Chapter 15 Vocabulary

Mein Kampf

"My Struggle"-a book written by Adolf Hitler during his imprisonment in 1923-1924, in which he set forth his beliefs and his goals for Germany

Lebensraum

"living space"- the additional territory that, according to Adolf Hitler, Germany needed because it was overcrowded

coalition government

A government controlled by a temporary alliance of several political parties

stream of consciousness

A literary technique that presents the thoughts and feelings of a character as they develop.

Existentialism

A philosophy based on the idea that people give meaning to their lives through their choices and actions

Isolationism

A policy of avoiding political or military involvement with other countries

Fascism

A political movement that promotes an extreme form of nationalism, a denial of individual rights, and a dictatorial one-party rule.

Axis

A straight line around which an object rotates

Theory of Relativity

Albert Einstein's ideas about the interrelationships between time and space and between energy and matter

Tarrifs

Taxes charged by a government on imported or exported goods.

Third Reich

The Third German Empire, established by Adolf Hitler in the 1930s.

Nazism

The fascist policies of the National Socialist German Workers' party, based on totalitarianism, a belief in racial superiority, and state control of industry.

Appeasement

The making of concessions to an aggressor in the hopes of avoiding war.

Munich Conference

a 1938 meeting of representatives from Britain, France, Italy, and Germany, at which Britain and France agreed to allow Nazi Germany to annex part of Czechoslovakia in return for Adolf Hitler's pledge to respect Czechoslovakia's new borders

Surrealism

a 20th-century artistic movement that focuses on the workings of the unconscious mind.

Jazz

a 20th-century style of popular music developed mainly by African-American musicians

Axis Powers

in WWII, the nations of Germany, Italy, and Japan, which had formed an alliance in 1936

Chancellor

the prime minister or president in certain countries

Weimar Republic

the republic that was established in Germany in 1919 and ended in 1933

Great Depression

the severe economic slump that followed the collapse of the U.S. stock market in 1929