WW2 Flashcards

All that bloodshed, crimson clover. Uh-huh, sweet dream was over My hand was the one you reached for All throughout the Great War

Places where battles were fought in/over WW2 Europe:

Places where battles were fought in/over WW2 Europe:

Czechoslovakia, Poland, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Greece, USSR, Normandy, Ardennes.

Who was in WW2 Europe?

WITH: US, Britain, USSR, France

AGAINST: Germany

Important Figures to Remember:

Adolf Hitler (Germany Leader), Dwight Eisenhower (Leader of D-Day/Future US president), FDR (US president), Winston Churchill (UK prime minister), Joseph Stalin (Soviet)

Places fought in Pacific (Island Hopping)

The Philippine Islands, Singapore, The Netherland Indies (Indonesia), Okinawa, Burma (Myanmar), New Guinea. Solomon Islands: Guadalcanal & Saipan. Fought over Coral Sea.

Who was in the Pacific WW2.

U.S. vs. Japan

Emperor Hirohito (Emperor of Japan), Douglas MacArthur (American General), U.S Scientists that developed the bombs, U.S Soldiers & Philippine Forces.

Places fought in Northern Africa.

Egypt/El-Alamein, Morocco, Algeria, Rome. Fought over the Suez Canal which linked the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

People who fought in North Africa.

Erwin Rommel (German General) Benito Mussolini (Italy’s dictator) George Patton (American General) British Forces Italian troops German Troops

Britain vs. Italy & Germany

Treaty of Versaille

A treaty between America, France, and Great Britain that blamed Germany for WW1, and forced Germany to pay reparations, crippling their economy and morale.

Was considered to be one of the causes of WW2.

Nazi Germany/Dictators

Adolf Hitler uses public resentment to persuade the majority to elect him as leader. He swore to restore Germany to its former glory.

Appeasement

European countries were unable to fight against Hitler’s forces, and gave up their land on the premise of ‘no more land plundering.’

League of Nations(Failures)

The U.S didn’t join the League of Nations, and the organization was weak in power. They didn’t have the military force to enforce peace among other countries.

Reasons for Holocaust

Resentment from WWI

Manipulation by Hitler

Action by Hitler

Blame-shifting by Hitler

Impact of Holocaust

Millions of Death

Neutrality

The U.S did not take sides, and tried their best to avoid going off to war.

Lend lease Act

The U.S. would trade with overseas countries only if the other countries did the overseas freighting.

-Other countries had to come to America to get the goods, and transport it to their countries themselves

Pearl Harbor

The catalyst for the U.S. joining WWII. Japan bombed our closest Naval base in the hopes of ‘crippling’ our forces before we ‘joined the war’

D-Day(turned the tide of war)

On June 6, 1944, 156,000 troops from the United States, Britain, and Canada attacked the beaches of Normandy in northern France. Freeing France from Nazi German control on August 25. The D-Day allied attack was led by future president Dwight Eisenhower.

Atomic bomb

The American government funds scientists to develop a deadly nuclear weapon to force Japan to surrender. By the time the Manhattan Project ends, Germany has surrendered, Italy surrendered, and Japan was about to lose, but still refused to surrender. President Trumen decided to drop a bomb rather than send American soldiers to add more American casualties.

On August 6, 1945, Enola Gay dropped Little Boy, and killed tens of thousands of people in Hiroshima, Japan.

On August 9th, 1954, another atomic bomb, nicknamed Fat Man, was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. Between 120,000 and 220,000 people were killed immediately.

On August 15th, 1954, Japan surrendered to the United States, officially ending WW2.

Japanese Internment

Japanese-American Imprisonment in America, families were forced to give up their lives to be forced into heavily supervised cramped rooms.

Rosie the Riveter

An icon on posters that motivated women to fill the jobs of men during WW2. She represented women working in factories.

Total War

When a country pours all their resources into the war

Propaganda

The exaggeration or twisting of the truth to fit a narrative that a party wants to get their desired outcomes

Rationing

When a group of people use less than the regular amount they would usually use, and they limit their use of a certain resource

War Bonds

Citizens buy ‘war bonds’ to support the military, it is a loan from the people to the government, where the government will pay it back later, with added interest

Victory Gardens

A method to provide families with the necessary food they need via gardening, but without buying too much food from the markets. Leaving more food for the military

Scrapping

The government encourages the people to reuse as much as possible, and abstain from throwing away too many resources to leave more resources for the government

Nuremberg Trials

After the events of World War II, 23 of the more prominent Nazi leaders were put on trial. 12 of them were sentenced to death (good riddance). Concentration camp staff and higher

United Nations

The United Nations came into existence after the League of Nation’s humbling failure and the beginning of WWII. It started with the Allies, and after their victory became much larger. The participating countries protect each other and do their best to maintain peace throughout the world

Yalta Conference

In February 1945, Winston Churchil, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin met up in Yalta, Ukraine to discuss the reparations and consequences Germany would have to face. They came to the agreement that Germany would have to give their military, and the country would be split and be governed by four different countries. Nazis and other questionable figures were held on trial and punished for atrocities committed during the war. And, Germany had to pay a set number of reparations to other countries, and the United Nations was formed at the conclusion of the Yalta Conference. Additional laws and calluses were also made.

Exact Details/Outcomes:

Germany was to be completely disarmed (give up its military)

A new world organization was to be set up called the United Nations (the UN)

Stalin agreed to join the war against Japan three months

After the defeat of Germany Germany would be split up into four different pieces (occupation zones),one occupied by France, one by the USSR, one by the USA and one by the United Kingdom Berlin (the capital of Germany) would also be split up into four different pieces

Those who committed war crimes would be judged and sentenced

A neutral government would be set up in Poland

Eastern Europe would be under Stalin's influence

Free elections were to be held in those countries free from German rule

Start planning war reparations and how much money Germany would owe the other countries