Study Guide - Chapter 13 World in Flames

Benito Mussolini

Founder of Italy’s Facist Party and a high supporter of Fascism which was an aggressive nationalistic movement that considered the nation more important than the individual.

Adolf Hitler

Chancellor of Germany and founder/leader of the Nazi party and a strong believer of anticommunism believing that Jews were meant to be eradicated and were dangerous people.

Joseph Stalin

Ruler and dictator of Soviet Russia and a believer of Stalinism which was the belief of a centralizization of government, and totalitarian control.

Why did Japan invade Manchuria? 

Japan invaded Manchuria because Manchuria was a resource - rich region of northern China and Japan was trying to seize territories in order to get resources.

What’s the Neutrality Act of 1935?  

The Neutrality Act of 1935 was a piece of legislation passed by congress in 1935 that made it illegal for Americans to sell arms to any country at war and reflected the belief that arms sales had helped bring the United States into World War I.

Who were the main countries in the Axis Powers? 

The main countries in the Axis Powers were Germany, Italy, and Japan.

Explain Internationalism

The idea that trade between nations creates prosperity and helps prevent war.

What was Anschluss / What did Hitler desire? 

Anschluss was the unification of Austria and Germany. Hitler desired for the unification of all German speaking people including those in Austria and Czechslovakia.

What happened at the Munich Conference / Appeasement? 

During the Munich Conference, Britain and France agreed to Hitler’s demands which would become a policy known as Appeasement which would consist of supporters that believed Hitler had a few limited demands.

The Nazi-Soviet Pact

A pact that was signed between the Soviet Union and Germany on August 23rd, 1939 that would keep the Soviet Union safe if Germany were to go to war with Britain and France.

The Maginot Line

A line of concrete bunkers and fortifications along the German border.

Explain what happened at Dunkirk

A battle that surrounded over a port named Dunkirk in northern France near the Belgian border. During the battle, Hitler’s orders provided a three day delay which gave the British time to strengthen their lines and begin the evacuation with an estimated 338,000 British and French troops being saved.

What were the Nuremberg Laws 

The Nuremberg Laws were a series of laws that took citizenship away from German Jews and banned marriage between Jews and other Germans.

Explain how Kristallnacht occurred, what it was, and the Significance of Kristallnacht (3-5 sentences). 

Kristallnacht began after a young Jewish refugee named Herschel Grynszpan had shot and killed a German diplomat in Paris on November 7th, 1938. Kristallnacht was known as the night of the broken glass and was when Nazi’s and Germans destroyed Jewish businesses, and injured and killed thousands of Jews. The significance regarding Kristallnacht was that it marked the start of the rise of the Nazi’s and their agenda.

Describe the limits placed on Jewish immigration in the United States.

The limits that were placed on Jewish immigration in the United States included Jews were prohibited from taking more than about four dollars out of Germany, and Jews were limited from entering the United States with only 150,000 immigrants allowed into the US anually, and Jews would most likely not earn a visa with American immigration officals not giving out visas to anyone who was likely to become a public charge.

What was the St. Louis Affair? 

The St. Louis Affair was a notable event that happened on May 27th, 1939 when 930 Jewish refugees aboard the SS St. Louis entered Havana’s harbor and were denied access due to the Cuban government revoking the certificates and refusing to allow the refugees to come ashore.

Explain what occurred at concentration / extermination camps. 

At concentration camps, healthy individuals would work as slave laborers until they would drop dead because of exhaustion, disease, or malnutrition. Extermination camps were however where the elderly, the infirm, and young children would be sent to be executed in massive gas chambers that would mostly be attached to concentration camps.

What was the America First Committee? What is Isolationism?  

The America First Committee was an isolationist group that was opposed to any American intervention or aid to the Allies. Isolationism is the belief that your home country should only be focused on their country.

Explain the Lend-Lease Act. 

The Lend - Lease Act was a piece of legislation that would allow the United States to lend or lease arms to any country that was considered “vital to the defense of the United States”.

Why did FDR order U.S. Navy patrol ships to the western Atlantic ocean? 

FDR ordered U.S. Navy patrol ships to the western Atlantic ocean because he wanted the patrol ships to patrol the western Atlantic ocean and to help with revealing the location of German submarines to the British.

Explain the Atlantic Charter. 

The Atlantic Charter was an agreement that commited several nations to a postwar world of democracy, nonagression, free trade, economic advancement, and freedom of the seas.

Why did the U.S. put economic pressure on Japan? 

The U.S. put economic pressure on Japan because Japan had depended on the United States for many key materials, including scrap iron, steel, and especially oil.

How did FDR embargo or put economic pressure on Japan? 

FDR embargoed or put economic pressure on Japan by restricting the sale of strategic materials that were materials that were important for fighting a war.

What did Japan need to do to end the oil embargo? 

In order to end the oil embargo, Japan needed to withdraw from Indochina and make peace with China.

Why did the U.S. declare war on Japan? 

The U.S. declared war on Japan because of the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii by Japan on December 7th, 1941.

How many members of Congress (Senate and House) voted against declaring war on Japan.

1 member of congress (Both Senate and House) voted against declaring war on Japan.

Why did Germany declare war on the United States? 

Germany delcared war on the United States because Hitler had greatly underestimated the strengh of the United States and expected that the Japanese would easily defeat the American’s in the Pacific. Hitler also believed that by helping Japan, he would gain Japanese support against the Soviet Union after they defeated the American’s in the Pacific.