Terms of War and Peace in Canadian History

militarism - using military might to further political goals

alliances - agreements between countries that connect them militarily, often offering protection

imperialism - attempting to expand borders by taking territory from other countries

nationalism - perception that one's nationality is superior to others

Triple Alliance - Britain, France, Russia's military alliance before & during WWI

Triple Entente - Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy's military alliance before & during WWI

These two alliance above are believed by many to have contributed to the "World War"

Holocaust - the industrial scale genocide against Jews and other groups by Germany in WWII.  6 millions Jews were killed as were 3 million others

human rights - rights inherent in being a human being, including rights of nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status

trench warfare - notable in WWI, long holes in the ground where soldiers lived and fought for years - conditions in trenches were very difficult with sickness, cold, discomfort

Treaty of Versailles - agreement to end WWI but the conditions it placed on Germany were too harsh (reparations, small military) that it probably helped Hitler's march toward WWII

peacekeeping - under the UN banner, troops from many countries join together to help referee serious military disputes in many places in the world - Canadian Lester Pearson developed the idea at the UN during the 1950s to prevent another regional war in and around Egypt (Suez Crisis)

Naziism - Hitler's ideas of the master race (extreme racism), persecution of certain groups (minorities) and the spread of his ideas

Archduke Francis Ferdinand - the Prince (Heir to the throne) of Austria-Hungary who was assassinated just before WWI thus starting the actual wheels of war in motion.

Archduke Francis Ferdinand - the Prince (heir to the throne) of Austria-Hungary who was assassinated just before WWI thus starting the actual wheels of war in motion.

mustard gas – poisonous chemical used in trench warfare in WWI

colonization / colony / colonialism – (Mostly) European countries took over existing countries all over the world (Caribbean, the Americas, Africa) leading to regional wars outside of Europe

League of Nations – predecessor of the United Nations. 

concentration camp – prisons set up to keep “undesirables” in one place and to control them during WWII.  The Nazis set up over 200 such camps around Europe during WWII.  Some were forced labour camps, others were death camps.

labour camp – type of concentration camp that housed prisoners used as slave labour, generally for the German war effort.

Death camp (a.k.a. extermination camp) – type of concentration camp primarily used as a place to execute prisoners on an industrial scale during WWII.

Auschwitz – the largest death camp during WWII.  Over 2,000,000 people were killed there, mostly Jews.

home front – what we called Canada during war times – generally referring to the war efforts happening at “home”, e.g. munitions factories, ship building, plane building, etc.

reparations – paying for damage to other countries.  For example, Germany was made to pay reparations to Britain and France after WWI for the damage caused during the war.  Approximately $12B US over several years during the 1920s.  This money helped to almost bankrupt the already shaky German economy and helped Hitler rise to power.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki – the only two cities (Japan) upon which nukes have been dropped, three days apart in 1945 thus ending WWII.  Japan surrendered after the bombing of Nagasaki.

Mobilization – preparing troops, supplies and equipment for war

balance of power – the idea that the world is safer when no single country is far superior in military ability than any other country.  If the biggest countries are more or less equally powerful then they are less likely to go to war (at least that’s the theory)

Invasion of Poland – Germany invaded Poland thus starting WWII.  They brought in much military equipment on the pretext of a prearranged friendship mission but once in the country they took it over.

Allied Powers – WWII alliance of Britain, France, USSR, USA, Canada, Belgium, etc. fighting against Germany

Axis Powers – Germany, Italy, Japan, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania

Propaganda – information created by the government to influence people’s opinions for an against certain ideas.  In Germany the Nazis painted all Jews as the perpetrators of much evil and that they were the reason for most of Germany’s problems.  The Nazis also taught that there was a master race of Aryans – blond hair, blue eyes, etc.

In Canada the government spread disparaging posters against Germans, Japanese, etc. and they had a campaign to entice young men to join the war effort and women to join the workforce to support the war effort.