World War 1

Shannon D.
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  1. Vladimir Lenin
    Russian founder of the Bolsheviks and leader of the Russian Revolution and first head of the USSR (1870-1924)
    Vladimir Lenin depicted in a mosaic on a wall in a Moscow metropolitan subway station.
  2. industrialize
    organize into systematic production or manufacture
    In the late nineteenth century, the major industrialized states used their increasing economic and technological power to build up stocks of modern weapons such as machine guns and battleships.
  3. Mustafa Kemal
    Turkish statesman who abolished the caliphate and founded Turkey as a modern secular state (1881-1938)
    Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (1881-1938), the Turkish military officer who led Turkey to independence in 1921.
  4. Kemal Ataturk
    Turkish statesman who abolished the caliphate and founded Turkey as a modern secular state (1881-1938)
    Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (1881-1938), the Turkish military officer who led Turkey to independence in 1921.
  5. nationalist leader
    the leader of a nationalist movement
    In colonized regions of the world, nationalist leaders began to challenge European control, many inspired by the liberal democratic traditions of Europe and the US, some inspired by communism and fascism.
  6. mobilize
    make ready for action or use
    Austro-Hungary consequently invaded Serbia, Serbia’s ally Russia mobilized against Austro-Hungary, and within weeks the whole of Europe was embroiled in war.
  7. Nazism
    a form of socialism featuring racism and expansionism and obedience to a strong leader
    In Germany, Adolph Hitler’s ideology of ‘National Socialism’ (Nazism) offered a second authoritarian alternative to liberal democracy.
  8. Mao Zedong
    Chinese communist leader (1893-1976)
    Though communist movements made little headway in most places, the Communist leader, Mao Zedong, achieved victory in China.
  9. Ataturk
    Turkish statesman who abolished the caliphate and founded Turkey as a modern secular state (1881-1938)
    Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (1881-1938), the Turkish military officer who led Turkey to independence in 1921.
  10. Oswald Spengler
    German philosopher who argued that cultures grow and decay in cycles (1880-1936)
    The historian Oswald Spengler, for example, captured this mood in a work called The Decline of the West, which he first published in 1918.
  11. quantum physics
    the branch of physics based on quantum theory
    Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, and other scientists developed the theory of relativity and quantum physics in the first three decades of the twentieth century.
  12. elite group
    a group or class of persons enjoying superior intellectual or social or economic status
    Refined cultural tastes and values, once the preserve of elite groups, spread increasingly among the working masses.
  13. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
    a former communist country in eastern Europe and northern Asia; established in 1922; included Russia and 14 other soviet socialist republics (Ukraine and Byelorussia and others); officially dissolved 31 December 1991
    They were left, however, ruling a country, now the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, that was poorer and less industrialized than it had been ten years earlier.
  14. fascism
    a political theory advocating an authoritarian government
    Hitler became an advocate of fascism, an ideology that saw politics in terms of racial conflict between different nations, championed authoritarianism, and despised liberal values.
  15. Francis Ferdinand
    archduke of Austria and heir apparent to Francis Joseph I
    The dangers of this system became apparent when Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian empire, was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist in June 1914.
  16. urbanized
    made urban in nature; taking on urban characteristics
    It was a world disillusioned with nineteenth-century hopes for progress, no longer politically and economically dominated by Western Europe, more populous, more urbanized, and more productive.
  17. cross-cultural
    dealing with or comparing two or more cultures
    More extensive cross-cultural exchanges of artistic ideas challenged established artistic traditions in most parts of the world.
  18. ideology
    an orientation that characterizes the thinking of a group
    In Germany, Adolph Hitler’s ideology of ‘National Socialism’ (Nazism) offered a second authoritarian alternative to liberal democracy.
  19. exploitative
    tending to exploit or make use of
    To many, liberalism seemed only a veneer that protected exploitative and incompetent governments and allowed social and economic inequities in the world to continue.
  20. Heisenberg
    German mathematical physicist noted for stating the uncertainty principle (1901-1976)
    Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, and other scientists developed the theory of relativity and quantum physics in the first three decades of the twentieth century.
  21. industrialized
    highly developed in production and manufacturing
    In the late nineteenth century, the major industrialized states used their increasing economic and technological power to build up stocks of modern weapons such as machine guns and battleships.
  22. Lenin
    Russian founder of the Bolsheviks and leader of the Russian Revolution and first head of the USSR (1870-1924)
    Vladimir Lenin depicted in a mosaic on a wall in a Moscow metropolitan subway station.
  23. nineteenth
    position 19 in a countable series of things
    In the late nineteenth century, the major industrialized states used their increasing economic and technological power to build up stocks of modern weapons such as machine guns and battleships.
  24. mustard gas
    a toxic war gas with sulfide based compounds that raises blisters and attacks the eyes and lungs; there is no known antidote
    Machine guns, long-range artillery, and mustard gas killed soldiers by the millions.
  25. colonized
    inhabited by colonists
    Library of Congress
    Prints and Photographs Online Catalog
    Reproduction #LC-USZ61-620

    Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

    Nationalism in the colonized world.
  26. Ottoman
    of or relating to the Ottoman Empire or its people or its culture
    The Ottoman Turkish empire joined World War I on the German and Austro-Hungarian side.
  27. national socialism
    a form of socialism featuring racism and expansionism and obedience to a strong leader
    In Germany, Adolph Hitler’s ideology of ‘National Socialism’ (Nazism) offered a second authoritarian alternative to liberal democracy.
  28. industrialization
    the development of commercial enterprise
    In 1929, Stalin, Lenin’s successor, launched a radical, state-led industrialization drive.
  29. world war
    a war in which the major nations of the world are involved
    The Great War. The two world wars together were a major cause of change in the global distribution of power.
  30. World War I
    a war between the allies (Russia, France, British Empire, Italy, United States, Japan, Rumania, Serbia, Belgium, Greece, Portugal, Montenegro) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria) from 1914 to 1918
    World War I proved more horrifying than anyone could have imagined, and it demonstrated the colossal destructive power available to industrialized states.
  31. Spengler
    German philosopher who argued that cultures grow and decay in cycles (1880-1936)
    The historian Oswald Spengler, for example, captured this mood in a work called The Decline of the West, which he first published in 1918.
  32. art form
    a form of artistic expression
    For example, West African wood sculpture inspired the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), and Mongolian artists incorporated traditional motifs into contemporary art forms such as photography.
  33. nationalist
    one who loves and defends his or her country
    The dangers of this system became apparent when Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian empire, was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist in June 1914.
  34. theory of relativity
    (physics) the theory that space and time are relative concepts rather than absolute concepts
    Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, and other scientists developed the theory of relativity and quantum physics in the first three decades of the twentieth century.
  35. subway station
    a terminal where subways load and unload passengers
    Vladimir Lenin depicted in a mosaic on a wall in a Moscow metropolitan subway station.
  36. mainland China
    a communist nation that covers a vast territory in eastern Asia; the most populous country in the world
    Japan, seeking to create its own empire in East Asia, invaded Chinese Manchuria in 1931 and mainland China in 1937.
  37. Hitler
    German Nazi dictator during World War II (1889-1945)
    In Germany, Adolph Hitler’s ideology of ‘National Socialism’ (Nazism) offered a second authoritarian alternative to liberal democracy.
  38. authoritarianism
    government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator
    Hitler became an advocate of fascism, an ideology that saw politics in terms of racial conflict between different nations, championed authoritarianism, and despised liberal values.
  39. material resource
    assets in the form of material possessions
    And the Soviet Union mobilized huge human and material resources with brutal efficiency.
  40. challenge
    a call to engage in a contest or fight
    The end of the war left the liberal capitalist system facing many daunting challenges.
  41. 1930s
    the decade from 1930 to 1939
    The portrait dates to the 1930s.
  42. punitive
    inflicting punishment
    The League had little independent power, however, and the punitive peace treaty of 1919 ensured that Germany and Austria would continue to nurse resentments.
  43. war
    the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
    The Great War. The two world wars together were a major cause of change in the global distribution of power.
  44. belligerence
    hostile or warlike attitude or nature
    In Europe, Nazi racist belligerence and aggression against its neighbors, first Austria and Czechoslovakia, then Poland, led Germany in 1939 into war with France and Britain.
  45. November 11
    a legal holiday in the United States
    On November 11, 1918, Germany signed an armistice.
  46. rail line
    the road consisting of railroad track and roadbed
    The rail line that brought prisoners to the Nazi concentration camp at Terezine in northern Czechoslovakia, today the Czech Republic.
  47. disunity
    lack of unity (usually resulting from dissension)
    Exploiting international disunity and the weakness of the League of Nations, which the United States never joined, Germany threw off the Versailles Treaty’s penalties and restrictions and began to rearm.
  48. popularize
    cater to popular taste to make popular and present to the general public; bring into general or common use
    The new media also helped popularize sports such as football and baseball.
  49. fascist
    an adherent of right-wing authoritarian views
    Fascist governments.
  50. Industrial Revolution
    the transformation from an agricultural to an industrial nation
    In the aftermath of World War II, it was not at all certain that humans could find a way of living with the terrifying technological powers unleashed by the Industrial Revolution.
  51. League of Nations
    an international organization formed in 1920 to promote cooperation and peace among nations; although suggested by Woodrow Wilson, the United States never joined and it remained powerless; it was dissolved in 1946 after the United Nations was formed
    It also created the League of Nations, the first fledgling world deliberative body, whose primary mission was to prevent future military catastrophes.
  52. Pablo Picasso
    prolific and influential Spanish artist who lived in France
    For example, West African wood sculpture inspired the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), and Mongolian artists incorporated traditional motifs into contemporary art forms such as photography.
  53. invade
    march aggressively into a territory by military force
    Austro-Hungary consequently invaded Serbia, Serbia’s ally Russia mobilized against Austro-Hungary, and within weeks the whole of Europe was embroiled in war.
  54. Hiroshima
    a port city on the southwestern coast of Honshu in Japan
    Japan surrendered after the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August.
  55. colony
    a group of organisms of the same type living together
    The wars had many causes, including competition for markets and colonies and a centuries-old tradition of military competition among European countries.
  56. Sigmund Freud
    Austrian neurologist who originated psychoanalysis
    In psychology, Sigmund Freud showed the power of irrational forces that lurked in the human sub-conscious.
  57. Nicholas II
    the last czar of Russia who was forced to abdicate in 1917 by the Russian Revolution; he and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks (1868-1918)
    However, the strains of rapid economic change combined with the war, which saw a German invasion, undermined the autocratic government of Tsar Nicholas II. In February 1917, he was forced to abdicate and to leave the country in the hands of a weak “provisional government.”
  58. concentration camp
    a place where persecuted groups are forcibly confined
    The rail line that brought prisoners to the Nazi concentration camp at Terezine in northern Czechoslovakia, today the Czech Republic.
  59. communism
    a theory favoring collectivism in a classless society
    Before they could realize communism, they argued, they would have to rebuild Russia’s economy.
  60. Republic of China
    a government on the island of Taiwan established in 1949 by Chiang Kai-shek after the conquest of mainland China by the Communists led by Mao Zedong
    On October 1, 1949, he announced the formation of the “People’s Republic of China.”
  61. inequality
    lack of balance or similarity in status
    He believed that Russia would pioneer a new and better type of society, one that would do away with the political and economic inequalities of the capitalist world order.
  62. rearm
    arm again
    Exploiting international disunity and the weakness of the League of Nations, which the United States never joined, Germany threw off the Versailles Treaty’s penalties and restrictions and began to rearm.
  63. labor camp
    a penal institution for political prisoners who are used as forced labor
    The strains and costs of compulsory industrialization were great, including a massive famine, creation of forced labor camps, and political purges that by the 1930s cost the lives of several million people.
  64. World War II
    a war between the Allies and the Axis from 1939 to 1945
    In parts of Africa, too, new educated leaders, including Kwame Nkrumah, Leopold Senghor, and Julius Nyerere, emerged, and in the aftermath of World War II they began to demand total independence.
  65. home front
    the civilian population of a country at war
    On the home fronts of all the states involved, the huge power concentrated in modern governments and industrial economies was harnessed for the fight.
  66. humans
    all of the living human inhabitants of the earth
    This meant that about one third of all humans lived under Communist governments.
  67. aftermath
    the consequences of an event, especially a catastrophic one
    In parts of Africa, too, new educated leaders, including Kwame Nkrumah, Leopold Senghor, and Julius Nyerere, emerged, and in the aftermath of World War II they began to demand total independence.
  68. Germany
    a republic in central Europe
    In 1917, the US entered the war against Germany and its allies.
  69. inequity
    injustice by virtue of not conforming with standards
    To many, liberalism seemed only a veneer that protected exploitative and incompetent governments and allowed social and economic inequities in the world to continue.
  70. unilaterally
    by means of one part or party
    The Bolsheviks unilaterally pulled Russia out of the war, won a civil struggle against internal enemies, and expelled most of the country’s capitalists.
  71. catalog
    a complete list of things, usually arranged systematically
    Library of Congress
    Prints and Photographs Online Catalog
    Reproduction #LC-USZ62-98917

    Western Front

    By then, 15 million soldiers had died and another 20 million had been injured.
  72. capitalist
    of an economic system based on private ownership
    The end of the war left the liberal capitalist system facing many daunting challenges.
  73. trusteeship
    the position of trustee
    Germany’s colonies and Ottoman territory in the Middle East were taken over by France and Britain as “mandates” or “trusteeships” theoretically under the League of Nations.
  74. Isaac Newton
    English mathematician and physicist
    They both undermined Isaac Newton’s model of a fixed and predictable universe, which scientists of the nineteenth century had taken for granted.
  75. West African
    of or relating to the countries or cultures or people of West Africa
    For example, West African wood sculpture inspired the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), and Mongolian artists incorporated traditional motifs into contemporary art forms such as photography.
  76. empire
    the domain ruled by a single authoritative sovereign
    The dangers of this system became apparent when Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian empire, was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist in June 1914.
  77. deliberative
    involved in or relating to close analysis and discussion
    It also created the League of Nations, the first fledgling world deliberative body, whose primary mission was to prevent future military catastrophes.
  78. Soviet Union
    a former communist country in eastern Europe and northern Asia; established in 1922; included Russia and 14 other soviet socialist republics (Ukraine and Byelorussia and others); officially dissolved 31 December 1991
    Photo by Ross Dunn

    Vladimir Lenin

    The rise of the Soviet Union.
  79. imperialism
    a policy of extending your rule over foreign countries
    As a Marxist, Lenin had no use for nineteenth century-style liberalism, and he was convinced that the war signaled the collapse of both capitalism and imperialism.
  80. European
    of or relating to or characteristic of Europe
    The wars had many causes, including competition for markets and colonies and a centuries-old tradition of military competition among European countries.
  81. Great Depression
    the economic crisis beginning with the stock market crash in 1929 and continuing through the 1930s
    The United States and most European countries followed only after World War I. Socialist parties also challenged governments, particularly during the Great Depression, to tackle the inequalities that were still widespread in democratic and wealthy nations.
  82. twentieth century
    the century from 1901 to 2000
    He used planning techniques pioneered by wartime governments and much of the technology invented in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, from railways to radios.
  83. Albert Einstein
    physicist born in Germany who formulated the special theory of relativity and the general theory of relativity; Einstein also proposed that light consists of discrete quantized bundles of energy (later called photons) (1879-1955)
    Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, and other scientists developed the theory of relativity and quantum physics in the first three decades of the twentieth century.
  84. kiosk
    small area set off by walls for special use
    World Images Kiosk, San Jose State University
    http://worldimages.sjsu.edu
  85. Czech Republic
    a landlocked republic in central Europe
    The rail line that brought prisoners to the Nazi concentration camp at Terezine in northern Czechoslovakia, today the Czech Republic.
  86. liberalism
    a political orientation favoring social progress by reform
    As a Marxist, Lenin had no use for nineteenth century-style liberalism, and he was convinced that the war signaled the collapse of both capitalism and imperialism.
  87. inspire
    serve as the inciting cause of
    This success inspired some political leaders and revolutionaries in other lands, including western European countries and their colonies, to take up the Communist vision of the future.
  88. liberal
    showing or characterized by broad-mindedness
    The end of the war left the liberal capitalist system facing many daunting challenges.
  89. inspirational
    serving to uplift the mind, spirit, or creative powers
    In Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) it found an inspirational and creative leader.
  90. technological
    of a practical subject organized by scientific principles
    In the late nineteenth century, the major industrialized states used their increasing economic and technological power to build up stocks of modern weapons such as machine guns and battleships.
  91. Africa
    the second largest continent
    French, British, or Japanese forces seized German colonies in the Pacific and Africa.
  92. farmland
    a rural area where farming is practiced
    Millions of civilians died as well, and destruction of infrastructure, industries, and farmland was colossal.
  93. citizenry
    the body of citizens of a state or country
    The US concentrated its wealth, industry, and citizenry on the war effort.
  94. colonialism
    exploitation by a stronger country of a weaker one
    In all those regions, intellectuals, artists, and politicians wrestled with the fundamental fact that the modern revolution had arrived in the form of European colonialism, unfavorable trade relations, and European ideas of progress.
  95. mow down
    kill a large number of people indiscriminately
    On Europe’s western front the war settled into a grisly, prolonged siege in which soldiers assaulted enemy trenches only to be mowed down.
  96. civilian
    a nonmilitary citizen
    Aircraft strafed and dropped bombs on soldiers and civilians.
  97. world
    the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
    The Great War. The two world wars together were a major cause of change in the global distribution of power.
  98. heartland
    the central region of a country or continent
    However, Turkey, the heartland of the former Ottoman empire, emerged from the war as an independent state under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
  99. Soviet
    of or relating to or characteristic of the former Soviet Union or its people
    Photo by Ross Dunn

