Holocaust/Cold War Test

Reinhard Heydrich

A high-ranking Nazi official and architect of the Holocaust, he played a key role in the implementation of the Final Solution.

Executive Order 9981

Desegregates the military

Izak Lichtenstein

A Jewish teacher and Holocaust victim who documented his experiences in the Warsaw Ghetto before being murdered.

Breckenridge Long

A U.S. State Department official known for obstructing Jewish immigration to the U.S. during the Holocaust.

Jan Karski

A Polish resistance fighter who reported on the Holocaust to Allied leaders but struggled to gain action.

Peter Bergson

A Zionist activist who pushed for U.S. intervention to rescue Jews during the Holocaust.

Harry S. Truman

The 33rd U.S. president who made key Cold War decisions, including the use of the atomic bomb and the Truman Doctrine.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

The 32nd U.S. president who led the U.S. through the Great Depression and most of World War II.

Fred Korematsu

A Japanese American who defied internment orders and became the plaintiff in Korematsu v. United States.

Hugo Black

A Supreme Court justice who upheld Japanese internment in Korematsu v. United States but later supported civil rights.

Joseph Stalin

The dictator of the Soviet Union who led the USSR through World War II and the early Cold War.

Thomas E. Dewey

The Republican candidate who lost to FDR in 1944 and Truman in 1948.

Morgenthau’s Plan

Aimed to deindustrialize Germany and turn it into an agrarian state to prevent future military aggression, but it was largely abandoned in favor of the Marshall Plan.

Henry Morgenthau

FDR’s Secretary of the Treasury who advocated for the War Refugee Board

Robert H. Jackson

The chief U.S. prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials and a Supreme Court justice.

George C. Marshall

U.S. Army Chief of Staff and Secretary of State who developed the Marshall Plan to rebuild postwar Europe.

Marshall Plan

A U.S. economic aid program launched in 1948 to help rebuild war-torn Western Europe, strengthen democratic governments, and counter the spread of communism by providing over $13 billion in financial assistance.

George F. Kennan

An American diplomat who formulated the policy of containment in The X Article.

Ho Chi Minh

The communist leader of North Vietnam who led the fight against French and American forces.

Mao Zedong

The leader of the Chinese Communist Party who established the People’s Republic of China in 1949.

Communism

A political and economic ideology advocating for classless, state-controlled societies, central to Cold War conflicts.

Yalta Conference

A 1945 meeting where Allied leaders planned postwar Europe, including Germany’s division into occupation zones and Soviet influence in Eastern Europe.

Novikov Telegram

A Soviet response to the Long Telegram, accusing the U.S. of imperialist ambitions.

The X Article

An article by George Kennan published to the public advocating for containment of Soviet influence, shaping Cold War policy.

Bretton Woods Conference

A 1944 meeting that established the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank to stabilize the global economy.

Viet Cong

The communist guerrilla force in South Vietnam that fought against the U.S. and the South Vietnamese government.

McCarthy’s “Wheeling Speech”

A 1950 speech where McCarthy falsely claimed to have a list of communists in the U.S. government.

McCarthyism

A period of intense anti-communist suspicion in the government led by Senator Joseph McCarthy in the early 1950s.

Executive Order 9835

Truman’s order establishing loyalty investigations of federal employees to root out communism.

Einsatzgruppen

Units tasked with carrying out mass killings, particularly of Jews, Roma, disabled individuals, political dissidents, and others deemed undesirable by the Nazi regime.

Truman’s Health Insurance Advocacy

President Truman’s proposed health insurance program to address the lack of trained healthcare professionals in all communities, grow public health services, increase funding for medical research and education, lower the cost of individual medical care, and bring attention to the loss of income when severe illness takes hold.

Taft-Hartley Act of 1947

A law restricting union power and allowing the president to intervene in strikes.

Korean War

A Cold War conflict (1950-1953) between communist North Korea and U.S.-backed South Korea.

United Nations Command

The international military force, led by the U.S., that fought for South Korea in the Korean War.

Worker’s Party of Korea

The ruling party of North Korea led by Kim Il-Sung.

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

A Korean communist state established in 1948 under Soviet influence.

Hydrogen Bomb

A more powerful nuclear weapon developed by both the U.S. and USSR during the arms race.

NSC-68

A 1950 U.S. policy document advocating for military buildup to contain Soviet expansion.

Soviet Nuclear Program

The USSR’s effort to develop nuclear weapons, culminating in its first atomic bomb test in 1949.

Taiwan

The island where the KMT established the Republic of China government after fleeing the mainland in 1949.

KMT

The Chinese Nationalist Party led by Chiang Kai-Shek that retreated to Taiwan after losing to the CCP.

Chinese Communist Party (CCP)

The ruling party of China since 1949, founded on Marxist-Leninist principles.

People’s Republic of China

The communist state established in 1949 after Mao Zedong’s victory in the Chinese Civil War.

Operation Vittles

The U.S. military’s name for its participation in the Berlin Airlift.

Chinese Civil War

A conflict between the Chinese Communist Party and the Nationalist KMT that ended with Mao’s victory in 1949.

