coup or violent attempt to overthrow a government.
Reichswehr
The German army.
Organisation Consul
An ultra-nationalist paramilitary group formed from ex-Freikorps members after their units were disbanded following the failed Kapp Putsch.
Stormtroopers (SA)
The paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party, led by Ernst Rohm.
Wearing their distinctive brown shirts, they were given the job of beating up the Nazis’ opponents - many members had formerly belonged to the Freikorps.