    Vladimir Lenin

    The rise of the Soviet Union.
  100. undermine
    weaken or impair, especially gradually
    However, the strains of rapid economic change combined with the war, which saw a German invasion, undermined the autocratic government of Tsar Nicholas II. In February 1917, he was forced to abdicate and to leave the country in the hands of a weak “provisional government.”
  101. conflict
    an open clash between two opposing groups
    Hitler became an advocate of fascism, an ideology that saw politics in terms of racial conflict between different nations, championed authoritarianism, and despised liberal values.
  102. horrifying
    provoking horror
    World War I proved more horrifying than anyone could have imagined, and it demonstrated the colossal destructive power available to industrialized states.
  103. Serbia
    a historical region in central and northern Yugoslavia
    Austro-Hungary consequently invaded Serbia, Serbia’s ally Russia mobilized against Austro-Hungary, and within weeks the whole of Europe was embroiled in war.
  104. Nagasaki
    a city in southern Japan on Kyushu
    Japan surrendered after the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August.
  105. Great War
    a war between the allies (Russia, France, British Empire, Italy, United States, Japan, Rumania, Serbia, Belgium, Greece, Portugal, Montenegro) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria) from 1914 to 1918
    The Great War. The two world wars together were a major cause of change in the global distribution of power.
  106. Czechoslovakia
    a former republic in central Europe
    In Europe, Nazi racist belligerence and aggression against its neighbors, first Austria and Czechoslovakia, then Poland, led Germany in 1939 into war with France and Britain.
  107. democratic
    based upon the principles of social equality
    In colonized regions of the world, nationalist leaders began to challenge European control, many inspired by the liberal democratic traditions of Europe and the US, some inspired by communism and fascism.
  108. embroiled
    deeply involved especially in something complicated
    Austro-Hungary consequently invaded Serbia, Serbia’s ally Russia mobilized against Austro-Hungary, and within weeks the whole of Europe was embroiled in war.
  109. relativity
    the quality of having significance vis-a-vis something else
    Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, and other scientists developed the theory of relativity and quantum physics in the first three decades of the twentieth century.
  110. daunting
    discouraging through fear
    The end of the war left the liberal capitalist system facing many daunting challenges.
  111. strafe
    attack from above with machine guns or cannon fire
    Aircraft strafed and dropped bombs on soldiers and civilians.
  112. Ho Chi Minh
    Vietnamese communist statesman who fought the Japanese in World War II and the French until 1954 and South Vietnam until 1975 (1890-1969)
    In China and Vietnam the anti-imperial rhetoric of Soviet communism provided the inspiration for the nationalist leaders Mao Zedong and Ho Chi Minh.
  113. rearmament
    the act of arming again
    Benito Mussolini (1883-1945), Hitler’s fascist ally in Italy, embarked on a similar program of nationalist rearmament.
  114. goer
    someone who leaves
    In doing so, however, they also ensured that Soviet movie-goers would learn about Hollywood and American values.
  115. abdicate
    give up power, duties, or obligations
    However, the strains of rapid economic change combined with the war, which saw a German invasion, undermined the autocratic government of Tsar Nicholas II. In February 1917, he was forced to abdicate and to leave the country in the hands of a weak “provisional government.”
  116. disillusion
    the act of freeing from false belief
    It was a world disillusioned with nineteenth-century hopes for progress, no longer politically and economically dominated by Western Europe, more populous, more urbanized, and more productive.
  117. reparation
    something done or paid in expiation of a wrong
    The Paris Peace Conference (1919) stripped Germany of its colonies and saddled it and Austria with the burden of paying reparations, that is, much of the cost of the war.
  118. capitalism
    an economic system based on private ownership of assets
    As a Marxist, Lenin had no use for nineteenth century-style liberalism, and he was convinced that the war signaled the collapse of both capitalism and imperialism.
  119. take control
    assume control
    Warfare became “total,” as governments took control of much of the economy in order to mobilize their populations and resources.
  120. authoritarian
    characteristic of an absolute ruler or absolute rule
    In Germany, Adolph Hitler’s ideology of ‘National Socialism’ (Nazism) offered a second authoritarian alternative to liberal democracy.
  121. unimaginable
    totally unlikely
    The world of 1950, however, was just as divided and conflict-ridden, and it bristled with dangerous weapons unimaginable in 1900.
  122. West Africa
    an area of western Africa between the Sahara Desert and the Gulf of Guinea
    World War II was fought in Europe, the Soviet Union, North Africa, West Africa, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
  123. radio
    medium for communication
    He used planning techniques pioneered by wartime governments and much of the technology invented in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, from railways to radios.
  124. cultural
    relating to the shared knowledge and values of a society
    More extensive cross-cultural exchanges of artistic ideas challenged established artistic traditions in most parts of the world.
  125. creativity
    the ability to bring something into existence
    Ideas item
    Humans and Ideas arrow item

    Despite crisis after crisis, Big Era Eight brought new creativity to science, the arts, popular culture, and political and social thought.
  126. Depression
    a period during the 1930s when there was a worldwide economic depression and mass unemployment
    Nazism built on the sense of despair that World War I, the Depression, and the punitive war reparations caused among Germans.
  127. Asia
    the largest continent with 60% of the earth's population
    Troops from French and British colonies in Asia and Africa, and from former colonies such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand fought on the British and French side.
  128. elite
    a group or class of persons enjoying superior status
    Entirely new art forms, such as motion pictures, radio drama, and jazz blurred the lines between elite and popular culture.
  129. independence
    freedom from control or influence of another or others
    Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (1881-1938), the Turkish military officer who led Turkey to independence in 1921.
  130. Mongolian
    a member of the nomadic peoples of Mongolia
    For example, West African wood sculpture inspired the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), and Mongolian artists incorporated traditional motifs into contemporary art forms such as photography.
  131. include
    have as a part; be made up out of
    The wars had many causes, including competition for markets and colonies and a centuries-old tradition of military competition among European countries.
  132. leaders
    the body of people who lead a group
    This success inspired some political leaders and revolutionaries in other lands, including western European countries and their colonies, to take up the Communist vision of the future.
  133. rationalism
    the doctrine that reason is the basis for regulating conduct
    In the fine arts, a mood of anti-rationalism and pessimism brought forth new genres of art.
  134. century
    a period of 100 years
    The wars had many causes, including competition for markets and colonies and a centuries-old tradition of military competition among European countries.
  135. Benito Mussolini
    Italian fascist dictator (1883-1945)
    Benito Mussolini (1883-1945), Hitler’s fascist ally in Italy, embarked on a similar program of nationalist rearmament.
  136. motif
    a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work
    For example, West African wood sculpture inspired the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), and Mongolian artists incorporated traditional motifs into contemporary art forms such as photography.
  137. leader
    a person who rules or guides or inspires others
    This success inspired some political leaders and revolutionaries in other lands, including western European countries and their colonies, to take up the Communist vision of the future.
  138. peace treaty
    a treaty to cease hostilities
    The League had little independent power, however, and the punitive peace treaty of 1919 ensured that Germany and Austria would continue to nurse resentments.
  139. global
    involving the entire earth
    The Great War. The two world wars together were a major cause of change in the global distribution of power.
  140. atomic bomb
    a nuclear weapon in which enormous energy is released by nuclear fission (splitting the nuclei of a heavy element like uranium 235 or plutonium 239)
    Japan surrendered after the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August.
  141. Europe
    the 2nd smallest continent
    Austro-Hungary consequently invaded Serbia, Serbia’s ally Russia mobilized against Austro-Hungary, and within weeks the whole of Europe was embroiled in war.
  142. refine
    reduce to a pure state
    Refined cultural tastes and values, once the preserve of elite groups, spread increasingly among the working masses.
  143. bristled
    having or covered with protective barbs or quills or spines or thorns or setae etc.
    The world of 1950, however, was just as divided and conflict-ridden, and it bristled with dangerous weapons unimaginable in 1900.
  144. mandate
    a formal statement of a command to do something
    Germany’s colonies and Ottoman territory in the Middle East were taken over by France and Britain as “mandates” or “trusteeships” theoretically under the League of Nations.
  145. reproduction
    the act of making copies
    Library of Congress
    Prints and Photographs Online Catalog
    Reproduction #LC-USZ62-98917

    Western Front

    By then, 15 million soldiers had died and another 20 million had been injured.
  146. Mao
    Chinese communist leader (1893-1976)
    Though communist movements made little headway in most places, the Communist leader, Mao Zedong, achieved victory in China.
  147. values
    beliefs of a group in which they have emotional investment
    Hitler became an advocate of fascism, an ideology that saw politics in terms of racial conflict between different nations, championed authoritarianism, and despised liberal values.
  148. Austria
    a mountainous republic in central Europe
    The Paris Peace Conference (1919) stripped Germany of its colonies and saddled it and Austria with the burden of paying reparations, that is, much of the cost of the war.
  149. colossal
    so great in size or force or extent as to elicit awe
    World War I proved more horrifying than anyone could have imagined, and it demonstrated the colossal destructive power available to industrialized states.
  150. quantum
    the smallest discrete quantity of some physical property
    Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, and other scientists developed the theory of relativity and quantum physics in the first three decades of the twentieth century.
  151. taken for granted
    evident without proof or argument
    They both undermined Isaac Newton’s model of a fixed and predictable universe, which scientists of the nineteenth century had taken for granted.
  152. machine gun
    a rapidly firing automatic gun (often mounted)
    In the late nineteenth century, the major industrialized states used their increasing economic and technological power to build up stocks of modern weapons such as machine guns and battleships.
  153. embroil
    force into some kind of situation or course of action
    Austro-Hungary consequently invaded Serbia, Serbia’s ally Russia mobilized against Austro-Hungary, and within weeks the whole of Europe was embroiled in war.
  154. fledgling
    young bird that has just become capable of flying
    It also created the League of Nations, the first fledgling world deliberative body, whose primary mission was to prevent future military catastrophes.
  155. veneer
    coating consisting of a thin layer of wood
    To many, liberalism seemed only a veneer that protected exploitative and incompetent governments and allowed social and economic inequities in the world to continue.
  156. Turkey
    a Eurasian republic in Asia Minor and the Balkans
    Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (1881-1938), the Turkish military officer who led Turkey to independence in 1921.
  157. 1920s
    the decade from 1920 to 1929
    World War II. All the challenges of the 1920s and 1930s led toward a new round of conflict.
  158. military officer
    any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command
    Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (1881-1938), the Turkish military officer who led Turkey to independence in 1921.
  159. democracy
    the orientation of those who favor government by the people
    In Germany, Adolph Hitler’s ideology of ‘National Socialism’ (Nazism) offered a second authoritarian alternative to liberal democracy.
  160. twentieth
    position 20 in a countable series of things
    He used planning techniques pioneered by wartime governments and much of the technology invented in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, from railways to radios.
  161. San Jose
    a city in western California located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay to the south of San Francisco; a center for computer and electronics industries
    World Images Kiosk, San Jose State University
    http://worldimages.sjsu.edu
  162. incorporate
    make into a whole or make part of a whole
    For example, West African wood sculpture inspired the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), and Mongolian artists incorporated traditional motifs into contemporary art forms such as photography.
  163. infrastructure
    the basic features of a system or organization
    Millions of civilians died as well, and destruction of infrastructure, industries, and farmland was colossal.
  164. autocratic
    characteristic of an absolute ruler or absolute rule
    However, the strains of rapid economic change combined with the war, which saw a German invasion, undermined the autocratic government of Tsar Nicholas II. In February 1917, he was forced to abdicate and to leave the country in the hands of a weak “provisional government.”
  165. economic
    of or relating to production and management of wealth
    In the late nineteenth century, the major industrialized states used their increasing economic and technological power to build up stocks of modern weapons such as machine guns and battleships.
  166. political leader
    a person active in party politics
    This success inspired some political leaders and revolutionaries in other lands, including western European countries and their colonies, to take up the Communist vision of the future.
  167. inspired
    of surpassing excellence
    This success inspired some political leaders and revolutionaries in other lands, including western European countries and their colonies, to take up the Communist vision of the future.
  168. disillusioned
    freed from false ideas
    It was a world disillusioned with nineteenth-century hopes for progress, no longer politically and economically dominated by Western Europe, more populous, more urbanized, and more productive.
  169. ally
    a friendly nation
    They also prepared for war by forging alliances that committed each country to the defense of its allies.
  170. concentrate
    make denser, stronger, or purer
    On the home fronts of all the states involved, the huge power concentrated in modern governments and industrial economies was harnessed for the fight.
  171. tradition
    a specific practice of long standing
    The wars had many causes, including competition for markets and colonies and a centuries-old tradition of military competition among European countries.
  172. Union
    the United States
    Photo by Ross Dunn

    Vladimir Lenin

    The rise of the Soviet Union.
  173. racist
    a person with a belief in the superiority of one people
    In Europe, Nazi racist belligerence and aggression against its neighbors, first Austria and Czechoslovakia, then Poland, led Germany in 1939 into war with France and Britain.
  174. unleash
    turn loose or free from restraint
    In the aftermath of World War II, it was not at all certain that humans could find a way of living with the terrifying technological powers unleashed by the Industrial Revolution.
  175. compromising
    making or willing to make concessions
    On the other hand, the US, Britain, and several other European countries mobilized millions of citizens for war without compromising their democratic institutions very much.
  176. second half
    the second of two halves of play
    Could peace be preserved better in the second half of the century?
  177. economic growth
    steady growth in the productive capacity of the economy
    Could the machinery of economic growth reduce the global inequalities that had helped fuel the conflicts of 1900-1950?
  178. forging
    shaping metal by heating and hammering
    They also prepared for war by forging alliances that committed each country to the defense of its allies.
  179. motion picture
    a form of entertainment that enacts a story by sound and a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement
    Entirely new art forms, such as motion pictures, radio drama, and jazz blurred the lines between elite and popular culture.
  180. bestseller
    a book that has had a large and rapid sale
    The book, which became a bestseller, argued that all civilizations rise and fall and that World War I marked the beginning of Europe’s decline.
  181. technology
    the practical application of science to commerce or industry
    He used planning techniques pioneered by wartime governments and much of the technology invented in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, from railways to radios.
  182. Nazi
    a German member of Adolf Hitler's political party
    The Nazi party flourished, and in 1933 Hitler became Germany’s leader.
  183. predictable
    capable of being foretold
    They both undermined Isaac Newton’s model of a fixed and predictable universe, which scientists of the nineteenth century had taken for granted.
  184. pessimism
    a general disposition to expect the worst in all things
    In the fine arts, a mood of anti-rationalism and pessimism brought forth new genres of art.
  185. economy
    the system of production and distribution and consumption
    On the home fronts of all the states involved, the huge power concentrated in modern governments and industrial economies was harnessed for the fight.
  186. New Zealand
    an independent country within the British Commonwealth
    Troops from French and British colonies in Asia and Africa, and from former colonies such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand fought on the British and French side.
  187. grisly
    shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
    On Europe’s western front the war settled into a grisly, prolonged siege in which soldiers assaulted enemy trenches only to be mowed down.
  188. North Africa
    an area of northern Africa between the Sahara and the Mediterranean Sea
    World War II was fought in Europe, the Soviet Union, North Africa, West Africa, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
  189. popular
    regarded with great favor or approval by the general public
    Ideas item
    Humans and Ideas arrow item

    Despite crisis after crisis, Big Era Eight brought new creativity to science, the arts, popular culture, and political and social thought.
  190. Manchuria
    a region in northeastern China
    Japan, seeking to create its own empire in East Asia, invaded Chinese Manchuria in 1931 and mainland China in 1937.
  191. mobilization
    act of organizing and making ready for use or action
    Mobilization for war was even more “total” than in the first war, particularly in Germany and the Soviet Union.
  192. rhetoric
    study of the technique for using language effectively
    In China and Vietnam the anti-imperial rhetoric of Soviet communism provided the inspiration for the nationalist leaders Mao Zedong and Ho Chi Minh.
  193. ensure
    make certain of
    The League had little independent power, however, and the punitive peace treaty of 1919 ensured that Germany and Austria would continue to nurse resentments.
  194. culture
    all the knowledge and values shared by a society
    Ideas item
    Humans and Ideas arrow item

