ww2

Hermann Goering

A leader of the Nazi party, Hitler's #2, who took all the art to keep for himself.

Joseph Goebbels

Chief minister of Nazi propaganda and organizer of Kristallnacht.

Heinrich Himmler

German Nazi chief of the SS and Gestapo, overseeing the genocide of six million Jews.

Stock Market Crash

A sharp decline in U.S. stock market values in 1929 contributing to the Great Depression.

Great Depression

Period from 1929-1941 with slowing consumer demand, industrial production decrease, and stock market expansion.

Inflation

Continuous rise in the price of goods and services.

Worth of Money

Indicates value and satisfaction from spending money.

Messianic Figure

Describes a savior, especially a religious one.

Autobahnen

German superhighways for military use in anticipation of a two-front war.

SS

Nazi organization led by Heinrich Himmler, known for brutal actions.

Waffen SS

Elite Nazi army with rigorous physical and mental training, including combat.

Gestapo

Nazi secret police force known for terrorism and brutality.

SS State Enforcement

State troopers under Nazi rule.

Camps

Places where Jews were taken to work under harsh conditions until death.

Concentration Camps

Sites for slave labor or death under Nazi rule.

Death Camps

Facilities solely for extermination of individuals under Nazi regime.

Reinhard Heydrich

Gestapo deputy chief seeking the "final solution" to the Jewish Question.

Goebbels Propaganda Minister

Controlled news, arts, and information in Nazi Germany after 1933.

Radio Impact

Radio's role in entertaining, informing, and propagandizing during wartime.

Book Burnings

Destruction of Jewish works and non-supportive information under Nazi rule.

Night of the Long Knives

June 30, 1934 event where Hitler eliminated opposition within the Nazi party.

Nuremberg Laws of 1935

Laws denying German citizenship to Jews and restricting marriages.

Star of David

Symbol Jews were forced to wear to identify themselves.

Dachau

First concentration camp in Germany.

Kristallnacht

Nazi destruction of Jewish property and places in 1938.

Hitler Youth

Organization to indoctrinate children with Nazi ideology.

Tomorrow Belongs To Me

Song symbolizing loyalty to Hitler in Nazi Germany.

Martin Niemoller

Author of "First They Came" poem, reflecting on inaction during Nazi atrocities.

The Nuremberg Rally of 1936

Large Nazi gathering for speeches and propaganda.

Berlin Olympics

Event used by Hitler to showcase Aryan supremacy.

Benito Mussolini

Italian leader admired by Hitler, leading to a close relationship.

Il Duce

Nickname for Benito Mussolini meaning "the leader."

Fascism

Ideology valuing group strength over individualism, enforced by Nazis.

Anschluss

Political union of Austria with Germany.

Appeasement

British policy of allowing Hitler's territorial expansion in the 1930s to avoid war.

1939 Invasion of Poland

German invasion triggering World War II.

Blitzkrieg

Fast and forceful warfare strategy.

Maginot Line

French fortifications to deter German invasion.

Battle of Dunkirk

Evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk during WWII.

Enigma Machine

Secret code machine used during WWII.

Coventry Cathedral

Bombed during WWII due to a blackout oversight.

Winston Churchill

British leader during WWII, known for rallying the nation.

The Battle of Britain

Aerial battle between German Luftwaffe and British RAF in 1940.

The Blitz

German air raids on British cities during WWII.

The Battle of the Atlantic

Naval battle where German U-boats targeted Allied ships.

U-Boats

German submarines used during WWII.

Destroyers

Versatile ships used in naval warfare.

Erwin Rommel - The Desert Fox

German General known for leading in North Africa.

Panzer Tanks

German tanks used during WWII.

Tiger Tanks

Heavy German tanks during WWII.

M4 Sherman Tanks

American medium tanks during WWII.

T-34 Tanks

Soviet tanks known for speed and power.

Monty

Nickname for General Bernard Law Montgomery.

Battle of El Alamein

WWII battle where Germans were defeated in North Africa.

Gen. George S. Patton

US General known for effective counteroffensive in WWII.

