Causes and Course of WWII

 Invasion of Ethiopia

Italy, led by Benito Mussolini, invaded Ethiopia to expand its empire. The League of Nations failed to stop this aggression, showing weakness and encouraging other dictators.

Rome-Berlin Axis

An alliance between Adolf Hitler and Mussolini. It united Germany and Italy politically and militarily.

Concentration camps

Prisons created by the Nazis to detain political opponents, Jews, and other groups. These later became centers of mass suffering and death.

Kristallnacht

A violent anti-Jewish pogrom in Germany where synagogues and Jewish businesses were destroyed. It marked a major escalation in Nazi persecution of Jews.

Anschluss

Germany annexed Austria without resistance, expanding Hitler’s territory and violating the Treaty of Versailles.

Appeasement

Britain and France tried to avoid war by giving in to Hitler’s demands (e.g., the Munich Agreement). This policy failed and encouraged further aggression.

Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

A non-aggression pact between Germany and the Soviet Union (led by Joseph Stalin). Secretly, they agreed to divide Poland.

Blitzkrieg

A fast, surprise military tactic using tanks, planes, and infantry. Germany used it to quickly defeat Poland and later France.

Battle of Britain

Germany tried to defeat Britain through air attacks. The Royal Air Force resisted successfully, marking Hitler’s first major defeat.

Operation Barbarossa

Germany invaded the Soviet Union, breaking the pact with Stalin. It opened the Eastern Front, one of the deadliest parts of the war.

Pearl Harbor

Japan attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor. This brought the United States into WWII.

 Holocaust

The systematic genocide of six million Jews and millions of others by Nazi Germany. It remains one of history’s greatest atrocities.

Potsdam Conference

A meeting between Allied leaders (including Harry S. Truman, Stalin, and Churchill/Attlee) to decide how to rebuild Germany and Europe after the war. It also increased tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, leading to the Cold War.