World War II Vocabulary Blue 8

dictator

leader who assumes total control over a country

totalitarianism

political system in which a single party gains complete control over a government and every aspect of society

Joseph Stalin

dictator who was the leader of the Soviet Union

fascism

political system started by Benito Mussolini that combines militarism, extreme nationalism, and blind loyalty to its leaders

Nazi Party

political party started by Adolf Hitler that combined elements of fascism and extreme racism

appeasement

policy of giving in to aggression to avoid conflict

Lend-Lease Act

allowed the U.S. to loan or lease military equipment to the allies during WWI

Axis Powers

Germany, Italy, and Japan

Allied Powers

England, France, Belgium, China, and 45 other countries; later, the Soviet Union and the United States

Pearl Harbor

December 7, 1941; bombing of Hawaiian naval base that led to the U.S. declaration of war

Bataan Death March

forced march of American and Filipino soldiers to a prison camp for over 65 brutal miles

Battle of Midway

1942 Battle that proved to be the turning point of the war in the Pacific

rationing

act of setting limits on the amount of scare goods during wartime

Rosie the Riveter

poster that came to represent the role of American women during WWII

Internment

policy by which Japanese Americans were relocated to camps to prevent them from assisting Japan during WWII

Braceros

Mexican workers who came to the U.S. during WWII to work on farms and railroads

D-Day

June, 1944 Battle that was the turning point of WWII in Europe

Battle of the Bulge

final major German advance of WWII; American victory

Island Hopping

policy by which the U.S. attacked poorly defended Japanese islands to advance towards Japan

kamikaze

Japanese suicide pilots who crashed into American ships.

Hiroshima

August 6, 1945; site of the first atomic bomb

Nagasaki

August 9 1945; site of the second atomic bomb

genocide

a deliberate attempt to wipe out an entire nation or group of people

Halocaust

term for the genocide of 11 million Jews, gypsies, and others by Nazis in gas chambers and prison camps

Nuremburg

site of the trials that took place after WWII that held Germans accountable for war crimes committed during the war