wwii vocab

Lend-Lease Act

Enacted on March 11 1941, which allowed the U.S. to lend and lease (military + economic aid) to Allied nations without officially entering WWII

• sent help to GB + Soviets (China?)

• helped countries crucial to U.S. defense

• FDR monitored the creation of this act, gave him power (opposed by Congress’s isolationists)

island hopping

A new strategy (also called the Pacific Strategy), where the U.S. would skip over strong/fortified Japanese islands in order to quickly seize weak islands to support future advances into Japan.

• Captured strategic islands, made bases and airstrips and cut off Japanese supply lines

D-Day

June 6, 1944; the day that Allied forces invaded Normandy, France. The Allied forces tried to liberate Europe from the Nazi control.

• Code Name → Operation Overlord

• Turning point that led to Germany’s defeat (end of Nazi domination in Europe)

• Opened a foothold/front in France

• Largest seaborne invasion

Tuskegee Airmen

The first all-black squadron of military aviators in the U.S., known for their courage and skill. They were trained in Tuskegee, Alabama, where they went on to break racial barriers.

Rosie the Riveter

A symbol of the women who took on factory and shipyard professions during the war to replace the men. She represented their contribution to the war effort, persuading more women to join the once male-dominated workforce and break gender roles.

• “We Can Do It!”

Navajo Code Talkers

Navajo people who transmitted secret codes in Navajo, helping Allies succeed through secret communication (Pacific Theater) that enemies could not decipher.

• U.S. Marines of Navajo descent

• helped U.S. in the Pacific (Iwo Jima)

Manhattan Project

A U.S.-led government program that worked on researching and developing the first atomic bombs (fear of Germany doing it first). This was a top-secret operation.

• first detonation at Los Alamos (1945); started in 1939

• Oppenheimer

• “Little Boy,” “Fat Man”