WWII U.S. Military, Battles, and Holocaust Key Facts

What was the Great Arsenal of Democracy?

The United States producing weapons, vehicles, and supplies for the Allies during WWII.

What legislation created the 1940 draft?

Selective Training and Service Act (1940).

Who were the members of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team?

Japanese American soldiers; one of the most highly decorated units in U.S. military history.

When was the military desegregated?

1948 by President Harry Truman.

How were African Americans assigned during WWII?

They served in segregated military units.

What were Liberty Ships?

Troop and supply ships.

How did the U.S. pay for WWII?

Taxes and war bonds.

What was the Atlantic Charter?

Agreement between Roosevelt and Churchill in August 1941 outlining goals for the postwar world.

What was the Battle of the Atlantic?

German U-boats attacked Allied shipping routes in the Atlantic Ocean.

Who was Erwin Rommel?

German general known as the 'Desert Fox.'

What was the Afrika Korps?

German army led by Rommel in North Africa.

What was the key battle in North Africa?

Battle of El Alamein (1942).

What was the prize to gain control of in Egypt?

Suez Canal.

What was Operation Torch?

Allied invasion of North Africa in November 1942.

What was the first American battle against Germans in North Africa?

Kasserine Pass; Americans were defeated.

What was the Allied strategy in North Africa?

Defeat Axis forces and gain control of the Mediterranean.

Where did the Allies go after North Africa?

Italy.

What was Italy's role in WWII?

Axis power; Mussolini removed in 1943, but Germany continued fighting there.

What was the failed Allied offensive in Italy?

Battle of Anzio.

What was Operation Barbarossa?

Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.

What was the key battle on the Eastern Front?

Battle of Stalingrad.

What was the result of Stalingrad?

Major German defeat and turning point in the war.

What is carpet bombing?

Massive bombing of entire cities or areas.

Who used carpet bombing?

Mainly Britain and the Allies.

What happened at Hamburg?

Heavy Allied bombing destroyed much of the city and killed thousands.

What happened on June 6, 1944?

D-Day; Allied invasion of Normandy, France.

Who was the commander of Allied forces in Europe?

Dwight D. Eisenhower.

What was the Battle of the Bulge?

Last major German offensive; fought in the Ardennes Forest.

What is V-E Day?

Victory in Europe Day; Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945.

What was the Gestapo?

Nazi secret police.

What does SS stand for?

Elite Nazi military and security organization.

Who were the main victims of the Holocaust?

Jews.

How many Jews were killed in the Holocaust?

About 6 million.

What were the Nuremberg Laws?

1935 laws that took away Jewish rights and citizenship.

What was Kristallnacht?

'Night of Broken Glass'; Nazi attacks on Jews in November 1938.

What was the largest Jewish ghetto in Poland?

Warsaw Ghetto.

What was the Wannsee Conference?

Nazi meeting that planned the 'Final Solution.'

What was the Final Solution?

Nazi plan to systematically murder Europe's Jews.

What were extermination camps?

Auschwitz, Treblinka, Sobibor, Belzec, Chelmno, and Majdanek.

What was the most infamous extermination camp?

Auschwitz.

What happened on Luzon in April 1942?

Bataan Death March.

Where is Luzon?

The Philippines.

What was the American response to Pearl Harbor?

Doolittle Raid.

What was the Battle of Midway?

June 1942; major turning point in the Pacific War.

What was the significance of Midway?

Japan lost four aircraft carriers and never regained the advantage.

What was the Battle of the Coral Sea?

First naval battle fought entirely by aircraft.

What is a unique fact about the Coral Sea?

Enemy ships never saw each other.

What was the American strategy in the Pacific?

Island Hopping.

What was the Battle of Guadalcanal?

Key Allied victory in the Pacific.

What was the Battle of Iwo Jima?

Fierce battle that provided a base closer to Japan.

What was the Battle of Okinawa?

Largest and bloodiest Pacific battle.

What was the secret project to develop the atomic bomb?

Manhattan Project.

What did the Manhattan Project create?

The atomic bomb.

What was the first city hit by an atomic bomb?

Hiroshima.

What was the second city hit by an atomic bomb?

Nagasaki.

What is V-J Day?

Victory over Japan Day; Japan surrendered, ending WWII.

What was the major turning point in North Africa?

El Alamein.

What was the major turning point in Eastern Europe?

Stalingrad.

What was the major turning point in the Pacific?

Midway.

What was the major turning point in Western Europe?

D-Day.

What was the last major German offensive?

Battle of the Bulge.