Unit C Study Guide Flashcards
Nationalism:
Identification with one’s own nation and support for its interests, especially to the exclusion or detriment of the interests of other nations.
Genocide:
The killing of members of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; and deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction.
Internationalism:
The doctrine that all members of the global community accept collective responsibility for the challenges that face the world and that the motives of nations and nation-states must be respected in the search for solutions.
Demilitarization:
To deprive of military character; free from militarism. To place under civil instead of military control. To forbid military use of (a border zone).
Annexation:
A formal act whereby a state proclaims its sovereignty over territory hitherto outside its domain.
Capitalist:
An economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.
Conscription:
Compulsory military service. in Canada during World Wars I and II, the policy was controversial, especially among Francophones in Québec.
Alliances:
A union or association formed for mutual benefit, especially between countries or organizations. When a group of people, organizations or countries join together to support one another to achieve a common purpose.
Ultranationalism:
An extreme form of nationalism. Ultranationalists are often fanatically loyal to their own nation and hostile and racist toward other nations.
Self-determination:
The power to control one’s own affairs. National self-determination is the power of people within a nation-state or nation to make their own decisions about what is in their interest.
Appeasement:
Giving in to demands. A foreign policy practised by Britain and the United States when they granted Hitler concessions in an effort to avoid World War II.
Militarism:
The belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests. Militarism is the practice of maintaining a large military, including army, navy and air force. Militarism includes the practice of building stockpiles of weapons. When nations compete to build up their military and weapons reserve, this is called an “arms race”.
Confrontation:
A hostile or argumentative meeting or situation between opposing parties.
Imperialist:
A policy of extending a country’s power and influence through diplomacy or military force.
Propaganda:
Information and ideas that spread to achieve a specific goal. Extreme nationalists may use misleading and dishonest information to create fear and insecurity and to persuade people to behave in certain ways.
Internment camps:
A concentration camp for civilian citizens, especially those with ties to an enemy during wartime, as the camps established by the United States government to detain Japanese Americans after the Pearl Harbour attacks.
Sudetenland:
In 1938 the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Neville Chamberlain, met with Hitler and agreed to allow Germany to occupy the Sudetenland (in France) in the hopes that he would stop his expansion. Hitler did not stop invading other countries like he promised and eventually triggered the start of WWII.
The Middle East Agreement:
Arabs in the Ottoman Empire faced oppressive and discriminatory treatment from the ruling Turkish government. Arab ethnic nationalism was growing and many Arabs desired self-determination. The Arabs supported and fought with the Allies against Germany and the Ottoman Empire during WWI. The allies promised the Arabs an independent nation-state after the war in exchange for their support. Britain and France signed a secretive treaty in 1916 called the Sykes-Picot Agreement. This treaty divided the Ottoman Empire into countries that would be controlled by the British and French. Promises of self-determination to the Arabs were ignored and never fulfilled. France granted itself control over the people and territory of Syria and Lebanon. Britain granted itself control over the people and territory of Cyprus, Iraq and Palestine. France and Britain wanted to gain economically from the vast oil reserves in the Middle East. The British government also declared the formation of a Jewish nation-state in Palestine.
Describe Germany’s economy during the interwar period:
The Treaty of Versailles imposed economic punishments on Germany which created untold economic, political, and social hardships on regular German citizens. Germany paid billions of dollars in reparations which didn’t allow them to rebuild their own economy. Germany experienced massive hyperinflation between 1921 to 1923 as the government was printing too much money to pay its workers. Money lost all of its value and most middle-class families lost all of their savings.
Kristallnacht:
November 9, 1938: “Night of Broken Glass” (Kristallnacht) was a massive coordinated attack against Jews. Nazi soldiers assaulted and murdered Jewish people in the streets as their homes and businesses were burned and destroyed. Over 25 000 Jewish men were taken away to concentration camps. Kristallnacht (Night of the Broken Glass) is seen as a starting point for the Holocaust. It was an ultranationalistic response to Jewish participation in German society. Jewish people were attacked, murdered and had their businesses and homes burned down and destroyed. This occurred in Austria and Germany.
League of Nations:
The League of Nations was the world’s first international organization with the goal of preventing wars through collective security. The League of Nations was created as part of the Treaty of Versailles. The League of Nations attempted to facilitate countries working together to solve many international issues. Each of the 58 member countries had its own national interests that they were pursuing. Often, the pursuit of their own national interests prevented countries from joining collective efforts to prevent conflict. Under the Treaty of Versailles, German colonies were made ‘mandates’ of the League of Nations.
Why was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand important?
Prior to World War I Archduke Franz Ferdinand was next in line to rule Austria-Hungary. In 1914, while visiting the city of Sarajevo in Bosnia, Archduke Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated by Gavrilo Princip. Princip was a member of the “Black Hand”, a secret military society that wanted to unify all territories with a Slavic majority. The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand is considered to be the event that started the First World War. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Russia mobilized the next day to support Serbia. Germany declared war on Russia as a result.
Who were the central powers in WWI?
Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria.
Who were the allied powers in WWI?
France, Britain, Russia, Italy and Japan.
What are the four main causes of WWI?
Militarism, alliances, imperialism and nationalism.
Describe the arms race prior to WWI:
Britain and Germany began an arms race in the navy, instilling fear among other nations. As a result, Germany, France, Russia and Britain all increased military spending prior to WWI.
Why was militarism increased before WWI?
European countries had to protect their foreign colonies, some countries felt vulnerable to other countries with larger militaries, and nationalism drove governments to increase their military to symbolize strength in the nation.
