Topic 6 Lessons 5-8

What was the purpose of rationing during WWII?

To control the distribution of food and gasoline, requiring everyone to contribute and use coupons to enforce food rationing.

What was the role of the War Production Board?

It decided which industries would produce war materials and which would produce consumer goods, and the government sold war bonds to finance the war.

What is propaganda?

Biased information spread to shape public opinion and behavior, using truths/half-truths, omitting key facts, simplifying complex issues, playing on emotions, advertising a cause, attacking opponents, and targeting desired audiences.

What was Executive Order 9066?

An order that started Japanese internment in spring 1942, claiming it was a 'military necessity' due to fears of subversive acts after Pearl Harbor.

What were internment camps?

Facilities used to detain individuals or groups deemed a threat, particularly Japanese Americans during WWII.

How many women entered the workforce during WWII?

6 million women were hired to work in factory jobs, often in non-traditional roles, although they were paid less than men.

What was the impact of Philip Randolph during WWII?

He was a labor leader who organized a March on Washington D.C. to threaten F.D.R. and led to Executive Order 8802, which established fair hiring practices for jobs funded with government money.

What was the Bracero Program?

A program that recruited labor from Mexico to work on farms in the U.S. during WWII.

What was D-Day and when did it occur?

D-Day, or Operation Overlord, occurred on June 6, 1944, when Allied troops landed on Normandy beach.

What was the significance of the Battle of the Bulge?

It was Hitler's last attempt to regain control of the western front, resulting in a major victory for the Allies and pushing Nazi troops back to Berlin.

What was the outcome of the Yalta Conference?

The Big Three agreed to divide Germany into four zones and Stalin promised to allow free elections in Soviet-occupied portions of Europe.

What was the Manhattan Project?

A secret project led by J. Robert Oppenheimer to develop the atomic bomb, which ultimately resulted in the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

What was the Holocaust?

The systematic murder of 11 million people, including 6 million Jews and 5 million others such as communists, Gypsies, and the mentally ill.

What were the Nuremberg Laws?

Central policies of Nazism that stripped Jews of German citizenship, jobs, and property, and forced them to wear the Star of David.

What was Kristallnacht?

The 'Night of Broken Glass' in November 1938, when Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues were attacked and destroyed.

What was Hitler's Final Solution?

A plan to exterminate all 'enemies of the state,' including Jews, Jehovah's Witnesses, Gypsies, the mentally ill, homosexuals, and the disabled.

What were concentration camps?

Facilities where Jews and other undesirables were sent to work under brutal conditions, often leading to death.

What were death camps?

Camps designed to kill large numbers of concentration camp prisoners via poison gas, with many located in Poland.

What were the Nuremberg Trials?

Trials aimed at seeking justice against those who participated in the Holocaust, establishing that individuals are responsible for their actions in war.

What was the impact of WWII on global power dynamics?

The U.S. and Russia emerged as superpowers.

What was GATT?

The General Agreement in Tariffs and Trade, designed to expand world trade after WWII.

What was the purpose of the United Nations?

Created to help maintain world peace, succeeding where the League of Nations failed due to U.S. participation.