    Despite crisis after crisis, Big Era Eight brought new creativity to science, the arts, popular culture, and political and social thought.
  195. casualty
    someone injured or killed in an accident
    Civilians played as vital a role as soldiers and also accounted for an increasing number of casualties.
  196. resource
    aid or support that may be drawn upon when needed
    Warfare became “total,” as governments took control of much of the economy in order to mobilize their populations and resources.
  197. imitator
    someone who copies the words or behavior of another
    Fascism found other imitators as well, for example, in Spain, Brazil, and Lebanon.
  198. headway
    forward movement
    Though communist movements made little headway in most places, the Communist leader, Mao Zedong, achieved victory in China.
  199. ruthlessly
    in a ruthless manner
    He ruthlessly seized Russian peasant lands, thereby eliminating the last remaining bastions of capitalism.
  200. emerge
    come out into view, as from concealment
    However, Turkey, the heartland of the former Ottoman empire, emerged from the war as an independent state under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
  201. concentration
    the spatial property of being crowded together
    The rail line that brought prisoners to the Nazi concentration camp at Terezine in northern Czechoslovakia, today the Czech Republic.
  202. destructive
    causing damage
    World War I proved more horrifying than anyone could have imagined, and it demonstrated the colossal destructive power available to industrialized states.
  203. harnessed
    brought under control and put to use
    On the home fronts of all the states involved, the huge power concentrated in modern governments and industrial economies was harnessed for the fight.
  204. wrestle
    the act of engaging in close hand-to-hand combat
    In all those regions, intellectuals, artists, and politicians wrestled with the fundamental fact that the modern revolution had arrived in the form of European colonialism, unfavorable trade relations, and European ideas of progress.
  205. Zealand
    the largest island of Denmark and the site of Copenhagen
    Troops from French and British colonies in Asia and Africa, and from former colonies such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand fought on the British and French side.
  206. million
    the number that is represented as a one followed by 6 zeros
    Machine guns, long-range artillery, and mustard gas killed soldiers by the millions.
  207. Hungarian
    relating to or characteristic of Hungary
    The dangers of this system became apparent when Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian empire, was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist in June 1914.
  208. 1990s
    the decade from 1990 to 1999
    In Russia the creation of the world’s first Communist state posed a challenge to the entire capitalist system, a challenge that would last until the 1990s.
  209. Russia
    a federation in northeastern Europe and northern Asia
    Austro-Hungary consequently invaded Serbia, Serbia’s ally Russia mobilized against Austro-Hungary, and within weeks the whole of Europe was embroiled in war.
  210. weapon
    any instrument used in fighting or hunting
    In the late nineteenth century, the major industrialized states used their increasing economic and technological power to build up stocks of modern weapons such as machine guns and battleships.
  211. tsar
    a male monarch or emperor, especially in Russia
    However, the strains of rapid economic change combined with the war, which saw a German invasion, undermined the autocratic government of Tsar Nicholas II. In February 1917, he was forced to abdicate and to leave the country in the hands of a weak “provisional government.”
  212. Serbian
    of or relating to the people or language or culture of the region of Serbia
    The dangers of this system became apparent when Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian empire, was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist in June 1914.
  213. Southeast Asia
    a geographical division of Asia that includes Indochina plus Indonesia and the Philippines and Singapore
    World War II was fought in Europe, the Soviet Union, North Africa, West Africa, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
  214. socialist
    advocating the state ownership of industry
    They were left, however, ruling a country, now the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, that was poorer and less industrialized than it had been ten years earlier.
  215. front line
    the line along which opposing armies face each other
    Soldiers carrying a wounded comrade away from the
    front lines, Western Front, France, 1917.
  216. Einstein
    physicist born in Germany who formulated the special theory of relativity and the general theory of relativity; Einstein also proposed that light consists of discrete quantized bundles of energy (later called photons) (1879-1955)
    Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, and other scientists developed the theory of relativity and quantum physics in the first three decades of the twentieth century.
  217. Pearl Harbor
    a harbor on Oahu to the west of Honolulu
    Germany attacked the Soviet Union in 1941, and Japan, Hitler’s ally, attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941.
  218. Stalin
    Russian leader who succeeded Lenin as head of the Communist Party and created a totalitarian state by purging all opposition (1879-1953)
    In 1929, Stalin, Lenin’s successor, launched a radical, state-led industrialization drive.
  219. modern
    ahead of the times
    In the late nineteenth century, the major industrialized states used their increasing economic and technological power to build up stocks of modern weapons such as machine guns and battleships.
  220. bristle
    a stiff hair
    The world of 1950, however, was just as divided and conflict-ridden, and it bristled with dangerous weapons unimaginable in 1900.
  221. Japan
    a constitutional monarchy occupying the Japanese Archipelago
    Japan, seeking to create its own empire in East Asia, invaded Chinese Manchuria in 1931 and mainland China in 1937.
  222. take for granted
    take to be the case or to be true
    They both undermined Isaac Newton’s model of a fixed and predictable universe, which scientists of the nineteenth century had taken for granted.
  223. Freud
    Austrian neurologist who originated psychoanalysis
    In psychology, Sigmund Freud showed the power of irrational forces that lurked in the human sub-conscious.
  224. Middle East
    the area around the eastern Mediterranean
    Germany’s colonies and Ottoman territory in the Middle East were taken over by France and Britain as “mandates” or “trusteeships” theoretically under the League of Nations.
  225. theoretically
    in theory; according to the assumed facts
    Germany’s colonies and Ottoman territory in the Middle East were taken over by France and Britain as “mandates” or “trusteeships” theoretically under the League of Nations.
  226. photo
    a picture taken with a camera or phone that shows people or scenes
    Photo by Ross Dunn

    Vladimir Lenin

    The rise of the Soviet Union.
  227. genre
    a kind of literary or artistic work
    In the fine arts, a mood of anti-rationalism and pessimism brought forth new genres of art.
  228. bastion
    projecting part of a rampart or other fortification
    He ruthlessly seized Russian peasant lands, thereby eliminating the last remaining bastions of capitalism.
  229. Ross
    a politician in Wyoming who was the first woman governor in the United States (1876-1977)
    Photo by Ross Dunn

    Vladimir Lenin

    The rise of the Soviet Union.
  230. fine arts
    the study and creation of visual works of art
    In the fine arts, a mood of anti-rationalism and pessimism brought forth new genres of art.
  231. Hungary
    a republic in central Europe
    Austro-Hungary consequently invaded Serbia, Serbia’s ally Russia mobilized against Austro-Hungary, and within weeks the whole of Europe was embroiled in war.
  232. long-range
    suitable for or reaching long distances
    Machine guns, long-range artillery, and mustard gas killed soldiers by the millions.
  233. nationalism
    the doctrine that your country's interests are superior
    Library of Congress
    Prints and Photographs Online Catalog
    Reproduction #LC-USZ61-620

    Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

    Nationalism in the colonized world.
  234. wall in
    enclose with a wall
    Vladimir Lenin depicted in a mosaic on a wall in a Moscow metropolitan subway station.
  235. irrational
    not consistent with or using reason
    In psychology, Sigmund Freud showed the power of irrational forces that lurked in the human sub-conscious.
  236. concentrated
    gathered together or made less diffuse
    On the home fronts of all the states involved, the huge power concentrated in modern governments and industrial economies was harnessed for the fight.
  237. government
    the system or form by which a community is ruled
    On the home fronts of all the states involved, the huge power concentrated in modern governments and industrial economies was harnessed for the fight.
  238. blurred
    indistinct or hazy in outline
    Entirely new art forms, such as motion pictures, radio drama, and jazz blurred the lines between elite and popular culture.
  239. online
    connected to a computer network or accessible by computer
    Library of Congress
    Prints and Photographs Online Catalog
    Reproduction #LC-USZ62-98917

    Western Front

    By then, 15 million soldiers had died and another 20 million had been injured.
  240. assassinated
    murdered by surprise attack for political reasons
    The dangers of this system became apparent when Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian empire, was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist in June 1914.
  241. brutal
    resembling a beast; showing lack of human sensibility
    Even so, Stalin’s brutal methods produced a powerful industrial economy.
  242. immune
    of the condition in which an organism can resist disease
    The major liberal democracies were by no means immune to new problems.
  243. Picasso
    prolific and influential Spanish artist who lived in France
    For example, West African wood sculpture inspired the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), and Mongolian artists incorporated traditional motifs into contemporary art forms such as photography.
  244. science
    a branch of study or knowledge involving the observation, investigation, and discovery of general laws or truths that can be tested systematically
    These women and men were determined to advance modern technology, science, and political organization but equally set on finding ways to do it that were true to their own national traditions and aspirations.
  245. incompetent
    not qualified or suited for a purpose
    To many, liberalism seemed only a veneer that protected exploitative and incompetent governments and allowed social and economic inequities in the world to continue.
  246. soldier
    an enlisted man or woman who serves in an army
    Machine guns, long-range artillery, and mustard gas killed soldiers by the millions.
  247. achieve
    gain with effort
    Though communist movements made little headway in most places, the Communist leader, Mao Zedong, achieved victory in China.
  248. Southwest
    the southwestern region of the United States generally including New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Nevada, California, and sometimes Utah and Colorado
    (The German colony of Southwest Africa was turned over to South Africa as a mandate.)
  249. German
    of or pertaining to or characteristic of Germany or its people or language
    The Ottoman Turkish empire joined World War I on the German and Austro-Hungarian side.
  250. unfavorable
    not favorable
    In all those regions, intellectuals, artists, and politicians wrestled with the fundamental fact that the modern revolution had arrived in the form of European colonialism, unfavorable trade relations, and European ideas of progress.
  251. increasingly
    advancing in amount or intensity
    Nationalist leaders in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia became increasingly skilled at using newspapers and radio to build mass support.
  252. do away with
    terminate, end, or take out
    He believed that Russia would pioneer a new and better type of society, one that would do away with the political and economic inequalities of the capitalist world order.
  253. political
    involving or characteristic of governing or social power
    Into this political vacuum stepped the Bolshevik Party, led by Vladimir Lenin (1870-24).
  254. economically
    in a manner using the minimum of time or resources
    It was a world disillusioned with nineteenth-century hopes for progress, no longer politically and economically dominated by Western Europe, more populous, more urbanized, and more productive.
  255. saddled
    having a saddle on or being mounted on a saddled animal
    The Paris Peace Conference (1919) stripped Germany of its colonies and saddled it and Austria with the burden of paying reparations, that is, much of the cost of the war.
  256. mosaic
    design made of small pieces of colored stone or glass
    Vladimir Lenin depicted in a mosaic on a wall in a Moscow metropolitan subway station.
  257. Marxist
    advocate of the economic and political theories of Karl Marx
    As a Marxist, Lenin had no use for nineteenth century-style liberalism, and he was convinced that the war signaled the collapse of both capitalism and imperialism.
  258. revolution
    a single complete turn
    The conflagration showed a dark side of the modern revolution.
  259. league
    an association of states or individuals for common action
    It also created the League of Nations, the first fledgling world deliberative body, whose primary mission was to prevent future military catastrophes.
  260. industrial
    of or relating to commercial enterprise
    On the home fronts of all the states involved, the huge power concentrated in modern governments and industrial economies was harnessed for the fight.
  261. Southeast
    the southeastern region of the United States
    World War II was fought in Europe, the Soviet Union, North Africa, West Africa, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
  262. arts
    studies intended to provide general knowledge and skills
    Ideas item
    Humans and Ideas arrow item

    Despite crisis after crisis, Big Era Eight brought new creativity to science, the arts, popular culture, and political and social thought.
  263. embark on
    get off the ground
    Benito Mussolini (1883-1945), Hitler’s fascist ally in Italy, embarked on a similar program of nationalist rearmament.
  264. daunt
    cause to lose courage
    The end of the war left the liberal capitalist system facing many daunting challenges.
  265. Bolshevik
    a Russian member of the left-wing majority group that followed Lenin and eventually became the Russian communist party
    Into this political vacuum stepped the Bolshevik Party, led by Vladimir Lenin (1870-24).
  266. Communist
    a member of the communist party
    In Russia the creation of the world’s first Communist state posed a challenge to the entire capitalist system, a challenge that would last until the 1990s.
  267. photography
    the process of producing images of objects on photosensitive surfaces
    For example, West African wood sculpture inspired the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), and Mongolian artists incorporated traditional motifs into contemporary art forms such as photography.
  268. purge
    rid of impurities
    The strains and costs of compulsory industrialization were great, including a massive famine, creation of forced labor camps, and political purges that by the 1930s cost the lives of several million people.
  269. huge
    unusually great in amount or degree or extent or scope
    On the home fronts of all the states involved, the huge power concentrated in modern governments and industrial economies was harnessed for the fight.
  270. battleship
    large and heavily armoured warship
    In the late nineteenth century, the major industrialized states used their increasing economic and technological power to build up stocks of modern weapons such as machine guns and battleships.
  271. subway
    a rail system operating below the surface of the ground
    Vladimir Lenin depicted in a mosaic on a wall in a Moscow metropolitan subway station.
  272. conflagration
    a very intense and uncontrolled fire
    The conflagration showed a dark side of the modern revolution.
  273. Czech
    of or relating to Czechoslovakia or its people or their language
    The rail line that brought prisoners to the Nazi concentration camp at Terezine in northern Czechoslovakia, today the Czech Republic.
  274. terrifying
    causing extreme fear
    In the aftermath of World War II, it was not at all certain that humans could find a way of living with the terrifying technological powers unleashed by the Industrial Revolution.
  275. posed
    arranged for pictorial purposes
    In Russia the creation of the world’s first Communist state posed a challenge to the entire capitalist system, a challenge that would last until the 1990s.
  276. generate
    bring into existence
    Or was the world doomed to ever more destructive conflicts as power groups fought over the wealth that the technology and science of the modern revolution had generated?
  277. artistic
    relating to the products of human creativity
    More extensive cross-cultural exchanges of artistic ideas challenged established artistic traditions in most parts of the world.
  278. mow
    cut with a blade or mower
    On Europe’s western front the war settled into a grisly, prolonged siege in which soldiers assaulted enemy trenches only to be mowed down.
  279. Turkish
    of or relating to or characteristic of Turkey or its people or language
    The Ottoman Turkish empire joined World War I on the German and Austro-Hungarian side.
  280. Ethiopia
    Ethiopia is a republic in northeastern Africa on the Red Sea
    Fascist Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935.
  281. provisional
    under terms not final or fully worked out or agreed upon
    However, the strains of rapid economic change combined with the war, which saw a German invasion, undermined the autocratic government of Tsar Nicholas II. In February 1917, he was forced to abdicate and to leave the country in the hands of a weak “provisional government.”
  282. armistice
    a state of peace agreed to between opponents
    On November 11, 1918, Germany signed an armistice.
  283. Vietnam
    a communist state in Indochina on the South China Sea
    In China and Vietnam the anti-imperial rhetoric of Soviet communism provided the inspiration for the nationalist leaders Mao Zedong and Ho Chi Minh.
  284. pioneer
    one the first colonists or settlers in a new territory
    He believed that Russia would pioneer a new and better type of society, one that would do away with the political and economic inequalities of the capitalist world order.
  285. warfare
    the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
    Warfare became “total,” as governments took control of much of the economy in order to mobilize their populations and resources.
  286. take over
    seize and take control without authority and possibly with force; take as one's right or possession
    The war also transformed the lives of many women, who had to manage all aspects of domestic life when men were away and who took over men’s jobs in munitions factories and other branches of production.
  287. nation
    a politically organized body of people under a government
    It also created the League of Nations, the first fledgling world deliberative body, whose primary mission was to prevent future military catastrophes.
  288. Gandhi
    political and spiritual leader during India's struggle with Great Britain for home rule; an advocate of passive resistance (1869-1948)
    In Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) it found an inspirational and creative leader.
  289. mustard
    pungent powder or paste prepared from ground mustard seeds
    Machine guns, long-range artillery, and mustard gas killed soldiers by the millions.
  290. for example
    as an example
    Fascism found other imitators as well, for example, in Spain, Brazil, and Lebanon.
  291. human
    a person; a hominid with a large brain and articulate speech
    This meant that about one third of all humans lived under Communist governments.
  292. China
    a communist nation that covers a vast territory in eastern Asia; the most populous country in the world
    Though communist movements made little headway in most places, the Communist leader, Mao Zedong, achieved victory in China.
  293. broaden
    make wider
    In fact, these nations broadened the base of popular participation in civic life, notably to include women.
  294. power
    possession of the qualities required to do something
    The Great War. The two world wars together were a major cause of change in the global distribution of power.
  295. tipped
    departing or being caused to depart from the true vertical or horizontal
    US supplies, troops, and money, together with the huge economic and agricultural resources of the British and French empires, eventually tipped the balance against the central European powers.
  296. educate
    give knowledge acquired by learning and instruction
    In parts of Africa, too, new educated leaders, including Kwame Nkrumah, Leopold Senghor, and Julius Nyerere, emerged, and in the aftermath of World War II they began to demand total independence.
  297. depicted
    represented graphically by sketch or design or lines
    Vladimir Lenin depicted in a mosaic on a wall in a Moscow metropolitan subway station.
  298. chi
    the 22nd letter of the Greek alphabet
    In China and Vietnam the anti-imperial rhetoric of Soviet communism provided the inspiration for the nationalist leaders Mao Zedong and Ho Chi Minh.
  299. British
    of or relating to or characteristic of Great Britain or its people or culture
    French, British, or Japanese forces seized German colonies in the Pacific and Africa.
  300. munition
    weapons considered collectively
    The war also transformed the lives of many women, who had to manage all aspects of domestic life when men were away and who took over men’s jobs in munitions factories and other branches of production.
  301. state
    the way something is with respect to its main attributes
    In the late nineteenth century, the major industrialized states used their increasing economic and technological power to build up stocks of modern weapons such as machine guns and battleships.
  302. art
    the creation of beautiful or significant things
    Ideas item
    Humans and Ideas arrow item

