What was the WWI legacy in Europe?
Article 231 (German War Guilt) and $442B in reparations crippled Germany. In the Middle East, ‘mandates’ were created from the former Ottoman Empire, dividing and conjoining ethnic groups.
How was post-WWI technology adapted?
WWI tech like radio, planes, cars, and telephones transitioned to commercial use; the assembly line fueled mass culture.
What were the appeals of authoritarianism after WWI?
Driven by crises in global capitalism, national identity crises, and the perception that democracy lacked a clear leader.
What were the steps dictators used to rise to power?
Popular support → violence → appointments (Hitler/Mussolini) → changing laws/consolidating power (last step).
How did totalitarian regimes maintain power?
Cult of personality, indoctrination in schools, censorship of ‘Degenerate Art,’ and secret police like the Gestapo (Germany) and Blackshirts (Italy).
What were the main causes of WWII?
Economic strife (WWI debt, Great Depression), imperial expansion by Japan, Italy, Germany, and failure of the League of Nations.
What is the sequence of major WWII events from 1939–1942?
- Invasion of Poland (1939, first) 2. Fall of France (1940) 3. Invasion of USSR (1941, last German offensive in sequence) 4. Pearl Harbor (1941) 5. Midway (1942, halts Japan) 6. Operation Torch (1942, North Africa turning point).
What was the Ladder of Prejudice?
Speech → Avoidance → Discrimination → Violence → Genocide
What was the ‘Final Solution’?
Intent to murder all 9 million European Jews via mass shootings and gas chambers.
What was the order of surrender in WWII according to Kahoot?
Italy surrendered first, Germany surrendered second.
What are the two origins of antisemitism?
- Religious roots (historical Christian anti-Jewish prejudice) 2. Economic/financial roots (stereotypes of Jews as moneylenders or controlling finance)
