WW2 History Study Guide

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler

Germany’s dictator at the time of WW2. He was a part of the Nazi party, and spread its influence using propaganda. Believed that the aryan race was the best race, and all other races were inferior. Sought to create an empire only of Aryan race, and eliminate all others. Killed himself on April 30th, 1945; Germany surrendered may 7th 1945

Benito Mussolini

Benito Mussolini came up with the idea of a fascist state being under control of the government, and individual rights not prevalent. Benito Mussolini became Italy’s fascist dictator during the end of WW1, and worked with the axis powers in WW2. He inspired many other fascist dictators to the present even now with his biggest supporter being Hitler. He did believe that Italians would become superior, and to show that he invaded Ethiopia. 

Chiang Kai-shek

President of the Republic of China. He sought to appease Japan to get rid of the Chinese communists at the time. Which turned into a big mistake as Japan kept advancing in China. He also at the time tried to tell the world about the horrors being committed in China by the Japanese.

Franklin D Roosevelt

President of the United States for most of WW2. Was neutral during the start of the War, but after Pearl Harbor he joined the allies. Helped to create the UN, and the allies to defeat axis powers in many parts of the world.

Douglas MacArthur

The US leader of the Japanese territory after the war, The emperor at this time was just a figurehead while Douglas MacArthur had most of the power. MacArthur's retreat in Bataan was part of the cause for the Bataan death march, and many lives being lost.

Hideki Tojo

He controlled the Japanese policy, he was the prime minister of Japan and was a large military leader. He WASN’T the leader of Japan though.

Winston Churchill

He became the prime minister of the United Kingdom on May 1940. He understood that Hilter’s word were never to be trusted, and amplified taking him down immediately. He went for a more aggressive approach than Chamberlain had done before. 

Harry S. Truman

The US president after FDR died. He was the president who called for the use of the atomic bomb. He held his ground against Stalin during negotiations @ conferences, which rose tensions.

Heinrich Himmler

Under his direction, the SS controlled both regular and secret police forces. Terror tactics included murder, execution, and concentration camps. Believed in dehumanizing, marginalizing, and eliminating Jewish people. He was also the one who worked in the Gestapo at the time.

Reinhard Heydrich

Head leader of the SS’s security service. Administered the “Final Solution”. He created special task forces called the Einsatzgruppen to carry out Nazi plans. The Einsatzgruppen turned more into death squads and killing units in just 1941. Their job was to round up Jews and kill them/bury them in mass graves. He was also the architect that helped design the camps at that time.

Dwight D Eisenhower

He was a U.S. general in WW2. He led troops on the beaches of Normandy during the D-Day invasion.

Munich conference

The Munich Conference was the highest point of foreign appeasement to Hitler’s wishes. At the conference Britain, France, Germany and Italy came to agreement that Germany should be able to occupy Sudetenland. 

Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact

Hitler proposed a pact with the USSR in a way to not make a two-front war like happened in WW1. He made that pact within days, and promised that Hitler invading Poland meant he could have half of Poland. 

What led to the outbreak of ww2?

Germany’s invasion of Poland.

Japan want to establish a New Order in east Asia (Mukden/rape of Nanjing)

• Mukden - Sept.18, 1931, the day Japanese soldiers blew up a small section of the railway in Mukden, which led the Japanese government to taken over the Chinese government.

• Rape of Nanjing - Dec. 9, 1931. The Japanese army destroyed and massacred the city,  it became known as the rape of Nanjing. Many women were raped by the Japanese forces, hence the name. 

Invasion of Poland

The invasion of poland happened on September 1st 1939. Poland was blamed for something which led to germany attacking them. It was the start of Blitz Cred. it saturated the “fong war” where there was the weird period of time where nothing happened because germany was scared of what the other nations would do. Lead up to France and Britain declaring war. 

Battle of Britain

The Battle of Britain happened on July 10th 1940 ended October 31th. It was known be the first major military campaign fought entirely by air force. The LuftWaffe (german secret police) changed it from military target to civilian target. The Dowding system (A technique made by the British air force.) brought in the use of radar. This battle was considered the turning point of WWII. 