    Despite crisis after crisis, Big Era Eight brought new creativity to science, the arts, popular culture, and political and social thought.
  303. access
    the right to enter
    Radios gave leaders access to vast audiences, and gifted speakers such as Roosevelt, Hitler, and Churchill used the new medium to mobilize whole nations for war.
  304. Britain
    a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles
    Germany’s colonies and Ottoman territory in the Middle East were taken over by France and Britain as “mandates” or “trusteeships” theoretically under the League of Nations.
  305. populous
    densely filled with inhabitants
    It was a world disillusioned with nineteenth-century hopes for progress, no longer politically and economically dominated by Western Europe, more populous, more urbanized, and more productive.
  306. compulsory
    required by rule
    The strains and costs of compulsory industrialization were great, including a massive famine, creation of forced labor camps, and political purges that by the 1930s cost the lives of several million people.
  307. continuation
    the act of carrying on with an activity without interruption
    In some sense, World War II was a continuation of the first war.
  308. vacuum
    an empty area or space
    Into this political vacuum stepped the Bolshevik Party, led by Vladimir Lenin (1870-24).
  309. come together
    come together, as if in an embrace
    Nevertheless, nationalist movements for reform and independence began to come together in the colonies.
  310. Mussolini
    Italian fascist dictator (1883-1945)
    Benito Mussolini (1883-1945), Hitler’s fascist ally in Italy, embarked on a similar program of nationalist rearmament.
  311. incorporated
    formed or united into a whole
    For example, West African wood sculpture inspired the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), and Mongolian artists incorporated traditional motifs into contemporary art forms such as photography.
  312. new
    not of long duration
    He believed that Russia would pioneer a new and better type of society, one that would do away with the political and economic inequalities of the capitalist world order.
  313. archduke
    a sovereign prince of the former ruling house of Austria
    The dangers of this system became apparent when Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian empire, was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist in June 1914.
  314. seize
    take hold of; grab
    French, British, or Japanese forces seized German colonies in the Pacific and Africa.
  315. horrify
    fill with anxiety, dread, or alarm
    World War I proved more horrifying than anyone could have imagined, and it demonstrated the colossal destructive power available to industrialized states.
  316. East
    the countries of Asia
    Germany’s colonies and Ottoman territory in the Middle East were taken over by France and Britain as “mandates” or “trusteeships” theoretically under the League of Nations.
  317. dominate
    be in control
    It was a world disillusioned with nineteenth-century hopes for progress, no longer politically and economically dominated by Western Europe, more populous, more urbanized, and more productive.
  318. physics
    the science of matter and energy and their interactions
    Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, and other scientists developed the theory of relativity and quantum physics in the first three decades of the twentieth century.
  319. Oswald
    United States assassin of President John F. Kennedy
    The historian Oswald Spengler, for example, captured this mood in a work called The Decline of the West, which he first published in 1918.
  320. decline
    grow worse
    The historian Oswald Spengler, for example, captured this mood in a work called The Decline of the West, which he first published in 1918.
  321. item
    a distinct part that can be specified separately in a group
    Ideas item
    Humans and Ideas arrow item

    Despite crisis after crisis, Big Era Eight brought new creativity to science, the arts, popular culture, and political and social thought.
  322. eliminate
    end, take out, or do away with
    He ruthlessly seized Russian peasant lands, thereby eliminating the last remaining bastions of capitalism.
  323. forge
    create by hammering
    They also prepared for war by forging alliances that committed each country to the defense of its allies.
  324. republic
    a form of government whose head of state is not a monarch
    They were left, however, ruling a country, now the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, that was poorer and less industrialized than it had been ten years earlier.
  325. blur
    confuse or make unclear
    Entirely new art forms, such as motion pictures, radio drama, and jazz blurred the lines between elite and popular culture.
  326. allies
    an coalition of nations joining to fight a common enemy
    They also prepared for war by forging alliances that committed each country to the defense of its allies.
  327. systematic
    characterized by order and planning
    The horror of the war found its most potent symbol in the Nazis’ systematic murder of 9 million people, 6 million of them Jews.
  328. Western
    a film or novel about life in the western United States during the period of exploration and development
    Soldiers carrying a wounded comrade away from the
    front lines, Western Front, France, 1917.
  329. nazi
    derogatory term for a person who is fanatically dedicated to, or seeks to control, some activity, practice, etc.
    The horror of the war found its most potent symbol in the Nazis’ systematic murder of 9 million people, 6 million of them Jews.
  330. argue
    have a disagreement about something
    Before they could realize communism, they argued, they would have to rebuild Russia’s economy.
  331. wartime
    a period of time during which there is armed conflict
    He used planning techniques pioneered by wartime governments and much of the technology invented in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, from railways to radios.
  332. prepare for
    prepare mentally or emotionally for something unpleasant
    They also prepared for war by forging alliances that committed each country to the defense of its allies.
  333. quicker
    more quickly
    The popular press helped spread new political messages, including fascism and communism, while giving people in democratic societies broader and quicker access to information about the world.
  334. competition
    the act of contending with others for rewards or resources
    The wars had many causes, including competition for markets and colonies and a centuries-old tradition of military competition among European countries.
  335. discredit
    the state of being held in low esteem
    Even for many citizens of European democracies, the horrors of war seemed to discredit the liberal ideology that had seemed so full of promise in the late nineteenth century.
  336. United States
    North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776
    Exploiting international disunity and the weakness of the League of Nations, which the United States never joined, Germany threw off the Versailles Treaty’s penalties and restrictions and began to rearm.
  337. photograph
    a picture taken with a camera or phone that shows people or scenes
    Library of Congress
    Prints and Photographs Online Catalog
    Reproduction #LC-USZ62-98917

    Western Front

    By then, 15 million soldiers had died and another 20 million had been injured.
  338. worldwide
    spanning or extending throughout the entire world
    Because the rivalries that caused the war were worldwide, so was its impact.
  339. Hawaii
    a state in the United States in the central Pacific on the Hawaiian Islands
    Germany attacked the Soviet Union in 1941, and Japan, Hitler’s ally, attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941.
  340. country
    the territory occupied by a nation
    The wars had many causes, including competition for markets and colonies and a centuries-old tradition of military competition among European countries.
  341. Pacific
    relating to or bordering the Pacific Ocean
    French, British, or Japanese forces seized German colonies in the Pacific and Africa.
  342. competitive
    involving rivalry over something
    Nazism offered an extreme version of the competitive nationalist ideologies that had led to the war.
  343. become
    come into existence
    The dangers of this system became apparent when Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian empire, was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist in June 1914.
  344. Eight
    a group of United States painters founded in 1907 and noted for their realistic depictions of sordid aspects of city life
    Ideas item
    Humans and Ideas arrow item

    Despite crisis after crisis, Big Era Eight brought new creativity to science, the arts, popular culture, and political and social thought.
  345. rivalry
    the act of competing as for profit or a prize
    Because the rivalries that caused the war were worldwide, so was its impact.
  346. scientist
    a person with advanced knowledge of empirical fields
    Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, and other scientists developed the theory of relativity and quantum physics in the first three decades of the twentieth century.
  347. jazz
    genre of American music that developed in the 20th century
    Entirely new art forms, such as motion pictures, radio drama, and jazz blurred the lines between elite and popular culture.
  348. front
    the side that is forward or prominent
    On Europe’s western front the war settled into a grisly, prolonged siege in which soldiers assaulted enemy trenches only to be mowed down.
  349. aggression
    a disposition to behave forcefully and energetically
    In Europe, Nazi racist belligerence and aggression against its neighbors, first Austria and Czechoslovakia, then Poland, led Germany in 1939 into war with France and Britain.
  350. mainland
    the main land mass of a country or continent
    Japan, seeking to create its own empire in East Asia, invaded Chinese Manchuria in 1931 and mainland China in 1937.
  351. heritage
    that which is inherited
    Perhaps for the first time in history, popular culture, instead of being just the cultural heritage of a particular region, began to reach around the globe.
  352. civic
    of or relating or belonging to a city
    In fact, these nations broadened the base of popular participation in civic life, notably to include women.
  353. revive
    cause to regain consciousness
    As in other countries, huge government expenditure for weapons was just the stimulus needed to revive the German economy.
  354. creation
    the act of starting something for the first time
    In Russia the creation of the world’s first Communist state posed a challenge to the entire capitalist system, a challenge that would last until the 1990s.
  355. alliance
    the state of being joined in an association or coalition
    They also prepared for war by forging alliances that committed each country to the defense of its allies.
  356. eventually
    after an unspecified period of time or a long delay
    US supplies, troops, and money, together with the huge economic and agricultural resources of the British and French empires, eventually tipped the balance against the central European powers.
  357. crucial
    of extreme importance; vital to the resolution of a crisis
    His non-violent protests against British rule played a crucial role in achieving independence in 1947.
  358. percent
    a proportion in relation to a whole
    Perhaps 60 million people died, or 3 percent of the world’s population.
  359. region
    the extended spatial location of something
    In colonized regions of the world, nationalist leaders began to challenge European control, many inspired by the liberal democratic traditions of Europe and the US, some inspired by communism and fascism.
  360. participation
    the act of sharing in the activities of a group
    In fact, these nations broadened the base of popular participation in civic life, notably to include women.
  361. preserve
    keep in safety and protect from harm, loss, or destruction
    Refined cultural tastes and values, once the preserve of elite groups, spread increasingly among the working masses.
  362. population
    the people who inhabit a territory or state
    Warfare became “total,” as governments took control of much of the economy in order to mobilize their populations and resources.
  363. consequently
    as a result
    Austro-Hungary consequently invaded Serbia, Serbia’s ally Russia mobilized against Austro-Hungary, and within weeks the whole of Europe was embroiled in war.
  364. major
    greater in scope or effect
    The Great War. The two world wars together were a major cause of change in the global distribution of power.
  365. Versailles
    a city in north central France near Paris
    Exploiting international disunity and the weakness of the League of Nations, which the United States never joined, Germany threw off the Versailles Treaty’s penalties and restrictions and began to rearm.
  366. injure
    cause bodily harm to
    Library of Congress
    Prints and Photographs Online Catalog
    Reproduction #LC-USZ62-98917

    Western Front

    By then, 15 million soldiers had died and another 20 million had been injured.
  367. total
    the whole amount
    Warfare became “total,” as governments took control of much of the economy in order to mobilize their populations and resources.
  368. throw off
    get rid of
    Exploiting international disunity and the weakness of the League of Nations, which the United States never joined, Germany threw off the Versailles Treaty’s penalties and restrictions and began to rearm.
  369. build on
    be based on; of theories and claims, for example
    Nazism built on the sense of despair that World War I, the Depression, and the punitive war reparations caused among Germans.
  370. harness
    an arrangement of leather straps fitted to a draft animal
    On the home fronts of all the states involved, the huge power concentrated in modern governments and industrial economies was harnessed for the fight.
  371. physic
    a purging medicine
    Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, and other scientists developed the theory of relativity and quantum physics in the first three decades of the twentieth century.
  372. widespread
    widely circulated or diffused
    The United States and most European countries followed only after World War I. Socialist parties also challenged governments, particularly during the Great Depression, to tackle the inequalities that were still widespread in democratic and wealthy nations.
  373. stimulus
    any information or event that acts to arouse action
    As in other countries, huge government expenditure for weapons was just the stimulus needed to revive the German economy.
  374. western
    lying toward or situated in the west
    On Europe’s western front the war settled into a grisly, prolonged siege in which soldiers assaulted enemy trenches only to be mowed down.
  375. create
    bring into existence
    It also created the League of Nations, the first fledgling world deliberative body, whose primary mission was to prevent future military catastrophes.
  376. bunker
    an underground shelter or fortification
    The Allied Powers invaded Germany from both east and west in 1945, and Hitler died in his Berlin bunker.
  377. tackle
    seize and throw down an opponent player carrying the ball
    The United States and most European countries followed only after World War I. Socialist parties also challenged governments, particularly during the Great Depression, to tackle the inequalities that were still widespread in democratic and wealthy nations.
  378. productive
    capable of bringing forth, especially abundantly
    It was a world disillusioned with nineteenth-century hopes for progress, no longer politically and economically dominated by Western Europe, more populous, more urbanized, and more productive.
  379. socialism
    a political theory advocating state ownership of industry
    In Germany, Adolph Hitler’s ideology of ‘National Socialism’ (Nazism) offered a second authoritarian alternative to liberal democracy.
  380. liberation
    the act of freeing someone or something
    Communism, fascism, and new liberation movements opposed to European imperialism severely challenged the liberal ideologies of Europe and the United States.
  381. increasing
    becoming greater or larger
    In the late nineteenth century, the major industrialized states used their increasing economic and technological power to build up stocks of modern weapons such as machine guns and battleships.
  382. cinema
    a medium that disseminates moving pictures
    Soviet leaders deliberately used cinema to spread their socialist message to rural villages.
  383. politically
    with regard to government
    It was a world disillusioned with nineteenth-century hopes for progress, no longer politically and economically dominated by Western Europe, more populous, more urbanized, and more productive.
  384. psychology
    the science of mental life
    In psychology, Sigmund Freud showed the power of irrational forces that lurked in the human sub-conscious.
  385. Allied
    of or relating to or denoting the Allies in World War I
    The Allied Powers invaded Germany from both east and west in 1945, and Hitler died in his Berlin bunker.
  386. medium
    the surrounding environment
    Radios gave leaders access to vast audiences, and gifted speakers such as Roosevelt, Hitler, and Churchill used the new medium to mobilize whole nations for war.
  387. Newton
    English mathematician and physicist
    They both undermined Isaac Newton’s model of a fixed and predictable universe, which scientists of the nineteenth century had taken for granted.
  388. demonstrate
    give an exhibition of to an interested audience
    World War I proved more horrifying than anyone could have imagined, and it demonstrated the colossal destructive power available to industrialized states.
  389. French
    of or pertaining to France or the people of France
    French, British, or Japanese forces seized German colonies in the Pacific and Africa.
  390. depict
    give a description of
    Vladimir Lenin depicted in a mosaic on a wall in a Moscow metropolitan subway station.
  391. dominated
    controlled or ruled by superior authority or power
    It was a world disillusioned with nineteenth-century hopes for progress, no longer politically and economically dominated by Western Europe, more populous, more urbanized, and more productive.
  392. role
    the actions and activities assigned to a person or group
    Civilians played as vital a role as soldiers and also accounted for an increasing number of casualties.
  393. first
    preceding all others in time or space or degree
    It also created the League of Nations, the first fledgling world deliberative body, whose primary mission was to prevent future military catastrophes.
  394. set on
    attack someone physically or emotionally
    These women and men were determined to advance modern technology, science, and political organization but equally set on finding ways to do it that were true to their own national traditions and aspirations.
  395. granted
    acknowledged as a supposition
    New Zealand granted the vote to women in 1893, the first sovereign state to do so.
  396. anti
    not in favor of (an action or proposal etc.)
    In China and Vietnam the anti-imperial rhetoric of Soviet communism provided the inspiration for the nationalist leaders Mao Zedong and Ho Chi Minh.
  397. crisis
    a crucial stage or turning point in the course of something
    Ideas item
    Humans and Ideas arrow item

