chapter 13 history test

1939-1945

the dates of World War II.

"the good war"

a nickname for WWII; called this because it was a fight against cruel dictators, a war between good and evil, a war to save democracy; the goal of WWII was to save the world from tyranny.

General facts about WWII:

*largest war ever; 100 million people served.

*deadliest war ever; 50-70 million people killed (both troops and civilians.

*fought on land, sea, and in the air.

*fought on(mostly) three continents: Europe, Asia, Africa.

Three continents where most of WWII's fighting took place:

1. Europe.

2. Asia.

3. Africa.

nationalism

extreme pride in one's country over individual rights.

imperialism

aggressive land takeovers; when a country is interested in colonizing other lands.

militarism

aggressive buildup of a military that gains control of the government.

facism

political philosophy that exalts nation above the individual, stands for an autocratic government headed by a dictator; there is severe economic and social control and forcible suspension of any opposition.

Treaty of Versailles

the peace treaty signed at the end of WWI; had four main points; many Germans were not happy with this treaty.

Four points of the Treaty of Versailles:

1. Germany should take the blame for the war.

2. Germany had to pay $132 billion in war reparations.

3. Germany was only allowed to have a small military force; the Rhineland would be demilitarized.

4. land that Germany had conquered during the war was returned; Anachuluss was forbidden.

Hitler's political ideas as outlined in Mein Kampf:

1. Devotion to state above self.

2. His goal was to unite Germans of Europe in a great empire.

3. He believed in the superiority of Germans called "Aryans".

4. Believed that Jews threatened the purity of the Aryan race; no intermarriage allowed.

Aryans

Hitler's "ideal race"; light haired; light skinned; blue eyed.

Mein Kampf

Hitler's personal novel; written while Hitler was in prison; "my struggle"; outlined his political beliefs.

Four groups of people disapproved of by Hitler:

1. Jews.

2. Gypsies.

3. homosexuals.

4. handicapped people.

When Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in January 1933, he secretly began ________________________ in direct violation of the Treaty of Versailles.

building up the military

March 7, 1936

the date when Hitler ordered his troops into the Rhineland; the German army could have been easily beaten at this point, but no other countries paid attention.

Two countries Germany created alliances with in WWII:

1. Italy.

2. Japan.

Benito Mussolini

the fascist dictator of Italy during WWII.

Hideki Tojo

the Prime Minister of Japan during WWII.

Anschuluss

Austrian union with Germany; forbidden by Treaty of Versailles; happened in March 1938 with no fighting.

Austria

Hitler's homeland; the land he wanted the most during WWII.

the Sudetenland

the German-speaking part of Czechoslovakia; Hitler demanded this region be returned to Germany.

annex

to make apart of; to join.

March 1939

Hitler invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia.

appeasement

to negotiate and give in to certain demands in the hope of maintaining peace.

Four causes of WWII:

1. Treaty of Versailles.

2. Hitler's aggressive actions.

3. Failure of appeasement.

4. Failure of the League of Nations.

Neville Chamberlain

the Prime Minister of Great Britain; thought the Treaty of Versailles was unfair to Germany and that if he gave into Hitler, another war would be avoided; signed the Munich Agreement with Hitler.

Signers of the Munich Agreement:

leaders of Germany(Hitler), Britain(Chamberlain), France, and Italy(Mussolini).

Munich Agreement

1938; an agreement between Britain and Germany that the Sudetenland would be returned to Germany if there was no more aggression from Germany; GERMANY DID NOT FOLLOW THIS.

League of Nations

an international organization set up in 1919 to aid in keeping world peace; the goal was to have one representative from every country; negotiation is greater than force.

Four main reasons the League of Nations was a failure:

1. not all countries were included; some were forbidden(Germany, Russia) and others just opted not to join.

2. it had no power; it could ask members not to trade with aggressive countries; they could trade with nonmembers; with the Depression, no one wanted to lose trade w/ nonmembers.

3. it had no set army; member countries were supposed to supply soldiers; they did not want to risk angering an aggressive country.

4. it was unable to act quickly; it only met 4 times a year.

Three countries in the Axis Powers:

1. Germany.

2. Italy.

3. Japan.

Six countries in the Allied Powers:

1. Great Britain/UK.

2. United States.

3. Soviet Union.

4. France.

5. China.

6. Canada.

Six neutral countries:

1. Sweden.

2. Switzerland.

3. Spain.

4. Portugal.

5. Ireland.

6. Turkey.

German invasion of Poland

September 1, 1939; the immediate cause of WWII.

German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

the Soviet Union's agreement to stay out of Germany's way as it expanded; in return, Germany would not attack the S.U. and would give them land when the war was over; signed by Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler.

Joseph Stalin

the communist dictator of the Soviet Union during WWII.

Seven characteristics of a totalitarian dictator:

1. willing to use violence.

2. their power and authority is unchallenged.

3. there were no elections or other political parties allowed.

4. THEY CONTROL EVERYTHING IN NEWSPAPERS, SCHOOLS, BUSINESS, etc.

5. they have total control over your daily life.

6. all power flowed through them.

7. they had the promise to return to greatness.

blitzkrieg

"lightening war"; German method of attack in WWII; swift, surprise attacks made possible by technological advances, the use of aircraft, bombs, and radio communication to quickly overwhelm the enemy.

panzers

German tanks; part of the blitzkrieg war strategy.

"the phony war"

winter of 1939-1940; WWII was given this nickname by the PRESS after the invasion of Poland because Hitler did not do anything for six months; he was secretly planning moves.

Five countries taken by Hitler to improve his access to the Atlantic Ocean:

1. Denmark.

2. Norway.

3. Netherlands.

4. Belgium.

5. Luxembourg.

Two reasons France had a false sense of security during WWII:

1. Ardennes Forest was "too thick and dangerous for German tanks to go through".

2. Maginot Line was set up to protect where Germany would surely attack.

Ardennes Forest

the forest located along the northern border of France and Belgium; the French believed that it was too rugged for the German tanks to go through.

Maginot Line

a string of defended forts and bunkers along French-German border where the French thought the Germans would attack.

the German surprise

when Germany went through the Ardennes Forest to attack France.

Winston Churchill

the Prime Minister of Great Britain in May 1940; replaced Neville Chamberlin; his plan was to fight Hitler and never give up; he ordered a daft and 1.7 million people joined the military.

English Channel

the body of water that separates France and Great Britain; 23 miles across.

sleeping giant

the nickname of the U.S. before they joined in WWII.

Operation Sea Lion

the code name for Hitler's attack on Great Britain; airborne assault to take out Britain's RAF, then land on the coast of Britain; Germans left after 3 months because they didn't want to lose more people or weapons; FIRST TIME GERMAN AGGRESSION IS STOPPED.

Battle of Britain

Hitler's next target after conquering France.

RAF

Royal Air Force; Britain's air force.

luftwaffe

German air force.

Two British advantages during the attack on Britain:

1. use of radar; detected when enemy planes were coming in.

2. home turf: they could refuel on their homeland(Germans had to fly back to Germany).

German advantage during the attack on Britain:

Germany had MANY more aircraft (2,550 vs. Britain's 1,963).