DC World - WW2

what did Hitler do with Germany’s military that was a violation of the Treaty of Versailles

rearmed the German military

effort to avoid war at all costs by giving ground to the aggressor

appeasement

region of western Germany that the Treaty of Versailles made a demilitarized zone

• Hitler had German military reoccupy this region in 1936

Rhineland

why was the lack of response from England and France to the reoccupation of the Rhineland significant in the rise of Hitler

Hitler would have backed down if they responded

Hitler’s occupation of Austria

Anschluss

region of Czechoslovakia that had been taken from Germany at the end of WW1 and had important natural resources

Sudetenland

response to crisis in Sudetenland, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain called for meeting with Germany, Italy, France, and England

Munich Conference

what nation was not invited to attend the Munich Conference

Czechoslovakia

what was the outcome of the Munich Conference

allowed Hitler to annex the Sudetenland (appeasement)

what British Prime Minster is most associated with the policy of appeasement

Neville Chamberlain

which nation did Hitler negotiate a non-agression pact with

Soviet Union

with what action did Hitler begin WW2

invasion of Poland in September 1939

how did England and France respond to the invasion of Poland

declared war on Germany

what terroritories held by the U.S were threatened by Japanese expansion in the Pacific

Philipinnes, Guam, Wake Island, Midway

why did the Japanese feel the need to expand territorially

wanted raw materials to find new markets and keep economy rolling and to secure spheres of influence in Asia.

what did the U.S do to try and end Japanese expansion/militarism

imposed embargo on materials Japan needed to continue military efforts

what did the Japanese decide to due in response to U.S embargo

destroy U.S navy

where and when did the Japanese attack the U.S

Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

what failure in the attack at Pearl Harbor would be costly for the Japanese

left 3 aircraft carriers

who was the Prime Minister of England during the fightigng of WW2

Winston Churchill

what two nations did Hitler to attack in order to cut off England from access to the Baltic Sea

Norway and Denmark

how was the invasion of France basically a variation on the Sclieffen Plan

invaded through neutral countries such as Belgium

where were British and French forces trapped and nearly annihilated before a dramtic retreat through the English Channel

Dunkirk

what humiliation did Hitler put on the French when they surrendered to Germany

forced French to sign surrender documents in the same train car used at the signing of Treaty of Versailles

French puppet state of Hitler’s Germany, forced to work with Germany’s war efforts

Vichy government

what was the code name for Hitler’s planned invasion of England

operation sea lion

what advantages did Britain have in the Battle of Britain

refined use of radar, fighting over home terroritory, took pressure off of airfields

German bombing of British cities instead of airfields

the Blitz

German air force

Luftwaffe

what Axis power started the fighting in North Africa

Italy

“Desert Fox”, German general who strategically defeated British in North Africa

Erwin Rommel

what was the code name for the U.S entry into the war in North Africa

operation torch

where did Hitler decide to invade when the plan to take England failed

Soviet Union - Operation Barbarossa

what were the three main targets for the invasion of the Soviet Union

• Leningrad

• Moscow

• oil fields

why did the invasion of the Soviet Union fail

Hitler tried to take Stalingrad

what 2 examples of Germany’s anti-semitism before the war made it clear that the Nazis were going to attack the Jews

• Nuremburg Laws

• Kristallnacht

why weren’t Jews able to leave Germany before the Holocaust

other countries were anti-semitic

about how many jews lived in Germany prior to WW2

600,000

what were concentration camps used for other than killing

labor camps

doctor at Auschwitz who experimented on Jews

Josef Mengle

segregated parts of cities Jews were forced into with little resources and space

ghettos

meeting of Nazi officials to create a final solution to the Jewish problem

Wannsee Conference

where did the first systemic attempts to kill Jews take place

Soviet Union

what were the first methods used by Nazis to systemically kill Jews

• mobile killing squads

• execution trucks

why did Nazi leaders adopt the gas chamber method for killing jews

faster, more sustainable, less personal

what was the biggest and worst concentration camp

Auschwitz

how many Jews were killed in the Holocaust

6 million

what other groups besides jews were killed in the Holocaust

Roma, disabled, mentally ill

how did the war in the Pacfic go for Japan in the early months

good - U.S has to rebuild

big defeat for Japan, U.S begins a slow and steady roll back of Japanese Navy

Battle of Midway

bloodiest battle in the Pacific, took a huge toll on navy, killing field on land and water

Battle of Okinawa

six week Japanese rampage whwere ½ Nanjing, China’s population would be killed, massacared Chinese prisoners of war, terrorized civillians

Rape of Nanjing

most known Japanese war crimes were against

prisoners of war

captured U.S troops forced to march 65 miles through the jungle to prisoner of war camps

Bataan Death March

massive effort to build and test an atomic weapon that was kept secret

Manhattan Project

why was the Manhattan Project important to the U.S government

worried Nazis would get to atomic weapons first

where were atomic bomb facilities built

• Oak Ridge, TN

• Los Alamos, NM

how was the Manhattan Project kept a secret

work was very compartmentalized and only few knew the full picture

who made the decision to use atomic bombs

President Harry Truman

where were the atomic bombs dropped

• Hiroshima

• Nagasaki

what was the code name for the Allied invasion of Normandy

D Day (June 6, 1944)

what was unique about the Normandy invasion

• biggest amphibious landing in world history

• first use of paratroopers in modern warefare

• took place in Belgium near Bastogne

• Germans attacked through dense forests and suprised Americans

• General George Patton led a successfull rescue by quickly bringing U.S troops north from France

• Germans pushed back and would never mount further attacks

Battle of the Bulge

what Allied nation captured Berlin

Soviet Union

how did Hitler die

shot himself in the head

where were war crimes trials held after WW2

Nuremberg

what were Nazis accused of in the war crimes trials

crimes against humanity

how many people were killed in WW2

72 million

what nation suffered the most

Soviet Union

what was the cost of WW2

4.2 trillion

why do England, U.S, and France not trust the Soviet Union

only joined Allies after they were attacked by Hitler

• meeting to decide what to do in post-war Europe and Germany

• Soviets occupied most of eastern Europe and are allowed to keep control there and install communist governments

• divides Germany into 4 zones of control and city of Berlin into sectors

Potsdam Conference

what nations become communist client states of the USSR

Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria

what was problematic about the situation in Berlin

people in east Germany could easily get to west Germany

President Truman ordered U.S planes to drop supplies to west Berlin as Soviet Union closed roads and access to supplies

Berlin Airlift

proxy wars fought on behalf of U.S and USSR

• Korea

• Vietnam

• Afghanistan