Key terms Flashcards
Autocracy
A state or society governed by one person with absolute power.
Kaiser Wilhelm II
The autocratic leader who was forced to stand down by his own people in November, 1918.
The Weimar Republic
The democratic government that replaced the Kaiser.
The Treaty of Versailles
The “peace” agreement at the end of World War One which massively weakened Germany.
Proportional representation
The voting system that was used in the Weimar Republic. It made a strong and decisive government impossible.
Left wing extremists
Extreme Communists who wanted to see the Weimar Republic fail.
Right wing extremists
Extreme nationalists who felt that the Weimar Republic was failing Germany, and needed to be replaced with autocracy.
The DAP and the NAZIS
The DAP was a Party formed of working people who were proud of their country.
It was originally led by Anton Drexler, and then by Adolf Hitler, who changed its name to the Nationalist Socialist Party.
A depression
A long and severe recession in an economy or market.
The Great Depression
The financial and industrial slump of 1929 and subsequent years. Support for extremists increased dramatically in Germany at this time.
A dictatorship
A country governed by a dictator.
How did Germany become a dictatorship after the revolution?
The NAZI Party took power, through democracy, in 1933. Once Adolf Hitler was head of the Weimar Republic, he set about closing down democracy and creating autocracy and totalitarianism.
Totalitarianism
A system of government that is centralized, dictatorial and requires complete subservience to the state. People’s freedoms are very limited.