    Despite crisis after crisis, Big Era Eight brought new creativity to science, the arts, popular culture, and political and social thought.
  398. mood
    a characteristic state of feeling
    The historian Oswald Spengler, for example, captured this mood in a work called The Decline of the West, which he first published in 1918.
  399. rebuild
    build again
    Before they could realize communism, they argued, they would have to rebuild Russia’s economy.
  400. collapse
    break down, literally or metaphorically
    As a Marxist, Lenin had no use for nineteenth century-style liberalism, and he was convinced that the war signaled the collapse of both capitalism and imperialism.
  401. notably
    especially; in particular
    In fact, these nations broadened the base of popular participation in civic life, notably to include women.
  402. gifted
    endowed with special talent or talents
    Radios gave leaders access to vast audiences, and gifted speakers such as Roosevelt, Hitler, and Churchill used the new medium to mobilize whole nations for war.
  403. united
    being or joined into a single entity
    Exploiting international disunity and the weakness of the League of Nations, which the United States never joined, Germany threw off the Versailles Treaty’s penalties and restrictions and began to rearm.
  404. fight
    be engaged in a contest or struggle
    On the home fronts of all the states involved, the huge power concentrated in modern governments and industrial economies was harnessed for the fight.
  405. catastrophe
    a sudden violent change in the earth's surface
    It also created the League of Nations, the first fledgling world deliberative body, whose primary mission was to prevent future military catastrophes.
  406. true to
    sexually faithful
    These women and men were determined to advance modern technology, science, and political organization but equally set on finding ways to do it that were true to their own national traditions and aspirations.
  407. aspiration
    a cherished desire
    These women and men were determined to advance modern technology, science, and political organization but equally set on finding ways to do it that were true to their own national traditions and aspirations.
  408. bomber
    a military aircraft that drops bombs during flight
    Weapons such as bombers and rockets brought warfare into the centers of cities.
  409. spread
    distribute or disperse widely
    Soviet leaders deliberately used cinema to spread their socialist message to rural villages.
  410. Lebanon
    an Asian republic at east end of Mediterranean
    Fascism found other imitators as well, for example, in Spain, Brazil, and Lebanon.
  411. bomb
    an explosive device fused to explode under specific conditions
    Aircraft strafed and dropped bombs on soldiers and civilians.
  412. metropolitan
    relating to or characteristic of a large urban area
    Vladimir Lenin depicted in a mosaic on a wall in a Moscow metropolitan subway station.
  413. skilled
    having or showing or requiring special skill
    Nationalist leaders in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia became increasingly skilled at using newspapers and radio to build mass support.
  414. lurk
    lie in wait or behave in a sneaky and secretive manner
    In psychology, Sigmund Freud showed the power of irrational forces that lurked in the human sub-conscious.
  415. defensive
    an attitude of excessive sensitivity to criticism
    These weapons worked so well in holding defensive positions that decisive attacks were almost impossible.
  416. die
    lose all bodily functions necessary to sustain life
    Library of Congress
    Prints and Photographs Online Catalog
    Reproduction #LC-USZ62-98917

    Western Front

    By then, 15 million soldiers had died and another 20 million had been injured.
  417. demonstrated
    having been demonstrated or verified beyond doubt
    World War I proved more horrifying than anyone could have imagined, and it demonstrated the colossal destructive power available to industrialized states.
  418. bring forth
    bring into existence
    In the fine arts, a mood of anti-rationalism and pessimism brought forth new genres of art.
  419. atomic
    relating to the smallest component of an element
    Japan surrendered after the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August.
  420. Congress
    the legislature of the United States government
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    Prints and Photographs Online Catalog
    Reproduction #LC-USZ62-98917

    Western Front

    By then, 15 million soldiers had died and another 20 million had been injured.
  421. Ferdinand
    the king of Castile and Aragon who ruled jointly with his wife Isabella; his marriage to Isabella I in 1469 marked the beginning of the modern state of Spain and their capture of Granada from the Moors in 1492 united Spain as one country; they instituted the Spanish Inquisition in 1478 and supported the expedition of Christopher Columbus in 1492 (1452-1516)
    The dangers of this system became apparent when Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian empire, was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist in June 1914.
  422. even so
    despite anything to the contrary
    Even so, Stalin’s brutal methods produced a powerful industrial economy.
  423. famine
    a severe shortage of food resulting in starvation and death
    The strains and costs of compulsory industrialization were great, including a massive famine, creation of forced labor camps, and political purges that by the 1930s cost the lives of several million people.
  424. attack
    an offensive against an enemy
    These weapons worked so well in holding defensive positions that decisive attacks were almost impossible.
  425. expel
    eliminate
    The Bolsheviks unilaterally pulled Russia out of the war, won a civil struggle against internal enemies, and expelled most of the country’s capitalists.
  426. France
    a republic in western Europe
    Soldiers carrying a wounded comrade away from the
    front lines, Western Front, France, 1917.
  427. despise
    look down on with disdain or disgust
    Hitler became an advocate of fascism, an ideology that saw politics in terms of racial conflict between different nations, championed authoritarianism, and despised liberal values.
  428. however
    in whatever way or manner
    The League had little independent power, however, and the punitive peace treaty of 1919 ensured that Germany and Austria would continue to nurse resentments.
  429. doomed
    people who are destined to die soon
    Or was the world doomed to ever more destructive conflicts as power groups fought over the wealth that the technology and science of the modern revolution had generated?
  430. potent
    having or wielding force or authority
    The horror of the war found its most potent symbol in the Nazis’ systematic murder of 9 million people, 6 million of them Jews.
  431. sculpture
    a three-dimensional work of art
    For example, West African wood sculpture inspired the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), and Mongolian artists incorporated traditional motifs into contemporary art forms such as photography.
  432. combine
    put or add together
    However, the strains of rapid economic change combined with the war, which saw a German invasion, undermined the autocratic government of Tsar Nicholas II. In February 1917, he was forced to abdicate and to leave the country in the hands of a weak “provisional government.”
  433. value
    the quality that renders something desirable
    Hitler became an advocate of fascism, an ideology that saw politics in terms of racial conflict between different nations, championed authoritarianism, and despised liberal values.
  434. library
    a place containing books and other materials for reading
    Library of Congress
    Prints and Photographs Online Catalog
    Reproduction #LC-USZ62-98917

    Western Front

    By then, 15 million soldiers had died and another 20 million had been injured.
  435. transformed
    given a completely different form or appearance
    The war also transformed the lives of many women, who had to manage all aspects of domestic life when men were away and who took over men’s jobs in munitions factories and other branches of production.
  436. racial
    of or related to groups of people sharing distinctive traits
    Hitler became an advocate of fascism, an ideology that saw politics in terms of racial conflict between different nations, championed authoritarianism, and despised liberal values.
  437. creative
    having the ability or power to invent or make something
    In Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) it found an inspirational and creative leader.
  438. despised
    treated with contempt
    Hitler became an advocate of fascism, an ideology that saw politics in terms of racial conflict between different nations, championed authoritarianism, and despised liberal values.
  439. horror
    intense and profound fear
    The horror of the war found its most potent symbol in the Nazis’ systematic murder of 9 million people, 6 million of them Jews.
  440. independent
    free from external control and constraint
    The League had little independent power, however, and the punitive peace treaty of 1919 ensured that Germany and Austria would continue to nurse resentments.
  441. extend to
    to extend as far as
    The challenges to nineteenth-century traditions extended to science and the arts.
  442. take for
    keep in mind or convey as a conviction or view
    They both undermined Isaac Newton’s model of a fixed and predictable universe, which scientists of the nineteenth century had taken for granted.
  443. stripped
    with clothing stripped off
    The Paris Peace Conference (1919) stripped Germany of its colonies and saddled it and Austria with the burden of paying reparations, that is, much of the cost of the war.
  444. Isaac
    the second patriarch
    They both undermined Isaac Newton’s model of a fixed and predictable universe, which scientists of the nineteenth century had taken for granted.
  445. impact
    the striking of one body against another
    Because the rivalries that caused the war were worldwide, so was its impact.
  446. refined
    cultivated and genteel
    Refined cultural tastes and values, once the preserve of elite groups, spread increasingly among the working masses.
  447. South Africa
    a republic at the southernmost part of Africa
    (The German colony of Southwest Africa was turned over to South Africa as a mandate.)
  448. efficiency
    skillfulness in avoiding wasted time and effort
    And the Soviet Union mobilized huge human and material resources with brutal efficiency.
  449. restriction
    an act of limiting
    Exploiting international disunity and the weakness of the League of Nations, which the United States never joined, Germany threw off the Versailles Treaty’s penalties and restrictions and began to rearm.
  450. boost
    increase
    This in turn boosted Hitler’s popularity.
  451. prolonged
    relatively long in duration; tediously protracted
    On Europe’s western front the war settled into a grisly, prolonged siege in which soldiers assaulted enemy trenches only to be mowed down.
  452. turn over
    cause to overturn from an upright or normal position
    (The German colony of Southwest Africa was turned over to South Africa as a mandate.)
  453. baseball
    a ball game between two teams of nine players
    The new media also helped popularize sports such as football and baseball.
  454. Churchill
    English general considered one of the greatest generals in history (1650-1722)
    Radios gave leaders access to vast audiences, and gifted speakers such as Roosevelt, Hitler, and Churchill used the new medium to mobilize whole nations for war.
  455. cost
    be priced at
    The Paris Peace Conference (1919) stripped Germany of its colonies and saddled it and Austria with the burden of paying reparations, that is, much of the cost of the war.
  456. strain
    exert much effort or energy
    However, the strains of rapid economic change combined with the war, which saw a German invasion, undermined the autocratic government of Tsar Nicholas II. In February 1917, he was forced to abdicate and to leave the country in the hands of a weak “provisional government.”
  457. also
    in addition
    They also prepared for war by forging alliances that committed each country to the defense of its allies.
  458. example
    an item of information that is typical of a class or group
    Fascism found other imitators as well, for example, in Spain, Brazil, and Lebanon.
  459. technique
    a practical method or art applied to some particular task
    He used planning techniques pioneered by wartime governments and much of the technology invented in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, from railways to radios.
  460. movement
    change of position that does not entail a change of location
    Though communist movements made little headway in most places, the Communist leader, Mao Zedong, achieved victory in China.
  461. treaty
    a written agreement between two states or sovereigns
    The League had little independent power, however, and the punitive peace treaty of 1919 ensured that Germany and Austria would continue to nurse resentments.
  462. West
    the countries of Europe and North America and South America
    World War II was fought in Europe, the Soviet Union, North Africa, West Africa, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
  463. rocket
    an object propelled by blasting gas from an engine carrying its own air
    Weapons such as bombers and rockets brought warfare into the centers of cities.
  464. sub
    a submersible warship usually armed with torpedoes
    In psychology, Sigmund Freud showed the power of irrational forces that lurked in the human sub-conscious.
  465. decisive
    characterized by resoluteness and firmness
    These weapons worked so well in holding defensive positions that decisive attacks were almost impossible.
  466. announce
    make known
    On October 1, 1949, he announced the formation of the “People’s Republic of China.”
  467. aircraft
    a vehicle that can fly
    Aircraft strafed and dropped bombs on soldiers and civilians.
  468. Brazil
    the largest Latin American country and the largest Portuguese speaking country in the world; located in the central and northeastern part of South America; world's leading coffee exporter
    Fascism found other imitators as well, for example, in Spain, Brazil, and Lebanon.
  469. terrify
    frighten greatly
    In the aftermath of World War II, it was not at all certain that humans could find a way of living with the terrifying technological powers unleashed by the Industrial Revolution.
  470. popularity
    the quality of being widely admired or sought after
    This in turn boosted Hitler’s popularity.
  471. costly
    having a high price
    In human terms, World War II was even more costly than the first conflict.
  472. cause
    events that provide the generative force of something
    The Great War. The two world wars together were a major cause of change in the global distribution of power.
  473. build up
    enlarge, develop, or increase by degrees or in stages
    In the late nineteenth century, the major industrialized states used their increasing economic and technological power to build up stocks of modern weapons such as machine guns and battleships.
  474. stocks
    a frame that supports a boat while it is under construction
    In the late nineteenth century, the major industrialized states used their increasing economic and technological power to build up stocks of modern weapons such as machine guns and battleships.
  475. camp
    temporary lodgings in the country for travelers
    The strains and costs of compulsory industrialization were great, including a massive famine, creation of forced labor camps, and political purges that by the 1930s cost the lives of several million people.
  476. convince
    make realize the truth or validity of something
    As a Marxist, Lenin had no use for nineteenth century-style liberalism, and he was convinced that the war signaled the collapse of both capitalism and imperialism.
  477. pose
    assume a bearing as for artistic purposes
    In Russia the creation of the world’s first Communist state posed a challenge to the entire capitalist system, a challenge that would last until the 1990s.
  478. wealth
    property that has economic value
    The US concentrated its wealth, industry, and citizenry on the war effort.
  479. rural
    living in or characteristic of farming or country life
    Soviet leaders deliberately used cinema to spread their socialist message to rural villages.
  480. embark
    go on board
    Benito Mussolini (1883-1945), Hitler’s fascist ally in Italy, embarked on a similar program of nationalist rearmament.
  481. exploit
    use or manipulate to one's advantage
    Exploiting international disunity and the weakness of the League of Nations, which the United States never joined, Germany threw off the Versailles Treaty’s penalties and restrictions and began to rearm.
  482. distribution
    the act of spreading or apportioning
    The Great War. The two world wars together were a major cause of change in the global distribution of power.
  483. agricultural
    relating to or used in or promoting farming
    US supplies, troops, and money, together with the huge economic and agricultural resources of the British and French empires, eventually tipped the balance against the central European powers.
  484. resentment
    a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will
    The League had little independent power, however, and the punitive peace treaty of 1919 ensured that Germany and Austria would continue to nurse resentments.
  485. idea
    the content of cognition
    In all those regions, intellectuals, artists, and politicians wrestled with the fundamental fact that the modern revolution had arrived in the form of European colonialism, unfavorable trade relations, and European ideas of progress.
  486. survive
    continue in existence after
    Consequently, the British and French empires not only survived the war but became even bigger.
  487. former
    the first of two or the first mentioned of two
    Troops from French and British colonies in Asia and Africa, and from former colonies such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand fought on the British and French side.
  488. military
    the armed forces of a nation
    The wars had many causes, including competition for markets and colonies and a centuries-old tradition of military competition among European countries.
  489. involve
    contain as a part
    On the home fronts of all the states involved, the huge power concentrated in modern governments and industrial economies was harnessed for the fight.
  490. Nicholas
    a bishop in Asia Minor who is associated with Santa Claus
    However, the strains of rapid economic change combined with the war, which saw a German invasion, undermined the autocratic government of Tsar Nicholas II. In February 1917, he was forced to abdicate and to leave the country in the hands of a weak “provisional government.”
  491. supporter
    a person who backs a politician or a team etc.
    In India, the Indian National Congress, first established in 1885, became a powerful supporter of independence.
  492. range
    a variety of different things or activities
    Machine guns, long-range artillery, and mustard gas killed soldiers by the millions.
  493. joined
    connected by a link, as railway cars or trailer trucks
    The Ottoman Turkish empire joined World War I on the German and Austro-Hungarian side.
  494. ruling
    exercising power or authority
    They were left, however, ruling a country, now the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, that was poorer and less industrialized than it had been ten years earlier.
  495. Poland
    a republic in central Europe
    In Europe, Nazi racist belligerence and aggression against its neighbors, first Austria and Czechoslovakia, then Poland, led Germany in 1939 into war with France and Britain.
  496. expenditure
    the act of spending money for goods or services
    As in other countries, huge government expenditure for weapons was just the stimulus needed to revive the German economy.
  497. artist
    person whose creative work shows sensitivity and imagination
    In all those regions, intellectuals, artists, and politicians wrestled with the fundamental fact that the modern revolution had arrived in the form of European colonialism, unfavorable trade relations, and European ideas of progress.
  498. oppose
    be against
    Communism, fascism, and new liberation movements opposed to European imperialism severely challenged the liberal ideologies of Europe and the United States.
  499. deliberately
    in a careful unhurried manner
    Soviet leaders deliberately used cinema to spread their socialist message to rural villages.
  500. begin
    set in motion, cause to start
    Exploiting international disunity and the weakness of the League of Nations, which the United States never joined, Germany threw off the Versailles Treaty’s penalties and restrictions and began to rearm.
  501. sheer
    so thin as to transmit light
    Eventually, the sheer weight of resources and human numbers ranged against the fascist alliance made the difference.
  502. message
    a communication that is written or spoken or signaled
    Soviet leaders deliberately used cinema to spread their socialist message to rural villages.
  503. planning
    an act of formulating a program for a course of action
    He used planning techniques pioneered by wartime governments and much of the technology invented in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, from railways to radios.
  504. prolong
    lengthen in time; cause to be or last longer
    On Europe’s western front the war settled into a grisly, prolonged siege in which soldiers assaulted enemy trenches only to be mowed down.
  505. Italy
    a republic in southern Europe on the Italian Peninsula
    Benito Mussolini (1883-1945), Hitler’s fascist ally in Italy, embarked on a similar program of nationalist rearmament.
  506. established
    brought about or set up or accepted
    In India, the Indian National Congress, first established in 1885, became a powerful supporter of independence.
  507. divide
    a serious disagreement between two groups of people
    The world of 1950, however, was just as divided and conflict-ridden, and it bristled with dangerous weapons unimaginable in 1900.
  508. football
    a team sport played with an oval or round ball
    The new media also helped popularize sports such as football and baseball.
  509. used
    previously owned by another
    In the late nineteenth century, the major industrialized states used their increasing economic and technological power to build up stocks of modern weapons such as machine guns and battleships.
  510. machine
    a mechanical or electrical device that transmits energy
    In the late nineteenth century, the major industrialized states used their increasing economic and technological power to build up stocks of modern weapons such as machine guns and battleships.
  511. alternative
    one of a number of things from which only one can be chosen
    In Germany, Adolph Hitler’s ideology of ‘National Socialism’ (Nazism) offered a second authoritarian alternative to liberal democracy.
  512. particularly
    to a distinctly greater extent or degree than is common
    The United States and most European countries followed only after World War I. Socialist parties also challenged governments, particularly during the Great Depression, to tackle the inequalities that were still widespread in democratic and wealthy nations.
  513. in turn
    in proper order or sequence
    This in turn boosted Hitler’s popularity.
  514. severely
    to a severe or serious degree
    Communism, fascism, and new liberation movements opposed to European imperialism severely challenged the liberal ideologies of Europe and the United States.
  515. force
    influence that results in motion, stress, etc. when applied
    French, British, or Japanese forces seized German colonies in the Pacific and Africa.
  516. system
    a group of independent elements comprising a unified whole
    The dangers of this system became apparent when Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian empire, was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist in June 1914.
  517. transform
    change or alter in appearance or nature
    The war also transformed the lives of many women, who had to manage all aspects of domestic life when men were away and who took over men’s jobs in munitions factories and other branches of production.
  518. massive
    containing a great quantity of matter
    The strains and costs of compulsory industrialization were great, including a massive famine, creation of forced labor camps, and political purges that by the 1930s cost the lives of several million people.
  519. powerful
    having great force or effect
    Even so, Stalin’s brutal methods produced a powerful industrial economy.
  520. print
    the text appearing in a book, newspaper, or other printed publication
    Library of Congress
    Prints and Photographs Online Catalog
    Reproduction #LC-USZ62-98917

