History final 2025

What were the plans in Wilson's 14 point speech? Why didn't the US join the league and what was it for?

- Colonies should have self-determination

- The League of Nations prevents wars

- Poland gives land to the Baltic Sea

- No winners, winners help losers

- US could not join; was against the constitution

The Treaty of Versailles after the Great War blamed what country?

- Germany

- Take full blame for the war

- Lose colonies & military

- pay reparations

- Hateful = rise of Hilter

Define facism and what was the main focus of that type of government?

- State is more important than the individual & nationalism

- People have blind loyalty to the state

Mussolini was passionate to restore what his for his country? What was his plan?

- Italy

- Fascism

- Return to greatness

- Ancient Roman Empire

What happened in the "Great Purge"? Who made it? Where was it?

- Traitors and slackers eliminated

- Stalin's, Soviet Union 1936-38

- Send to hard labor camps in Siberia

What were Japan's goals during the 1930s-1940s?

- Be imperialistic

- Invade China

What was the event that attacked the Jewish Synagogues, homes, and businesses? Where was it?

- Kristallnacht / The Night of Broken Glass

- Germany & Austria

What was going on in Germany that allows Hitler come to power? Why did this happen?

- Unemployment

- Economic downturn from the Great Depression

- Anger because of the treaty

- Rise of antisemitism

- Fear of communism

After the Great War and during the Great Depression, why were people so vulnerable and who/what took advantage of that situation? What was similar in all European countries?

- Economic stress

- Unemployment & poverty

- Fear of communism

- Dictators:

Hitler - Germany

Mussolini - France

Franco - Spain

What is blitzkrieg? Describe the 3 phases.

3-phase lightning war (Germany)

1. planes

2. tanks

3. ground troops

What is Hitler's master race? Describe them and what he calls them?

-Aryan race

- White (fair skin)

- Blond

- Blue eyes

What was the book Hitler wrote while he was in prison, and what were the key messages?

- Mein Kampf

- Racism, nationalism, and anti-semitism

Define appeasement and when was it used?

- Given into an aggressor to keep the peace

- France & Great Britain into Hitler because he invaded the Sudentenland

What event started WWII? Why did it happen there? What countries declare war on?

- Germany invaded Poland, Sept 1, 1939

- Hitler wanted his land back that was given to Poland

- Great Britain and France declare war on Germany, Sept 3, 1939

- Axis = Germany, Italy, Japan

- Allies = France, Great Britain, Soviet Union

What happened in the Holocaust? When did it happen, and who was targeted?

- Camps, murdered

- Genocide

- Targeted Jews, handicapped, gays, or anyone who disagreed with the dictator

What was the Vichy French government? Why was it created?

- Was a puppet government under Germany

- The French had some autonomy

What was "D-Day"? Where was it? What was its purpose? What was the result?

- Allied invasions on the shores of Normandy to free France from the Nazis

- June 6, 1944

- Allies won and Nazis were pushed back

During WWII, what battle was the turning point in the Soviet Union?

- Battle of Stalingrad

What did the Nuremberg trials address?

- Put Nazis on trial for planning and waging war, war crimes, and crimes against humanity

After the Holocaust, where did the Jewish people go for a homeland?

- Israel

- 1949

- land taken from Palestine (territory of GB)

What happened to Germany after the WWII and its capital? What happened to it later after the Berlin Blockade? What happened to it after the fall of the Soviet Union?

- After WWII: divided into four zones, US, F, GB, SU

- After Berlin Blockade: divided between East G (under Moscow) and West G (new capital Bonn)

- During the fall of SU: finally reunited into Germany 1990

Why did Winston Churchill say there was an "Iron Curtain" across Europe?

- Stalin called off all communications with the West

- March 1946

- W. Churchill, like an 'Iron Curtain' came down across Europe and no one knew what was happening in the Soviet block

Define "Arms Race". Who were the players? When did it happen? Did it end? And when?

- Bombs

- 1940s - 1950

US - Atomic bomb followed by SU

SU - Hydrogen bomb followed by US

- Nuclear US then SU

What is NATO? Define the purpose and players.

- North Atlantic Treaty Organization

- US, Canada, and Western Europe

- Europe = protect each other if attacked (against SU)

What is the Warsaw Pact? Why was it created?

- Counterpart to NATO

- SU and Soviter block (satellite nations)

Define detente. When and where was it used? Who were the players?

- Relaxation of tensions between US & SU

- During Cold WAr

- Wanted to co-exist

Who is Mao Zedong, and why is the year 1949 in his country so significant?

- Leader of communists in China

- China fell to communism in 1949 = Peoples Republic of China

At the Potsdam Conference whom did Stalin argue? What did he say would happen between the 2 countries?

- He argued with Truman

- Stalin said "capitalism and communism are incompatable and there would be another war"

- He would make armaments and heavy machines

- No consumer goods

When was the fall of communism in the SU and who was their leader? What was this new country called?

- December 1991

- Gorbachev

- Russia

Benefits of US Japanese occupation?

- Legal and political rights for women

- Economic growth

- Democracy and a constitution

- Education reforms

Soviet Union gift in the Pacific after 1945? Why?

- They promised to help the US in the Pacific War

- SU would get some of the Japanese Islands

- As promised at the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences