U3 WW Study Guide

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and definitions from the U3 WW Study Guide.

Fascism

A political system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism.

Mussolini

The first Fascist Dictator of Europe.

Hindenburg

The German military leader who eventually became the President of Germany.

Beer Hall Putsch

The failed coup attempt in 1923 where Hitler first tried to take over Germany.

Trial

The event that first put Hitler on the national stage of Germany, following his Beer Hall Putsch.

Mein Kampf

The book written by Hitler while in jail, exposing his ideas of racial purity and world domination.

Chancellor of Germany

The position Hitler attained partly due to his party's struggling status.

Reichstag burning

The event that led to the removal of the Communist Party in Germany.

Enabling Act

The law that gave Chancellor Hitler the power to make laws without the Reichstag.

Night of Long Knives

The event that resulted in control of the military being given to Hitler and the elimination of some of his close supporters.

Rhineland

The buffer zone bordering France that Hitler sent his military into in 1936.

Anschluss

The peaceful annexation of Austria by Hitler in 1938.

Sudetenland

The area that came under dispute during the 1938 Munich Crisis.

Poland

The nation whose invasion by Germany on September 1, 1939, began WWII in Europe.

Appeasement

The policy of giving in to another's demands to avoid confrontation.

Non-Aggression Pact

The agreement Hitler signed with the Soviet Union, shocking the world.

Freedom to invade Poland

What Hitler gained from signing the Non-Aggression Pact.

Avoided war with Germany

What Stalin gained by signing the Non-Aggression Pact.

Lend-Lease Act

The act passed by the U.S. to supply allies without joining the war.

Atlantic Charter

The document signed by FDR after meeting with Churchill, laying groundwork for the United Nations.

Oil

The product the U.S. cut off from Japan as it expanded its empire.

Blitzkrieg

A German military strategy using tanks, motorized infantry, artillery, and aircraft.

Sitzkrieg

The 7-month period of limited military movement following the attack into Poland.

Battle of Dunkirk

The miraculous evacuation of Allied troops saved by small boats at the beach.

Battle of Britain

The significant air battle that occurred over England.

Eisenhower

The military leader of all Allied Troops in Europe.

MacArthur

The American general who led forces in the Pacific Theater, alongside Admiral Nimitz.

Yamamoto

The Japanese admiral who planned Pearl Harbor and was later defeated at Midway.

Tojo

The Japanese General and future Prime Minister who led Japanese Imperialism.

Island Hopping

The military strategy used in the Pacific against Japan.

December 7, 1941

The date Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.

Stalingrad

Widely considered the turning point battle on the East European Front.

Roosevelt

The President of the United States for the vast majority of WWII.

Normandy

The location where the allies landed on D-Day in 1944.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

The two cities where the United States dropped atomic bombs.

Midway

The turning point battle in the Pacific Theater in which 4 Japanese aircraft carriers were sunk.

Starvation

The cause of death for Setsuko in the movie Grave of Fireflies.

60 million

The approximate number of deaths worldwide as a result of WWII.

Europe

The region where most of the deaths of WWII occurred.

Famine and disease

The conditions that led to many deaths in Europe after the war ended in May 1945.

Manhattan Project

The project established to build an atomic bomb.

Japan

The nation that saw the greatest amount of casualties as a result of the war in the Pacific.