1. Weimar Republic a. The unofficial name of the German state between 1919 and 1933. b. Semi­presidential representative democracy that came into existence after the German Revolution of 1918­1919 2. Social Democrats a. Those who support a socialist system of government based on democracy b. Variation of fascism c. Stalin described fascism and social democracy as “twin brothers” 3. Post­war German inflation a. When WWI started, the Reichsbank (German Central Bank) stopped redeeming its notes with gold. The government did not want to tax its people heavily, so it began to borrow copious amounts of money that it planned to gain back by winning the war and making the loser pay reparations. However, when Germany lost the war, they had a large deficit, which was not gold­backed, and tried to fix the problem by printing more and more money. b. Remember the example of the woman using bills as wallpaper and the kids playing with blocks of cash for toys. 4. Dawes Plan (1924) a. The Dawes Plan, written by American Charles Dawes, was the plan to take Weimar Germany out of hyperinflation. b. Here were the stipulations i. Ruhr to be returned to the control of the Germans and that French and Belgian troops would need to evacuate ii. The reparation payments restructured so that Germany would only have to give 1 billion marks the first year and would give 2.5 billion marks every following year. (the hope was that the German economy would pick up after the first year) iii. Restructuring of Weimar’s national bank, the Reichsbank, which would be supervised by the Allies. 5. Young Plan (1929) a. Replaced the Dawes Plan b. Lowered Reparations further c. Appointed by the Allied Reparations Committee d. Called for an international bank of settlements to handle the reparations transfers. i. Bank for International Settlements established 6. Lateran Treaty a. One of the Lateran Pacts of 1929 or Lateran Accords, agreements made in 1929 between the Kingdom of Italy and the Holy See, settling the "Roman Question". They are named after the Lateran Palace, where they were signed on February 11, 1929. 7. Locarno a. A series of treaties signed in December 1925 b. The First World War Western European Allied powers and the new states of ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Central and Eastern Europe sought to secure the post­war territorial settlement, ​ ​ ​ and return normalizing relations with defeated Germany (which was, by this time, ​ ​ the Weimar Republic) ​ ​ 8. Kellogg­Briand Pact (1928) a. An international agreement in which signatory states promised not to use war to ​ ​ resolve "disputes or conflicts of whatever nature or of whatever origin they may be, which may arise among them." b. Signed by 62 countries including France, Germany, UK, Italy, Japan, US, and others. 9. Ruhr Valley Invasion (1923­1925) a. Military occupation of the mineral rich German Ruhr Valley by France and Belgium when the Germans didn’t pay their reparations. b. Poincare, the French Premier, made the decision that France would withdraw the reparations themselves. c. Germany did not resist making France look like the bad guy. 10. Fascism a. An authoritarian and nationalistic right­wing system of government and social organization. b. Example: Stalin’s USSR 11. Two­thirds Law a. the law that undermined public faith in the new constitutional order because it favored politicians already in office 12. Fasces a. A bundle of rods bound together around an axe with the blade projecting, carried before ancient Roman magistrates as an emblem of authority. b. Became a symbol for nazis (on the Italian nazi’s flag) 13. Post­WWI Italian social unrest a. Italians expected to gain much more land than they did through the Geneva Accords, which made them lose faith in the strength of their government. b. The Italian economy was also terrible: Italian tourist trade and export trade came to a standstill and there was large­scale unemployment throughout the country. The problem of unemployment was aggravated by the return of millions of ex­soldiers to Italy and a new immigration law of the U.S. government which restricted entry of immigrants. 14. Blackshirts a. The Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, commonly called the Blackshirts or squadristi, was originally the paramilitary wing of the National Fascist Party and, after 1923, an all­volunteer militia of the Kingdom of Italy. 15. March on Rome a. March done by the Italian Fascist party (Partito Nazionale Fascista or PNF) to take power in Italy from October 22­29th 1922. 16. Il Duce a. The title for Benito Mussolini, Mussolini was the first fascist leader to take power post World War I, he ruled over Italy. 17. Führer a. Hitler’s title during his command over Germany 1933­45. 18. Corporative State a. A sociopolitical organization run by major interest groups, or corporate groups, such as agricultural, business, ethnic, labor, military, patronage, or scientific affiliations, on the basis of common interests. 19. Syndicates a. Groups of individuals or organizations combined to promote a common interest. 20. Battle of Wheat/Grain a. Mussolini’s attempt to rectify low production of grain/wheat­based products such as bread. They used this to show Italy was a major power as well as feeding the populace and make Italy self­sufficient. 21. Battle of Births a. Mussolini’s attempt to increase the birthrate to increase Italy’s ability to create an empire similar to the Romans’. It also describes Nazi tactics to increase their own birthrate to create more military and industrial might in the future. 