#3 World History Final Exam Flashcards

What was the Soviet policy of forcing peasants onto state farms?

Collectivization

What was the Great Purge?

Stalin’s campaign of political repression and mass killing to eliminate enemies.

What were the 1935 Nuremberg Laws?

Racial decrees that stripped German Laws of citizenship and rights.

What is ‘Appeasement’?

The failed British/French policy of giving in to Hitler to avoid war.

What event triggered the start of WWII?

The joint surprise attack on Poland by Germany and the USSR.

What is ‘Blitzkrieg’?

A high-speed offensive using tanks, planes, and motorized infantry to overwhelm the enemy.

What was the 1940 Air battle over the UK?

The Battle of Britain, where the RAF (Royal Air Force) successfully defended the UK against the Luftwaffe.

What was Operation Overlord?

The largest amphibious invasion in history, landing 150,000+ troops in France to liberate Western Europe.

What battle was the turning point in Europe?

The Battle of Stalingrad, where Soviet forces stopped the Nazi advance.

What was the turning point in the Pacific Theater?

The Battle of Midway, where the U.S. crippled the Japanese fleet.

What was the U.S. strategy in the Pacific?

Island Hopping-seizing strategic islands to bypass fortifications and build airfields.

What was Iwo Jima targeted in 1945?

To secure crucial airfields for bombing runs against the Japanese mainland.

What forced Japan’s surrender in August 1945?

The U.S. dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

What was the Nazi ‘Final Solution’?

The state-sponsored plan to murder all European Jews, resulting in the genocide of 6 million people.

Who was the British Prime Minister from 1940-1945?

Winston Churchill, who led the UK from the brink of defeat to victory.

What was the purpose of the 1945 Allied meetings?

To plan Germany’s defeat and structure the postwar occupation of Europe.

What event brought the United States into WWII?

Japan’s surprise attack on the U.S. Naval base at Pearl Harbor.

What was Germany’s last major offensive in WWII?

The Battle of the Bulge, a desperate winter attack through the Ardennes forest.

What were the trials held for Nazi leaders after the war?

The Nuremberg Trials, prosecuting them for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

What was the ‘Iron Curtain’?

The ideological and physical boundary dividing democratic West Europe from Soviet-controlled East Europe.

What was the U.S. pledge to help nations threatened by communism?

The Truman Doctrine

What was the 1948 U.S. economic aid program fro Europe?

The Marshall Plan (European Recovery Program), providing $13 billion to rebuild economies and prevent communist spread.

What is NATO?

The U.S.-led military alliance established in 1949 for collective defense.

What was the Soviet response to NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)?

The Warsaw Pact, a military alliance between the USSR and its Eastern European satellites.

What was the core U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War?

Containment-preventing the spread of communism beyond its existing borders.

What was the primary symbol of the Cold War divide?

The Berlin Wall, built to stop citizens from fleeing to the democratic West.

What was the 13-day confrontation that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war?

The Cuban Missile Crisis

What was the period of eased tensions in the 1970s called?

Detente

What was the 20th-century competition for superior spaceflight capability?

The Space Race

What were the Eastern European nations controlled by the USSR called?

Satellite States.

What is an example of an arms control agreement during Detente?

SALT I (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks)

What was the official code name for the Normandy Invasion?

Operation Overlord

What was the official name of Marshall Plan?

European Recovery Program

What was the name of Nazi Germany’s Air Force?

The Luftwaffe.

What was the name of the British Air Force that defended the UK in 1940?

The RAF (Royal Air Force)