Glossary679called “survival of the fittest”) to justify the dominance of some
social groups, supporting such ideas as the class system and
doctrines of racial superiority.
Suffragists. Advocates of women’s rights who focused on
political rights, especially an equal right of women to vote and
hold public office; the most militant in tactics were sometimes
called suffragettes.
Chapter 27
Dictatorship of the Proletariat. Marxist-Leninist term for the
phase of the class struggle following the defeat by the
bourgeoisie by the proletariat; the dictatorship is seen as an
inevitable but temporary stage, giving way to a classless society.
Eastern Question. Name used in the 19th and early 20th
centuries to refer to the dangerous weakness of the Ottoman
Empire and the many rivalries to acquire Ottoman territory,
especially in the Balkans.
Entente. A French word used in the language of diplomacy to
describe a close understanding between two governments, a
closer relationship than detente(a relaxation of conflict) but not as
close as an alliance; most famously used to describe the Anglo-
French understanding of 1904.
ErsatzFood. German term to describe substitute foods
developed to replace those that are too expensive (eg, margarine
to replace butter), unhealthy (eg, saccharin to replace sugar), or
unavailable (eg, chickory to replace coffee during World War
One).
Home Front. Term for the civilian population behind the
military lines (the front) during wartime, especially the two
world wars; used to explore the civilian condition and role
during wartime, such as the role of women in war production or
the suffering of non-combattants.
Satyagraba. The sanskrit word used by Ghandi to describe his
policy of nonviolent resistance to European imperialism.
Soviet. Russian word meaning “council,” used to describe the
revolutionary groups of soldiers and workers who wished to
direct their own affairs.
Trench Warfare. The form of fighting that characterized most
of World War One on the western front. Armies on both sides
dug long, narrow trenches as defensive positions from which to
fight and fortified them with barbed wire and machine-gun
emplacements, making attacks very costly.
Chapter 28
Collectivization. Communist economic policy in which the
ownership of the land and the means of production and
distribution are transferred from individual to collective (state)
ownership.
Depression. Economic term for a period of severe and
prolonged decline in economic activity, typically characterizedby a slump in production, high unemployment, and declining
prices.
Fascism. A nationalist and militarist political doctrine rejecting
both the liberal-democratic tradition of representative
government and socialist or communist alternatives to it, in
favor of an authoritarian (or totalitarian) government controlled
by a strong leader, a single party, and strong police, unrestrained
by constitutional laws or bills of rights.
Gulag. Russian acronym for concentration camps (“labor
camps”) created by the Soviet regime, administered by the
secret police.
Kulaks. Russian term for the land-owning peasants eliminated
by the collectivization of agriculture.
Lost Generation. Term originally used in post-World War One
Europe by Gertrude Stein to describe the young generation that
had experienced the devastation of the war and consequently
showed emotional, cultural, and political instability afterwards.
Popular Front. A coalition of political parties of the left and
left-center, such as the governments of France and Spain in 1936
which united democrats, socialists, and communists.
Reparations. Postwar compensation demanded of defeated
states by the victors in order to repair damage done by a war or
recover its costs, as distinguished from indemnity payments which
punish a defeated state for the conflict whatever the damages.
Surrealism. An early 20th century trend in western art and
literature which sought to replace rational imagery by
expressing the subconscious mind in seemingly irrational
juxtapositions of images.Chapter 29
Aryans. The peoples of south Asia who spoke the parent
language of the Indo-European family of languages and
descendant peoples; term converted in Nazi propaganda to
mean non-Jewish Caucasians.
Blitzkrieg. German military term (“lightning war”) for a rapid
and powerful offensive campaign intended to produce an
equally rapid victory; especially, the Nazi offensives in the early
phases of World War Two.
Crimes against Humanity. Category of crimes of total war
against civilian populations, including extermination,
enslavement, and other inhumane acts; one of the categories of
international crimes established by the Nuremberg Tribunal.
Genocide. The deliberate and systematic murder, or
attempted murder, of all members of a perceived genus, such as
all members of a race, religion, or nation; especially the Nazi
attempt to exterminate all the Jews of Europe in the Holocaust.
Home Front. The civilian region of a country at war, behind
the lines of combat.
Isolationism. The diplomatic policy of a powerful state (as
opposed to small neutral states) not to participate in major