General Irwin Rommel

Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel was a German field marshal during World War II. Popularly known as the Desert Fox he served in the armed forces of Nazi Germany. He was injured several times.

General Eisenhower

A US Army general who held the position of supreme Allied commander in Europe, among many others. He was best known for his work in planning Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Europe.

General Bradley

served as field commander of American soldiers during the Allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day and led Allied troops as they drove into Germany near the end of World War II.

General Bernard Law Montgomery

During the Second World War, he led a decisive victory at El Alamein, Egypt; he was also commander of all land forces involved in Operation Overlord.

Valkyrie

The plan was known as Operation Valkyrie. The idea was that, once Hitler was dead, the military would claim that the assassination was part of an attempted coup by the Nazi Party and the Reserve Army would seize key installations in Berlin and arrest high-ranking Nazi leadership.

Garbo

He was a double agent for the British, performing so well that they nicknamed him for the enigmatic actress Greta Garbo.He tricked Hitler and saved D-Day

Operation Fortitude

Codename of fake operation to deceive the Germans into believe an invasion would occur at Calais

Fake Army

Even built a fake army with inflatable tanks, trucks, planes, and radio traffic to be led by Gen. Patton. Tricked Hitler into thinking landing was to happen in Calais, France.

Operation Overlord

the code name for the Allied invasion of Europe at Normandy on June 6, 1944; also known as D-Day

D-Day Normandy

a name given to June 6, 1944—the day on which the Allies launched an invasion in Normandy of the European mainland during World War II.

Omaha Beach

One of 5 beaches invaded during WWII D-Day. Biggest struggle because of deep water, little to no cover, and bluffs with Germans and machine guns

The Hedgerows

dirt walls, several feet thick, that were covered in shrubbery and surrounded many fields in Normandy; Germans used them for cover and defense

The Cullen Tank

Sgt Curtis Grubb Culin III was a World War II soldier credited with the invention of a hedge-breaching device fitted to Allied armored vehicles during the Battle of Normandy.

Operation Cobra

American offensive aiming to punch through German lines in Normandy using massive bombing raids

Battle of the Bulge

The Battle of the Bulge started on December 16, 1944, when German forces launched a surprise attack on Allied forces in the forested Ardennes region in Belgium, Luxembourg, and France

V-E Day

May 8, 1945; victory in Europe Day when the Germans surrendered

Pearl Harbor

Base in hawaii that was bombed by japan on December 7, 1941, which eagered America to enter the war.

Battle of the Coral Sea

A battle between Japanese and American naval forces that stopped the Japanese advance on Australia.

Battle of Midway

(June 3-6, 1942), World War II naval battle, fought almost entirely with aircraft, in which the United States destroyed Japan's first-line carrier strength and most of its best trained naval pilots.

General Douglas MacArthur

commander of the US forces in the Philippine Islands who directed the Allied occupation of Japan

Admiral Chester Nimitz

Nimitz was serving as Chief of the Bureau of Navigation when the Japanese Imperial Navy attacked Pearl Harbor

Battle of Guadalcanal

(1942-1943) World War II battle in the Pacific; it represented the first Allied counter-attack against Japanese forces; Allied victory forced Japanese forces to abandon the island

Battle of Tarawa

he Battle of Tarawa was fought on 20-23 November 1943 between the United States and Japan at the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, and was part of Operation Galvanic, the U.S. invasion of the Gilberts.

Battle of Wake Island

The Japanese won the Battle of Wake Island. They lost four ships, one submarine, and some 1,000 lives; just over 100 Americans and Guamanians died during their defense of Wake Island.

U.S. Invades the Marshall Islands

The Marshall Islands were invaded in late January 1944. The capture of the numerous islands, islets, and reefs improved communications across the Pacific

Battle of Iwo Jima

was a major battle in which the U.S. Marines landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II.

Battle of Okinawa

(1945) World War II victory for the Allied troops that resulted in the deaths of almost all of the 100,000 Japanese defenders; the battle claimed 12,000 American lives