World History - Unit 10

Diet

Japanese parliament

Appeasement

Giving in to the demands of an aggressor to keep the peace

Pacifism

opposition to all war

Blitzkrieg

lightning war (full on, no mercy, everything and everyone all at once)

Radar

detects planes(sky)

Sonar

detects submarines(water)

Nanjing Massacre

The Japanese killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians and brutalized thousands more. This destruction and cruelty became known around the world as the "rape of Nanjing."

Emperor Hirohito

Became emperor in 1926. He was a living god and the nation's supreme authority. In reality, he only approved the policies that his ministers formulated (not an absolute rule). Reign for 63 years.

Ultranationalists

They were leading military officials and extreme nationalists. Condemned politicians for agreeing to western industrial powers for creating new empires (Western countries were expanding when saying not to). They were also angered by the treatment of Japanese immigrants.

Manchurian Incident

1931, Japanese army officers set up explosives and blew up tracks in a Japanese

1st Cause of War

Treaty of Versailles: Germany took blame, had to pay reparations, reduced army and weapons, and many territories were taken away. This made Germany bitter.

2nd Cause of War

Great Depression: People lost faith in the ability of democratic governments to solve economic and social problems. Misery and hopelessness produced extremists who promised big solutions and people believed them.

3rd Cause of War

Totalitarian Governments and dictators: Extremists promised radical changes in gov including aggressive foreign policies. Promised to restore order and to revive the greatness of their countries.

4th Cause of War

Failure of League of Nations: Practiced appeasement (didn't want to deal with hitler and worried about spread of communism). Encouraged pacifism (govs wanted to avoid war after WW1, US passed laws forbidding the sale of arms to countries at war, and Americans could not travel on ships from countries at war).

Spain

After the Spanish king abdicated, the government passed a series of reforms, took over some lands of the Catholic Church and gave it to peasants. Also ended some of the privileges of the old ruling class. This caused people to be divided: some wanted more change while others rejected it but all wanted peace after WW1.

Nationalist

Rejected change and the republic of Spain. Mostly Fascists, conservative, and the military. Hitler and Mussolini sent weapons and military aid to help them.

Franciso Franco

Led a revolt sending Spain into civil war. Led the Nationalist.

Loyalists

Supporters of the republic. Included communists, socialist, and supporters of democracy, had help from some Germans and Italians against fascism, the Soviet Union, and some western powers.

Munich Conference

In Munich, Germany. Britain and France chose appeasement and asked the Czechs to surrender a religion called the Sudetenland to Germany without a fight. In exchange, Hitler promised not to expand any further. Britain and France believed this and thought they avoided war but were mistaken. Now he wanted Poland.

Nazi-Soviet Pact

Non-aggression pact with Hitler's greatest enemy, Joseph Stalin. They agreed on 2 things: not to fight if the other went to war and to divide up Poland and other parts of Eastern Europe.

Invasion of Poland

September 1, 1939, Germany forces invaded Poland. 2 days later, Britain and France honored their commitment to Poland and declared war on Germany. ***WW2 had officially begun.

Axis Powers

Germany, Italy, Japan

Allied Powers

Great Britain, France, Soviet Union, United States

Miracle of Dunkirk

Despite German air attacks, the unprepared group of ships and boats brought more than 300,000 troops to safety in Britain. This heroic rescue greatly raised British morale.

Fall of France

While the British fled for safety, the Germans headed south towards Paris. Italy then declared war on France and attacked from the south. The French were quickly overrun and surrendered. June 22, 1940, Hitler forced the French to sign the surrender documents in the same railroad car that Germany signed the armistice ending WW1.

Battle of Britain

After the fall of France, Hitler set sight on Britain. It was the only country left in Western Europe. He set Operation Sea Lion into motion. The new British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, was not going down without a fight. This battle would dominate the skies of Britain.

Winston Churchill

The prime minister of Britain during the direct wars between Britain and Germany during WW2.

London Blitz

Beginning on August 12,1940, German bombers began a daily bombardment of England's southern coast. By September, the German Air Force changed their tactic to bomb London. For 57 continuous nights, the Germans bombed London (to make them weak). Much of the city was destroyed and about 15,000 people lost their lives, but London did not fall.

Operation Barbarossa

Hitler's plan to invade the Soviet Union. In June 1941, nearly 3 million Germans poured into the Soviet Union. Stalin was caught unprepared. His army was weak after the Great Purge wiped out his top officers. The Russians lost 2.5 million soldiers fighting Germany.

Siege of Leningrad

The Germans did succeed in surrounding the city of Leningrad and began a 2.5 year blockade. Food was rationed to two pieces of bread a day, people were desperate for food. People boiled wallpaper because the paste used to up them on the wall contained potato flour. Owners of leather briefcases boiled and ate them as "jellied meat." More than 1 million citizens of Leningrad died during the German siege.