World War 2

Adolf HItler

The dictator of Germany during world war 2

Benito Mussolini

The Dictator of Italy during world war 2

Winston Churchill

The Prime minister of Great Britain during world war 2

Joseph Stalin

The Dictator of the soviet union during world war 2

Non-Aggression Pact

Agreement between Germany and the USSR not to fight each other. They also agreed to divide Poland

Battle of Britain

The German air force launched an all-out air battle to destroy the British Royal Air Force

Great Depression

The economic crisis beginning with the stock market crash in 1929 and continuing through the 1930s

Pearl Harbor

Surprise attack by the Japanese on December 7, 1941 that resulted in the United States' entry into world war 2

Japanese Interment

In 1942 the U.S. Government removed more than 100,000 people of Japanese birth and ancestry from their homes on the pacific coast to relocation centers

Nazi

A German member of Adolf Hitler's political party

Holocaust

The Nazi campaign to exterminate the Jews during world war 2

Fuhrer

Adolf Hitler's title as chancellor and head of state in Germany.

Fascism

A political system headed by a dictator that calls for extreme nationalism and racism and no tolerance of opposition

Isolationism

A national policy of avoiding involvement in world affairs

Emperor Hirohito

The Emperor of Japan during WWII. His people viewed him as a god

Harry Truman

The 33rd President of the US. Led the U.S. to victory in WWII making the decision to use atomic weapons for the first time.

Allied Powers

Countries that worked together during WW2: Great Britain, US, France and Russia

Axis Powers

Alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan during World War II.

Alliance

An agreement to work together

Annex

To take control of a country

Tojo Hideki

Military leader of Japan leading up to, and during World War II

WWII began with

Hitler's invasion of Poland in 1939

Cause of WWII

Treaty of Versailles leaving Germany angry and weak

Treaty of Versailles

Treaty that ended WWI. It blamed Germany for WWI and handed down harsh punishment.

Atomic Bomb

Dropped by an American bomber on Hiroshima and Nagasaki destroying both cities

Liberate

to set free

Concentration Camps

Prison camps used under the rule of Hitler in Nazi Germany. Jewish people, were generally starved or worked to death, or killed immediately.

Stalingrad

Soviet city where the German army was forced to surrender after a battle that lasted for months

Hiroshima

City in Japan, the first to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, in 1945

Iwo Jima

A bloody and prolonged operation on the island of Iwo Jima in which American marines landed and defeated Japanese defenders

D-Day

Allied invasion of France on June 6, 1944

VE Day and VJ Day

Victory in Europe and Victory in Japan during WWII

United Nations

An international organization formed after WWII to promote international peace.

Ration

to divide and distribute evenly

Casualty

A person killed or injured in a war or accident

Battle of Midway

U.S. naval victory over the Japanese fleet in June 1942, It marked a turning point in World War II.

Island Hopping

A military strategy used during World War II that involved selectively attacking specific enemy-held islands and bypassing others

Fat Man

Bomb dropped on Nagasaki

Little Boy

Name of the bomb that exploded over Hiroshima

Pearl Harbor

Base in Hawaii that was bombed by japan on December 7, 1941, which eagered America to enter the war.

DWIGHT EISENHOWER (IKE)

Army general and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United State

Douglas MacArthur

American general, who commanded allied troops in the Pacific during World War II.

Charles de Gualle

leader of the French government

FDR

the President of the US during WWII. He was the only president in U.S. history to be elected to four terms

Battle of Stalingrad

Unsuccessful German attack on the Soviet Union during World War II

D-Day

Allied invasion of France on June 6, 1944

Battle of the Bulge

A 1944-1945 battle in which Allied forces turned back the last major German offensive of World War II.

Battle of Midway

1942 World War II battle between the United States and Japan, a turning point in the war in the Pacific

Anti-Semitism

Hatred of Jews

Lend-Lease Act

The laws passed by the U.S. allowing us to give aid to Great Britain during WWII

Home front during WWII

Grew Victory gardens, food and gasoline rationing, collected old tires, fabrics, scrap metal to make weapons.

Albert Einstein

escaped Germany and informed FDR about the Germans working on an Atomic Bomb

Manhattan Project

A secret U.S. project for the construction of the atomic bomb.