World Wars: Key Figures, Events, and Aftermath
Key Figures and Concepts of World War I
- Militarism: Aggressive preparation for war.
- Neutrality: The USA followed this policy initially.
- Conscription: Military draft.
- Mobilization: Process of assembling troops and supplies for war.
- Archduke Franz Ferdinand: His assassination sparked WWI.
- Alfred von Schlieffen: Developed the Schlieffen Plan.
- Nicholas II: Last Czar of Russia.
- William II: German leader during WWI.
- Reparations: Payments for war damages.
- Mandates: Former Ottoman lands divided after WWI.
- Armistice: Truce to end fighting.
- Self-determination: The right of nations to govern themselves.
- League of Nations: International peacekeeping organization.
- Georges Clemenceau: French leader during WWI.
- David Lloyd George: England’s Prime Minister during WWI.
- Woodrow Wilson: Proposed the Fourteen Points.
- Vittorio Orlando: Italian leader during WWI.
- Aleksandr Kerensky: Led the Russian provisional government.
- Leon Trotsky: Led the Red Army.
- Vladimir Lenin: Communist leader of Russia.
- Rasputin: Influential Russian monk.
Key Figures and Concepts of World War II
- Genocide: Mass murder of a specific group.
- Planned Economies: Directed by the government.
- Total War: Complete mobilization of resources and people.
- Social Darwinism: Belief in the superiority of certain groups.
- Totalitarianism: Government that seeks total control.
- Fascism: Authoritarian political philosophy.
- Holocaust: Systematic extermination led by Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany.
- Auschwitz: Largest of the Nazi death camps.
- Final Solution: German policy of Jewish extermination.
- Antisemitism: Hostility toward Jews.
- Kristallnacht: Night of Broken Glass; Nazi attacks on Jewish property.
- General Tojo: Japanese Prime Minister during WWII.
- Benito Mussolini: Italy’s fascist leader.
- Reinhard Heydrich: Created the Einsatzgruppen.
- Heinrich Himmler: Architect of the Holocaust.
- Adolf Hitler: Leader of Nazi Germany.
- Stalingrad: Turning point battle on the Eastern Front.
- Midway Islands: Turning point naval battle in the Pacific.
- El Alamein: Turning point battle in North Africa.
- Guadalcanal: First major Allied offensive in the Pacific.
- Normandy: D-Day; Allied invasion of Western Europe.
Causes and Events of World War I
Main Causes of WWI (MINIS)
Militarism, Imperialism, Nationalism, Industrialization, Social Darwinism
Alliances
- Triple Alliance: Italy, Germany, Austria-Hungary
- Triple Entente: Russia, Great Britain, France
Key Questions
- What area was known as the “Powder Keg”?: The Balkans
- What role did the Ottoman Empire play?: Joined the Triple Alliance and committed genocide against Armenians.
- Why was WWI considered a modern war?: Use of machine guns, poison gas, airplanes, and tanks.
- What weapon contributed most to the stalemate in WWI?: Machine guns.
- How did Germany attempt to prevent supplies from reaching Great Britain?: U-boats (submarines).
- How did governments influence public opinion?: Propaganda.
- What were the goals of Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points?: Large-scale reduction of arms, self-determination, freedom of the seas, and the creation of the League of Nations.
- What were the goals of British and French leaders for the postwar period?: Punish Germany, strip Germany of all weapons and territory.
Interwar Period and World War II
Causes of the March 1917 Revolution in Russia
Food shortages.
How did WWI contribute to the rise of nationalism in Africa?
Colonial schools, studying abroad, and unfulfilled promises of rewards for service.
Effects of WWI on Japan
Acquired Germany’s Asian territories, became an industrial power, experienced the Meiji Restoration, and saw Zaibatsu prosperity.
Steps Japan took to become an imperial power
Invaded Manchuria, established the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, and colonized Korea, Taiwan, and French Indochina.
Two groups vying for control of China
Nationalists and Communists.
Steps India took toward independence
British promises, Gandhi’s leadership, the India Act, the Salt March, and Gandhi’s arrest.
How did the League of Nations respond when Japan took Manchuria?
Condemned it but took no action.
How was Hitler able to test Germany’s military?
Spanish Civil War.
Factors that promoted WWI and WWII
Economic crises, industrial competition, the rise of communism, and the Treaty of Versailles.
How did Mussolini and Hitler repress opposition?
Suppression of individual liberties, outlawing political parties, banning opposition, using paramilitary groups (Brown Shirts and Black Shirts), and promoting extreme nationalism.
Why did Western democracies adopt a policy of appeasement?
To avoid war by giving in to aggressors’ demands.
Three main ideas in *Mein Kampf*
Extreme nationalism, antisemitism, and anti-communism.
Alliances in WWII
- Allied Powers: USA, Great Britain, France, Soviet Union
- Axis Powers: Japan, Germany, Italy
Why did Hitler invade the Soviet Union?
To gain “living space” and enslave the population.
Chinese city targeted by Japanese forces
Nanjing.
Chronological Order of Events
Following Events of WWI
Treaty of Versailles, Great Depression, rise of totalitarianism, Hitler rearms Germany, Great Britain and France appease Hitler, Hitler invades Poland.
Following Events of WWII
Hitler becomes Chancellor, France falls, British civilians rescue Allied troops at Dunkirk, Germany breaks the Nazi-Soviet Pact, Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, Battle of Stalingrad, Allied forces land in Normandy, Germany surrenders, USA drops atomic bombs on Japan.
Following Events of the Holocaust
Jewish stores are boycotted, Jews are stripped of their citizenship, Nuremberg Laws are enacted, German Jews are expelled, Kristallnacht occurs, Nazi Germany invades Poland, mobile killing squads are deployed, Nazis open death camps.
Following Effects of WWII
Start of the Cold War, Soviet control of East Germany, creation of the United Nations.
Propaganda Posters
- Allies: “Destroy this mad brute, enlist & remember.”
- Central Powers: “Gegen England” & “L’Entente Cordiale.”
Russian Social Democratic Party
- Bolsheviks: The majority faction, later known as the Communist Party.