WWII & Cold War people

Adolf Hitler

Leader of the Nazi Party in Germany, significant figure in the rise of dictatorships.

Benito Mussolini

Leader of the Fascist Party in Italy, associated with the rise of dictatorships.

Hideki Tojo

Military leader of Japan during WWII, served Emperor Hirohito as figurehead.

Joseph Stalin

Leader of the Communist Party and Soviet Union, known for his totalitarian regime.

Treaty of Versailles

Peace treaty that imposed restrictions on Germany after WWI, including limited military and reparations.

Appeasement

Policy of giving in to avoid conflict, notably used by Britain and France towards Hitler.

Pacifism

Belief in avoiding war or violence; a guiding principle for certain groups during the lead-up to WWII.

Neutrality Act

U.S. law that kept the country out of war by banning weapon sales to warring nations.

Blitzkrieg

German military strategy of fast and surprise attacks using planes, tanks, and soldiers during WWII.

Sudetenland

German-speaking region of Czechoslovakia that Hitler aimed to annex.

Kristallnacht

Nazi attack during which Jewish businesses, homes, and synagogues were targeted and destroyed.

D-Day

June 6, 1944; Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France, marking a significant turning point in WWII.

Yalta Conference

Meeting among Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin to discuss post-WWII plans, including Germany's division.

Kamikaze

Japanese suicide pilots who crashed planes into enemy ships during WWII.

Manhattan Project

Top-secret U.S. program to develop atomic bombs during WWII, leading to bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Battle of Stalingrad

Key Soviet victory against Germany, considered a turning point in WWII.

Pearl Harbor Attack

December 7, 1941; Japan's attack on a U.S. naval base, leading to U.S. entry into WWII.

Germany's Invasion of Poland

Marked the official start of WWII on September 1, 1939.

Hitler's Suicide

On April 30, 1945, Hitler committed suicide in his bunker in Berlin.