Oxford Revise AQA GCSE History: Conflict and tension: The inter-war years, 1918–1939 Glossary

abdicate
To abdicate is to give up the throne of a country.

Allies
Allies are a group of countries working together; ‘the Allies’ is a term usually used to describe Britain, France and the USA, who worked together during the two World Wars.

Anschluss
The Anschluss is the political union between Germany and Austria.

antisemitic
Antisemitic is hatred for and persecution of Jewish people as an ethnic, religious or racial group.

appeasement
Appeasement is the policy of giving someone what they want in the hope of avoiding war.

arbitration
An arbitration is a procedure aimed at settling disputes through use of an impartial third party.

armistice
An armistice is an initial agreement signed to stop fighting during a war; countries then work out a peace treaty.

Austro-Hungarian Empire
The Austro-Hungarian Empire was a dual monarchy of Austria and Hungary and its empire, ruled by the Habsburg dynasty from 1867–1918.

‘Big Three’
The ‘Big Three’ were the representatives of the three most powerful victorious countries, who met at the Paris Peace Conference to decide how to treat the countries that had lost the First World War; consists of Britain, France, and the USA.

capitalist
A capitalist is a person who supports a political system in which people can work to make money by investing in industry.

civil servants
Civil servants are the people who work for a government.

Comintern
Comintern is an abbreviation for the Communist International, an organisation controlled by the USSR and set up to spread communism.

communist
A communist is a person who supports a left-wing political system where all property is owned by the government; all people are equal and they are paid by the government according to their needs.

conscription
Conscription is a law making it compulsory for all men of a certain age to join the armed forces, carry out military service and be available to fight at any time.

Covenant
A covenant is an agreement; the Covenant of the League of Nations set up what the League was and what members could expect to happen.

demilitarise
To demilitarise is to remove all military (weapons and troops) from an area.

depression
Depression is an economic state; when a country has little or no money. The Depression was a time during the 1930s when many banks and businesses failed, and millions of people lost their jobs.

dictator
A dictator is a ruler with total control over how a country is governed.

Diktat
A diktat is a forced treaty; Germany called the Treaty of Versailles a ‘Diktat’ or ‘dictated peace’ because it was forced on them without any consultation.

disarmament
Disarmament is the reduction or limitation of the number of weapons and/or troops a country has.

economic sanctions
Economic sanctions are penalties used to punish a country by stopping trading with them.

embargo
An embargo is a government ban on trade with another nation.

Fascist
A fascist is a person who supports a right-wing political system where a dictator controls people’s lives and there is a strong sense of nationalism.

Fourteen Points
The ‘Fourteen Points’ are suggestions for a peace settlement after the First World War that aimed to create fairness and peace, promoted by US President Woodrow Wilson.

freedom of the seas
Freedom of the seas is the idea that the oceans should be free for all nations to sail.

Hitler
Adolf Hitler was the leader of the German Nazi Party, and dictator of Germany between 1933 and 1945.

hyperinflation
Hyperinflation is a sudden, dramatic rise in prices.

infrastructure
Infrastructure is the facilities and services needed for a working society, such as energy, water and transport networks.

isolationism
Isolationism is a policy in which a country does not get involved in foreign affairs.

Kaiser
Kaiser is the German word for ‘emperor’; the title of the German monarch.

League of Nations
The League of Nations was formed under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles; a group of countries that worked together towards global peace and cooperation.

Lebensraum
Lebensraum is the German word for ‘living space’ and it was Hitler’s idea of seizing living space in Eastern Europe.

Locarno Treaties
The Locarno Treaties were seven agreements signed in 1925, which allowed Germany to join the League of Nations.

mandate
A mandate is a territory that was assigned by the League of Nations to another power to be governed.

mitigation
Mitigation is the act of bringing people together to talk through their differences/problems.

moral condemnation
Moral condemnation is to tell someone that they are in the wrong.

Mussolini
Benito Mussolini was the founder of fascism, and dictator of Italy between 1922 and 1943.

Nazi Party
The Nazi Party was a far-right political party in Germany, led by Adolf Hitler.

Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire was an empire of Turkish tribes in Asia Minor, dominant in the sixteenth century; replaced by the Turkish Republic in the 1920s.

Pact of Steel
The Pact of Steel was an alliance, formally known as the Pact of Friendship and Alliance, made between Germany and Italy in 1939.

Paris Peace Conference
The Paris Peace Conference was a meeting held at the Palace of Versailles in France at the end of the First World War, to decide how to punish the countries that had lost the war.

plebiscite
Plebiscite is when the people of a country, not just politicians, vote on a matter.

propaganda
Propaganda is the systematic spreading of ideas and information in order to influence people’s thinking and actions, often through the use of media such as films, radio broadcasts, and newspapers.

ratify
To ratify is to agree with; make official a treaty, contract or agreement.

rearmament
Rearmament is the process of building up new stocks of weapons or replacing old weapons with new ones.

remilitarise
To remilitarise is to rebuild stores of weapons and troops.

reparations
Reparations are money paid as compensation to people or a country that has been harmed. Germany made reparations (payments) to some of the winning countries after the First World War, in compensation for the damage done by the fighting.

Rhineland
The Rhineland is an area around the River Rhine in Western Germany, bordering France.

self-determination
Self-determination is the idea that countries should be allowed to govern themselves rather than being in an empire.

social insurance
Social insurance provides money to help people who cannot work due to an illness.

Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War was a conflict between fascist Nationalists and democratic Republicans to rule Spain, 1936–39.

Stalin
Joseph Stalin was the dictator of the USSR between 1924 and 1953.

unanimous
Unanimous is when everyone agrees.

USSR
The USSR stands for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or Soviet Union: the name given to communist Russia and its dependencies.

veto
Veto is the right to reject a proposal.