20th Century Political Movements & Conflicts
Swastika
Composed of four arms of equal length whose ends are bent at right angles to the right, resembling the Greek letter gamma; also called esvastica. In the nineteenth century, it was believed to have been brought to India by the Aryans or Indo-European people. The German Nazis adapted the swastika as a symbol of ethnic purity. It is considered a racist emblem when used against minorities.
Fascism
A nationalistic and totalitarian political movement opposed to Marxism and liberal democracy. Its name derives from fascio, which means bundle in Italian. In plural, it was the symbol of the authority of the consuls of ancient Rome. Mussolini called his organizations fasci after the First World War. Although Fascism is the name of the movement born in Italy, by extension, other totalitarian regimes and ideologies can be called fascist.
March on Rome
A mass demonstration of fascists who occupied the main public buildings in the capital and demanded all the power. This action was met with sympathy from much of the public, the Army, and many political liberals and conservatives. (October 1922)
Matteotti
Socialist MP, who in 1924 denounced Mussolini in parliament, was kidnapped and murdered. These acts caused a great scandal and were used to eliminate the opposition.
SA
Paramilitary assault troops created in 1920, known for their brown shirt uniforms.
SS
Hitler’s own personal guard, designed as militarized police. From 1934, the SS increased its power and took over security in Germany and the administration of occupied territories. They were primarily responsible for the concentration camps and extermination of the Jews.
“Night of Long Knives”
In 1934, all the leaders of the SA were murdered. In this way, Hitler gained the support of the army and capitalists. Many conservatives who opposed the Nazi regime were also eliminated.
“Night of Broken Glass”
Persecution of the Jews who were isolated from the rest of the population through segregationist measures and hounded by periodic persecutions (1938).
Reichstag Fire
A dark incident in February 1933 that was very useful to Hitler since the Communists were accused of attempting to burn the parliament. The person responsible, apparently, was an unbalanced foreigner.
Hitler Head of Government
He participated as a volunteer in the German army during World War I. A sympathizer of the Bavarian extreme right, anti-Semitic and nationalist, after the war he joined the German Workers’ Party, which became the Nazi Party in 1921. After a coup attempt in Munich, he was detained for a year. His oratorical skills and his demagoguery gave him popularity in Germany. Although he lost the elections for the presidency of the Republic in 1932 to Hindenburg, his party achieved a majority in parliament (Reichstag). In 1933, Hindenburg allowed him to form his own government.
Independence of Ireland
During the First World War, there were frequent Irish rebellions against British rule. Radical groups like Sinn Fein and its armed branch, the IRA, openly demanded the independence of Ireland. After 1918, Ireland lived in a state of permanent civil war between supporters of union with Britain and independentistas. Finally, a civil war broke out in Ireland between supporters of the agreement with Britain, led by Michael Collins, and intransigent Irish Republicans, led by Eamon de Valera. Although the latter lost the war, de Valera came to power democratically in 1932 and proclaimed the independent Republic of Ireland (1937).
Matignon Agreements (1936)
Reduced the workweek to 40 hours and instituted wage increases. Collective agreements and paid holidays were also established.
New Deal
A pact that the U.S. President pledged with his citizens. The New Deal was the testing of a new economic model: The state actively interfered in the economy looking, above all, to strengthen demand as an engine of growth and combat unemployment and the social consequences of the crisis.
French Popular Front (1936)
Socialists, communists, and the bourgeois left joined for the first time to avoid a fascist dictatorship in the country.
Roosevelt (1882-1945)
President of the United States. He was elected for the first time in 1932. In his campaign, he proposed a comprehensive reform program (New Deal) which employed millions of people and returned hope to the country.
Manchuria Invasion
Seizing the constant internal strife in the Republic of China, Japan invaded Manchuria (1931). There they created a separate state that was actually a satellite of Japan.
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Japanese not only did not withdraw from China, but in 1937 decided to invade the rest of the country, starting the Second Sino-Japanese War, which lasted until 1945 and led to World War II.
Remilitarization of the Rhineland
In 1933, Hitler began to violate the Treaty of Versailles by rearming Germany. First clandestinely and then publicly, he rebuilt the navy, army, and air force. In 1936, he remilitarized the Rhineland.
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
Germany and the Soviet Union undertook not to attack each other and to share Poland. The USSR, no longer threatened and with no allies, chose a solution that allowed it to invade Finland, the Baltic States, and eastern Poland. Thus, it practically recovered the western borders of the former Tsarist Empire and bought time against Germany. This, in turn, ensured calm on its eastern front if it went to war with Britain and France, and both countries would be its source of raw materials.
De Gaulle
A French military veteran of the First World War, he commanded a division of armored vehicles during World War II. Promoted to general, he came to the fore when he refused to abide by the armistice with Germany and the legitimacy of the Petain government. In 1940, he organized the Free French government. He gained the support of independence groups in the colonies and French military divisions. He led the French resistance in North Africa and Italy, and in 1944, the Allies supported him in the liberation of his country. He became head of the provisional French government.
Blitzkrieg
In a war of attrition, Germany had little chance of success. In addition, U.S. President Roosevelt provided war supplies to the British and granted them almost unlimited credit in 1941.
Attack on Pearl Harbor
On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor, the U.S. naval base in the Hawaiian Islands, was attacked by Japanese aircraft. Hundreds of bombs and torpedoes destroyed the U.S. fleet. Only the aircraft carriers, which were not in port at the time of the attack, were saved.
Battle of Stalingrad
In 1942, a Soviet counteroffensive encircled the German army fighting in Stalingrad. It was a major defeat for the Nazi cause, hitherto victorious, and increased the prestige of the Red Army. From 1943, the USSR launched continuous offensives.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Two Japanese cities that were attacked by U.S. atomic bombs, forcing Japan to surrender.
Battle of Normandy
On June 6, 1944, after assembling a large army in Britain, the Allies landed in Normandy and finally entered France.
Germany’s Unconditional Surrender
On May 7, 1945, Germany finally surrendered after Hitler committed suicide in April.
Anschluss
This term referred to the annexation of Austria to Germany.
Corporativism
A system in which employers and workers were grouped into mandatory organizations.
Hindenburg
Hitler’s rival in the 1932 elections for the presidency of the republic.
Maginot Line
After the First World War, the French built fortified trenches to defend themselves in a possible war. They became obsolete with the new weapons used in World War II (aviation, tanks…).