Unit 6 Authoritarians and World War II

Treaty of Versailles

the treaty imposed on Germany by the Allied powers in 1920 after the end of WWI, demanded reparations from the Germans

Mao Zedong

Leader of the Communist Party in China that overthrew Jiang Jieshi and the Nationalists. Established China as the People's Republic of China and ruled from 1949 until 1976.

Armistar Massacre

An event in which British troops fired on a large crowd of peaceful, unarmed Indian protestors, killing some 400 people; led to a campaign of protest led by Gandhi

Second Sino-Japanese War

Series of incidents between China and Japan in the summer of 1937, most were open warfare

Invasion of Manchuria

The Japanese invaded the province of Manchuria in search for resources and held the territory until the end of the war, when they were forced to give it up. Considered the start of WWII.

Hideki Tojo

Prime minister of Japan during World War II

The Great Depression

The economic crisis beginning with the stock market crash in 1929 and continuing through the 1930s

Dawes Plan

American installment plan for Germany, a way to help them pay reparations

Kellogg-Briand Pact

Agreement signed in 1928 in which nations agreed not to pose the threat of war against one another

Spanish Civil War

Civil war in Spain in which General Franco succeeded in overthrowing the republican government

Maginot Line

A fortification built before World War II to protect France's eastern border

Benito Mussolini

Fascist Dictator of Italy that at first used bullying to gain power, then never had full power.

March on Rome

Planned march of thousands of Fascist supporters to take control of Rome; in response Mussolini was given the legal right to control Italy

Fascism vs. Communism

While communism is a system based around a theory of economic equality and advocates for a classless society, fascism is a nationalistic, top-down system with rigid class roles that is ruled by an all-powerful dictator.

Weimar Republic

German republic founded after the WWI and the downfall of the German Empire's monarchy.

Hyperinflation

A very rapid rise in the price level; an extremely high rate of inflation.

Adolf Hitler

Austrian born Dictator of Germany, implement Fascism and caused WWII and Holocaust.

Nazi Party

German political party joined by Adolf Hitler, emphasizing nationalism, racism, and war.

Mein Kempf

A book Hitler wrote in prison, which became the guidelines of his Nazi Party, promoted fascism and Hitler's ideas

Lebensraum

Hitler's expansionist theory based on a drive to acquire "living space" for the German people

Third Reich

The Third German Empire, established by Adolf Hitler in the 1930s.

Kristallnacht

Night of the Broken Glass, when mobs throughout Germany destroyed Jewish property and terrorized Jews.

Nuremberg Laws

Laws defining the status of Jews and withdrawing citizenship from persons of non-German blood.

The Holocaust

A methodical plan orchestrated by Hitler to ensure German supremacy. It called for the elimination of Jews, non-conformists, homosexuals, non-Aryans, and mentally and physically disabled.

The Final Solution

Hitler's program of systematically killing the entire Jewish people

League of Nations

An international organization formed in 1920 to promote cooperation and peace among nations

Anschluss

The union of Austria with Germany, resulting from the occupation of Austria by the German army.

Sudetenland

Land that Germany thought was rightfully theirs due to the large German speaking population

Appeasement

Accepting demands in order to avoid conflict

Neville Chamberlain

Great British prime minister who advocated peace and a policy of appeasement

Munich Conference

Conference at which European leaders attempted to appease Hitler by turning over the Sudetenland to him in exchange for promise that Germany would not expand Germany's territory any further.

Neutrality Acts

4 laws passed in the late 1930s that were designed to keep the US out of international incidents

Winston Churchill

British statesman, led Britain throughout most of WWII and along with Roosevelt planned many allied campaigns.

Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

A secret agreement between the Germans and the Russians that said that they would not attack each other and divide Poland equally

Allied Powers

Great Britain, France, Russia

Axis Powers

Germany, Italy, Japan

Invasion of Poland

Germany invaded, breaking their agreement, so Britain and France declared war, starting WWII

Blitzkrieg

"Lighting war", typed of fast-moving warfare used by German forces against Poland

Vichy France

Southern Pro-Nazi French; govern themselves as loyal to nazis; traitors to the Free French in N. France

Battle of Britain

A series of battles between German and British air forces, fought over Britain

Luftwaffe

German Air Force

London Blitz

50 nights of sustained bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany that began in 1940.

