World War II

Treaty of Versailles

1918, Created by the leaders victorious allies Nations: France, Britain, US, and signed by Germany to help stop WWI. The treaty 1)stripped Germany of all Army, Navy, Airforce. 2) Germany had to repair war damages (33 billion) 3) Germany had to acknowledge guilt for causing WWI 4) Germany could not manufacture any weapons.

German Reparations

A source of 1920s economic imbalances, the agreement that Germany had to pay for damages from WWI

dictator

A ruler who has complete power over a country

totalitarianism

A form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.)

League of Nations

A world organization established in 1920 to promote international cooperation and peace. It was first proposed in 1918 by President Woodrow Wilson, although the United States never joined the League. Essentially powerless, it was officially dissolved in 1946.

Benito Mussolini

Italian leader. He founded the Italian Fascist Party, and sided with Hitler and Germany in World War II. In 1945 he was overthrown and assassinated by the Italian Resistance.

Joseph Stalin

Bolshevik revolutionary, head of the Soviet Communists, and dictator of the Soviet Union. He led the Soviet Union with an iron fist, using Five-Year Plans to increase industrial production and terror to crush opposition

Adolf Hitler

Founder of the German Nazi Party and chancellor of the Third Reich wrote Mein Kampf and he ruled as an absolute dictator. His pursuit of aggressive nationalist policies resulted in the invasion of Poland and the subsequent outbreak of World War II. His regime was infamous for the extermination of millions of people, especially European Jews. He committed suicide when the collapse of the Third Reich was imminent.

Fascism

A political system headed by a dictator that calls for extreme nationalism and racism and no tolerance of opposition

Communism

A political and economic system where factors of production are collectively owned and directed by the state.

Nazi

The doctrines of nationalism, racial purity, anti-Communism, and the all-powerful role of the State. Also know as National Socialist German Workers Party, was advocated by Adolf Hitler in Germany.

Kristallnacht

(Night of the Broken Glass) November 9, 1938, when mobs throughout Germany destroyed Jewish property and terrorized Jews.

Hirohito

(1901-1989) Emperor of Japan from 1926 to 1989; he led Japan during World War II and was forced into unconditional surrender following the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Tojo

Japanese army officer who initiated the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and who assumed dictatorial control of Japan during World War II

Neutrality Acts

Originally designed to avoid American involvement in World War II by preventing loans to those countries taking part in the conflict; they were later modified in 1939 to allow aid to Great Britain and other Allied nations.

Axis Powers

Alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan during World War II.

Allied Powers

France, Britain, USSR, United States, and China as well as 45 other countries that opposed the Axis powers in World War II

War Production Board

Converted factories from civilian to military production. Manufacturing output tripled.

Rosie the Riveter

A propaganda character designed to increase production of female workers in the factories. It became a rallying symbol for women to do their part.

Japanese Internment

Thousands of people of Japanese descent (many U.S. citizens) living on the West Coast were forced into camps; many lost their homes, businesses & belongings; this was done to keep them from spying

Dwight D. Eisenhower

American General who began in North Africa and became the Commander of Allied forces in Europe.

Bernard Montgomery

British general who in an attack at El Alamein was able to drive the Germans away from the Suez Canal

Erwin Rommel

"Desert Fox" German and Italian armies were led by him and attacked and were defeated at the Battle of El Alamein; was moved to France to oversee the defenses before D-Day; tried to assassinate Hitler.

George S. Patton

General in the United States Army who commanded troops in North Africa, Sicily, and helped lead the Allies to victory in the Battle of the Bulge.

George Marshall

US General, created plan for rebuilding Europe

Douglas MacArthur

American general, who commanded allied troops in the Pacific during World War II.

European Theater

The area of heavy fighting across Europe, during World War II, from 1 September 1939 to 8 May 1945. Allied forces fought the Axis powers in three theaters: the Eastern Front, the Western Front and the Mediterranean Theatre.

Pacific Theater

The area of fighting in the Pacific region, between 1942 and 1945. The fighting was primarily between Japanese and American forces.

Normandy, France

Where D-Day occurred

North Africa

Allied victory in this area led to their invasion of Italy in 1943 which in turn contributed to their 1944 victory in France and their ability to enter Germany

Italy

Allied invasion in 1943 and capture forced Germany to defend on 2 fronts. Churchill thought of it as the "soft underbelly" of Europe.

Berlin

German Capital- Final major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II; before the battle was over, Hitler and many of his followers committed suicide

Chester Nimitz

United States admiral of the Pacific fleet during World War II

Ardennes Forest

the forest where the Maginot Line was weakest and the Germans attacked. Also the location of the Battle of the Bulge.

Pearl Harbor

December 7, 1941 - Surprise attack by the Japanese on the main U.S. Pacific Fleet harbored in Hawaii. In response, the U.S. declared war on Japan and Germany, entering World War II.

Midway

1942, battle between the United States and Japan, a turning point in the war in the Pacific

Iwo Jima

One of the Bloodiest battles in the war, a fight to the death for Japanese soldiers, as the Americans were coming closer to Japan

El Alamein

Where the British and American forces pushed Germany west to stay away from the Suez Canal

Stalingrad

City in Russia, site of a Red Army victory over the Germany army in 1942-1943. The Battle of Stalingrad was the turning point in the war between Germany and the Soviet Union.

D-Day

Allied invasion of France on June 6, 1944

Bulge

A 1944-1945 battle in which Allied forces turned back the last major German offensive of World War II.

Blitzkrieg

"Lightning War" - An intense military campaign intended to bring about a swift victory

Operation Overlord

the code name for the Allied invasion of Europe at Normandy on June 6, 1944; also known as D-Day

Kamikazi

Japanese suicide pilots

Island-hopping

This was an Allied tactic where American forces would capture some, not all, Japanese-held territory in order to work their way towards the mainland.

Harry Truman

33rd President of the United States. Led the U.S. to victory in WWII making the ultimate decision to use atomic weapons for the first time. Shaped U.S. foreign policy regarding the Soviet Union after the war.

Atomic Bomb

bomb dropped by an American bomber on Hiroshima and Nagasaki destroying both cities

Manhattan Project

A secret U.S. project for the construction of the atomic bomb.

Genocide

Deliberate extermination of a racial or cultural group

Oppenheimer

he was the chief scientist of the Manhattan Project

Einstein

German scientist, warned US that German was developing nuclear/atomic bomb, and cautioned against its use.

Winston Churchill

A noted British statesman who led Britain throughout most of World War II and along with Roosevelt planned many allied campaigns.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

32nd US President - He began New Deal programs to help the nation out of the Great Depression, and he was the nation's leader during most of WWII

Chester Nimitz

United States admiral of the Pacific fleet during World War II who used aircraft carriers to destroy the Japanese navy

Guadalcanal

first US land victory over the Japanese, 1943

Hiroshima

City in Japan, the first to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, on August 6, 1945. The bombing hastened the end of World War II.

Nagasaki

Japanese city in which the second atomic bomb was dropped, August 9, 1945.

Okinawa

Site of important battle near Japanese mainland; last battle before atomic bombs; Allies won

Yalta Conference

1945 Meeting withthe "Big Three": US President FDR, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and and Soviet Leader Stalin during WWII to plan for post-war

Nuremberg Trials

Trials of the Nazi leaders, showed that people are responsible for their actions, even in wartime

Dresden

German city ferociously firebombed by the Allies in February 1945