    Western Front

    By then, 15 million soldiers had died and another 20 million had been injured.
  521. played
    (of games) engaged in
    Civilians played as vital a role as soldiers and also accounted for an increasing number of casualties.
  522. fundamental
    serving as an essential component
    In all those regions, intellectuals, artists, and politicians wrestled with the fundamental fact that the modern revolution had arrived in the form of European colonialism, unfavorable trade relations, and European ideas of progress.
  523. live with
    tolerate or accommodate oneself to
    In the aftermath of World War II, it was not at all certain that humans could find a way of living with the terrifying technological powers unleashed by the Industrial Revolution.
  524. increase
    a process of becoming larger or longer or more numerous
    In the late nineteenth century, the major industrialized states used their increasing economic and technological power to build up stocks of modern weapons such as machine guns and battleships.
  525. peace
    the state prevailing during the absence of war
    The Paris Peace Conference (1919) stripped Germany of its colonies and saddled it and Austria with the burden of paying reparations, that is, much of the cost of the war.
  526. penalty
    the disadvantage or painful consequences of an action
    Exploiting international disunity and the weakness of the League of Nations, which the United States never joined, Germany threw off the Versailles Treaty’s penalties and restrictions and began to rearm.
  527. continue
    keep or maintain in unaltered condition
    The League had little independent power, however, and the punitive peace treaty of 1919 ensured that Germany and Austria would continue to nurse resentments.
  528. compromise
    an accommodation in which both sides make concessions
    On the other hand, the US, Britain, and several other European countries mobilized millions of citizens for war without compromising their democratic institutions very much.
  529. inspiration
    arousal of the mind to unusual activity or creativity
    In China and Vietnam the anti-imperial rhetoric of Soviet communism provided the inspiration for the nationalist leaders Mao Zedong and Ho Chi Minh.
  530. globe
    an object with a spherical shape
    Perhaps for the first time in history, popular culture, instead of being just the cultural heritage of a particular region, began to reach around the globe.
  531. Albert
    prince consort of Queen Victoria of England (1819-1861)
    Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, and other scientists developed the theory of relativity and quantum physics in the first three decades of the twentieth century.
  532. late
    at or toward an end or late period or stage of development
    In the late nineteenth century, the major industrialized states used their increasing economic and technological power to build up stocks of modern weapons such as machine guns and battleships.
  533. formation
    the act of establishing or creating something
    On October 1, 1949, he announced the formation of the “People’s Republic of China.”
  534. traditional
    consisting of or derived from a practice of long standing
    For example, West African wood sculpture inspired the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), and Mongolian artists incorporated traditional motifs into contemporary art forms such as photography.
  535. extend
    stretch out over a distance, space, time, or scope
    Governments were pressed to take their own liberal rhetoric more seriously by extending the vote to larger sections of the population and to women as well as men.
  536. bigger
    large or big relative to something else
    Consequently, the British and French empires not only survived the war but became even bigger.
  537. forced
    forced or compelled
    However, the strains of rapid economic change combined with the war, which saw a German invasion, undermined the autocratic government of Tsar Nicholas II. In February 1917, he was forced to abdicate and to leave the country in the hands of a weak “provisional government.”
  538. Mass
    a sequence of prayers constituting the Christian Eucharistic rite
    ©Kathleen Cohen

    German radio

    Mass communication and popular culture.
  539. progress
    the act of moving forward, as toward a goal
    In all those regions, intellectuals, artists, and politicians wrestled with the fundamental fact that the modern revolution had arrived in the form of European colonialism, unfavorable trade relations, and European ideas of progress.
  540. Russian
    of or pertaining to or characteristic of Russia or its people or culture or language
    In the late nineteenth century, the Russian empire tried hard to industrialize to keep up with the rest of Europe.
  541. national
    of or relating to or belonging to a country
    In Germany, Adolph Hitler’s ideology of ‘National Socialism’ (Nazism) offered a second authoritarian alternative to liberal democracy.
  542. protected
    kept safe or defended from danger or injury or loss
    To many, liberalism seemed only a veneer that protected exploitative and incompetent governments and allowed social and economic inequities in the world to continue.
  543. revolutionary
    markedly new or introducing radical change
    This success inspired some political leaders and revolutionaries in other lands, including western European countries and their colonies, to take up the Communist vision of the future.
  544. terms
    status with respect to the relations between people or groups
    Hitler became an advocate of fascism, an ideology that saw politics in terms of racial conflict between different nations, championed authoritarianism, and despised liberal values.
  545. leadership
    the status of being in charge
    However, Turkey, the heartland of the former Ottoman empire, emerged from the war as an independent state under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
  546. grant
    let have
    New Zealand granted the vote to women in 1893, the first sovereign state to do so.
  547. radical
    far beyond the norm
    In 1929, Stalin, Lenin’s successor, launched a radical, state-led industrialization drive.
  548. injured
    harmed
    Library of Congress
    Prints and Photographs Online Catalog
    Reproduction #LC-USZ62-98917

    Western Front

    By then, 15 million soldiers had died and another 20 million had been injured.
  549. advocate
    a person who pleads for a person, cause, or idea
    Hitler became an advocate of fascism, an ideology that saw politics in terms of racial conflict between different nations, championed authoritarianism, and despised liberal values.
  550. reduce
    make smaller
    Could the machinery of economic growth reduce the global inequalities that had helped fuel the conflicts of 1900-1950?
  551. facing
    an ornamental coating to a building
    The end of the war left the liberal capitalist system facing many daunting challenges.
  552. machinery
    mechanical or electrical devices collectively
    Could the machinery of economic growth reduce the global inequalities that had helped fuel the conflicts of 1900-1950?
  553. mass
    the property of a body that causes it to have weight
    Nationalist leaders in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia became increasingly skilled at using newspapers and radio to build mass support.
  554. people
    any group of human beings collectively
    The strains and costs of compulsory industrialization were great, including a massive famine, creation of forced labor camps, and political purges that by the 1930s cost the lives of several million people.
  555. era
    a period marked by distinctive character
    Ideas item
    Humans and Ideas arrow item

    Despite crisis after crisis, Big Era Eight brought new creativity to science, the arts, popular culture, and political and social thought.
  556. extensive
    large in spatial extent or range or scope or quantity
    More extensive cross-cultural exchanges of artistic ideas challenged established artistic traditions in most parts of the world.
  557. communist
    relating to socialism that abolishes private ownership
    Though communist movements made little headway in most places, the Communist leader, Mao Zedong, achieved victory in China.
  558. wealthy
    having an abundant supply of money or possessions of value
    The United States and most European countries followed only after World War I. Socialist parties also challenged governments, particularly during the Great Depression, to tackle the inequalities that were still widespread in democratic and wealthy nations.
  559. such
    of so extreme a degree or extent
    In the late nineteenth century, the major industrialized states used their increasing economic and technological power to build up stocks of modern weapons such as machine guns and battleships.
  560. Hollywood
    a district of Los Angeles long associated with the American film industry
    In doing so, however, they also ensured that Soviet movie-goers would learn about Hollywood and American values.
  561. citizen
    a native or naturalized member of a state
    Even for many citizens of European democracies, the horrors of war seemed to discredit the liberal ideology that had seemed so full of promise in the late nineteenth century.
  562. industry
    the action of making of goods and services for sale
    Millions of civilians died as well, and destruction of infrastructure, industries, and farmland was colossal.
  563. Australia
    the smallest continent
    Troops from French and British colonies in Asia and Africa, and from former colonies such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand fought on the British and French side.
  564. primary
    of first rank or importance or value
    It also created the League of Nations, the first fledgling world deliberative body, whose primary mission was to prevent future military catastrophes.
  565. flourish
    grow vigorously
    The Nazi party flourished, and in 1933 Hitler became Germany’s leader.
  566. doom
    an unpleasant or disastrous destiny
    Or was the world doomed to ever more destructive conflicts as power groups fought over the wealth that the technology and science of the modern revolution had generated?
  567. many
    a large number of the persons or things being discussed
    The wars had many causes, including competition for markets and colonies and a centuries-old tradition of military competition among European countries.
  568. siege
    an action of an armed force that surrounds a fortified place
    On Europe’s western front the war settled into a grisly, prolonged siege in which soldiers assaulted enemy trenches only to be mowed down.
  569. determine
    find out or learn with certainty, as by making an inquiry
    These women and men were determined to advance modern technology, science, and political organization but equally set on finding ways to do it that were true to their own national traditions and aspirations.
  570. as well
    in addition
    Millions of civilians died as well, and destruction of infrastructure, industries, and farmland was colossal.
  571. masses
    the common people generally
    Refined cultural tastes and values, once the preserve of elite groups, spread increasingly among the working masses.
  572. invent
    come up with after a mental effort
    He used planning techniques pioneered by wartime governments and much of the technology invented in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, from railways to radios.
  573. pearl
    a smooth round structure in the shell of a clam or oyster
    Germany attacked the Soviet Union in 1941, and Japan, Hitler’s ally, attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941.
  574. successor
    a person who follows next in order
    In 1929, Stalin, Lenin’s successor, launched a radical, state-led industrialization drive.
  575. historian
    a person who is an authority on the past and who studies it
    The historian Oswald Spengler, for example, captured this mood in a work called The Decline of the West, which he first published in 1918.
  576. invasion
    any entry into an area not previously occupied
    However, the strains of rapid economic change combined with the war, which saw a German invasion, undermined the autocratic government of Tsar Nicholas II. In February 1917, he was forced to abdicate and to leave the country in the hands of a weak “provisional government.”
  577. vital
    performing an essential function in the living body
    Civilians played as vital a role as soldiers and also accounted for an increasing number of casualties.
  578. trench
    any long ditch cut in the ground
    On Europe’s western front the war settled into a grisly, prolonged siege in which soldiers assaulted enemy trenches only to be mowed down.
  579. thereby
    by that means or because of that
    He ruthlessly seized Russian peasant lands, thereby eliminating the last remaining bastions of capitalism.
  580. contemporary
    occurring in the same period of time
    For example, West African wood sculpture inspired the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), and Mongolian artists incorporated traditional motifs into contemporary art forms such as photography.
  581. speaker
    someone who expresses in language
    Radios gave leaders access to vast audiences, and gifted speakers such as Roosevelt, Hitler, and Churchill used the new medium to mobilize whole nations for war.
  582. capture
    seize as if by hunting, snaring, or trapping
    The historian Oswald Spengler, for example, captured this mood in a work called The Decline of the West, which he first published in 1918.
  583. surrender
    relinquish possession or control over
    Japan surrendered after the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August.
  584. educated
    possessing an education
    In parts of Africa, too, new educated leaders, including Kwame Nkrumah, Leopold Senghor, and Julius Nyerere, emerged, and in the aftermath of World War II they began to demand total independence.
  585. internal
    located inward
    The Bolsheviks unilaterally pulled Russia out of the war, won a civil struggle against internal enemies, and expelled most of the country’s capitalists.
  586. harbor
    a sheltered port where ships can take on or discharge cargo
    Germany attacked the Soviet Union in 1941, and Japan, Hitler’s ally, attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941.
  587. keep up
    maintain a required pace or level
    In the late nineteenth century, the Russian empire tried hard to industrialize to keep up with the rest of Europe.
  588. Atlantic
    the 2nd largest ocean
    World War II was fought in Europe, the Soviet Union, North Africa, West Africa, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
  589. heir
    a person entitled by law to inherit the estate of another
    The dangers of this system became apparent when Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian empire, was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist in June 1914.
  590. masse
    a shot in billiards made by hitting the cue ball with the cue held nearly vertically; the cue ball spins around another ball before hitting the object ball
    Refined cultural tastes and values, once the preserve of elite groups, spread increasingly among the working masses.
  591. costs
    pecuniary reimbursement to the winning party for the expenses of litigation
    The strains and costs of compulsory industrialization were great, including a massive famine, creation of forced labor camps, and political purges that by the 1930s cost the lives of several million people.
  592. fuel
    a substance that can be consumed to produce energy
    Could the machinery of economic growth reduce the global inequalities that had helped fuel the conflicts of 1900-1950?
  593. symbol
    something visible that represents something invisible
    The horror of the war found its most potent symbol in the Nazis’ systematic murder of 9 million people, 6 million of them Jews.
  594. combined
    made or joined or united into one
    However, the strains of rapid economic change combined with the war, which saw a German invasion, undermined the autocratic government of Tsar Nicholas II. In February 1917, he was forced to abdicate and to leave the country in the hands of a weak “provisional government.”
  595. establish
    set up or found
    In India, the Indian National Congress, first established in 1885, became a powerful supporter of independence.
  596. social
    living together or enjoying life in communities
    Ideas item
    Humans and Ideas arrow item

