H History WWII ID Terms

Appeasement

1. A diplomatic policy of giving in to an aggressor to keep peace.

2. Britain and France used this policy towards Germany to avoid another war

WHY - The lack of action often emboldens the aggressor such as when Britain allowed Hitler to expand German territory unchecked.

Non-aggression pact

- Stalin signed a 10-year non-aggression pact with Hitler

- This pact between Russia and Germany was signed in 1939

WHY - This was important because although the pact was broken, it lulled Russia into a false sense of security, allowing Germany to initially attack them with greater ease.

Blitzkrieg

1. Germany's new military strategy, AKA "lightning war"

2. It was a surprise, merciless bombing attack, first used on Poland

WHY - This method was effective in forcing enemies to surrender quickly by not giving them time to prepare a counterattack and allowed Germany to gain so much power at the beginning of the war.

Kristallnacht

1. AKA "Night of Broken Glass"

2. This "ethnic cleansing" was on Nov. 9th, 1938

3. This was a heavily violent attack on the Jewish community in response to a German diplomat in Paris being shot by a Jewish man seeking revenge

WHY: This marked the first large example of anti-semitism in Germany supported by the government and caused many Jewish people to emigrate.

Atlantic Charter

1. This was a joint declaration issued secretly between US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill

2. It stated that they sought no territorial gains in WWII and upheld the principles of free trade among nations and self determination of gov

WHY - This helped solidify the sense of solidarity between the two countries and eventually became the Allies' peace plan after the war ended.

Aryans

1. This was the German-proclaimed "master race"

2. Nazis claimed that all "non-Aryan" people, especially Jews, were inferior

WHY - This racial ideal helped propagate the ideas of Jewish and disabled inferiority and is a prime example of pseudoscience being used to justify discrimination.

Holocaust

1. This was the genocide of the Jewish people during WWII

2. This mass slaughter took place at Nazi concentration/death camps as part of Hitler's Final Solution

WHY - The Holocaust was one of the most devastating events in human history and an estimated 6 million European Jews were killed.

Ghetto

1. Ghettos were overcrowded segregated areas which the European Jews were forced into

2. They were sealed off by barbed wire or stone walls. The Nazis hoped that those inside would die of starvation or disease

WHY- The Ghettos successfully isolated the Jewish people but were only the first step of Hitler's Final Solution, though no other nation interfered.

Final Solution

1. It was a part of Hitler's campaign to purify Europe

2. The plan was to send all people Hitler saw as unable to work (and thus unfit to live) to killing camps.

- This included Jews, homosexuals, gypsies, the insane, the disabled, and more

WHY- The final solution led to the systematic murder of an estimated 6 million European Jews and showed the extent of Hitler's power in Europe.

Genocide

1. It is the systematic murder of an entire people

2. Examples of genocides include the Holocaust, the Great Purge, and the Armenian Genocides

WHY- Genocides such as the Holocaust have killed millions of people and led to a loss of culture and lives around the world.

Kamikaze

1. The Kamikaze were suicide pilots who would crash their bomb-filled planes into Allied ships

2. The word Kamikaze translates to Divine Wind

WHY- They would help the Japanese win key victories in WWII but for the loss of life, were only about 19% effective.

Manhattan Project

1. The Manhattan Project was a top-secret project that developed the atomic bomb

2. It was headed by General Leslie Groves and scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, approved by Franklin D Roosevelt

WHY- The Manhattan Project created the A-bomb which was responsible for the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and ended the war.

Chester Nimitz

1. Admiral Chester Nimitz was the commander in chief of the US Pacific Fleet

2. He defeated Admiral Yamamoto at the Battle of Midway

WHY- The victory at the Battle of Midway turned the tide of the war in the Pacific Theatre and boosted the Allies' morale. It also decimated the Japanese fleet.

Douglas MacArthur

1. General Douglas MacArthur was the commander of the Allied forces in the Pacific

2. He used an island-hopping strategy and captured weaker Japanese-controlled islands, using them as American bases.

WHY- MacArthur's strategy gained the US islands, allowing them to fly into Japanese air, and helped them win the war. He was key in the US victories in WWII and the Korean War.

Dwight Eisenhower

1. American general who led Allied troops in Operation Torch.

2. Led huge force to attack Normandy, France (D-Day)

3. Named supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe in Dec. 1943

WHY - His organization of D-Day was successful and broke through German defenses, helping the Allies enter Paris and free France, Belgium, and Luxembourg.

Erwin Rommel

1. German general who commanded the Afrika Korps

2. Nicknamed Desert Fox for his victory in seizing Tobruk, Libya.

WHY - After his initial loss in Tobruk, he regained control of the area and pushed the British out. This was a devastating loss for the Allies as Tobruk was a key port city of Libya.

Isoroku Yamamoto

1. Japanese admiral and Japan's greatest naval strategist

2. He called for an attack on the U.S fleet in Hawaii (Dec 7, 1941)

WHY - Yamamoto's attack on Pearl Harbor forced America to join WW2, a costly mistake as America's involvement in the war ultimately ended WW2 with the atomic bombings of Japan.

Emperor Hirohito

1. After Japan's defeat, emperors became mostly figureheads for the nation.

2. He had to declare that he was not divine which was a shock for Japanese culture and tradition

WHY - His use of propaganda helped brainwash his people into not believing in surrender, leading to many more of Japanese deaths in the war than necessary.

Battle of Dunkirk

1. This was fought in May-June 1940

2. German troops trapped the Allies on the beaches of Dunkirk before British troops came to rescue the army

WHY - Hitler planned to win Dunkirk and have Britain exit the war, but the miracle of Dunkirk would ultimately boost morale and left a legacy of pride and perseverance.

Operation Sea Lion

1. Germany's code name for the invasion of Britain

2. It was planned for September 1940

WHY - The operation was called off after the resistance from the British in the Battle of Britain, continuing to show the Allies that Hitler's attacks could be resisted.

Operation Barbarossa

1. It was Hitler's plan to invade the Soviet Union

2. In this invasion, Germany had surrounded Leningrad but after Leningrad resisted, the Germans wanted to capture the capital Moscow

WHY - Stuck in the winter, this operation would greatly damage the German troops, with the loss of 500,000 Germans.

Battle of Midway

1. It was a 1942 sea and air battle

2. American forces defeated Japanese forces in the Central Pacific

WHY- This victory greatly boosted the Allies' morale and turned the tide on the Pacific front, causing them to go on the offensive.

Battle of the Bulge

1. It was Hitler's desperate counterattack in the West now that he had to fight from two fronts

2. Though the Allies were caught off guard, they were able to defeat the Germans

WHY - This battle left Hitler defenseless and without an army, contributing to his loss and suicide.

D-Day

1. It was the day on which Operation Overlord took place

2. The Allies began their invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944

WHY - D-Day was the start of countries such as France and Luxembourg being liberated from the terrorization of the Germans.

Nuremberg Trials

1. A series of court proceedings held in Nuremberg, Germany, where Nazi leaders were tried for crimes against humanity and war violations

2. Out of the 22 Nazi leaders charged, 12 of them were sentenced to death

Why - This was an attempt to prevent future atrocities such as the Holocaust and gave people someone to blame, serving as some justice to the 11 million people that died.

Demilitarization

1. It is a reduction of a country's ability to wage war

2. This is achieved by disbanding its armed forces and prohibiting it from acquiring weapons

Why - When Douglas MacArthur did this in Japan, he made it difficult for the Japanese to fight back and improved the chances of America against them in the future.