a german physicist who developed the theory of relativity. His ideas changed the way people saw the world
Theory of Relativity
Einstein's theory that while the speed of light is constant, other things that seem constant, such as space and time, are actually not
Sigmund Freud
an Austrian physician who believed that much of human behavior is irrational. His ideas wakened faith in reason
T.S. Eliot
an American poet who wrote that western society had lost its spiritual values
William Butler Yeats
an Irish poet who conveyed a sense of dark times ahead
Franz Kafka
a Czech-born Jewish author who wrote eerie novels such as The Trial (1925) and The Castle (1926)
James Joyce
an Irish author who wrote Ulysses (1922), a stream-of-consciousness
existentialism
a philosophy in which people believe that there is no universal meaning to life and that each person creates his or her own meaning through choices and actions
Jean Paul Sartre
a major leader of the existentialist movement
Friedrich Nietzsche
a German philosopher who urged a return to the heroic values of pride, assertiveness, and strength
Paul Klee/Wassily Kandinsky
expressionist painters who used bold colors or exaggerated forms
Georges Braque/Pablo Picasso
artists who were inspired by African art and created cubism
Igor Stravinsky/Arnold Schoenberg
composers who used irregular rhythms, harsh sound combinations, and rejected traditional harmonies
jazz
a popular musical style developed in New Orleans, Memphis, and Chicago that captured the new freedom of the age
Margaret Sanger/Emma Goldman
women's rights activists who risked arrest by speaking in favor of birth control
Charles Lindbergh
an American pilot who flew a 33-hour solo flight from New York to Paris
Amelia Earheart
an American who became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic
KDKA
the world's first commercial radio station out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
coalition government
a temporary alliance of several political parties that is sometimes necessary to form a parliamentary majority. However, they didn't last long because parties disagreed on so many things
Weimer Republic
Germany's democratic government. This government was weak and the Germans blamed it for their defeat in WWI and humiliation from the Treaty of Versailles.
Charles Dawes
an American banker who headed an international committee that helped Germany recover form its economic distress
Dawes Plan
provided a $200 million loan from American banks to stabilize German economy and slow inflation
Gustav Stresemann
Germany's foreign minister who met in Switzerland with the French foreign minister to improve relations between their countries. There, he signed a treaty promising that France and Germany wouldn't fight
Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact
almost every country in the world signed this pact saying that they would "renounce war as an instrument of national policy"
Frank Kellogg
U.S. secretary of state who arranged the Kellogg-Briand peace pact with Aristide Briand of France
The Great Depression
this event occurred because in September of 1929, investors began to think that stock prices were too high. They began selling their stocks, which caused the prices to go down. Eventually, stock prices plunged and everyone wanted to sell. This caused the market to collapse. This collapse of the American economy eventually resulted in a 65% decrease in world trade. Because of that, the world's economy collapsed.
National Government
because the Depression hit Britain severely, they elected a multiparty coalition that passed high tariffs, increased taxes, and regulated currency. Eventually, the country recovered
Popular Front
a coalition government in France during the Depression that consisted of moderates, Socialists, and Communists. They passed a series of reforms, but the unemployment rate remained high
Franklin D. Roosevelt
U.S. president elected during the depression. He began a program of government called the New Deal. He believed that government spending would create jobs and begin recovery
New Deal
Roosevelt's government reform during the Depression which implemented large public works projects that helped provide jobs. New government agencies gave financial help to businesses and large amounts of public money were spent on welfare and relief.
fascism
a militant political movement that emphasized loyalty to the state and obedience to its leader. They believed that nations must struggle and that peaceful nations were doomed to be conquered. They also pledged loyalty to an authoritarian leader.
Benito Mussolini
an Italian newspaper editor and politician who founded Italy's Fascist Party in 1919. In October of 1922, 30,000 fascists demanded that the king put this man in charge of the government. Once in power, he abolished democracy and outlawed all political parties except the fascists. He sought to control the economy by allying the fascists with the industrialists and landowners
King Victor Emmanuel III
the king of Italy who decided that Mussolini was the best hope for his dynasty to survive and allowed him to take control of the government
Il Duce
the title that Mussolini took when he came to power; means "the leader"
Adolf Hitler
fought well in World War I and, at the end of the war, he joined the Nazi party. He was eventually chosen to head the party and was inspired by Mussolini to seize power in Munich. He failed and was arrested. While in prison, he wrote a book that set forth his beliefs and goals for Germany. After leaving prison in 1924, he revived the Nazi party. When the Great Depression began, Germans turned to him for leadership. He eventually turned Germany into a totalitarian state.