Battle of Stalingrad

It happened in Russia on August 1942-February 1943. Stalin left everyone in Stalingrad while taking out all the resources that way the Germans couldn’t see the that they taking away the resources. Russia left the Germans to starve and freeze. Russia would not give up but the Germans wouldn't either. Until Russian troops came and took Stalingrad back and Germany was forced to retreat.

Battle of El-Alamein

It happened in Egypt on July 1942- May 1943. Germany wanted the Suez Canal. Germany wanted the oil.

Attack of Pearl Harbor

It happened in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7th 1941. Japan bombed the US. which caused them to join the war. There were two waves of the bombing. The US. then declared war on Japan. And then Italy & Germany declared war on the US.  

Battle of Midway

It happened on the Pacific Ocean on June 3-6 1942. Japan thought they could beat the US. in a fight on Midway the last base in the north Pacific. The US. was way more fortified than Japan thought and the US. won.

Battle of the Bulge

It happened in the Ardennes Region ( parts of Belgium, France & Luxembourg)  on December 16 1944- January 25 1945. It was the last major offensive campaign war. The German attacked a weak link in the Allied forces.  As Germany dove deeper, the Allied power were forced to make a protrusion almost like a bulge. Once the weather cleared they used the air forced. 

Battle of Normandy (d-day)

It happened in Normandy France on June 6 1944. They Set up a fake tant so it would look real to German spies and soldiers. They also sent out a fake radio message onto were the french would would attack. The Germans fell for it and they pulled up to the beach and charged toward the Germans and took them down and took french territory back. 

Battle of Iwo Jima

It happened in Iwo Jima Japan on february 19th- march 26th 1945. After they took down Germany they  had to take out Japan they bombed the islands with the army bases Iwo Jima was being used as a air plane base. Once the US got there the Japanese was entrenched. Once japan opened fire the bullets were so fast that they cut people in half. 

Battle of Okinawa

It happened in Okinawa on April 1945-June 1945. The US wanted to take down Japan. But Japan wanted maxim damage on the US. and they sent out their como cosy pilots or the suicede pilot. And they drove themselves into other planes to make them crash taking there own life in the process. There was a lot of collateral damage.

Bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

• Dropped by the American plane Enola Gay

• Little boy bomb

• August 6th and 9th 1945

Hitler’s shift in strategy after the Luftwaffe began bombing British Cities

Instead of bombing military targets; Hilter focused on British cities, and civilian targets. 

The lend lease act and the Atlantic charter (include significance)

• The Atlantic Charter - Set in August, 1941 to have visions of the future after the war was done. That there will be peace, no territorial changes, and self-governing nations. It’s significance is how it was another stepping stone towards the creation of the UN.

• The Lend Lease Act of 1941 - It would lend goods to any nation whose defense necessary to defense of US. It was a way to give nations that the US supported equipment and military defense in terms of money. They gave Britain 50 billion dollars of wartime materials, and other supplies. 

When the Japanese attacked American bases, what did they hope to accomplish

Tojo hoped that Japan’s lighting strikes at American bases would destroy the U.S. fleet in the Pacific. He thought they would also accept Japanese domination in Pacific.

Enigma Machine

• Allowed Axis powers to have concealed communications, used to share German military plans. 

• The key components of the machine were used to hyper-encrypt the messages sent with the machine. 

  • Alan Turing developed the bomb messages and helped decode German messages. He has influenced tech to this day. 

Tanks

• Tanks made a whole new type in battle possible, due to the creation of the tanks the German forces were never able to regain momentum in the eastern theater of battle. 

• Tanks were able to be used in every theater of war because they were able to brave any terrain. 

Radar

• Radar used radio waves to detect, locate, and track objects.  The radar was used for early warning of battle, airborne radar, and coastal defense. 

• Used mostly for warning britain of the nightly air raids. 

• The tech used in radar has been updated and used for meteorology and naval defenses.

Codebreaking

• Women programmed Electronic Numerical Integrator computers to listen for coded radio messages and to look for patterns within those messages. 

• They would then take the information on the computers to decode the messages. 

• The women who worked as code breakers were not given eh recognition they deserved, because without them the war was estimated to last 2 more years. 

Manhattan Project

• President FDR approved the beginning of this project, but President Truman was the one to initiate the dropping of the bombs. They wanted to quickly end the war.

• Two Bombs were created the Little boy and the Fat man. This project caused thousands of new patents. 

