AQA GCSE History key terms

President Woodrow Wilson’s programme for peace, announced on 8 January 1918, combining changes to international relations with territorial proposals and a proposed association of nations.

A Nazi economic programme launched in 1936 under Hermann Göring to prepare Germany for war and reduce dependence on imported resources.

The right to vote in an election.

A member of the Franciscan religious order, which followed the example of St Francis of Assisi.

Healthcare for which patients do not pay when receiving the service, although it is funded collectively, principally through taxation.

The right of citizens of participating countries to move between them to live and work, subject to the applicable rules.

People who had been enslaved and were now legally free.

A peasant who was legally free rather than bound to a lord, and who could rent and cultivate land.

A US state in which slavery was prohibited by law; this did not mean that Black people enjoyed equal rights.

Trade between countries without restrictions such as protective import duties.

Armed groups of former German soldiers, many with extreme nationalist and anti-communist beliefs, active after the First World War.

The Federal Republic of Germany: capitalist, democratic West Germany, established in 1949 and supported by the Western powers.

An area in which opposing armies fight during a war.

The shifting boundary of white American settlement in the West. Its declared closure in 1890 meant that the census no longer identified a clear, continuous frontier line.

The German word for ‘leader’; the title Hitler adopted when he combined the offices of president and chancellor in August 1934.

The idealised image promoted by Nazi propaganda of Hitler as a heroic, wise and unfailing leader who represented Germany.

The purpose something serves or was designed to serve.

An Anglo-Saxon force called up for military service when required, supplementing the professional warriors. Its soldiers varied in training and equipment.

A large sailing ship used for warfare or carrying cargo during the sixteenth century.

A group of troops stationed in a place to defend it and maintain control.

A fortified building controlling an entrance to a castle or town.

The German Democratic Republic: communist East Germany, established in 1949 and closely controlled by the Soviet Union.

The Communist Party’s senior administrative position, which gave Stalin influence over appointments and promotions within the Party.

A coordinated stoppage of work across several industries, rather than a strike confined to one workplace or occupation.

The study of genes and how characteristics, including some disease risks, are inherited.

Landowners below the titled nobility in social rank, many of whom held important positions in local government.

The explanation that microorganisms can cause disease. Particular infectious diseases are caused by particular microbes.