achtung!
an interjection meaning, roughly, "look out!" or "take care!"
anti-Semitism
discrimination or ill-will against persons who are Jewish or, sometimes, against persons of Middle Eastern descent
atmospheric
evocative; soft and indistinct
barbarian
a savage, uncivilized individual
barracks
a large building used for housing soldiers (or, in concentration camps, civilian detainees)
commedia della arte
improvised repartee
concentration camps
large prison camps used to confine large numbers of civilians
dramatic irony
irony that is understood by the audience but not by the characters in a play, film, or work of literature
Fascist
a member of the Fascist party; a person with ultra-nationalist views
Heil Hitler
the traditional salute to the German Führer, Adolf Hitler
lazzi
humorous interruption
Ministry
the body of ministers of state
Nazi
a member of the National Socialist German Workers' party, which seized control of Germany in 1933 and initiated a series of horrendous crimes against humanity
Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880), French composer and cellist
piazza
an open, public square (usu. in Italy)
prefect
the dean of a school or college; a person in a position of command (usu. academic)
tragicomedy
a literary work containing elements of both tragedy and comedy
Visigoth
a member of one of the "barbarian" tribes that existed in France until ~507 and in Spain until ~711 after the fall of the Roman Empire