Operation Sea Lion

Germany's plan to invade Great Britain. It consisted first of taking air superiority and then launching an amphibious invasion, failed because German air superiority could never be established.

Operation Torch

Codename for allied invasion of North Africa from Novermber 1942 to September 1943

Operation Barbarossa

Codename for Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II.

Lend-Lease Act

Allowed sales or loans of war materials to any country whose defense the president deems vital to the defense of the U.S

Franklin D. Roosevelt

President of the US during Great Depression and World War II

Total War

A conflict in which the participating countries devote all their resources to the war effort

Propaganda

Ideas spread to influence public opinion for or against a cause.

Big Three

Soviet Union - Stalin, United Kingdom - Churchill, United States - Roosevelt

Tehran Conference

First major meeting between the Big Three (United States, Britain, Russia) at which they planned the assault on France and agreed to divide Germany into zones of occupation after the war

Battle of Stalingrad

Unsuccessful German attack on the city of Stalingrad during World War II from 1942 to 1943, that was the furthest extent of German advance into the Soviet Union.

D-Day

Led by Eisenhower, over a million troops stormed the beaches at Normandy and began the process of re-taking France. The turning point of WWII.

Operation Overlord

the code name for the Allied invasion of Europe at Normandy on June 6, 1944; also known as D-Day

Operation Fortitude

Code name for the deception leading up to the D-Day invasion in which the Allies tried to convince the Axis Powers of a false attack on another location (Pas de Calais)

Battle of the Bulge

A 1944-1945 battle in which Allied forces turned back the last major German offensive of World War II.

Battle for Berlin

This battle between the Germans and Soviets, ended on May 2, 1945 when Berlin surrendered to the Soviets.

Yalta Conference

1945 Meeting with US president FDR, British Prime Minister(PM) Winston Churchill, and and Soviet Leader Stalin during WWII to plan for post-war

Potsdam Conference

July 26, 1945 - Allied leaders Truman, Stalin and Churchill met in Germany to set up zones of control and to inform the Japanese that if they refused to surrender at once, they would face total destruction.

Harry Truman

Became president when FDR died; gave the order to drop the atomic bomb

VE Day

May 8, 1945; victory in Europe Day when the Germans surrendered

Pearl Harbor

United States military base on Hawaii that was bombed by Japan, bringing the United States into WWII. Attacked on December 7, 1941.

Battle of Midway

1942 WWII battle between the United States and Japan, a turning point in the war in the Pacific

Battle of Okinawa

Allied victory over Japan on an island 350 miles from mainland Japan; March-June 1945

Island Hopping

the American navy attacked islands held by the Japanese in the Pacific Ocean. The capture of each island from the Japanese brought the American navy closer to an invasion of Japan.

Kamikazes

Japanese pilots who loaded their aircraft with bombs and crashed them into enemy ships

Manhattan Project

A secret U.S. project for the construction of the atomic bomb.

Hiroshima

City in Japan, the first to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, on August 6, 1945. The bombing hastened the end of World War II.

Nagasaki

Japanese city in which the second atomic bomb was dropped (August 9, 1945).

VJ Day

"Victory over Japan day" is the celebration of the Surrender of Japan, which was initially announced on August 15, 1945

Chiang Kai-shek

Nationalist leader of China that as head of the Guomindang, he tried to crush the communist movement led by Mao Zedong.

Mexican Civil War

4 different leaders of Mexico fought for control of Mexico, with many turning out to be a dictator including people such Zapata, Huereta and Poncho Villa

Locarno Pact

Germany and France pledged to accept their common border, and Britain and Italy agreed to fight either France or Germany if either one invaded the other.

War Communism

State control of resources during the Russian civil war, in which the Bolsheviks seized grain from peasants, introduced rationing, nationalized all banks and industry, and required everyone to work.

Collectivization

a system in which private farms are eliminated and peasants work land owned by the government in a factory like syste