fmw ww2 test

Defiance of Treaty of Versailles

Germany violated the treaty by rebuilding its military and expanding its territory.

Fascism

A political system that promotes dictatorship, nationalism, and suppression of opposition.

Appeasement

Policy of giving in to aggressive demands to avoid conflict.

Munich Conference

1938 meeting where Britain and France allowed Germany to take Sudetenland.

Czechoslovakia

A country invaded by Germany in 1939, breaking promises made at the Munich Conference.

Sudetenland

A region of Czechoslovakia with many Germans that Hitler took in 1938.

Anschluss

The annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in 1938.

Lebensraum

Hitler’s idea that Germany needed more land for its people.

Neville Chamberlain

British Prime Minister known for appeasing Hitler.

Isolationism

Policy of staying out of foreign conflicts.

Nonaggression Pact

Agreement between Germany and the Soviet Union to not attack each other.

Third Reich

Nazi Germany under Hitler’s rule (1933–1945).

Axis Powers

Alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan during WWII.

Blitzkrieg

"Lightning war," a fast and intense military strategy used by Germany.

Allied Powers

The main countries fighting against the Axis: Britain, the U.S., the Soviet Union, and others.

Lend-Lease Act

U.S. program to supply Allies with weapons before entering the war.

Invasion of Poland

Germany’s attack in 1939 that started WWII.

Phony War

A period of little fighting in Western Europe after Poland was invaded.

Fall of France/Vichy Government

France was defeated in 1940, and a Nazi-controlled government was set up in Vichy.

Dunkirk

A massive Allied evacuation from France in 1940.

Operation Dynamo

The rescue mission that saved Allied soldiers from Dunkirk.

Winston Churchill

British Prime Minister who led Britain during WWII.

Charles de Gaulle

Leader of Free France who resisted Nazi occupation.

Joseph Stalin

Leader of the Soviet Union during WWII.

Adolf Hitler

Dictator of Nazi Germany who started WWII and the Holocaust.

Battle of Britain

German air attacks on Britain in 1940, repelled by the RAF.

Enigma, Radar, and Sonar

Technologies that helped the Allies detect enemy movements.

The Blitz

German bombing of British cities, especially London, in 1940-41.

Operation Barbarossa

Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.

Scorched Earth

Soviet tactic of destroying resources to slow Germany.

Leningrad

Soviet city that faced a brutal German siege for 900 days.

Impact of Nazi invasion of USSR

Millions died, and the Soviet Union joined the Allies.

Neutrality Acts

U.S. laws aimed at keeping America out of war.

Atlantic Charter

U.S.-British agreement on war goals and postwar peace.

U-boats

German submarines used in naval warfare.

Natural Resources

Essential materials (like oil and steel) for war production.

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

Japanese leader who planned the Pearl Harbor attack.

Pearl Harbor

Japan’s surprise attack on a U.S. naval base in 1941, leading to U.S. entry into WWII.

Japanese Empire

Japan’s expansion across Asia and the Pacific during WWII.

Bataan Death March

Forced march of U.S. and Filipino prisoners by Japan, leading to thousands of deaths.

Aircraft Carriers

Warships that launch planes, crucial in Pacific battles.

Doolittle Raids (Tokyo Bombings)

U.S. air raid on Japan in 1942 to boost morale.

Coral Sea

A battle that stopped Japan’s advance toward Australia.

Battle of Midway

A turning point where the U.S. crippled Japan’s navy.

Island Hopping

U.S. strategy of capturing key islands to reach Japan.

Battle of Guadalcanal

First major U.S. offensive in the Pacific.

Douglas MacArthur

U.S. general who led the Pacific campaign.

Manchuria

Region of China invaded by Japan in 1931.

Nanking (Nanjing)

Site of a brutal massacre by Japanese forces in 1937.

John Rabe

A German who helped protect Chinese civilians in Nanking.

Oil

A key resource that fueled war efforts.

Joseph Goebbels

Nazi propaganda minister.

Hermann Göring

Nazi leader in charge of the Luftwaffe (air force).

Heinrich Himmler

Leader of the SS, responsible for the Holocaust.

Geneva Convention (1929)

Set rules for humane treatment of prisoners of war.

Einsatzgruppen

Nazi mobile killing squads.

Luftwaffe

Germany’s air force.

Panzers

German tanks used in Blitzkrieg attacks.

Holocaust

Nazi genocide of Jews and other groups.

Nuremberg Laws

Nazi laws that stripped Jews of rights.

Kristallnacht

"Night of Broken Glass," a violent Nazi attack on Jews in 1938.

Ghettos

Isolated areas where Nazis confined Jews.

Warsaw Ghetto

The largest Jewish ghetto in Nazi-occupied Poland.

Genocide

Mass killing of an entire ethnic or religious group.

Roma

A group targeted by the Nazis, also known as Gypsies.

Jewish Resistance

Acts of defiance against Nazi oppression.

Erwin Rommel

German general, known as the “Desert Fox.”

Operation Torch

U.S. and British invasion of North Africa in 1942.

Two Front War

Germany fighting both the Soviets in the east and Allies in the west.

Battle of Stalingrad

A major Soviet victory that turned the tide against Germany.

Russian winters

Harsh conditions that weakened German forces in the USSR.

Home Fronts

Civilian efforts to support the war.

Total War

A war where all resources and civilians are involved.

Propaganda

Media used to influence public opinion during the war.

D-Day

Allied invasion of Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944.

Battle of the Bulge

Germany’s last major offensive in 1944.

Hitler’s Death

Hitler committed suicide in April 1945.

V-E Day

Victory in Europe Day, May 8, 1945.

Kamikazes

Suicide pilots who attacked Allied ships.

Okinawa

A brutal Pacific battle that led to heavy casualties.

Atomic Bomb

A powerful bomb dropped on Japan to end the war.

Hiroshima

First city hit by an atomic bomb on August 6, 1945.

Nagasaki

Second city hit by an atomic bomb on August 9, 1945.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.

Franklin Roosevelt

U.S. president for most of WWII.

Harry Truman

U.S. president who ordered the atomic bombings.

Yalta Conference

Meeting of Allied leaders to discuss postwar Europe.

Tehran Conference

First meeting of Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill in 1943.

Potsdam Conference

Meeting to finalize postwar plans in 1945.

Nuremberg Trials

War crimes trials for Nazi leaders.

Political Turmoil

Instability after the war.

Famine and Disease

Shortages and illness after WWII.

Impact on Civilians

Many civilians suffered from war-related destruction.

Destruction of Territory and Cities

Widespread damage across Europe and Asia.

Death

Tens of millions of people died in WWII.

Demilitarization

Reducing military forces after the war.

Democratization

Establishing democratic governments after WWII.

Marshall Plan

U.S. aid to rebuild Europe after the war.