• The Atomic bombs created an immense loss of civilian life. This project raised many ethic and moral questions, which has created a continuous controversy. 

Higgins Boat

• It had a rank that made it able to carry vehicles, and there were places for soldiers to sit before enacting D-Day. 

• The Higgins boat was important because it made it easy to unload troops, and it showed well for complex military campaigning. 

• Ramps helped soldier exit quickly making the D-Day attack more efficient. 

Aircraft innovations

• Airplanes like Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Supermarine Spitfire were faster, armed, and were better equipped for dog fights. 

• Jet propulsion made them faster, which would lead to be very important.

• Aircraft carrier were important because they were mobile air bases and they could bring planes closer to their targets without being compromised. 

Navajo code talkers

• The US military chose to use native American languages for cod talking because no one outside of the US understood what they were saying or knew the language. They also created new words, so breaking the code was almost impossible. 

• 26 Navajo terms were used to spell out English words. There was a direct translation from Navajo to English and they created 411 terms. 

• They kept the program classified for awhile in case they ever need the code talkers again. The congressional Gold medals were awarded to the original code talkers. 

Bataan Death March

The Japanese took an estimated 76,000 Filipino and American prisoners and forced them to march 66 miles to Camp O’Donnell. The survivor count is unknown, but we know 2,000 Americans and 28,000 FIlipinos died. It forced General Douglas MacArthur, U.S. army commander in the Pacific, to flee from the Philippines to Australia. This death march helped the Japanese completely takeover the Philippines. 

Comfort Women

• Over 200,000 Korean women were taken from their home and put into camps that Japanese soldiers would stay in, in between their deployment. These women were used as sex slaves. 

• The reason for the creation of Comfort women was the Rape of Nanjing, after this event the government of Japan didn’t want it to repeat. So, many women were taken from heir home and used, abused, and raped, by the soldier of the Japanese army.

• The more recent years, women have come forward about their stories, and many statues of women have been raised to honor those who were wronged. 

Firebombing Dresden

Dresden 

Feb. 13, 1945 2,700 tons of bombs were dropped. The intention was to scare and terrorize the citizen, this was a success. Created a firestorm that would suck in and kill anything that was close. 25,000 Germans died. This was an attack on Dresden, Germany by the Allies. 

Firebombing Japan

Japan

March 10, 1945 bombs were dropped in Japan by the United states. These bombs created a tornado of fire that would kill and harm over 100,000 Japanese citizens. 

Unit 731

Located in Harbin, China, it was a testing facility for biological warfare. In unit 731 scientists would test on prisoners of war and citizens to create new, deadlier diseases. They were testing for biological weapons and planned plague on other countries to weaken their people and therefore weakening their resolve. Over 270,000 chinese people died in this unit. Even women who were pregnant were tested on to see what would happen to the fetus and its growth. 

How did the entry of US into the war affect the war’s progression/outcome?

-The United States began mobilizing armies, converting its factories to produce war supplies, and encouraging farmers to boost production.

-The US became a key member of the allied forces and gave enough troops to help win the war

What role did the atomic bomb play in the ending of ww2?

• Japan refused to surrender, thousands of casualties--both civilian and soldiers-- were seen on both sides, and Japan and America were essentially at a stalemate

• the discussion of the atomic bomb was spoken due to people like Einstein speaking up about advancing research on atomic weaponry before germany could

• Manhattan project, advancement in atomic research

• Bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. No moral questioning by officials

Economic policies of Axis and Allied gov 

Policies of all countries had turned towards total war, and the war effort was very apparent. 

Nuremberg Laws

Anti-Semitic laws against Jewish citizens

Some were but no limited to:

• Revoking of german citizenship, civil rights, and marriage rights (especially inter-racial marriage)

• Promoted discrimination of jews

• Many jews were not seen in society during these times.

  • Many jews sent to ghettos

Details of the “Final Solution”

• The holocaust: Genocide of the Jewish people

• Genocide: the deliberate sttemt to eliminate a racial, ethnic, religious, or national group often through mass murder

• Einsatzgruppen: special strike forces to carry out the final solution. Given jobs of mobile killing units, rounded up jews, executed them, and placed them all in mass graves. 1.5 killed by Einsatzgruppen.