Maoism

A communist ideology developed by Mao Zedong emphasizing peasant-based revolution and guerrilla warfare.

Stalinism

A form of communism characterized by centralized control, repression, and rapid industrialization under Stalin.

Warsaw Pact

A military alliance formed in 1955 between the Soviet Union and its satellite states to counter NATO.

NATO

A military alliance formed in 1949 between Western nations to counter Soviet aggression.

West Germany

The U.S. aligned democratic state established in 1949 as the Federal Republic of Germany.

Chiang Kai-Shek

The leader of the Chinese Nationalists (KMT) who fled to Taiwan after losing the Chinese Civil War.

Kim Il-Sung

The founder of North Korea and leader during the Korean War, establishing a communist regime.

Syngman Rhee

The first president of South Korea and a staunch anti-communist leader.

Dean Acheson

Truman’s Secretary of State who played a major role in shaping Cold War policies, including the Truman Doctrine.

Joseph R. McCarthy

A U.S. senator who led anti-communist investigations during the Red Scare, sparking McCarthyism.

Alger Hiss

A U.S. government official accused of being a Soviet spy, fueling Cold War tensions.

Henry Stimson

The U.S. Secretary of War who oversaw the atomic bomb program during World War II.

Nuremberg Laws

A set of anti-Semitic laws enacted in Nazi Germany in 1935 that stripped Jews of citizenship and rights.

Operation Barbarossa

The Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, marking a turning point in World War II.

Wannsee Conference

A 1942 meeting of Nazi officials where the Final Solution—the mass extermination of Jews—was formally coordinated.

Executive Order 9066

A 1942 order by FDR that authorized the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

War Refugee Board

A U.S. agency created in 1944 to assist in the rescue of Jews and other persecuted groups during the Holocaust.

Korematsu v. United States

A 1944 Supreme Court case that upheld the constitutionality of Japanese American internment.

Japanese American Claims Act of 1948

A law that provided limited financial compensation to Japanese Americans interned during World War II.

Civil Liberties Act of 1988

A law that formally apologized for Japanese internment and granted reparations to survivors.

Election of 1944

FDR won an unprecedented fourth term, defeating Thomas E. Dewey amid World War II.

Election of 1948

Truman won a surprise victory against Dewey despite widespread predictions of his defeat.

Potsdam Negotiations

The discussions at the Potsdam Conference where Allied leaders debated postwar policies for Germany and Japan.

Potsdam Conference

A July 17 to August 2, 1945 meeting between the U.S., the USSR, and the UK that set terms for Germany’s surrender and postwar reconstruction.

East Germany

The Soviet-controlled communist state established in 1949 as the German Democratic Republic.

Berlin Blockade and Airlift

A Soviet blockade of West Berlin countered by an Allied airlift that supplied the city with food and fuel.

Ministry of State Security

The secret police agency of communist East Germany that conducted surveillance and repression.

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

A U.S. intelligence agency formed in 1947 to conduct espionage and counter communist influence.

Long Telegram

Sent by George Kennan to the U.S. State Department in 1946, it outlined his view of Soviet behavior and the nature of the U.S. Soviet relationship.

National Security Act of 1947

A law that reorganized U.S. military and intelligence agencies, creating the CIA and National Security Council.

Truman Doctrine

A U.S. policy promising support to countries resisting communism, marking the start of Cold War containment.

Potsdam Declaration

The Allied ultimatum demanding Japan’s unconditional surrender before the atomic bombings.

Atomic Bomb

A powerful nuclear weapon used by the U.S. on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II.

San Francisco Conference

A 1945 meeting where the United Nations Charter was drafted and established.

Justice Palace

A courthouse in Nuremberg where key Nazi trials were held prosecuted by Robert H. Jackson

Far Eastern Commission

An Allied body that oversaw Japan’s postwar occupation and reconstruction.

Douglas MacArthur

A U.S. general who led the occupation of Japan and commanded U.N. forces in the Korean War before being dismissed by Truman.

Soviet Union

The communist superpower that opposed the U.S. in the Cold War and influenced global conflicts.

Greek Civil War

A post-World War II conflict between communists and royalists in Greece that led to U.S. intervention under the Truman Doctrine.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

A moderate Republican, ran on a platform of anti-communism, military strength, and economic stability. He focused on Cold War strategy, infrastructure expansion, and civil rights policy.

Adlai Stevenson

Ran as the Democratic candidate after Harry Truman chose not to run, faced Eisenhower’s immense popularity as a WWII hero, and struggled against accusations that Democrats were “soft” on communism during the Red Scare.

HUAC

Established in 1938 to investigate subversive activities, initially targeting Nazi and fascist groups. After World War II, the focus shifted to Communist influence, particularly in government, Hollywood, and labor unions.

Election of 1952

Adlai Stevenson v. Dwight D. Eisenhower: Key Topics were fear of Soviet expansion and nuclear war dominated public concerns.

Lavender Scare

Moral panic about homosexual people in the United States government which led to their mass dismissal from government service during the mid-20th century.

Richard Nixon

Congressman who was tasked with investigating Communist infiltration in the U.S. Known for his aggressive pursuit of Alger Hiss