World War II Key Events and Concepts Review

Neville Chamberlin

British Prime minister who used appeasement to sign the Munich Pact with Hitler

Munich Agreement/Appeasement

Giving into demands to avoid war, France/Britain gave in to Hitler wanting to annex the Sudetenland

Totalitarian

Government with a very powerful dictator who controls every aspect of the country, no rights or freedoms (Stalin)

Fascism

Type of political government with powerful dictator that emphasizes nationalism, devotion to the state, and militarism (Mussolini)

Nazism

Fascism + racism (Hitler)

Lend-Lease Act

US agreed to increase aid to the Allies by lending/leasing supplies needed for the war, showed that US wasn't really neutral

Battle of Britain

Germans heavily bomb Britain repeatedly, trying to terrorize citizens/kill will to keep fighting so that government would surrender, failed

Atlantic Charter

Secret meeting between FDR/Churchill, set goals for freedom of the seas/collective security, would affect all nations

Non-Aggression Pact

Agreement between Hitler/Stalin to split Poland and not attack, two sides didn't trust each other, Hitler breaks pact

Battle of the Atlantic

German subs (wolf packs) attacking Allied ships crossing the Atlantic, defeated U-boats thanks to new sonar, US takes control of Atlantic shipping lanes

Blitzkrieg

Hitler's invasion plan, hit hard and fast with heavily armed military, overwhelm the enemy so you can move deep into territory, very effective

Pearl Harbor

December 7, 1941, Japanese sneak attack on our base in Hawaii, US had embargo on Japan because of their invasion of China, they attack in anger hoping to cripple fleet/keep US out of Pacific, lost thousands of lives, changed public opinion of the war in an instant, people lining up by the thousands to be enlisted in military, US officially joins the war after this event but worried about fighting a two front war (Europe/Pacific)

Bataan Death March

Japanese forced march of captured US/Philippine soldiers, many died

Battle of Coral Sea

US/Australian forces stopped Japanese advancement in the South Pacific, fought entirely in the air, shifted momentum to the US, halted Japan's progress

George Patton

US tank commander in North Africa/Europe, led tanks through the gap at St. Lo to defeat Germany, helped win at Battle of the Bulge

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Supreme Allied Commander in Europe

Chester Nimitz

Head US Naval Commander in the Pacific

Battle of Midway

Major turning point in the war in the Pacific, US defeated superior Japanese forces, severely crippled the Japanese Navy, US now has the advantage

Battle of Stalingrad

Turning point on the Eastern front in Russia, Soviets defeated Germany against all odds, began pushing the German army back to Germany

WAAC

Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, allowed women to serve in the Army but in non-combatant positions like nurses, ambulance drivers, radio operators, etc.

Internment/Executive Order 9066

US policy towards Japanese Americans on the West coast after Pearl Harbor, forced them from their homes into camps for fear they were secretly supporting Japan in the war.

Zoot Suit Riots

1943 riots in Los Angeles between whites/Mexican-Americans.

Office of War Information

WWII propaganda machines, goal to boost morale for the war/encourage people to conserve/stress national security.

Executive Order 8802

Order that forced US wartime industries to hire African-Americans.

War Labor Board

Assured equal pay for equal work, supported women and minorities.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Japanese cities, US dropped Atomic Bomb on them, Japan finally surrenders.

Manhattan Project

Secret project to build the first Atomic Bomb, headed by lead scientist J.

Battle of the Bulge

major victory in Europe, last major German offensive push to regain western front, US forces held strong despite difficult weather conditions and won

Operation Overlord (D-Day)

June 6, 1944, Allied invasion of France along Normandy Beach, liberated France, caught Germans by surprise - thought Allies would land at Calais, opened a second front, key to winning WWII

Navajo Code

Navajo language used as US code during WWII to relay military information in the Pacific, never broken

Flying Tigers

Chinese air fighter pilots, fought for US, bombed Japanese war production plants

Tuskegee Airmen

African-American fighter pilots, conducted escorts and bombing raids across Europe

Holocaust

state-sponsored genocide of the Jews by the Germans, Jews tried to flee but no one would take them in- faced Anti-Semitism all around the world, Germans first put Jews in ghettos then later shipped them to death camps like Auschwitz, most camps hidden in Poland, more than 6 million Jews died along with 6 million other people in the camps (disabled/homosexuals/Gypsies)

Yalta Conference

meeting between FDR/Churchill/Stalin at Yalta to plan for a post- WWII world, deciding what to do with Germany

Nuremberg Trials

war crime trials after WWII, held Nazi leaders responsible for their actions, could not blame their wrong behavior on following orders

German Conquests

Europe first approached Hitler with a policy of appeasement - huge mistake, Germany annexed Austria, invaded Sudetenland, signed Non-Aggression Pact with Stalin, invaded Poland which triggers the start of the war (Britain/France declare war on Germany), Germans invade Belgium/Luxemburg/Denmark/Netherlands, conquer France, wanted to conquer Britain but lost Battle of Britain, invaded Russia but gets caught in winter and eventually pushed out

WWII Effects on US Economy

officially ended the Great Depression, industries switched over to wartime production, US nicknamed the 'Arsenal of Democracy' because of our massive amount of production, say we are neutral but really support Allies, women take over many factory jobs typically held by men, millions of African-Americans get work in factories

Atomic Bomb Controversy

PROS - Truman believed it would save lives by not invading Japan mainland, believed it was the only way to make the Japanese surrender, CONS - lots of innocent people died (civilians), creation of a weapon of mass destruction that would change the world forever

Lasting Effects of WWII

ended Great Depression, introduction of atomic bomb (leads to arms race), jobs for women/minorities, African-American military service starts Civil Rights Movement, push-back against segregation at home when you fight abroad to support democracy, 22nd Amendment - limited a President to two terms total