In Europe

commander and politician, leading member of the
Nazi
Party and
Hitler
's most loyal supporter. Founded the
Gestapo
and established concentration camps for the ‘corrective treatment’ of opponents to the regime.
    Gorbachev , Mikhail Sergeyevich (b. 1931): Soviet statesman, elected General Secretary of the Communist Party in 1985 and President of the Soviet Union 1990–1. He introduced the major reforms known as
glasnost
(openness) and
perestroika
(reconstruction) which helped bring an end to the
Cold War
. An attempted coup in 1991 led to his resignation. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.
    Gulag: system of forced-labour camps established in the Soviet Union between 1930 and 1955. These detention camps imprisoned millions of people, including criminals, peasants arrested during collectivisation and political prisoners.
    Havel , Václav (b. 1936): Czech dramatist and statesman, President of Czechoslovakia 1989–92 and first President of the Czech Republic 1993–2003. A passionate supporter of non-violent resistance, he became a leading figure in the Velvet Revolution of 1989, which ended communism in Czechoslovakia.
    Himmler , Heinrich (1900–45): German military commander who became the second most powerful man in
Nazi
Germany. As head of the
SS
and
Gestapo
he proposed a definitive solution to the ‘Jewish question’, overseeing the mass extermination of Jews and other groups in the death camps of Eastern Europe.
    Hitler , Adolf (1889–45): Leader of the National Socialist (
Nazi
) Party, Chancellor of Germany from 1933 and Führer (leader) from 1934 until his death. Pursued an aggressive policy of territorial expansion which precipitated the
Second World War
. His fanatical racial policies called for the indiscriminate extermination of the Jews of Europe.
    Honecker , Erich (1912–94): German communist statesman and head of state of the
DDR
1976–89. In 1961 he was in charge of building the Berlin Wall which closed the border between East and West Berlin for twenty-eight years. After reunification, he was tried for crimes committed during the
Cold War
but was released from prison due to failing health.
    International Monetary Fund (IMF): an organisation which emerged at the end of the
Second World War
to promote international trade and monetary cooperation and stabilise exchange rates.
    IRA (Irish Republican Army): militant organisation based in the Republic of Ireland, created with the intention of rendering British rule in Northern Ireland ineffective.
    Kessler, Count Harry (1868–1937): German diplomat, publisher and art collector. After the
First World War
he became a committed internationalist and pacifist which led to his exile from Germany upon the
Nazi
seizure of power. His extensive and detailed diaries, from 1918–37, give an extraordinary insight into events of the time.
    Khrushchev , Nikita Sergeyevich (1894–1971): Soviet statesman who succeeded
Stalin
as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union 1953–64 and was Premier of the Soviet Union 1958–64. In 1956 he delivered an historic speech denouncing
Stalin
, which marked the beginning of more open discussion in the Eastern Bloc.
    Klemperer , Victor (1881–1960): decorated veteran of the
First World War
and Professor of Literature. Of Jewish descent, he kept a diary which provides a day-to-day account of life under the
Nazi
regime and the struggle for survival among Jews from 1933 to the end of the
Second World War
. Became a post-war cult figure in the
DDR
.
    Kohl , Helmut (b. 1930): German politician, Chancellor of Germany 1982–98 and Chancellor of West Germany 1982–90. Played a significant role in effecting the union of the
DDR
and the Federal Republic in 1990.
    Kristallnacht : the name given to the organised and coordinated
pogroms
, carried out by
Nazis
throughout Germany and Austria on the night of 9–10 November, 1938, in which Jews were beaten to death and their properties destroyed.
    Lenin , Vladimir llych (1870–1924): Founder of the Russian Communist Party, prime mover behind the
October Revolution
(1917), and first head of the Soviet Union 1917–24. Formulated a body of political principles known as Leninism.
    Lloyd George , David , 1 st Earl Lloyd George of Dwyfor (1863–1945): British Liberal statesman and Prime Minister 1916–22, who guided Britain through the latter part of the
First World War
. Introduced health and unemployment insurance in Britain, laying the foundations of the modern