Palmer WW2 and Nazisim

Blitzkrieg

“Lightning war”; fast German strategy using tanks, planes, and infantry to quickly overwhelm enemies.

New Order

Nazi plan to reorganize Europe under German control, exploiting conquered peoples.

Scorched earth

Strategy of destroying resources (food, land, infrastructure) to slow an advancing enemy.

Battle of Moscow

Soviet forces stopped the German advance on Moscow; first major German setback.

Dunkirk evacuation

Allied troops evacuated from France to Britain after being surrounded by Germans.

Vidkun Quisling

Norwegian leader who collaborated with Nazis; his name became synonymous with “traitor.”

Second Battle of El Alamein

British victory that stopped German advance in North Africa.

Vichy France

Nazi-controlled French government that cooperated with Germany.

Genocide

Systematic extermination of a group of people.

Hideki Tojo

Japanese leader during much of WWII; directed military expansion.

Collaboration

Cooperation with enemy forces (often in occupied countries).

Four Freedoms

FDR’s ideals: freedom of speech, religion, from want, and from fear.

Fall of Singapore

Major British defeat by Japan in Southeast Asia.

Resistance movement

Underground groups in occupied countries fighting Axis powers.

Lend-Lease

U.S. program supplying Allies with weapons and aid before fully entering the war.

Albert Speer

Managed German war production efficiently.

Festung Europa

“Fortress Europe”; German defensive system along Atlantic coast.

Battle of Britain

Britain successfully defended against German air attacks.

Combined Chiefs of Staff

Joint U.S.-British military leadership coordinating strategy.

Katyn Forest massacre

Soviet execution of thousands of Polish officers.

Battle of the Coral Sea

First naval battle fought by aircraft carriers; stopped Japanese advance.

Battle of Midway

Major U.S. victory; turning point in Pacific War.

Remagen

Site where Allies captured a key bridge into Germany (1945).

Siege of Leningrad

Long, devastating German siege causing massive civilian deaths.

Final Solution

Nazi plan to exterminate Europe’s Jews.

Auschwitz

Largest Nazi death camp.

Battle of Stalingrad

Turning point where Germany was defeated by USSR.

Wannsee Conference

Meeting where Final Solution was coordinated.

Operation Torch

Allied invasion of North Africa (1942).

Battle of the Bulge

Last major German offensive in the west.

Karl Dönitz

Led Germany briefly after Hitler’s death.

Island hopping

U.S. strategy of capturing key Pacific islands while bypassing others.

Bombing of Dresden

Allied bombing that caused massive destruction and civilian deaths.

Battle of Okinawa

One of the bloodiest Pacific battles.

Invasion of Sicily

Led to Mussolini’s fall.

Polish Underground State

Secret resistance government in Nazi-occupied Poland.

Battle of Iwo Jima

Key island captured by U.S. near Japan.

Pietro Badoglio

Led Italy after Mussolini; switched sides.

Hiroshima

First atomic bomb dropped by U.S.

Battle of Leyte Gulf

Largest naval battle; destroyed Japanese navy.

D-Day Normandy invasion

Allied invasion of France.

Battle of Guadalcanal

First major U.S. offensive against Japan.

Third Reich

Hitler’s regime; totalitarian state controlling all aspects of life.

Totalitarianism

Government with total control over politics, economy, culture, and personal life.

Joseph Goebbels

Controlled media and spread Nazi propaganda.

Propaganda

Use of media to influence public opinion and promote Nazi ideology.

Gestapo

Nazi secret police that arrested and eliminated opposition.

SS (Schutzstaffel)

Elite Nazi organization responsible for security, terror, and running concentration camps.

Indoctrination

Teaching Nazi beliefs through schools and youth groups.

Hitler Youth

Group that trained young Germans to support Nazism.

Censorship

Government control of information (books, media, art).

Book burnings

Public destruction of books that opposed Nazi ideas.

Rearmament

Building up military in violation of the Treaty of Versailles.

Hermann Göring

Directed economic plans and air force.

Four-Year Plan

Nazi plan to prepare Germany for war and economic self-sufficiency.

Autarky

Economic independence (Germany tried to rely on its own resources).

Nuremberg Laws

Stripped Jews of citizenship and rights.

Kristallnacht

“Night of Broken Glass”; violent attacks on Jewish homes and businesses (1938).

Concentration camps

Camps where Nazis imprisoned and abused people.

Anti-Semitism

Prejudice and discrimination against Jews.

State control of religion

Nazis tried to control churches and silence opposition.

Persecution of clergy

Priests/ministers who opposed Nazis were punished or arrested.

Nazi gender roles

Women expected to focus on children, family, and supporting the state.

Population policy

Encouraging large families to grow the “Aryan” population.