WWII Key Terms and Events

Flashcards reviewing key vocabulary and events related to World War II.

Treaty of Versailles

Peace treaty that ended WWI and placed heavy reparations on Germany, creating economic hardship and resentment.

FDR (Franklin D. Roosevelt)

U.S. President during most of WWII.

Harry Truman

Became U.S. President after FDR died; made decision to drop the atomic bomb.

Joseph Stalin

Leader of the Soviet Union; part of the Allies.

Hitler

Fascist dictator of Nazi Germany; led to WWII and orchestrated the Holocaust.

Mussolini

Fascist dictator of Italy; Axis power ally.

Hideki Tojo

Japanese Prime Minister and military leader during WWII.

3 Strikes that led to Rise of Dictators

Economic instability (Great Depression), Weak democratic governments, Nationalism and resentment over WWI outcomes

Major Events in Rise of Hitler

Nazi Party Joined, wrote Mein Kampf, appointed Chancellor, Enabling Act.

Hitler’s Totalitarian Germany

One-party state, propaganda, secret police (Gestapo), youth indoctrination, censorship.

Nuremberg Laws

1935 laws that stripped Jews of citizenship and forbade intermarriage.

Kristallnacht

1938 “Night of Broken Glass”; widespread attacks on Jews and synagogues.

Jewish Ghettos

Isolated areas where Jews were forced to live under Nazi control.

Shooting Campaign

Mobile killing squads (Einsatzgruppen) executed Jews in Eastern Europe.

Final Solution

Nazi plan for the systematic genocide of Jews.

Concentration Camps

Prisons used for forced labor and mass extermination.

Munich Conference

1938 meeting where Britain & France appeased Hitler by allowing him to take Sudetenland.

Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

1939 non-aggression pact between Germany and the USSR.

Start of WWII

Sept. 1, 1939, with Germany’s invasion of Poland.

Blitzkrieg

“Lightning war” strategy using fast, overwhelming attacks.

Dunkirk

British evacuation of troops from France in 1940.

Battle of Britain

Aerial battle in 1940 where the UK repelled German air attacks.

Operation Barbarossa

German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.

Pearl Harbor

Japanese attack on U.S. base on Dec 7, 1941, prompting U.S. entry into WWII.

Japanese Internment

Executive Order 9066, Forced relocation to internment camps, Loss of property and civil liberties

U.S., U.K., U.S.S.R. Strategy to Beat Germany

Prioritize defeating Germany first, Open second front in Western Europe (D-Day), Bombing campaigns on German industry, Soviet push from the East, Unconditional surrender policy

U.S., U.K. Secret Intelligence Strategies

Code breaking (e.g., Enigma), espionage, resistance networks.

The Manhattan Project

Secret U.S. project to develop the atomic bomb.

Why Did Truman Drop the Bomb?

End the war quickly, Save American lives, Avoid a costly invasion of Japan, Demonstrate power to the Soviet Union, Justify the cost of the Manhattan Project

WWII Battles Timeline (1)

Appeasement of Hitler / Annexation of Austria & Czechoslovakia (1938)

WWII Battles Timeline (2)

Nazi invasion of Poland (Sept 1939)

WWII Battles Timeline (3)

Nazi Blitzkrieg of Norway, France, Belgium, Holland & Denmark (Spring 1940)

WWII Battles Timeline (4)

Dunkirk & Battle of Britain (May–Oct 1940)

WWII Battles Timeline (5)

Operation Barbarossa (June 1941)

WWII Battles Timeline (6)

Pearl Harbor (Dec 7, 1941)

WWII Battles Timeline (7)

Allied bombing campaign of Germany (1942–45)

WWII Battles Timeline (8)

D-Day (Normandy Invasion) (June 6, 1944)

WWII Battles Timeline (9)

Race to Berlin & defeat of Nazi Germany (May 1945)

WWII Battles Timeline (10)

Dropping of atomic bombs & defeat of Japan (Aug 1945)

Hitler’s Rise to Power (1)

Failed artist / Anti-Semitic ideas from youth

Hitler’s Rise to Power (2)

Fought in WWI for Germany

Hitler’s Rise to Power (3)

Joined German Workers Party, renamed it the Nazi Party

Hitler’s Rise to Power (4)

Beer Hall Putsch / Rebellion (1923)

Hitler’s Rise to Power (5)

Jail & wrote Mein Kampf

Hitler’s Rise to Power (6)

Great Depression & 1929 Street violence

Hitler’s Rise to Power (7)

Appointed Chancellor by President Hindenburg (1933)

Hitler’s Rise to Power (8)

Reichstag Fire

Hitler’s Rise to Power (9)

Enabling Act gave Hitler dictatorial powers (“Der Führer”)

Holocaust Timeline (1)

Hitler’s Mein Kampf published (1925)

Holocaust Timeline (2)

Enabling Act – Hitler becomes “Der Führer” (1933)

Holocaust Timeline (3)

Nuremberg Laws (1935)

Holocaust Timeline (4)

Kristallnacht (1938)

Holocaust Timeline (5)

Hitler conquers Europe / Ghetto system established (1939–41)

Holocaust Timeline (6)

Shooting Campaign by Einsatzgruppen (1941+)

Holocaust Timeline (7)

The Final Solution / Holocaust (1942–45)