WWII

Hitler's Motivation for Invading the Soviet Union

Expand territory (lebensraum) and gain power; Stalingrad aimed to move Germany towards oil fields in the Caucasus mountains and destroy the city named after Stalin.

Appeasement

Policy by Britain and France to give in to fascist leaders' demands to maintain peace during Hitler and Mussolini's rise to focus on economic recovery.

Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

Agreement between Germany and the Soviet Union to attack each other; Poland was the first target after the pact was signed, leading to its invasion from the east.

Blitzkrieg

German military strategy of quick strikes using tanks and armored vehicles; used in the invasion of Poland, France, and parts of the Soviet Union.

Lend-Lease Act

US program to lend or lease weapons/supplies to allies for defense; mainly supplied Britain before US entry into WWII.

Axis Powers

Germany, Italy, Japan; Allies:Britain, US, Soviet Union, and France to some extent.

Final Solution

Hitler's plan to move Jews to concentration camps and exterminate them; aimed at protecting the purity of the Aryan Race.

Kristallnacht

Night of Broken Glass; violent attack on the Jewish community by Nazi troopers after a Jewish man shot a German diplomat.

Island Hopping

US strategy in the Pacific involving capturing smaller islands to disrupt Japanese supply chains; important battles include Midway, Guadalcanal, Okinawa, and Iwo Jima.

Bataan Death March

Brutal 50-mile march of US and Filipino POWs by Japanese forces in the Philippines, subjected to torture and harsh conditions.

Manhattan Project

US project led by General Groves and Oppenheimer to develop the atomic bomb secretly; used to end the war with Japan.

D-Day Invasion

Allied invasion of France at Normandy from the English Channel; led to the liberation of Paris and France from German occupation.