GERMANY DEPT STUDIES

glossary

anti-semitism Prejudice against the Jews

Article 48 Part of the Weimar Constitution that gave the President the right to
rule in a time of crisis without requiring the support of the Reichstag

Aryan A person of German or Scandinavian origin, usually fair-haired and

blue-eyed; the Nazis believed that Aryans were superior to all other
races.

autobahn High-speed motorways built by the Nazis in the 1930s to create jobs

bauhaus German design movement incorporating sleek lines and modern

materials

Beauty of Labour Nazi movement to improve conditions for industrial workers and try to
win their support

Blood and Soil A nationalist slogan expressing Nazi Germany's ideal of a "racially"
defined national body ("blood") united with a settlement area ("soil")

Bolshevik Russian political movement led by Lenin and following communist

ideas developed by Karl Marx and further developed by Lenin

chancellor Head of the GOV

Coalition A government where two or more political parties combine to rule

concentration camp Camps used by Nazis to hold political opponents

concordat A deal between the state and Catholic Church

conscription Compulsory service in the armed forces

consolidation Making a position more secure, usually when a political party has just
taken power

DAF (Deutsche The German Labour Front, a Nazi organisation that workers had to
Arbeitsfront) belong to

Dawes Plan Financial aid package provided by the USA to Germany in 1924

decadence Moral or cultural decline as characterized by excessive indulgence in

pleasure or luxury

degenerates Immoral or inferior people

diktat Term used in Germany to describe the TOV because they had no say
in the terms of the treaty

Edelweiss Pirates Youth groups who opposed the Nazis especially in the war years

Einsatzgruppen The SS mobile death squads responsible for the murder of those
thought by the Nazis to be racial or political enemies and acted as
mobile killing units during the German invasions of Poland (1939)
and the Soviet Union (1941)

Emergency Decree Issued by President Hidenburg under the advice of Hitler, the decree
suspended the democratic aspects of the Weimar Republic and
declared a state of emergency in response to the Reichstag Fire

Enabling Act The law passed in 1933 that allowed Hitler to pass laws without
consulting the Reichstag.

Final Solution The Nazi name given to their attempt to wipe out Europe's Jews and
other races between 1942 and 1945.

Four-Year Plan The attempt by Nazis to increase agricultural and industrial

production, regulate imports and exports, and achieve self-sufficiency
in the production of raw materials.

Freikorps Ex-soldiers after WW1

Führer Leader (German)

German Workers' Precursor of The Nazi Party, existed from 1919 to 1920.
Party

Gestapo A part of the SS and Nazi Germany's secret police force, created by
Hermann Goering in 1933, that aimed to eliminate political opponents
and was responsible for the rounding up of Jews during the Nazi
period and attempting to exterminate them.

ghettos An area where members of a particular racial group are forced (or in
some cases choose) to live.

Gleichschaltung Process of making sure that all organisations are controlled by Nazis

Great Depression A prolonged economic downturn, beginning after the Wall Street
Crash, that affected the whole world

gypsy A member of a travelling community usually with dark skin and hair

Hitler Youth Youth organisations designed to prepare young people for war and
stay loyal to Hitler

Holocaust the mass murder of millions of Jews by the Nazis during the Second
World War
hyperinflation Process of money becoming worthless, Very rapid and high increase
in the level of prices, combined with a fall in the value of money

July Bomb Plot The attempt in July 1944, by a group of Germans, containing Colonel
Claus von Stauffenberg, to kill Hitler, take over Germany and end the
war

Kaiser Ruler of Germany

Kinder, Kirche and 'Children, Church and Cooking,' - a slogan used by the Nazis which
Küche reflected what women should dedicate their lives to

Kreisau Circle A group of army officers, university professors and aristocrats who
talked often about the possibility of assassinating Hitler and getting
rid of the Nazis, but didn't actually do anything

Kristallnacht Night of Broken Glass, attack on Jewish properties across Germany

in Nov 1938

League of German Organisation for girls designed to get them to embrace Nazi beliefs
Maidens and values

