WWII exam Key terms

Stalingrad

Brutal military campaign on the Eastern Front of WWII when the Soviet Union defeated Nazi Germany and their allies.

(Date: August 23rd, 1942-February 2nd, 1943)

Controlled Materials Plan

A system used by the U.S during the war to manage and distribute raw goods and materials (primarily steel, copper, and aluminum, to ensure wartime material demands were met

Midway

major naval and air battle fought between the U.S navy and Japan’s imperial navy located in Midway Atoll in the central pacific northwest of Hawaii.

(June 4th-7th 1942).

Battle of the Bulge

Hitler’s final major defensive campaign on the Western Front during WW2, lasting from Dec 16th 1944-Jan25th 1945. Largest and deadliest battle fought by U.S military. Heavily drained Germany’s resources and put a stop to Hitler’s goals

Freedom Patrols/ Neutrality Patrol

Prior of the U.S entering WW2 after Pearl Harbor, FDR established the Neautrality Patrol, which ordered naval and air units to patrol the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico. Their goal was to monitor and report movements of foreign warships but not to interfere.

While technically neutral, these patrols broadcasted German U-Boats locations in plain english, allowing British Royal Navy to intercept them and then attack.

Pearl Harbor

ended American Isolationism/neutrality in the war, forcing the U.S to enter WW2 against Japan, in which Japan was allied with Germany+Italy so that made U.S also enemies with them too.

Zoot Suit Riots

series of racial attacks in June of 1943 where the U.S servicemen targeted and beat young Mexican-American, African, and FIlipino Aerican youths in LA. Young Mexican men wore zoot suits that were flashy and oversized.

China Lobby

Influential network of American and Chinese politicians, missionaries, journalists, and diplomats who successfully campaigned for strong U.S political, financial, and military support for Chiang Kai-Shek and the nationalist government in their war against Japan. Helping Americans see the Chinese as a victim of Japanese oppresion, in a time post pearl harbor when Americans were highly against Japan.

OVERLORD

The big plan for breaking into Hitler’s European fortress, it included allied troops landing in Normandy, France. Opened up the Western Front and marked the beginning of Nazi Germany’s collapse. D-Day invasion plan basically

Cost plus Contract

a deal in which the U.S government told companies to basically build what we need for the war, and that they will pay these companies the costs and give guranteed profit on top. (profit often a percentage). Sped up wartime production, encouraged innovation and efficiency.

Strategic Bombing

WWII tactic of using long-range aircraft to bomb an enemy’s cities, factories, oil plants, transportation networks, and civillian infrastructure to weaken their ability to fight. Not About destroying soldiers on battlefield but to destroy the enemies production sources of war materials.

Revenue Act of 1942

We need money to fight WWII, so more people and companies must pay higher taxes. Funding war effort and created modern American tax system and increased government power and responsibility

Charles Lindbergh

Famous US aviator who was the first to fly solo across the Atlantic in 1927 who later became a debator over whether the US should enter WW2, best known for leading against American involvement in war before Pearl Harbor, calling it the America First movement.

Munich Agreement

Deal where Britain and France allowed Hitler to take over the Sudetenland a region of Czechoslovakia in hope of avoiding a war, becoming symbol of appeasement giving in to an aggressor to keep peace

Selective Service

Drafting men into the military. Draft system

Bataan Death March

brutal forced March in 1942 where Japanese troops made about 60-80k American and Filipino POW and walk over 60+ miles without food water or rest

Hiroshima

First use of an atomic bomb in history, when US dropped little boy bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima in 1945 August. Explosion destroyed most of the city and major loss of life.

Office of Price Administration

US government agency that controlled prices and rationed goods during the war so inflation wouldn’t skyrocket and essential items wouldnt run out.

Siegfried Line

basically Germany’s giant defensive wall on its western boarder, it slowed allies but did not stop them. huge system of German defensive fortifications along Germany’s western border (Facing France and Belgium), Filled with concrete bunkers, machine-gun nests, anti-tank obstacles, trenches, and barbed wire. Allowed allied advance in 1944-45 and played a role in battle of the Bulge and symbolized Germany’s last stand as last final barriers before allied troops entered Germany itself

FDR

President of the US during most the war. Led the country from the Great Depression into the war and built the Arsenal of Democracy. Prepared the US for war before entering it

Harry S Truman

President through the final months of ww2 and made the decisions to use the atomic bombs (little boy on Hiroshima and fat man on Nagasaki) and shaped the early Cold War. Originally vp under FDR and became president suddenly when FDR died. transition from war to peace, bring soldiers home, shift production from war to civillian, and prevent economic chaos.

War bonds

government loans sold to the public during WW2. Americans would buy them at a discount and the government would repay the full face value years later, helping tremendously with funding the war effort and control inflation. basically lend us money to fight the war now and we will pay you back later.

Executive order 9102

Creates the war relocation authority, an agency responsible for carrying out the mass internment of Japanese Americans during ww2. Implemented and administered the internment system created by EO 9066. oversaw the confinement of over 110k Japanese Americans.