22. Hitler Youth a. Created originally in 1922 but instituted as the only official youth organization in Germany from 1933 to 1945. It was comprised of boys aged 14 to 18 in the Hitlerjugend and younger boys in the Deutsches Jungvolk (German Youth) and the League of German Girls. It was considered as important as school for youth and it taught all of Hitler’s doctrine and the complete indoctrination into the Party. 23. League of German Girls a. Also called the Band of German Maidens, the League of German Girls was the other half of the Hitler Youth program. Originally it was split into the Jungmadel for girls 10 to 14 and the League itself for girls aged 14 to 18, but then added the voluntary Faith and Beauty Society for girls age 17 to 21. It served the same function as the Hitler Youth program for boys. 24. National Socialist German Workers’ Party a. Commonly referred to as the Nazi Party in Germany, it was in active between 1920 and 1945. Obviously it practiced strong anti­business, anti­bourgeois, anti­capitalism, and anti­Semitism. 25. Beer Hall Putsch a. Failed coup attempt by Hitler to seize power in Munich, Bavaria in 1923. After 16 Nazis and 4 policemen were killed and Hitler himself wounded, Hitler was arrested and charged with treason after two days. Here Hitler wrote Mein Kampf, dictated to his prison mate Rudolf Hess. 26. Brownshirts, SS, SA a. The secret service (SS), and Storm Department (German Sturmabteilung) (SA) were based on Mussolini’s blackshirts and called Brownshirts instead based on the color of their uniforms. 27. Mein Kampf a. Written in prison after the Beer Hall Putsch attempt, it detailed all of Hitler’s ideals, especially anti­Semitism. The entire Nazi ideal system was based on the book. It’s theorized that Hitler didn’t write it himself, instead having had it written for him while he was in prison. 28. Reichstag Fire a. An arson attack on the Reichstag building in Berlin in 1933. Marinus van der Lubbe, a Dutch council communist, was arrested for the arson and executed for it, used as evidence by the Nazi Party that the communists were plotting against the German government. 29. Enabling Act a. Amendment to the Weimar Constitution that gave Hitler the power to enact laws without Reichstag involvement. It gave him complete control to create laws independently of the rest of the government. 30. Third Reich a. Literally translated as the Third Empire. It was the plan for the German empire and was originally intended to “last a thousand years.” The term can be used for the entirely of Nazi owned territories during the war, i.e. Poland, France, and Norway were part of the Third Reich. The intended boundaries were intended to cover Russia past Moscow, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Poland, Austria, and parts of France and the Balkan states. 31. Kristallnacht a. The “night of broken glass,” carried out on the night of November 9th 1938 targeting the Jewish population of Germany. The German SA forces as well as civilians destroyed Jewish owned shops, synagogues, and buildings. Some 30,000 were arrested and several hundred killed. 32. Gestapo a. The Gestapo was the official German Secret State police creating by Hermann Goring in 1933. 33. Night of the Long Knives a. The Night of the Long Knives was a purge that took place in Germany from June 30 to July 2. Hitler purged much of the original party including leaders of the left­wing Strasserist faction (called for a more worker­based form of National Socialism) such as Gregor Strasser, conservative anti­Nazis such as Kurt von Schleicher and Kahr. The SA was also purged such as its leader Ernst Rohm. Some 85 people died in the purge. 34. Nuremberg Laws a. Laws which officialized many of the racial theories in Nazi ideology. They restricted German Jews from citizenship and prohibited them from marrying for procreating. The laws also defined a “Jew” as someone who had three or four Jewish grandparents. 35. Führerprinzip a. Translated as “leader principle,” the concept that the Führer’s word is above all law. 36. Four­Year Plan a. Economic plan instituted by Hitler who put Goring in charge of it. The purpose of the plan was for the rearmament of Germany and prepare it for self­sufficiency. 37. Strength Through Joy a. “Kraft durch Freude” in German, state­operated leisure organization. Intended to promote National Socialism. 38. Organic Theory of society a. The concept that society is an organism, that man interacts with the government in a constantly evolving manner and that no society can be free of change. 39. Paul von Hindenberg a. German military officer, statesman, and politician, second President of Germany from 1925­34. He was opposed to Hitler but was forced to adopted him as chancellor and, because of failing health, transferred power to Hitler. 40. Rome­Berlin a. Alliance between the German Reich and the Italian Fascist state. 41. Axis Rapallo a. Treaty signed between Germany and Russia which renounced all territorial and financial claims on each other following the Treaty of Brest­Litovsk and World War I. 42. Gustav Streseman a. Streseman was a German statesman who served as Chancellor in 1923 for 102 days. He built the international mentality that the French were the unjust oppressors by promoting peaceful resistance to the occupation of the Ruhr by French forces. 43. “Fulfillment” a. Strategy pursued by Streseman, concept that in order to receive assistance Germany needed to do its best to fulfill the terms set by the Treaty of Versailles. 44. Neutrality Acts a. Laws passed to limit U.S. involvement in future wars. Based on isolationism. They banned exports and loans to belligerent states and civil wars.