Lebensraum Living space, became part of Hitler’s plan to conquer an empire for
Germany

left wing A political belief that promotes equality, high taxation for the rich, and
the redistribution of wealth

Mein Kampf “My Struggle”, the autobiography of Hitler in which he set out his
theories about power and racial superiority

Munich Putsch Attempted revolt by Hitler and Nazis in 1923, aiming to overthrow the
GOV

National Socialism the ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi
Party in Nazi Germany.

negative cohesion The way different groups supported the Nazis because of the fear for
their political opponents, particularly the communists

November Criminals The nickname given to the German politicians who ended the First
World War and signed the hated Treaty of Versailles on Germany's
behalf

Nuremberg Laws A series of laws passed in 1935, aimed at excluding German Jews
from Reich citizenship and stopping them from marrying or having
sexual relations with persons of 'German or related blood.’

Nuremberg rally Huge political meeting held every June from 1923 to 1938

political spectrum A way of classifying different political opinions from 'Left' to 'Right'
Proportional A political system in which the number of politicians for a particular
representation party is in proportion with the number of votes they win; it can lead to
lots of small parties gaining seats and an unstable government

putsch German word meaning an attempt to overthrow the government

rearmament Building up new stocks of weapons or replacing old weapons with

new ones

Reich Entailed Farm a Nazi law to implement principles of blood and soil, stating that its
Law aim was to: "preserve the farming community as the blood-source of
the German people"

Reich Food Estate a government body set up in Nazi Germany to regulate food
production

Reichstag The main, elected German parliament

Reichstag The name of Germany's parliament

Rentenmark The Germany currency, introduced in 1924

representative A political system in which members of parliament are elected to

democracy represent the interests and opinions of the electorate.

Rhineland Area of Germany that bordered France, it was demilitarised under

the TOV

right wing the conservative or reactionary section of a political party or system

Ringvereine Criminal gangs involved in illegal activities that followed certain rules
and a code-of-conduct. The Nazis promised to outlaw Ringvereine
gangs but were unsuccessful

Ruhr Main industrial area of Germany

SA The Brownshirts, stormtroopers of the Nazi Party

Saar Region on the border between France and Germany, run by LON
from 1920-1935, when its people voted to become part of Germany

Sicherheitsdienst The intelligence agency of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Also
known as SD or Security Service

Social Democratic one of the largest political parties in Germany

Party

Spartacist The name given to the communist party in post-World War One
Germany

Spartacist uprising An attempt by Communists to seize power in Germany in January

1919
SS Originally Hitler's elite personal bodyguards, the SS became one of
the main instrument of terror in Nazi Germany. Led by Heinrich
Himmler, the responsibilities of the SS gradually expanded to include
the suppression of Hitler's political opponents and the prosecution of
Jews

Strength Through Joy Leisure programme run by Nazis to improve the lives of ordinary
people

Swing Youth A group of young Germans who refused to join the Hitler Youth
Organisation

The Wehrmacht the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945

Third Reich The German state from 1933 to 1945 under Adolf Hitler and the
Nazis

totalitarian Total control

Treaty of Berlin Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Treaty of Berlin on 24th
April 1926. Each promised to stay neutral if another country attacked
them for the next five years

Treaty of Rapallo Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Treaty Rapallo on 16th
April 1922. The two nations agreed to cancel all financial claims
against each other and strengthened their economic and military ties

Treaty of Versailles The peace treaty signed by the Allies and Germany at the end of the
First World War, on 28 June 1919

Twenty-Five Point drawn up by Hitler and Drexler to plan out their vision for a perfect
Programme Germany. It was based around the ideas of Nationalism and
Socialism and anti-semitism

Volk People (German)

Volksgemeinschaft People’s Community, this expression appealed to the idea of uniting

people across class divides to achieve a national purpose

Wall Street Crash The economic downturn on the American stock market in 1929

Weimar Germany's democratic system between 1913 and 1933

White Rose group An anti-Nazi youth group, made up mainly of university students

Young Plan An agreement to reduce reparations, made in 1929 between

Germany and the countries they owed money to after WW1