Key Historical Terms of the World Wars and Revolutions

Key Terms of the First World War and Russian Revolution

• Archduke: A high-ranking man in the Austrian imperial family.
• Armed peace: A period before the First World War when countries were not fighting but were preparing themselves for war.
• Bolsheviks: Members of the more radical faction resulting from the split in the Russian Social Democratic Party in 1912.
• Bourgeois Revolution: See February Revolution.
• Chancellor: The head of government (prime minister) of Prussia.
• Collectivisation: Taking into public or state ownership.
• February Revolution: The riots and strikes of February 1917 which resulted in the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II and the proclamation of a republic.
• Front: The line or area where opposing armies meet.
• Kaiser: The title given to the monarch of the German Empire.
• League of Nations: An association of countries created in 1919 to promote international peace and cooperation.
• October Revolution: The revolution in 1917 when the Bolsheviks took power in a coup led by Lenin.
• Personality cult: Official propaganda to make people admire and love a leader.
• Red Army: The Bolshevik army which won the civil war in 1921.
• Treaty of Versailles: The peace agreement signed after the end of the First World War.
• Triple Alliance: The 1882 military alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy against France and Russia.
• Triple Entente: The mutual aid pact between France, Russia and Britain, signed in 1907.

The Rise of Totalitarianism and World War II

• Blackshirts: A fascist paramilitary group founded by Mussolini.
• Blitzkrieg: An intense military campaign aimed at achieving a swift victory.
• Extreme-right group: A very conservative or reactionary political group.
• Fascism: A right-wing, authoritarian, nationalistic ideology that is opposed to democracy and liberalism.
• Hitler Youth: An organisation which indoctrinated young people in Nazi ideas.
• National Socialism: The political doctrine of the Nazi party in Germany.
• Nazism: The beliefs associated with the fascist National Socialist German Workers' Party.
• Racial purity: Having ancestors of only one race.
• The Allies: The countries which fought against the Axis powers in World War Two.