WWII conclusion + early Cold War

Second Front

The Allied invasion of Western Europe during WWII, fulfilled by D-Day in Normandy in 1944.

Battle of the Bulge

Germany’s last major offensive in WWII; the Allies eventually pushed German forces back.

Final Solution

Nazi plan to exterminate European Jews through genocide and death camps.

Manhattan Project

Secret U.S. program to develop the atomic bomb during WWII.

Reasons for the Japanese surrender in 1945

Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Soviet entry into the war, and Japan’s military collapse.

Source of tensions between the USSR and the U.S. after WWII

Disagreements over Eastern Europe and the spread of communism.

Berlin Airlift

U.S. and Allies flew supplies into West Berlin after the Soviet Union blockaded the city (1948–1949).

NATO

Military alliance formed by Western nations to protect against Soviet aggression.

Marshall Plan

U.S. program providing economic aid to rebuild Europe and prevent the spread of communism.

Cause of the Korean War

North Korea invaded South Korea in an attempt to unite the peninsula under communism.

Situation in Korea at the conclusion of the war

A stalemate; Korea remained divided near the 38th parallel.

Causes of the Red Scare in the United States

Fear of communist expansion, Soviet power, nuclear weapons, and communist influence at home.