US History II Module 20 Vocabulary

Fascism

a political philosophy that advocates a strong, centralized, nationalistic government headed by a powerful dictator

Nazism

the political philosophy, based on extreme nationalism, racism and militaristic expansionism, that Adolf Hitler put into practice in Germany from 1933 to 1945

Neville Chamberlain

British prime minister at the beginning of World War II; he supported the policy of appeasement, allowing Hitler to gain land and power in the 1930s

Winston Churchill

British prime minister during World War II; he opposed the policy of appeasement and led Great Britain through World War II

Appeasement

the granting of concessions to a hostile power in order to keep the peace

Non-aggression pact

an agreement in which two nations promise not to go to war with each other

Blitzkrieg

from the German word meaning 'lightning war,' a sudden, massive attack with combined air and ground forces, intended to achieve a quick victory

Ghetto

a city neighborhood in which a certain minority group is pressured or forced to live

Concentration camp

a prison camp operated by Nazi Germany in which Jews and other groups considered to be enemies of Adolf Hitler were starved while doing slave labor or were murdered

Neutrality Act

a series of laws enacted in the 1930s to prevent US arms sales and loans to nations at war

Axis powers

the group of nations, including Germany, Italy, and Japan, that opposed the Allies in World War II

Lend Lease Act

a law, passed in 1941, that allowed the United States to ship arms and other supplies, without immediate payment, to nations fighting the Axis powers

Allies

the group of nations, including Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States, that opposed the Axis powers

Women's Auxiliary Army Corp

US army unit created during World War II to enable women to serve in noncombat positions

Office of Price Administration

an agency established by Congress to control inflation during World War II

War Production Board

an agency established during World War II to coordinate the production of military supplies by US industries

Rationing

a restriction of people's right to buy unlimited amounts of particular foods and other goods, often implemented during wartime to ensure adequate supplies for the military

Congress of Racial Equality

an interracial group founded in 1942 by James Farmer to work against segregation in northern cities

Internment

confinement or a restriction in movement, especially under wartime conditions

Dwight D Eisenhower

American general who led the Allied invasion of North Africa and the D-Day invasion of France and commanded the Allied forces in Europe during World War II

D-Day

a name given to June 6, 1944 - the day on which the Allies launched an invasion of the European mainland during World War II

Douglas MacArthur

American general; he commanded US troops in the Southwest Pacific during World War II and administered occupied Japan after the war ended

Bataan Death March

a forced march of American and Filipino soldiers captured by the Japanese along the Bataan Peninsula during World War II

Island hopping

the Allied strategy in the Pacific theater during World War II of capturing and securing selected islands and using them as bases to advance closer to Japan while avoiding the heaviest concentrations of enemy forces

Kamikaze

engaging in the deliberate crashing of a bomb-filled airplane into a military target

V-E Day

a name given to May 8, 1945, 'Victory in Europe Day' on which General Eisenhower's acceptance of the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany marked the end of World War II in Europe

J Robert Oppenheimer

American physicist; he led the Manhattan Project laboratory in Los Alamos, which developed the first nuclear bomb

United Nations

an international peacekeeping organization to which most nations in the world belong, founded in 1945 to promote world peace, security and economic development

Nuremberg Trials

the court proceedings held in Nuremberg, Germany, after World War II, in which Nazi leaders were tried for war crimes

GI Bill of Rights

a name given to the Servicemen's Readjustment Act, a 1944 law that provided financial and educational benefits for World War II veterans