CHC2D - World War II

Nazi Party

the political party founded in Germany in 1919 and brought to power by Hitler in 1933 (Short for: National Socialist German Workers' Party)

fascism

a way of organizing a society in which a government ruled by a dictator controls the lives of the people and in which people are not allowed to disagree with the government

Holocaust

the mass murder (genocide) of European civilians, especially Jews, by the Nazis during WWII

appeasement

the granting of concessions in order to maintain peace

War Measures Act

Gives the government the power to censor news information, regulate economy and to arrest suspected enemies of Canada.

total war

the mobilization of a country's resources, both human and material, to wage war

Dieppe Raid

Canadian troops were chosen to conduct an experimental raid on this French port. (August 1942)

conscription

compulsory service in the armed forces

internment camps

camps or centres for detaining people who are considered a threat

German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact

an agreement between Germany and Soviet Russia to not fight each other

D-Day

June 6th, 1944: Canadian troops participate in the Allied invasion of France (at Juno Beach)

Axis powers

Germany, Italy, and Japan, which were allied before and during World War II

the Allies

the countries that fought against the Axis. The main Allied powers were Britain and the Commonwealth countries, the US, the Soviet Union, France, China, and Poland

The Battle of the Atlantic

German U-boats patrolled the Atlantic and intercepted supply ships coming from Canada.

atomic bomb

dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the U.S. in 1945

British Commonwealth Air Training Program (BCATP)

Starting in 1939-1940, pilots, navigators, and ground crew from Britain, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa were trained on the Canadian prairies. During the first years of WWII, this enterprise was probably Canada's greatest contribution to the war effort.

tanks

Germans used them for Blitzkrieg or lightning war which broke enemy lines more effectively through overwhelming force and speed

U-boats

German submarines; sunk Allied ships faster than they could be built; major threat to the Allies

Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF)

This air force grew quickly to almost 250 000 members with forty-eight squadrons posted overseas.

Italian campaign

A division of the Canadian Army took part in the allied invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky) and Italy in July 1943. Canadian soldiers were responsible for the capture of Ortona in December 1943. The Canadians fought up the east coast of Italy during 1944 and early 1945.

Battle of Hong Kong

Canadians helped the British try to defend Hong Kong from the Japanese in WW2 Canadians were badly defeated and Canadian POW's were tortured and abused

Battle of Britain

(1940) three month air battle between Germany and Great Britain fought over Great Britain during World War II; Britain's victory forestalled a German invasion, Canadians palyed a vital role supporting Britain

convoys

groups of ships that were escorted across the Atlantic by warships for safety

swastika

the official emblem of the Nazi Party and the Third Reich

anti-Semitism

hatred against Jews

The Final Solution

A term applied by Nazis to the genocide of European Jews during World War II.

Benito Mussolini

Fascist leader of Italy during WWII

Adolf Hitler

German Nazi dictator during World War II (1889-1945)

Joseph Stalin

Russian leader who succeeded Lenin as head of the Communist Party and created a totalitarian state by purging all opposition

Franklin D. Roosevelt

American President of the United States from 1933 to 1945

William Lyon Mackenzie King

the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada in 1921-1926, 1926-1930, and 1935-1948

Hiroshima

the first city to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, on August 6, 1945. The bombing contributed to the end of World War II; site of 1st Atomic Bomb, killing more than 70,000 Japanese citizens

SS St Louis

A ship that left germany in may 1939 with 936 jews on board it was bound for cuba where it was denied entry. From there the ship tried to enter the US and Canada but was denied and the ship returned to Europe

rationing

restricting the amount of food and other goods people may buy during wartime to assure adequate supplies for the military

persecute

to treat (someone) cruelly or unfairly especially because of race or religious or political beliefs

scapegoat

a person who is unfairly blamed for something that others have done

Gestapo (Geheime Staatspolizei)

the German internal security police as organized under the Nazi regime, known for its terrorist methods directed against those suspected of treason or questionable loyalty. (An acronym for secret state police)

perpetrator

a person who does something that is illegal or wrong

bystander

a person who is standing near but not taking part in what is happening indoctrinate to teach (someone) to fully accept the ideas, opinions, and beliefs of a particular group and to not consider other ideas, opinions, and beliefs

collaborator

1: a person who works with another person or group in order to achieve or do something 2: a person who helps an enemy who has invaded his or her country during a war

traitor

1: a person who is not loyal to his or her own country, friends, etc.

2: a person who betrays a country or group of people by helping or supporting an enemy

treason

the crime of trying to overthrow your country's government or of helping your country's enemies during war

interrogate

to ask (someone) questions in a thorough and often forceful way

loyal

having or showing complete and constant support for someone or something : faithful

HJ (Hitler Youth)

a Nazi youth organization that was seen as being as important to a child as school and a logical extension of Hitler's belief that the future of Nazi Germany was its children.

Swing Kids

a group of teenage jazz and swing lovers in Germany in the 1930s, mainly in Hamburg and Berlin who admired the British and American way of life

concentration camp

a type of prison where large numbers of people who are not soldiers are kept during a war and are usually forced to live in very bad conditions

death camp

a place where large numbers of prisoners are taken to be killed during a war : a concentration camp where many people are killed

Nazi (National Socialist)

a member of a German political party that controlled Germany from 1933 to 1945 under Adolf Hitler

Reich

the German state during the period 1871-1945 which translates to empire/realm (compare the Third Reich)

The Third Reich

the German state from 1933 to 1945 under Adolf Hitler

euphemism

a mild or pleasant word or phrase that is used instead of one that is unpleasant or offensive