National Socialist German Workers' (Nazi) Party
a small right-wing political group in Germany that believed that Germany had to overturn the Treaty of Versailles and combat Communism. It eventually group to be the largest political party in Germany
Nazism
the German version of fascism that was adopted by the Nazi Party
storm troopers
the Nazi's private militia; also known as the Brown Shirts
Mein Kampf
a book that Hitler wrote while he was in jail. It outlined his beliefs and goals for Germany. Hitler wrote that non-Aryans were inferior and that the Versailles Treaty was an outrage. He vowed to reclaim German lands and get more land by conquering eastern Europe and Russia.
lebensraum
living space; Hitler vowed to claim more of this by conquering eastern Europe and Russia
President Paul von Hindenburg
when conservative leaders believed they could control Hitler, they convinced this man to name Hitler chancellor
General Erich Ludendorff
a former ally of Hitler who wrote to President Hindenburg telling him that Hitler would bring Germany into "inconceivable misery"
Reichstag building
the building in which the German parliament met. When in burned down, the Nazis blamed the Communists. By stirring up fear of the Communists, the Nazis were able to win a parliamentary majority
SS
a unit that was loyal only to Hitler and arrested and murdered hundreds of his enemies
Gestapo
Nazi secret police
anti-Semitism
hatred of Jews; a key part of Nazi ideology. The Jews were used as scapegoats for all of Germany's troubles
Kristallnacht (Night of the Broken Glass)
a rampage that signaled the real start of the process of eliminating Jews from German life
Juan Perón
dictator of Argentina who was inspired by Hitler and Mussolini to build his own military dictatorship
Admiral Miklós Horthy
the first European postwar dictator; ruled Hungary
militarists
a political group in Japan that was similar to the fascist group because they were extreme nationalists, but, unlike the fascists, they did not try to establish a new system of government. Instead, they wanted to restore control of the government to the military
Manchuria
one of China's northeast providences that was rich in natural resources. When the Japanese seized this land, it was the first direct challenge to the League of Nations
Jiang Jieshi
led China's army, but was no match for the Japanese
Chongquing
the new capital of China that Jiang Jieshi established after the first capital, Nanjing, fell to the Japanese
Mao Zedong
led the Chinese guerrillas and continued to fight the Japanese in the conquered areas
Haile Selassie
emperor of Ethiopia when Mussolini invaded. He appealed to the League of Nations for help, but they did nothing
Rhineland
the zone formed as a buffer between Germany and France. Hitler moved troops into this area even though the treaty forbade it and the French didn't want to risk war by making them leave.
appeasement
giving in to an aggressor to keep peace. The British and the French used this tactic to try to avoid war
Rome-Berlin Axis
the alliance between Italy and Germany
Axis Powers
the alliance among Germany, Italy, and Japan
Spanish Civil War
a war that occurred when the army leaders of Spain, favoring a fascist-style government, revolted against the liberals and Socialists.
General Francisco Franco
led the Nationalists in revolt during the Spanish Civil war and received help from Hitler and Mussolini. After three years of war, he became the fascist dictator of Spain
isolationism
the belief that political ties to other countries should be avoided; many Americans supported this belief during the 1930s
the Third Reich
Hitler's German Empire
Anschluss
union between Austria and Germany. The Treaty of Versailles did not allow this, but Hitler ignored this and absorbed Austria into his empire anyway
Sudetenland
the western border regions of Czechoslovakia. Hitler demanded that this area be given to Germany, but the Czechs refused and asked France for help.
Munich Conference
a meeting among Germany, France, Britain, and Italy that was proposed by Mussolini to discuss the Sudetenland
Neville Chamberlain
British prime minister who believed that he could preserve peace by giving in to Hitler's demands
Winston Churchill
a member of the British Parliament who disagreed with Neville Chamberlain and his appeasement policy