Causes and Course of WWII

Invasion of Ethiopia

A 1935 attack by Italy under Benito Mussolini to expand its empire in Africa.

Rome-Berlin Axis

A 1936 alliance between Italy and Germany that brought Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler closer together.

Concentration camps

Prison camps where large groups of people, especially Jews and political opponents, were detained under harsh conditions, especially by Nazi Germany.

Kristallnacht

A violent 1938 attack against Jews in Germany and Austria, where synagogues and Jewish businesses were destroyed.

Appeasement

A policy used by countries like Britain and France of giving in to demands of aggressive powers to avoid war.

Anschluss

The 1938 annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler.

Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

A 1939 non-aggression pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union agreeing not to attack each other.

Blitzkrieg

A German military tactic meaning “lightning war,” using fast attacks with planes and tanks to quickly defeat enemies.

Battle of Britain

A 1940 air battle where Germany tried but failed to defeat Britain and gain control of its skies.

Operation Barbarossa

The 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany during World War II.

Pearl Harbour

A surprise 1941 attack by Japan on a U.S. naval base in Hawaii that brought the United States into World War II.

Holocaust

The genocide where about six million Jews were murdered by Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler.

Postdam Conference

A 1945 meeting between Allied leaders after World War II to decide how to rebuild and govern defeated Germany.