Unit 7_ WWII (2025-2026)

World War II

The bloodiest conflict in history.

USSR

Country that suffered the most soldier and civilian deaths during WWII.

FDR

President of the US during World War II.

Holocaust

The systematic mass slaughter of Jews and other groups judged inferior by the Nazis.

Blitzkrieg

A military tactic meaning 'lightning war,' characterized by fast-moving attacks.

Pearl Harbor

The American naval base attacked by Japan on December 7, 1941.

Battle of Britain

The military campaign where the Luftwaffe bombed Great Britain, which continued until May 1941.

Operation Husky

The Allied invasion of Southern Italy, starting with Sicily.

Bataan Death March

The forced march of 75,000 Filipino and American troops by Japanese soldiers.

Operation Barbarossa

Hitler's plan to invade the Soviet Union, starting on June 22, 1941.

D-Day

The Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944.

Enigma

The German code-making machine that had its codes decoded by the British.

Atlantic Wall

Defensive fortifications built by the Germans along Europe’s west coast.

Nuremberg Trials

Trials held to prosecute Nazi leaders for war crimes after WWII.

Kamikaze

Japanese suicide pilots who aimed to sink Allied ships by crashing their planes.

Manhattan Project

The American effort to design and build an atomic bomb during WWII.

Cash and Carry Policy

A policy allowing Allies to purchase American arms but requiring them to transport it on their own ships.

Lend-Lease Act

A policy allowing the US to lend or lease arms and supplies to countries vital to US defense.

Genocide

The deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially of a particular ethnic group or nation.

Nuremberg Race Laws

Legislation that provided the legal framework for the systematic persecution of Jews in Germany.

Maginot Line

A system of fortifications along France’s border with Germany, built after WWI.

The Phony War

The early phase of WWII characterized by little fighting along the Western Front.

Holocaust

The systematic genocide of six million Jews by the Nazis.

Charles de Gaulle

French general who established a government-in-exile and called for resistance against the Nazis.

Winston Churchill

British Prime Minister during WWII who vowed that Britain would never surrender.

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

The mastermind behind the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Japan's Pacific Campaign

Japan's military expansion in the Pacific region, including the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Operation Fortitude

The deception plan to mislead the Germans about the location of the D-Day invasion.

Siege of Leningrad

A prolonged military blockade by the Germans that led to a million deaths.

Afrika Korps

Highly trained German tank force led by Erwin Rommel in North Africa.

Polish Corridor

Territory cut from Germany after WWI to give Poland access to the sea, demanded back by Hitler.

Charles de Gaulle

French general who became a symbol of French resistance against the Nazi occupation.

Operation Overlord

The code name for the D-Day invasion of Normandy.

Japanese Expansion

Japan's efforts to establish an empire in Asia and the Pacific during the 1930s and 1940s.

Casualties of war

The soldiers and civilians killed or wounded as a result of military action.

V-J Day

Victory in Japan Day, marking Japan's surrender on August 15, 1945.

Atomic Bomb

A bomb that uses nuclear reactions to produce a massive explosion, used by the US in WWII.

Battle of Iwo Jima

A major battle in the Pacific Theater, marked by fierce fighting and significant American losses.

Death Camp

A facility where the primary aim was the systematic extermination of individuals, notably Jews.

Displaced Persons Act

A US law allowing around 400,000 displaced persons to immigrate after WWII.

Scorched Earth Policy

Military strategy to destroy anything that might be useful to the enemy.

Enigma Machine

A device used by the Germans to encode secret military messages.

Free French forces

French military forces led by Charles de Gaulle that fought alongside the Allies.

Emperor Hirohito

The Emperor of Japan who announced Japan's unconditional surrender.

Operation Husky

The codename for the Allied invasion of Sicily.

Joseph Goebbels

Minister of Propaganda under Hitler.

Hermann Goering

Commander of the Luftwaffe and a leading member of the Nazi Party.

Heinrich Himmler

Leader of the SS and a key figure in the Holocaust.

T4 Euthanasia Program

Nazi program to exterminate those deemed 'burdensome lives,' including the disabled.

Warsaw Ghetto

The largest ghetto in Poland, where hundreds of thousands of Jews were isolated.

Sitzkrieg

The German joke term for 'the Phony War,' meaning 'sitting war'.

Luftwaffe

The aerial warfare branch of the German Wehrmacht during WWII.