Causes and Course of WWII

Invasion of Ethiopia

Italy’s attack on Ethiopia, showing the weakness of the League of Nations and encouraging aggressive expansion by dictators.

Rome-Berlin Axis

An alliance between Italy and Germany that helped form the Axis Powers.

Concentration camps

Prison camps run by Nazi Germany where millions of Jews and others were imprisoned, forced to work, and often killed.

Kristallnacht

A violent attack on Jews in Nazi Germany when homes, businesses, and synagogues were destroyed.

Anschluss

The annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany.

Appeasement

A policy of giving in to aggressive demands to avoid conflict, used by Britain and France toward Hitler.

Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

A nonaggression agreement between Germany and the Soviet Union that secretly planned the division of Poland.

Blitzkrieg

A German military strategy using fast, powerful attacks to quickly defeat the enemy.