American Yawp 24

World War II

A global war from 1939 to 1945, the deadliest and most destructive in human history, with perhaps 80 million individuals losing their lives.

Pearl Harbor

The surprise attack by the Japanese on the American naval base in Hawaii on December 7, 1941, which led to the United States entering World War II.

Manchurian Incident (September 18 Incident)

A staged event by the Japanese in 1931 that led to the invasion and occupation of Manchuria, marking the beginning of Japan's aggression in Asia.

Stimson Doctrine

A policy proclaimed by the United States in 1932, refusing to recognize any state established as a result of Japanese aggression.

Rape of Nanjing

A massacre and series of atrocities committed by the Japanese army in Nanjing, China, in 1937, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.

Chiang Kai-shek

Leader of the Chinese Nationalist government who adopted a scorched-earth strategy against the invading Japanese army.

Madame Chiang (Soong May-ling)

The wife of Chiang Kai-shek, who used her knowledge of American culture to garner support for her husband and his government from the United States.

Mao Zedong

Leader of the Chinese Communist Party who recognized the power of the Chinese peasant population and built his force in Shaanxi Province.

Weimar Republic

The German government that collapsed due to the global economic crisis, leading to the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.

Adolf Hitler

The leader of the National Socialists (Nazis) in Germany, who rose to power championing German racial supremacy, fascist government, and military expansionism.

Benito Mussolini

The fascist Italian leader who rose to power in the 1920s and intervened in the Spanish Civil War alongside Hitler.

Mein Kampf

Adolf Hitler's autobiographical manifesto advocating for the unification of Europe’s German peoples under one nation, and the nation's need for Lebensraum.

Lebensraum

A German term meaning 'living space,' which Hitler advocated for, particularly in Eastern Europe, to supply Germans with land and resources.

Untermenschen

A Nazi term meaning 'lesser humans,' referring to people deemed racially or biologically inferior.

Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

A secret agreement signed by Hitler with the Soviet Union that coordinated the splitting of Poland between the two powers and promised nonaggression.

Blitzkrieg

A German term meaning 'lightning war,' which was a military doctrine emphasizing the use of tanks, planes, and motorized infantry for speed and maneuverability.

Sitzkrieg

A German term meaning 'sitting war,' referring to the period after the fall of Poland when fighting was mostly confined to smaller fronts.

Operation Sea Lion

The planned German invasion of the British Isles, which required air superiority over the English Channel.

Luftwaffe

The German air force that fought the Royal Air Force (RAF) for control of the skies over Britain.

Royal Air Force (RAF)

The British air force that won the Battle of Britain, saving the islands from immediate invasion.

The Blitz

The German bombing campaign against cities and civilians in Britain, hoping to crush the British will to fight.

Operation Barbarossa

The German invasion of the Soviet Union, launched in June 1941, which was the largest land invasion in history.

Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere

The name of the Japanese empire, which made war against European powers and independent nations throughout the region with the cry of 'Asia for the Asians.'

Ultra

A surge of intelligence as Britishbreakers cracked Germany’s radio codes, coupled with naval convoys escorted by destroyers armed with sonar and depth charges against German U-boats.

Casablanca Conference

A meeting between President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill to discuss the next step of the European war. Churchill convinced Roosevelt to chase the Axis up Italy, into the soft underbelly of Europe.

Operation Overlord

The long-awaited invasion of France by American, British and Canadian forces into Normandy.

D-Day

The popular name given to Operation Overlord and the largest amphibious assault in history.

Manhattan Project

A hugely expensive, ambitious program launched by the U.S. government to harness atomic energy and create weapons capable of leveling entire cities

Trinity

The world’s first nuclear device, successfully exploded by the Americans in New Mexico in July 1945.

Bataan Death March

The forced march of American and Filipino prisoners of war by the Japanese in the Philippines, resulting in the deaths of thousands.

Island Hopping

A military strategy used by the U.S. military to dislodge Japan’s hold over the Pacific by attacking island after island.

Rosie the Riveter

An iconic illustrated image of a muscular woman to stand for female factory labor during the war.

Executive Order 8802

The Fair Employment Practice in Defense Industries Act, banning racial and religious discrimination in defense industries.

Double V Campaign

A call on African Americans by the Pittsburgh Courier to fight two wars: the war against Nazism and fascism abroad and the war against racial inequality at home.

Executive Order 9066

An order authorizing the removal of any persons from designated exclusion zones at the discretion of military commanders, resulting in the relocation of people of Japanese descent, both immigrants and American citizens, to internment camps.

Holocaust

The systematic murder of eleven million civilians, including six million Jews, by Nazi Germany.

Evian Conference

A 1938 conference in France to where international leaders discussed the Jewish refugee problem and worked to expand Jewish immigration quotas by tens of thousands of people per year.

Four Freedoms

Freedoms announced in January 1941 by Roosevelt: freedom of speech, of worship, from want, and from fear.

Atlantic Charter

Charter signed with Churchill that reinforced the ideas from the Four Freedoms and added the right of self-determination and promised some sort of postwar economic and political cooperation.

G.I. Bill

A multifaceted, multibillion-dollar entitlement program that rewarded honorably discharged veterans with numerous benefits, including unemployment, educational opportunities, and small business loans.