    Despite crisis after crisis, Big Era Eight brought new creativity to science, the arts, popular culture, and political and social thought.
  597. woman
    an adult female person
    The war also transformed the lives of many women, who had to manage all aspects of domestic life when men were away and who took over men’s jobs in munitions factories and other branches of production.
  598. other
    not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
    The war also transformed the lives of many women, who had to manage all aspects of domestic life when men were away and who took over men’s jobs in munitions factories and other branches of production.
  599. most
    used to indicate the greatest amount or degree of a quality
    The Bolsheviks unilaterally pulled Russia out of the war, won a civil struggle against internal enemies, and expelled most of the country’s capitalists.
  600. parts
    the local environment
    In parts of Africa, too, new educated leaders, including Kwame Nkrumah, Leopold Senghor, and Julius Nyerere, emerged, and in the aftermath of World War II they began to demand total independence.
  601. artillery
    large but transportable armament
    Machine guns, long-range artillery, and mustard gas killed soldiers by the millions.
  602. universe
    everything that exists anywhere
    They both undermined Isaac Newton’s model of a fixed and predictable universe, which scientists of the nineteenth century had taken for granted.
  603. manage
    be in charge of, act on, or dispose of
    The war also transformed the lives of many women, who had to manage all aspects of domestic life when men were away and who took over men’s jobs in munitions factories and other branches of production.
  604. champion
    someone who has won first place in a competition
    Hitler became an advocate of fascism, an ideology that saw politics in terms of racial conflict between different nations, championed authoritarianism, and despised liberal values.
  605. assault
    attack someone physically or emotionally
    On Europe’s western front the war settled into a grisly, prolonged siege in which soldiers assaulted enemy trenches only to be mowed down.
  606. build
    make by combining materials and parts
    In the late nineteenth century, the major industrialized states used their increasing economic and technological power to build up stocks of modern weapons such as machine guns and battleships.
  607. saddle
    a seat for the rider of a horse or camel
    The Paris Peace Conference (1919) stripped Germany of its colonies and saddled it and Austria with the burden of paying reparations, that is, much of the cost of the war.
  608. account for
    be the reason or explanation for
    Civilians played as vital a role as soldiers and also accounted for an increasing number of casualties.
  609. troops
    soldiers collectively
    Troops from French and British colonies in Asia and Africa, and from former colonies such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand fought on the British and French side.
  610. tip
    the extreme end of something, especially something pointed
    US supplies, troops, and money, together with the huge economic and agricultural resources of the British and French empires, eventually tipped the balance against the central European powers.
  611. prepare
    make ready or suitable or equip in advance
    They also prepared for war by forging alliances that committed each country to the defense of its allies.
  612. Berlin
    capital of Germany located in eastern Germany
    The Allied Powers invaded Germany from both east and west in 1945, and Hitler died in his Berlin bunker.
  613. more
    greater in size or amount or extent or degree
    World War I proved more horrifying than anyone could have imagined, and it demonstrated the colossal destructive power available to industrialized states.
  614. paying
    for which money is paid
    The Paris Peace Conference (1919) stripped Germany of its colonies and saddled it and Austria with the burden of paying reparations, that is, much of the cost of the war.
  615. by no means
    definitely not
    The major liberal democracies were by no means immune to new problems.
  616. both
    equally or alike
    As a Marxist, Lenin had no use for nineteenth century-style liberalism, and he was convinced that the war signaled the collapse of both capitalism and imperialism.
  617. rail
    a horizontal bar, usually of wood or metal
    The rail line that brought prisoners to the Nazi concentration camp at Terezine in northern Czechoslovakia, today the Czech Republic.
  618. vote
    a choice made by counting people in favor of alternatives
    Governments were pressed to take their own liberal rhetoric more seriously by extending the vote to larger sections of the population and to women as well as men.
  619. middle
    an area that is approximately central within some larger region
    Germany’s colonies and Ottoman territory in the Middle East were taken over by France and Britain as “mandates” or “trusteeships” theoretically under the League of Nations.
  620. realize
    be fully aware or cognizant of
    Before they could realize communism, they argued, they would have to rebuild Russia’s economy.
  621. comrade
    a friend who is frequently in the company of another
    Soldiers carrying a wounded comrade away from the
    front lines, Western Front, France, 1917.
  622. decade
    a period of 10 years
    Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, and other scientists developed the theory of relativity and quantum physics in the first three decades of the twentieth century.
  623. arrow
    projectile with a thin shaft intended to be shot from a bow
    Ideas item
    Humans and Ideas arrow item

    Despite crisis after crisis, Big Era Eight brought new creativity to science, the arts, popular culture, and political and social thought.
  624. drama
    a work intended for performance by actors on a stage
    Entirely new art forms, such as motion pictures, radio drama, and jazz blurred the lines between elite and popular culture.
  625. together
    in contact with each other or in proximity
    The Great War. The two world wars together were a major cause of change in the global distribution of power.
  626. civilization
    a society in an advanced state of social development
    The book, which became a bestseller, argued that all civilizations rise and fall and that World War I marked the beginning of Europe’s decline.
  627. Roosevelt
    32nd President of the United States
    Radios gave leaders access to vast audiences, and gifted speakers such as Roosevelt, Hitler, and Churchill used the new medium to mobilize whole nations for war.
  628. preserved
    kept intact or in a particular condition
    Could peace be preserved better in the second half of the century?
  629. version
    something a little different from others of the same type
    Nazism offered an extreme version of the competitive nationalist ideologies that had led to the war.
  630. politician
    a leader engaged in civil administration
    In all those regions, intellectuals, artists, and politicians wrestled with the fundamental fact that the modern revolution had arrived in the form of European colonialism, unfavorable trade relations, and European ideas of progress.
  631. available
    obtainable or accessible and ready for use or service
    World War I proved more horrifying than anyone could have imagined, and it demonstrated the colossal destructive power available to industrialized states.
  632. gun
    a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity
    In the late nineteenth century, the major industrialized states used their increasing economic and technological power to build up stocks of modern weapons such as machine guns and battleships.
  633. arrive
    reach a destination
    In all those regions, intellectuals, artists, and politicians wrestled with the fundamental fact that the modern revolution had arrived in the form of European colonialism, unfavorable trade relations, and European ideas of progress.
  634. imperial
    relating to or associated with an empire
    In China and Vietnam the anti-imperial rhetoric of Soviet communism provided the inspiration for the nationalist leaders Mao Zedong and Ho Chi Minh.
  635. troop
    a group of soldiers
    Troops from French and British colonies in Asia and Africa, and from former colonies such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand fought on the British and French side.
  636. settle
    become resolved, fixed, established, or quiet
    On Europe’s western front the war settled into a grisly, prolonged siege in which soldiers assaulted enemy trenches only to be mowed down.
  637. together with
    in conjunction with; combined
    US supplies, troops, and money, together with the huge economic and agricultural resources of the British and French empires, eventually tipped the balance against the central European powers.
  638. painter
    an artist who paints
    For example, West African wood sculpture inspired the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), and Mongolian artists incorporated traditional motifs into contemporary art forms such as photography.
  639. control
    power to direct or determine
    Warfare became “total,” as governments took control of much of the economy in order to mobilize their populations and resources.
  640. the States
    North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776
    On the home fronts of all the states involved, the huge power concentrated in modern governments and industrial economies was harnessed for the fight.
  641. balance
    harmonious arrangement or relation of parts within a whole
    US supplies, troops, and money, together with the huge economic and agricultural resources of the British and French empires, eventually tipped the balance against the central European powers.
  642. Moscow
    a city of central European Russia
    Vladimir Lenin depicted in a mosaic on a wall in a Moscow metropolitan subway station.
  643. factory
    a plant with facilities for manufacturing
    The war also transformed the lives of many women, who had to manage all aspects of domestic life when men were away and who took over men’s jobs in munitions factories and other branches of production.
  644. northern
    situated in or oriented toward the north
    The rail line that brought prisoners to the Nazi concentration camp at Terezine in northern Czechoslovakia, today the Czech Republic.
  645. African
    a native or inhabitant of Africa
    For example, West African wood sculpture inspired the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), and Mongolian artists incorporated traditional motifs into contemporary art forms such as photography.
  646. join
    cause to become joined or linked
    The Ottoman Turkish empire joined World War I on the German and Austro-Hungarian side.
  647. future
    the time yet to come
    It also created the League of Nations, the first fledgling world deliberative body, whose primary mission was to prevent future military catastrophes.
  648. peasant
    one of a class of agricultural laborers
    He ruthlessly seized Russian peasant lands, thereby eliminating the last remaining bastions of capitalism.
  649. railway
    line that is the commercial organization responsible for operating a system of transportation for trains that pull passengers or freight
    He used planning techniques pioneered by wartime governments and much of the technology invented in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, from railways to radios.
  650. opposed
    being resistant to
    Communism, fascism, and new liberation movements opposed to European imperialism severely challenged the liberal ideologies of Europe and the United States.
  651. party
    an occasion on which people gather to socialize and have fun
    Into this political vacuum stepped the Bolshevik Party, led by Vladimir Lenin (1870-24).
  652. perhaps
    by chance
    The Hiroshima attack killed perhaps 80,000 people, and it ended the war with Japan.
  653. weakness
    a flaw
    Exploiting international disunity and the weakness of the League of Nations, which the United States never joined, Germany threw off the Versailles Treaty’s penalties and restrictions and began to rearm.
  654. apparent
    clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
    The dangers of this system became apparent when Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian empire, was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist in June 1914.
  655. seriously
    in a solemn manner
    Governments were pressed to take their own liberal rhetoric more seriously by extending the vote to larger sections of the population and to women as well as men.
  656. strip
    take off or remove
    The Paris Peace Conference (1919) stripped Germany of its colonies and saddled it and Austria with the burden of paying reparations, that is, much of the cost of the war.
  657. remaining
    not used up
    He ruthlessly seized Russian peasant lands, thereby eliminating the last remaining bastions of capitalism.
  658. seeking
    the act of searching for something
    Japan, seeking to create its own empire in East Asia, invaded Chinese Manchuria in 1931 and mainland China in 1937.
  659. help
    give assistance; be of service
    The popular press helped spread new political messages, including fascism and communism, while giving people in democratic societies broader and quicker access to information about the world.
  660. launch
    propel with force
    In 1929, Stalin, Lenin’s successor, launched a radical, state-led industrialization drive.
  661. destroy
    do away with; cause the ruin or undoing of
    World War I destroyed the empires of Germany, Austria, and Ottoman Turkey.
  662. involved
    connected by participation or association or use
    On the home fronts of all the states involved, the huge power concentrated in modern governments and industrial economies was harnessed for the fight.
  663. society
    an extended group having a distinctive cultural organization
    He believed that Russia would pioneer a new and better type of society, one that would do away with the political and economic inequalities of the capitalist world order.
  664. extended
    fully stretched forth
    The challenges to nineteenth-century traditions extended to science and the arts.
  665. group
    any number of entities (members) considered as a unit
    Refined cultural tastes and values, once the preserve of elite groups, spread increasingly among the working masses.
  666. portrait
    any likeness of a person, in any medium
    The portrait dates to the 1930s.
  667. aspect
    a characteristic to be considered
    The war also transformed the lives of many women, who had to manage all aspects of domestic life when men were away and who took over men’s jobs in munitions factories and other branches of production.
  668. term
    a limited period of time during which something lasts
    Hitler became an advocate of fascism, an ideology that saw politics in terms of racial conflict between different nations, championed authoritarianism, and despised liberal values.
  669. signed
    having a handwritten signature
    On November 11, 1918, Germany signed an armistice.
  670. Canada
    a nation in northern North America
    Troops from French and British colonies in Asia and Africa, and from former colonies such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand fought on the British and French side.
  671. on the other hand
    (contrastive) from another point of view
    On the other hand, the US, Britain, and several other European countries mobilized millions of citizens for war without compromising their democratic institutions very much.
  672. international
    concerning or belonging to two or more countries
    Exploiting international disunity and the weakness of the League of Nations, which the United States never joined, Germany threw off the Versailles Treaty’s penalties and restrictions and began to rearm.
  673. line
    a length between two points
    Soldiers carrying a wounded comrade away from the
    front lines, Western Front, France, 1917.
  674. destruction
    an event that completely ruins something
    Millions of civilians died as well, and destruction of infrastructure, industries, and farmland was colossal.
  675. February
    the month following January and preceding March
    However, the strains of rapid economic change combined with the war, which saw a German invasion, undermined the autocratic government of Tsar Nicholas II. In February 1917, he was forced to abdicate and to leave the country in the hands of a weak “provisional government.”
  676. press
    put pressure or force upon something
    Governments were pressed to take their own liberal rhetoric more seriously by extending the vote to larger sections of the population and to women as well as men.
  677. drop
    let fall to the ground
    Aircraft strafed and dropped bombs on soldiers and civilians.
  678. support
    the act of bearing the weight of or strengthening
    Britain and France fought with the support of both soldiers and civilians from colonies and former colonies throughout the world.
  679. burden
    weight to be carried or borne
    The Paris Peace Conference (1919) stripped Germany of its colonies and saddled it and Austria with the burden of paying reparations, that is, much of the cost of the war.
  680. intellectual
    of or associated with or requiring the use of the mind
    In all those regions, intellectuals, artists, and politicians wrestled with the fundamental fact that the modern revolution had arrived in the form of European colonialism, unfavorable trade relations, and European ideas of progress.
  681. even
    being level or straight or regular and without variation
    Even so, Stalin’s brutal methods produced a powerful industrial economy.
  682. violent
    acting with great force or energy or emotional intensity
    His non-violent protests against British rule played a crucial role in achieving independence in 1947.
  683. sovereign
    a nation's ruler usually by hereditary right
    New Zealand granted the vote to women in 1893, the first sovereign state to do so.
  684. nurse
    one skilled in caring for young children or the sick
    The League had little independent power, however, and the punitive peace treaty of 1919 ensured that Germany and Austria would continue to nurse resentments.
  685. rule
    prescribed guide for conduct or action
    They were left, however, ruling a country, now the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, that was poorer and less industrialized than it had been ten years earlier.
  686. rapid
    characterized by speed
    However, the strains of rapid economic change combined with the war, which saw a German invasion, undermined the autocratic government of Tsar Nicholas II. In February 1917, he was forced to abdicate and to leave the country in the hands of a weak “provisional government.”
  687. convinced
    having a strong belief or conviction
    As a Marxist, Lenin had no use for nineteenth century-style liberalism, and he was convinced that the war signaled the collapse of both capitalism and imperialism.
  688. conscious
    having awareness of surroundings and sensations and thoughts
    In psychology, Sigmund Freud showed the power of irrational forces that lurked in the human sub-conscious.
  689. committed
    bound or obligated, as under a pledge to a cause or action
    They also prepared for war by forging alliances that committed each country to the defense of its allies.
  690. find
    discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of
    Fascism found other imitators as well, for example, in Spain, Brazil, and Lebanon.
  691. developed
    being changed over time, as to be stronger or more complete
    Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, and other scientists developed the theory of relativity and quantum physics in the first three decades of the twentieth century.
  692. defense
    the act of guarding someone or something against attack
    They also prepared for war by forging alliances that committed each country to the defense of its allies.
  693. destroyed
    spoiled or ruined or demolished
    World War I destroyed the empires of Germany, Austria, and Ottoman Turkey.
  694. December
    the last (12th) month of the year
    Germany attacked the Soviet Union in 1941, and Japan, Hitler’s ally, attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941.
  695. pressed
    compacted by ironing
    Governments were pressed to take their own liberal rhetoric more seriously by extending the vote to larger sections of the population and to women as well as men.
  696. divided
    separated into parts or pieces
    The world of 1950, however, was just as divided and conflict-ridden, and it bristled with dangerous weapons unimaginable in 1900.
  697. exchange
    the act of changing one thing for another thing
    More extensive cross-cultural exchanges of artistic ideas challenged established artistic traditions in most parts of the world.
  698. throne
    the chair of state for a monarch, bishop, etc.
    The dangers of this system became apparent when Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian empire, was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist in June 1914.
  699. communication
    the activity of conveying information
    ©Kathleen Cohen

    German radio

    Mass communication and popular culture.
  700. domestic
    of or relating to the home
    The war also transformed the lives of many women, who had to manage all aspects of domestic life when men were away and who took over men’s jobs in munitions factories and other branches of production.
  701. gas
    state of matter distinguished from solid and liquid states
    Machine guns, long-range artillery, and mustard gas killed soldiers by the millions.
  702. form
    a perceptual structure
    In all those regions, intellectuals, artists, and politicians wrestled with the fundamental fact that the modern revolution had arrived in the form of European colonialism, unfavorable trade relations, and European ideas of progress.
  703. November
    the month following October and preceding December
    On November 11, 1918, Germany signed an armistice.
  704. More
    English statesman who opposed Henry VIII's divorce from Catherine of Aragon and was imprisoned and beheaded; recalled for his concept of Utopia, the ideal state
    More extensive cross-cultural exchanges of artistic ideas challenged established artistic traditions in most parts of the world.
  705. movie
    a form of entertainment that enacts a story by sound and a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement
    In doing so, however, they also ensured that Soviet movie-goers would learn about Hollywood and American values.
  706. despair
    a state in which all hope is lost or absent
    Nazism built on the sense of despair that World War I, the Depression, and the punitive war reparations caused among Germans.
  707. bring
    take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
    The rail line that brought prisoners to the Nazi concentration camp at Terezine in northern Czechoslovakia, today the Czech Republic.
  708. take
    get into one's hands
    Warfare became “total,” as governments took control of much of the economy in order to mobilize their populations and resources.
  709. October
    the month following September and preceding November
    On October 1, 1949, he announced the formation of the “People’s Republic of China.”
  710. despite
    contemptuous disregard
    Ideas item
    Humans and Ideas arrow item

