World War II Lecture Notes

Vocabulary flashcards about World War II

Resentment

Feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will

League of Nations

An international organization established after World War I to promote peace and cooperation

Depression

A long and severe recession in an economy or market

Nationalism

Identification with one's own nation and support for its interests, especially to the exclusion or detriment of the interests of other nations

Guilt

The fact of being responsible for or guilty of a specified offense or crime

Demilitarization

The reduction of a state's military forces

Totalitarianism

A political system in which the state holds total authority over the society and seeks to control all aspects of public and private life wherever possible

Nation

A nation-state or country

Control

Complete control

Empire

An extensive group of states or countries ruled over by a single monarch or ruling power

Police Terror

The use of intimidation and violence by a state, often secretly, to suppress opposition

Power

The ability to exercise control or influence over people or things

Fascism

A political philosophy or movement that exalts nation and race above the individual

Dictator

A ruler with total power over a country, typically one who has obtained power by force

Private Property

State ownership of land and industry

Expansion

The action of becoming larger or more extensive

Resources

Materials, substances, or objects which can be used to create economic value

Colonialism

The policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically

Allied Powers

The countries fighting against the Axis powers during World War II

Militaries

The military forces of a country

Neutral

The state of not supporting or helping either side in a conflict or disagreement

Isolationism

The policy of remaining apart from the affairs or interests of other groups, especially the political affairs of foreign countries

Neutrality

A formal declaration by a neutral state that certain of its territory is not to be subject to military action

Cash and Carry

The idea that trade with other countries should be conducted in cash and with the buyer transporting the goods

Protested

Express disapproval of (something)

Quarantine

A state of enforced isolation

Lend-Lease

An agreement in which the U.S. would lend or lease arms and other supplies to any country whose defense was vital to the United States

Peacetime

Describing a time when a country is not at war

Axis Powers

A group of countries that have joined together for a particular purpose

Undeclared War

War without a formal declaration

Charter

A statement of common principles and war aims developed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill in August 1941

Strategy

A plan of action designed to achieve a long-term or overall aim

United Nations

A group of nations that have joined together for a particular purpose

Embargo

A ban on trade or other commercial activity with a particular country

Surrender

The act of yielding or ceasing resistance to an enemy or opponent

Jewish Ghettos

Areas in cities where Jews were forced to live

Holocaust

The mass murder of Jews under the Nazi Regime

Liberation

The act of freeing someone or something from imprisonment, slavery or enemy occupation

Anti-Semitism

Prejudice against Jews

Blitzkrieg

A sustained aerial attack

Final Solution

The Nazi policy to murder the Jews

Propaganda

Information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or pov

Rationing

Controlled distribution of scarce resources

Atomic Bombs

Bombs dropped from planes

Big Three

Term used to refer to the leaders of the Allied powers: Great Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union

Self-Determination

The principle that the authority of a state and its government are created and sustained by the consent of its people, through their elected representatives

Capitalist

Characterized by private ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market

Democracy

A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives