Power and Authority - Terminology - Germany Flashcards
What Countries Were Part of the Allies?
- France
- United Kingdom
- Russia
- United States
- Italy
- Japan
What Countries Were Part of the Central Powers?
- Germany
- Austria-Hungary
- Ottoman Empire
- Bulgaria
What Was the War Guilt Clause?
A portion of the Treaty of Versailles which forced Germany to accept complete responsibility for initiating WW1.
What is Economic Reparations?
Compensation which should be provided for economic reasons and damage. It is a levy on a defeated country, which forces it to pay some of the war costs of the winning countries.
What is Socialism?
Sharing ownership of the means of production amongst society.
What is Capitalism?
An economic and political system where trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit.
What was the Social Democratic Party (SPD)?
The SPD was founded in 1875 from a merger of smaller socialist parties, and grew rapidly after the lifting of Germany’s repressive Anti-Socialist laws in 1890 to become the largest socialist party in Western Europe until 1933.
Who were the Spartacists?
A member of a revolutionary political group organized in Germany in 1918 and advocating extreme socialistic doctrines.
What was the Spartacists Uprising?
The Spartacist uprising was an armed uprising that took place in Berlin from 5 to 12 January 1919. It occurred in connection with the German revolution that broke out just before the end of World War I.
Who were the Freikorps?
The Freikorps (Free Corps) [freaks - soldiers] was an armed, right-wing group of former German soldiers who disagreed with the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.
What is a Putsch?
A violent attempt to overthrow a government, like a coup.
What was the Kapp Putsch?
Kapp Putsch, (1920) in Germany, a coup d’état that attempted to overthrow the fledgling Weimar Republic.
What is the Reichstag?
A German word meaning Parliament.
What was Article 48?
Article 48 of the Weimar constitution allowed the German president to declare a state of emergency in Germany in times of national danger and to rule as a dictator for short periods of time. After the Reichstag Fire of 1933, Hitler would rely upon the precedent of Article 48 to pass the Enabling Act, which gave him truly unlimited dictatorial powers.
What wa the Reichswehr?
Reichswehr was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich.
Who is the SS?
- Known as the black-shirts.
- Originally established as Hitler’s bodyguards
- Later became the elite guard of the Nazi Reich and Hitler’s executive force which was prepared to carry out all security-related duties without any legal restraint.
- They were the leadership associated with the “Final Solution”
Who is the SA?
- Known as the brown-shirts
- Grew out of the Freikorps group in Germany during WW1
- They were the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party, enabling Hitler to rise to power in the 1920’s and 1930’s.
- After Hitler purged the SA during the Night of the Long Knives, the SA lost most of its power to the SS.
