VolksgemeinschaftVolksgemeinschaft (ˈfɔlksɡəˌmaɪnʃaft) is a German expression meaning "people's community", "folk community", "national community", or "racial community", depending on the translation of its component term Volk (cognate with the English word "folk"). This expression originally became popular during World War I as Germans rallied in support of the war, and many experienced "relief that at one fell swoop all social and political divisions could be solved in the great national equation".
Star of DavidThe Star of David (מָגֵן דָּוִד) is a generally recognized symbol of both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the seal of Solomon, which was used for decorative and mystical purposes by Muslims and Kabbalistic Jews, its adoption as a distinctive symbol for the Jewish people and their religion dates back to 17th-century Prague. In the 19th century, the symbol began to be widely used among the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe, ultimately coming to be used to represent Jewish identity or religious beliefs.
Deutsche MarkThe Deutsche Mark (ˈdɔʏtʃə ˈmaʁk; English: German mark), abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" (ˈdeːˌmaʁk), was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later the unified Germany from 1990 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. In English, it was typically called the "Deutschmark" (ˈdɔɪtʃmɑrk). One Deutsche Mark was divided into 100 pfennigs. It was first issued under Allied occupation in 1948 to replace the Reichsmark and served as the Federal Republic of Germany's official currency from its founding the following year.
Romani HolocaustThe Romani Holocaust or the Romani genocide—also known as the Porajmos (Romani pronunciation: phoɽajˈmos, meaning "the Devouring"), the Pharrajimos (meaning "the Cutting up", "the Fragmentation", "the Destruction"), and the Samudaripen ("Mass killing")—was the planned effort by Nazi Germany and its World War II allies and collaborators to commit ethnic cleansing and eventually genocide against European Roma and Sinti peoples during the Holocaust era.
Oberkommando der WehrmachtThe Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (ˈoːbɐkɔˌmando deːɐ̯ ˈveːɐ̯ˌmaxt; abbreviated OKW oːkaːˈveː); High Command of the Armed Forces) was the supreme military command and control office of Nazi Germany during World War II. Created in 1938, the OKW replaced the Reich Ministry of War and had oversight over the individual high commands of the country's armed forces: the army (Heer), navy (Kriegsmarine), and air force (Luftwaffe).
Siege of LeningradThe siege of Leningrad (Блокада Ленинграда; Leningrader Blockade; Leningradin piiritys) was a prolonged military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the Soviet city of Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg) on the Eastern Front of World War II. Germany's Army Group North advanced from the south, while the German-allied Finnish army invaded from the north and completed the ring around the city. The siege began on 8 September 1941, when the Wehrmacht severed the last road to the city.
Mein Kampf(maɪn ˈkampf; My Struggle) is a 1925 autobiographical manifesto by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. The work describes the process by which Hitler became antisemitic and outlines his political ideology and future plans for Germany. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published in 1925 and Volume 2 in 1926. The book was edited first by Emil Maurice, then by Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess. Hitler began Mein Kampf while imprisoned following his failed coup in Munich in November 1923 and a trial in February 1924 for high treason, in which he received a sentence of five years.
Life unworthy of lifeThe phrase "life unworthy of life" (Lebensunwertes Leben) was a Nazi designation for the segments of the populace which, according to the Nazi regime, had no right to live. Those individuals were targeted to be murdered by the state ("euthanized"), usually through the compulsion or deception of their caretakers. The term included people with serious medical problems and those considered grossly inferior according to the racial policy of Nazi Germany. This concept formed an important component of the ideology of Nazism and eventually helped lead to the Holocaust.
Co-belligerenceCo-belligerence is the waging of a war in cooperation against a common enemy with or without a formal treaty of military alliance. Generally, the term is used for cases where no alliance exists. Likewise, allies may not become co-belligerents in a war if a casus foederis invoking the alliance has not arisen. Co-belligerents are defined in the Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law as "states engaged in a conflict with a common enemy, whether in alliance with each other or not".
SchutzmannschaftThe Schutzmannschaft, or Auxiliary Police ( "protective teams, or guard units"; plural: Schutzmannschaften, abbreviated as Schuma) was the collaborationist auxiliary police of native policemen serving in those areas of the Soviet Union and the Baltic states occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II. Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, established the Schutzmannschaft on 25 July 1941, and subordinated it to the Order Police (Ordnungspolizei; Orpo). By the end of 1941, some 45,000 men served in Schutzmannschaft units, about half of them in the battalions.
