Interwar/WWII Study Notes

Fascism

extreme nationalism with a strong central government and no opposition

Benito Mussolini

Italian dictator who used violence(Blackshirts) and promised to restore Rome’s glory

Adolf Hitler

German leader who rose to power by blaming Germany’s problems on the Treaty of Versailles and weak government(Weimar Republic)

Treaty of Versailles(economic effects)

reparations caused inflation and poverty

Treaty of Versailles(political effects)

weak government led to instability

Treaty of Versailles(social effects)

humiliation and anger from the war guilt clause

Treaty of Versailles(military effects)

limited army caused resentment

Scapegoating

blaming a group(like Jews) for a country’s problems

Hitler’s rise to power

promised jobs and greatness, used propaganda, reduced unemployment and became dictator

Appeasement

giving in to Hitler’s demands to avoid war

Munich Agreement

allowed Hitler to expand territory without resistance

Start of WWII

Germany invaded Poland(September 1939)

Blitzkreig

fast “lightning war” strategy using speed and surprise

Nazi-Soviet Pact

agreement between Germany and USSR to not attack each other (temporarily)

Operation Barbarossa

Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union(June 1941)

total war

civilians targeted to destroy morale

Battle of Britain

Germany failed to invade England after air battles(July-October 1940)

D-Day

Allied invasion of Normandy that opened a second front(June 1944)

Battle of Midway

major turning point in the Pacific where the U.S. defeated Japan(June 1942)

Battle of Stalingrad

major turning point in Eastern Europe where Germany was defeated(February 1943)

Turning point in Western Europe

D-Day Invasion(June 1944)

Battle of the Bulge

Germany’s last major offensive in Europe(December 1944)

VE Day

victory in Europe when Germany surrendered in 1945(May 1945)

Holocaust

mass murder of 6 million Jews and millions of others

Holocaust victims

Jews, Gypsies, disabled people, homosexuals

Final Solution

Nazi plan to eliminate all Jews

Pearl Harbor

Japanese attack that brought the U.S. into WWII(Dec 7 1941)

Island Hopping

U.S. strategy of capturing key islands while skipping heavily defended ones

Manhattan Project

U.S. program that developed the atomic bomb

Harry S.Truman

U.S. president who decided to use atomic bombs on (August 1945)

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Japanese cities where atomic bombs were dropped

Hirohito

emperor of Japan who announced Japan’s surrender

September 1939

Germany invades Poland starting WWII

June 1940

France surrenders and Battle of Britain begins

June 1941

Germany invades the Soviet Union

December 7 1941

Japan attacks Pearl Harbor

November 1942

Allies invade North Africa

June 1942

Battle of Midway

February 1943

Germany surrenders at Stalingrad

February 1943

Allies defeat Japan at Guadalcanal

June 1944

D-Day invasion

October 1944

Battle of Leyte Gulf(Japan suffers major defeat)

May 1945

Germany surrenders

August-September 1945

atomic bombs dropped and Japan surrenders