    Despite crisis after crisis, Big Era Eight brought new creativity to science, the arts, popular culture, and political and social thought.
  711. for the first time
    the initial time
    Perhaps for the first time in history, popular culture, instead of being just the cultural heritage of a particular region, began to reach around the globe.
  712. kill
    cause to die
    Machine guns, long-range artillery, and mustard gas killed soldiers by the millions.
  713. using
    an act that exploits or victimizes someone
    Nationalist leaders in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia became increasingly skilled at using newspapers and radio to build mass support.
  714. signal
    any action or gesture that encodes a message
    As a Marxist, Lenin had no use for nineteenth century-style liberalism, and he was convinced that the war signaled the collapse of both capitalism and imperialism.
  715. Japanese
    of or relating to or characteristic of Japan or its people or their culture or language
    French, British, or Japanese forces seized German colonies in the Pacific and Africa.
  716. non
    negation of a word or group of words
    His non-violent protests against British rule played a crucial role in achieving independence in 1947.
  717. play
    engage in recreational activities rather than work
    Civilians played as vital a role as soldiers and also accounted for an increasing number of casualties.
  718. model
    a representation of something, often on a smaller scale
    They both undermined Isaac Newton’s model of a fixed and predictable universe, which scientists of the nineteenth century had taken for granted.
  719. different
    unlike in nature, quality, form, or degree
    Hitler became an advocate of fascism, an ideology that saw politics in terms of racial conflict between different nations, championed authoritarianism, and despised liberal values.
  720. imagine
    expect, believe, or suppose
    World War I proved more horrifying than anyone could have imagined, and it demonstrated the colossal destructive power available to industrialized states.
  721. reform
    make changes for improvement to remove abuse and injustices
    Nevertheless, nationalist movements for reform and independence began to come together in the colonies.
  722. ocean
    a large body of water that is part of the hydrosphere
    World War II was fought in Europe, the Soviet Union, North Africa, West Africa, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
  723. extreme
    of the greatest possible degree, extent, or intensity
    Nazism offered an extreme version of the competitive nationalist ideologies that had led to the war.
  724. provide
    give something useful or necessary to
    In China and Vietnam the anti-imperial rhetoric of Soviet communism provided the inspiration for the nationalist leaders Mao Zedong and Ho Chi Minh.
  725. enemy
    a personal foe
    On Europe’s western front the war settled into a grisly, prolonged siege in which soldiers assaulted enemy trenches only to be mowed down.
  726. change
    become different in some particular way
    The Great War. The two world wars together were a major cause of change in the global distribution of power.
  727. neighbor
    a person who lives near another
    In Europe, Nazi racist belligerence and aggression against its neighbors, first Austria and Czechoslovakia, then Poland, led Germany in 1939 into war with France and Britain.
  728. ended
    having come or been brought to a conclusion
    The Hiroshima attack killed perhaps 80,000 people, and it ended the war with Japan.
  729. politics
    the activities involved in managing a state or a government
    Hitler became an advocate of fascism, an ideology that saw politics in terms of racial conflict between different nations, championed authoritarianism, and despised liberal values.
  730. side
    a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
    The conflagration showed a dark side of the modern revolution.
  731. sense
    the faculty through which the world is perceived
    Nazism built on the sense of despair that World War I, the Depression, and the punitive war reparations caused among Germans.
  732. organization
    a methodical and orderly manner or approach
    These women and men were determined to advance modern technology, science, and political organization but equally set on finding ways to do it that were true to their own national traditions and aspirations.
  733. territory
    a region marked off for administrative or other purposes
    Germany’s colonies and Ottoman territory in the Middle East were taken over by France and Britain as “mandates” or “trusteeships” theoretically under the League of Nations.
  734. August
    the month following July and preceding September
    Japan surrendered after the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August.
  735. mission
    an operation that is assigned by a higher headquarters
    It also created the League of Nations, the first fledgling world deliberative body, whose primary mission was to prevent future military catastrophes.
  736. earlier
    more early than; most early
    They were left, however, ruling a country, now the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, that was poorer and less industrialized than it had been ten years earlier.
  737. conference
    a prearranged meeting for consultation or discussion
    The Paris Peace Conference (1919) stripped Germany of its colonies and saddled it and Austria with the burden of paying reparations, that is, much of the cost of the war.
  738. nevertheless
    despite anything to the contrary
    Nevertheless, nationalist movements for reform and independence began to come together in the colonies.
  739. numbers
    an illegal daily lottery
    Eventually, the sheer weight of resources and human numbers ranged against the fascist alliance made the difference.
  740. institution
    a custom that has been an important feature of some group
    On the other hand, the US, Britain, and several other European countries mobilized millions of citizens for war without compromising their democratic institutions very much.
  741. growth
    changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level
    Could the machinery of economic growth reduce the global inequalities that had helped fuel the conflicts of 1900-1950?
  742. larger
    large or big relative to something else
    Governments were pressed to take their own liberal rhetoric more seriously by extending the vote to larger sections of the population and to women as well as men.
  743. vision
    the ability to see
    This success inspired some political leaders and revolutionaries in other lands, including western European countries and their colonies, to take up the Communist vision of the future.
  744. offer
    present for acceptance or rejection
    In Germany, Adolph Hitler’s ideology of ‘National Socialism’ (Nazism) offered a second authoritarian alternative to liberal democracy.
  745. weak
    wanting in physical strength
    However, the strains of rapid economic change combined with the war, which saw a German invasion, undermined the autocratic government of Tsar Nicholas II. In February 1917, he was forced to abdicate and to leave the country in the hands of a weak “provisional government.”
  746. protest
    a formal and solemn declaration of objection
    His non-violent protests against British rule played a crucial role in achieving independence in 1947.
  747. marked
    easily noticeable
    The book, which became a bestseller, argued that all civilizations rise and fall and that World War I marked the beginning of Europe’s decline.
  748. audience
    a gathering of spectators or listeners at a performance
    Radios gave leaders access to vast audiences, and gifted speakers such as Roosevelt, Hitler, and Churchill used the new medium to mobilize whole nations for war.
  749. life
    the organic phenomenon that distinguishes living organisms
    The war also transformed the lives of many women, who had to manage all aspects of domestic life when men were away and who took over men’s jobs in munitions factories and other branches of production.
  750. section
    one of several parts or pieces that fit with others
    Governments were pressed to take their own liberal rhetoric more seriously by extending the vote to larger sections of the population and to women as well as men.
  751. men
    the force of workers available
    The war also transformed the lives of many women, who had to manage all aspects of domestic life when men were away and who took over men’s jobs in munitions factories and other branches of production.
  752. equally
    in a balanced or impartial way
    These women and men were determined to advance modern technology, science, and political organization but equally set on finding ways to do it that were true to their own national traditions and aspirations.
  753. sport
    active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition
    The new media also helped popularize sports such as football and baseball.
  754. Spain
    a parliamentary monarchy in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula; a former colonial power
    Fascism found other imitators as well, for example, in Spain, Brazil, and Lebanon.
  755. very much
    to a very great degree or extent
    On the other hand, the US, Britain, and several other European countries mobilized millions of citizens for war without compromising their democratic institutions very much.
  756. central
    in or near an inner area
    US supplies, troops, and money, together with the huge economic and agricultural resources of the British and French empires, eventually tipped the balance against the central European powers.
  757. Spanish
    of or relating to or characteristic of Spain or the people of Spain
    For example, West African wood sculpture inspired the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), and Mongolian artists incorporated traditional motifs into contemporary art forms such as photography.
  758. much
    great in quantity or degree or extent
    Warfare became “total,” as governments took control of much of the economy in order to mobilize their populations and resources.
  759. dangerous
    involving or causing risk; liable to hurt or harm
    The world of 1950, however, was just as divided and conflict-ridden, and it bristled with dangerous weapons unimaginable in 1900.
  760. image
    a visual representation produced on a surface
    World Images Kiosk, San Jose State University
    http://worldimages.sjsu.edu
  761. several
    of an indefinite number more than 2 or 3 but not many
    The strains and costs of compulsory industrialization were great, including a massive famine, creation of forced labor camps, and political purges that by the 1930s cost the lives of several million people.
  762. wounded
    suffering from physical injury especially that suffered in battle
    Soldiers carrying a wounded comrade away from the
    front lines, Western Front, France, 1917.
  763. take up
    turn one's interest to
    This success inspired some political leaders and revolutionaries in other lands, including western European countries and their colonies, to take up the Communist vision of the future.
  764. Chinese
    of or pertaining to China or its peoples or cultures
    Japan, seeking to create its own empire in East Asia, invaded Chinese Manchuria in 1931 and mainland China in 1937.
  765. motion
    the act of changing location from one place to another
    Entirely new art forms, such as motion pictures, radio drama, and jazz blurred the lines between elite and popular culture.
  766. east
    the cardinal compass point that is at 90 degrees
    The Allied Powers invaded Germany from both east and west in 1945, and Hitler died in his Berlin bunker.
  767. theory
    a belief that can guide behavior
    Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, and other scientists developed the theory of relativity and quantum physics in the first three decades of the twentieth century.
  768. published
    prepared and printed for distribution and sale
    The historian Oswald Spengler, for example, captured this mood in a work called The Decline of the West, which he first published in 1918.
  769. relations
    mutual dealings or connections or communications among persons or groups
    In all those regions, intellectuals, artists, and politicians wrestled with the fundamental fact that the modern revolution had arrived in the form of European colonialism, unfavorable trade relations, and European ideas of progress.
  770. settled
    established in a desired position or place; not moving about
    On Europe’s western front the war settled into a grisly, prolonged siege in which soldiers assaulted enemy trenches only to be mowed down.
  771. production
    the act or process of making something
    The war also transformed the lives of many women, who had to manage all aspects of domestic life when men were away and who took over men’s jobs in munitions factories and other branches of production.
  772. away
    at a distance in space or time
    The war also transformed the lives of many women, who had to manage all aspects of domestic life when men were away and who took over men’s jobs in munitions factories and other branches of production.
  773. type
    a subdivision of a particular kind of thing
    He believed that Russia would pioneer a new and better type of society, one that would do away with the political and economic inequalities of the capitalist world order.
  774. center
    an area that is in the middle of some larger region
    Weapons such as bombers and rockets brought warfare into the centers of cities.
  775. commit
    engage in or perform
    They also prepared for war by forging alliances that committed each country to the defense of its allies.
  776. struggle
    strenuous effort
    The Bolsheviks unilaterally pulled Russia out of the war, won a civil struggle against internal enemies, and expelled most of the country’s capitalists.
  777. finding
    something that is discovered
    These women and men were determined to advance modern technology, science, and political organization but equally set on finding ways to do it that were true to their own national traditions and aspirations.
  778. newspaper
    a daily or weekly publication with articles and advertisements
    Nationalist leaders in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia became increasingly skilled at using newspapers and radio to build mass support.
  779. India
    a republic in the Asian subcontinent in southern Asia
    In India, the Indian National Congress, first established in 1885, became a powerful supporter of independence.
  780. throughout
    from first to last
    Britain and France fought with the support of both soldiers and civilians from colonies and former colonies throughout the world.
  781. weight
    the vertical force exerted by a mass as a result of gravity
    Eventually, the sheer weight of resources and human numbers ranged against the fascist alliance made the difference.
  782. over
    beyond the top or upper surface or edge
    The war also transformed the lives of many women, who had to manage all aspects of domestic life when men were away and who took over men’s jobs in munitions factories and other branches of production.
  783. entire
    constituting the full quantity or extent; complete
    In Russia the creation of the world’s first Communist state posed a challenge to the entire capitalist system, a challenge that would last until the 1990s.
  784. protect
    shield from danger, injury, destruction, or damage
    To many, liberalism seemed only a veneer that protected exploitative and incompetent governments and allowed social and economic inequities in the world to continue.
  785. today
    on this day as distinct from yesterday or tomorrow
    The rail line that brought prisoners to the Nazi concentration camp at Terezine in northern Czechoslovakia, today the Czech Republic.
  786. well
    in a good or satisfactory manner or to a high standard
    These weapons worked so well in holding defensive positions that decisive attacks were almost impossible.
  787. announced
    declared publicly; made widely known
    On October 1, 1949, he announced the formation of the “People’s Republic of China.”
  788. all
    entirely or completely
    On the home fronts of all the states involved, the huge power concentrated in modern governments and industrial economies was harnessed for the fight.
  789. vast
    unusually great in size or amount or extent or scope
    Radios gave leaders access to vast audiences, and gifted speakers such as Roosevelt, Hitler, and Churchill used the new medium to mobilize whole nations for war.
  790. found
    set up
    Fascism found other imitators as well, for example, in Spain, Brazil, and Lebanon.
  791. fixed
    unmoving
    They both undermined Isaac Newton’s model of a fixed and predictable universe, which scientists of the nineteenth century had taken for granted.
  792. advance
    move forward
    These women and men were determined to advance modern technology, science, and political organization but equally set on finding ways to do it that were true to their own national traditions and aspirations.
  793. needed
    necessary for relief or supply
    As in other countries, huge government expenditure for weapons was just the stimulus needed to revive the German economy.
  794. June
    the month following May and preceding July
    The dangers of this system became apparent when Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian empire, was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist in June 1914.
  795. west
    the cardinal compass point that is a 270 degrees
    The Allied Powers invaded Germany from both east and west in 1945, and Hitler died in his Berlin bunker.
  796. number
    a concept of quantity involving zero and units
    Civilians played as vital a role as soldiers and also accounted for an increasing number of casualties.
  797. under
    below some quantity or limit
    This meant that about one third of all humans lived under Communist governments.
  798. produce
    bring forth or yield
    Even so, Stalin’s brutal methods produced a powerful industrial economy.
  799. civil
    of or occurring between or among citizens of the state
    The Bolsheviks unilaterally pulled Russia out of the war, won a civil struggle against internal enemies, and expelled most of the country’s capitalists.
  800. second
    coming next after the first in position in space or time
    In Germany, Adolph Hitler’s ideology of ‘National Socialism’ (Nazism) offered a second authoritarian alternative to liberal democracy.
  801. program
    a series of steps to be carried out
    Benito Mussolini (1883-1945), Hitler’s fascist ally in Italy, embarked on a similar program of nationalist rearmament.
  802. murder
    unlawful premeditated killing of a human being
    The horror of the war found its most potent symbol in the Nazis’ systematic murder of 9 million people, 6 million of them Jews.
  803. victory
    a successful ending of a struggle or contest
    Though communist movements made little headway in most places, the Communist leader, Mao Zedong, achieved victory in China.
  804. holding
    the act of retaining something
    These weapons worked so well in holding defensive positions that decisive attacks were almost impossible.
  805. taste
    the faculty or act of tasting
    Refined cultural tastes and values, once the preserve of elite groups, spread increasingly among the working masses.
  806. gift
    something acquired without compensation
    Radios gave leaders access to vast audiences, and gifted speakers such as Roosevelt, Hitler, and Churchill used the new medium to mobilize whole nations for war.
  807. similar
    having the same or nearly the same characteristics
    Benito Mussolini (1883-1945), Hitler’s fascist ally in Italy, embarked on a similar program of nationalist rearmament.
  808. branch
    a division of a stem arising from the main stem of a plant
    The war also transformed the lives of many women, who had to manage all aspects of domestic life when men were away and who took over men’s jobs in munitions factories and other branches of production.
  809. taken
    understood in a certain way; made sense of
    Germany’s colonies and Ottoman territory in the Middle East were taken over by France and Britain as “mandates” or “trusteeships” theoretically under the League of Nations.
  810. proved
    established beyond doubt
    World War I proved more horrifying than anyone could have imagined, and it demonstrated the colossal destructive power available to industrialized states.
  811. just
    and nothing more
    As in other countries, huge government expenditure for weapons was just the stimulus needed to revive the German economy.
  812. style
    how something is done or how it happens
    As a Marxist, Lenin had no use for nineteenth century-style liberalism, and he was convinced that the war signaled the collapse of both capitalism and imperialism.
  813. develop
    progress or evolve through a process of natural growth
    Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, and other scientists developed the theory of relativity and quantum physics in the first three decades of the twentieth century.
  814. date
    the specified day of the month
    The portrait dates to the 1930s.
  815. ways
    structure consisting of a sloping way down to the water from the place where ships are built or repaired
    These women and men were determined to advance modern technology, science, and political organization but equally set on finding ways to do it that were true to their own national traditions and aspirations.
  816. information
    knowledge acquired through study or experience
    The popular press helped spread new political messages, including fascism and communism, while giving people in democratic societies broader and quicker access to information about the world.
  817. prepared
    made ready or fit or suitable beforehand
    They also prepared for war by forging alliances that committed each country to the defense of its allies.
  818. only
    without any others being included or involved
    On Europe’s western front the war settled into a grisly, prolonged siege in which soldiers assaulted enemy trenches only to be mowed down.
  819. New
    used of a living language
    Troops from French and British colonies in Asia and Africa, and from former colonies such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand fought on the British and French side.
  820. determined
    having been learned or found especially by investigation
    These women and men were determined to advance modern technology, science, and political organization but equally set on finding ways to do it that were true to their own national traditions and aspirations.
Created on Mon Dec 06 10:07:18 EST 2010

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