• Death Camps: six large death camps mostly in Poland and the conquered part of the USSR. largest is Auschwitz

• Targeted other groups like LGBTQ+, disabled, communists, PoW, PoC, Roma, and Senti

• Selektion- selection where you went to concentration or death camp

Hitler’s racial program instituted soon after he conquered Poland

Antisemitism

What was the plan for those living in Eastern Europe

Hitler:

He didn’t want the countries to be able to have free government and free voting of their government systems.

Stalin:

He wanted to have control over the eastern states to create a buffer zone between USSR and Germany/the west. He promised the allies that he would keep the elections free and open, but he quickly went back on that promise and started to implement communist ideas.

What were concentration camps vs death camps

• Concentration camps were camps that put its prisoners to work, and many would die to over working. 

• The Death camps were designed specifically for killing those who went there, prisoners were taken there and were almost immediately killed. 6 large death camps

Key details - Targeted groups in the holocaust

• PoC/African Germans: Came from Cameroon, but many were also from central and south america, and the caribbean. Many mixed children were forcibly sterilized and bullied. interracial mingling was frowned upon. Seen as racially inferior. One of the smallest groups targeted

• LGBTQ+: research on trans resources were almost all but destroyed. Represented with a pink triangle in camps, started by paragraph 175 

• Disabled: included both physical and mental disabilities.

• Jehovah's witnesses: seen as similar to jews.

• Roma-senti: nomadic, didn't belong anywhere. Asocial. Genetic cleanse

• PoW/communists: major German opposition of communism, represented with blue square.

Resistance to Nazi programs

Warsaw ghetto uprising

• Used weapons such as small guns and makeshift bombs to fight back and suspending deportations for a while. Nazis set fire to the residential blocks

• People would help smuggle jews out of the country or hide them in hidden rooms, often whole families would need to hide in places fit for only a couple of people

Details of the Manhattan Project

• Top secret operation led by Enrico Fermi, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and Edward Teller

• Created the first successful atomic bomb

• Two bombs created “little boy” and “large man”

• Advancements led into the nuclear age

Tehran Conference

- Nov. 1945 

- FDR, Stalin, Churchill

- Creation of the UN

- D-Day was planned

Yalta Conference

Feb. 1945 

- FDR, Stalin, Churchill

- eventual USSR war w/ Japan

- Demilitarized & De-Nazi Germany

- Stalin got parts of Poland

Potsdam Conference

Jul-Aug. 1945

- Truman, Stalin, Clement Attlee

- Germany was partitioned, and berlin was as well

- Germany was paying reparations

- Tension between US and USSR grew 

War crimes tribunals (nuremberg/tokyo)

The trials helped take ideas about human rights and turn them into formal international laws. It was the first time in history that the international community prosecuted the leaders of a major power. 

Trials lasted from 1945-1949, the nuremberg trials had thirteen trials of nazi officials. They were being held accountable for their crimes against humanity. The nuremberg principles were one outcome of the nuremberg trials. They also laid out the basis of the Universal declaration of Human Rights. 

Appeasement

The act of making concessions to an aggressor, often at the sacrifice of principles.

Anti-Semitism

Hostility toward Jews or discrimination against them just because they are Jewish.

Genocide

The deliberate attempt to eliminate a racial, ethnic, religious, or national group, often through mass murder.

Demilitarized

Marked by elimination or prohibition of weapons, fortifications, and other military installations.

Anschluss

Union with Austria his native land.

Zaibatsus

In the Japanese economy, a large financial and industrial cooperation.

Blitzkreig

“lighting war”; a swift and sudden military attack.

Sanctions

A restriction intended to enforce international law, security interests, or international peace.

Sudetenland

Westernmost area of Czechoslovakia that was inhabited largely by ethnic Germans.

Rhineland

A part of Germany that was demilitarized

Manchukuo

Northern China also called Manchuria

Mobilization

The process of assembling troops, supplies, and making them ready for war.

Kamikaze

Japanese pilots in WW2 that would go on suicide mission, intentionally flying their airplanes into U.S. fighting ships at sea.

Blitz

British term for the series of German air raids on Great Britain’s towns and cities during WW2.

Shoah

Nazi mass slaughter of European Jews also known as “total destruction”.

Cold War

Period of political tension following WW2 and ending with the fall of communism in the Soviet Union in the late 1980s.