World War II Key Terms and Definitions Study Set

dictators

absolute rulers who exert total control over a nation

totalitarian government

a system in which absolute power is exercised over every aspect of life

fascism

ideology characterized by intense patriotism, nationalism, & dictatorial leadership

Benito Mussolini

Italian dictator who led the Fascist Party during WWII

Adolf Hitler

German dictator and leader of Nazi Part & sought revenge for Germany's loss in WWII

Joseph Stalin

Soviet dictator who controlled every aspect of life in the Soviet Union

axis powers

alliance btwn Germany, Italy, & Japan

Blitzkrieg ("Lightning War")

Germany's military strategy of rapid & overwhelming force

isolationism

policy of cutting off involvement with foreign countries

Neutrality Acts of 1935

laws banning US aid to any nation at war

Lend-Lease Act

authorized the US president to aid nations vital to American security

Charles De Gaulle

leader of French Resistance against Nazi occupation & later elected president of France

Emperor Hirohito

emperor of Japan

Hideki Tojo

prime minister of Japan, responsible for attack on Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor

surprise Japanese attack on the US naval base in Hawaii, marking entry of US into WWII

Battle of Stalingrad

major WWII battle btwn Germany & Soviet Union, turning point in eastern front

Battle of Midway

decisive naval battle in Pacific Theater of WWII, turning point in favor of Allies

D-Day

allied invasion of Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944

V-E Day

victory in Europe Day, marking Germany's surrender in WWII

Manhattan Project

US-led project to develop the atomic bomb

Hiroshima

Japanese city destroyed by 1st atomic bomb ("Little Boy")

Nagasaki

Japanese city destroyed by 2nd atomic bomb ("Fat Man")

V-J Day

"Victory over Japan day" marking Japan's surrender in WWII

rationing

restrict food overtime to allow plenty

Executive order 9066

FDR's order to place all Japanese Americans in Internment Camps

Kristallnacht

"Night of Broken Glass," when Nazis attacked Jews throughout Germany

Einstein's letter

Albert Einstein's warning to FDR that the Nazis were working on an atomic bomb

Isolationism

idea of staying out of other countries problems and wars

island hopping

A military plan that selectively attacked specific enemy-held islands

kamikaze

Japanese suicide pilots that crashed into American ships.

Bataan death march

American soldiers forced to march to prison camps by Japanese

Manhattan Project

code name for the secret US project to develop atomic bombs

Holocaust

the Nazi program of exterminating Jews under Hitler

Allies

US, UK, & Soviet Union

4 major leaders

FDR, Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin

FDR

president of US, Lend-Lease act signing, and approved Manhattan Project

Winston Churchill

prime minister of UK, refused to negotiate with Nazi Germany, & planned Operation Overlord(D-Day)

Hitler's decisions

invade Poland & Holocaust

Stalin's decisions

negotiation of Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact with Germany & lead defense of Stalingrad

justifying Truman's decision

saved lives, sending a message, prevented further bloodshed

President Truman

decided to drop 1st two bombs

Events leading to Truman's decision

Manhattan Project, intensified Japanese resistance, and consideration of alternatives

strategies in Europe

large-scale battles on diverse terrain on land, push back Axis forces, supply lines

strategies in Pacific

island-hopping, rugged terrain, naval & aerial combat, hard to provide supply line

rise of totalitarian dictators

economic hardship(poverty/unemployment), political instability(weak gov), & nationalism(resentment of war outcome)

impact on American citizens

women worked, blacks faced discrimination, & Japanese Americans were relocated