World War II Key Terms

Blitzkrieg

Lightning war, term coined by German propogandists to describe use of planes, tanks, and trucks to quickly crush enemies.

Dunkirk

spring 1940, Germany occupied Denmark, Norway and holland along with parts of France splitting Franco-British forces trapping British army on French beaches. British withdrew troops and soon after the Nazis took France.

Winston Churchill

1874-1965, uncompromising British Prime minister during WWII who avoided British invasion (only nation unconquered by July of 1940), made the military pact between US and GB and USSR aka The Grand Alliance. Along with Roosevelt, denied opening second front in France to USSR who hoped to relieve pressure on the soviet forces.

“London Blitz”

Hitlers bombing of London in September, 1940 which led to increased British plane production that eventually over powered the German Air Force (by October 1940 GGB beating Germany in air war 3 to 1). Hitler wanted to break British morale.

Henri-Philippe Petain

1940-1944, General Marshal, and Prime minister formed a new French Government called the Vichy regime in independent Southeastern France, which supported Germany and adopted many ideas of National Socialists and also willingly gave French Jews to Nazis. Old French General of WWI. Served as head of the collaborationist regime.

SS

Elite military corps led by Heinrich Himmler, instituted program of destruction (and annihilation) in Eastern EU to create living space for Germans. Hitler’s personal bodyguard unit, helped Nazi army, tortured captive resistance members and executed hostages in reprisal for attacks.

Heinrich Himmler

leader of the SS (aka Reichsfuhrer), leader member of the Nazi party, seen as second most powerful man in Germany during WWII after Adolf Hitler.

Holocaust

The systematic effort of the Nazi state to exterminate all European Jews and other groups deemed racially inferior during the Second World War.

Genocide

The complete extermination of a race, deliberate killing or severe mistreatment of a large number of people from a particular national or ethnic group with the aim of destroying the nation or group.

Ghetto

Urban districts where Jews in German occupied areas were forced to live, two important ones were in Warsaw and Lodz, walled-off often in large cities, very unsanitary.

Einsatzgruppen

Military death squads known as Special Task Forces. Followed the Germans into the Soviet Union and went from town to town killing Jews and Slavs by forcing them to dig their own graves and shooting them into it in 1941.

“Asia for Asians”

Japanese slogan used by propagandists to promote the Great East Asia Co-Prosperity sphere and explain that the expansion would free Asians from western imperialists.

Great Patriotic War (of the Fatherland)

name of a patriotic push/unifying force of the Soviet Union in WWII coined by the Soviet people because of Russian nationalism it created.

Dwight Eisenhower

US general who led the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944, Allied commander in WWII in EU, helped plan D-Day invasion at Normandy, 34th president, took command of a join British and American force in Morocco and Algeria.