Executive Order 8802

bans racial discrimination in defense industry hiring and created the Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC)

Manhattan Project

top-secret us project during ww2 that built the first atomic bombs involving over 130k workers and nearly 2 bill and brought togehter the world’s leading scientists in US, Britain, and Canada. J.Robert Oppenheimer

Okinawa

bloodiest battle of the Pacific war and the last major battle of WW2, us-japan fought war on the Island of Okinawa and was the deadliest and largest battle in the pacific and its brutality led truman to decide to use atomic bomb. Kamikaze attacks and suicide charges, made the us view Japanese as non human as they were willing to sacrafice their lives blindly just for one singular attack

Willow Run

Factory that turned America into the “Arsenal of Democracy”. basically a large ww2 aircraft factory in Michigan built by the Ford Motor Company to produce B-24 Liberator bombers on an assembly line. Became one of the most famous symbols of industrial power during war.

Teheran Conference

the first big ww2 meeting for the big 3: Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin. Planned a strategy that would help defeat Nazi Germany. Meeting was held in Teheran Iran setting D-day as the final phase of the war in Europe.

Kamikazes

Japanese pilots in ww2 who carried out suicide attacks by crashing their planes with explosives into us ships. Kamikaze meaning divine wind. Tactics like these were not seen before and americans were scared of japanese

GI Bill

The law that transformed American life after the war, which gave returning WW2 veterans major benefits like free or low cost college, home loans and unemployement support. Helping millions of veterans restart their lives and ultimately shaped the middle class.

Atlantic Charter

Statement issued by FDR and Churchill in 1941, laying out principles for a post ww2 world. leading way for the United Nations.

With 8 principles:

No territorial expansion, self determination, free trade, economic cooperation, freedom of the seas, disarmament, collective security, and end of Nazi tyranny

Dresden

allied firebombing of the German city of Dresden in 1945, destroying most of the city and killed a lot of civillians. Dresden was bombed because it was a major transportation hub for German troops, it had factories supporting the war and the allies wanted to break german morale. But Dresden has a lot of refugees from the eastern front, making this attack highly controversial for military involvement.

Rosie the Riveter

not a single woman but a symbol that was created through posters, songs, magazine covers, and government propaganda representing real women who built bombs, aircraft, ships, ammunition, and vehicles. Patriotic and demonstrated great strength

Iwo Jima

A tiny, but incredibly important island because it sat halfway between us bomber bases and Japan, us needed for emergency landings and fighter escorts. Japan saw it as last defense boarder before U.S would enter Japan so in response Japan turned it into a fortress of tunnels and bunkers. After the capture of Iwo Jima, it saved countless american lives as an emergency landing and also this battle showed Japan’s determination and that meant invading Japan would be catastrophic leading to the use of the atomic bomb

Neutrality Acts

Series of U.S laws passed between 1935-37 designed to keep America out of foreign wars by banning arm sales, loans, and certian travel to nations at war meaning to prevent the U.S from being dragged into another worldwide conflict like ww1. Primary focus was on Great Depression

War Production Board

U.S government agency created in 1942 to direct and control all wartime production. It decided what got built, who built it, and how resources were used, ensuring that the us could outproduce axis powers, aiming to win based on industrial power.

SLEDGEHAMMER

an idea not an actual battle that proposed a small scale invasion of France in 1942 to open a Western Front early. It was rejected because U.S had few trained troops in europe and also because the german defense line in France was too strong. Basically the allies were not ready so they waited until D-day in 1942

Dollar-A-Year Men

Top executives from private companies who agreed to work for the U.S government during WW2 for a symbolic salary of one dollar per year. basically volunteering to help run America’s wartime production system, earning just $1 in official government salary while applying their industrial expertise to win ww2.

Little Street Formula

a simple way to calculate the percentage change between 2 numbers (new-old)+old *100. used constantly by governments, economists, and military planners to measure wartime production, losses, and growth. This helped leaders track how much production, casualties, or resources increased or decreased, helping leaders understand the war’s scale and make strategic decisions.

Yalta

set in Yalta, Crimea, A high stakes strategy meeting that the big 3 planned at the end of WW2 made to help shape the postwar world. A meeting between Roosevelt, Churchhill, and Stalin to decide how to finish the war against Germany and how to organize Europe afterward, setting stage for both victory and cold war

Synthetic Rubber

Material that kept the allies running in ww2, basically man-made rubber that helped create important wartime products such as tires, gasoline, rubber goods, helping war effort and economy.

George S Patton

U.S general who pushed the allies across Europe with speed, aggression, and relentless pressure. Pioneer of tank warfare that helped win the war in europe.

Four freedoms

Four fundamental human rights that FDR said everyone in the world should enjoy. Freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.

Guadalcanal

Japan built an airfield on Guadalcanal that threatend U.S supply routes, Australia, and controlled the south pacific. First big U.S victory in the pactic, the moment the allies stopped Japan’s advance and being takin

Women’s Army Corps

Branch of the U.S military where there was a women’s branch of the army created so that women can serve in non-combat military roles working as clerks, mechanics, drivers, radio operators, crpytographers, weather forecasters, and more. freeing men for frontline combat

John. L Lewis

head of the United Mine Workers and one of the most influential and controversial leaders in labor in u.s history. In ww2 he became famous for leading coal miners in strikes that challenged FDR’s administration and disrupted wartime production (UNIONS)

Jean Darlan

French admiral whose decisions shaped the allied invasion of North Africa in ww2. He was a top official in Vichy France and commander in chief of the French navy who unexpectly helped allies during operation torch, ending french resistance in North Africa and was later assasinated.

lend-lease

A massive U.S aid program that was basically US saying that it will give americans war supplies now and you can return or pay us back later, allowing allies to keep fighting when they were running out of money, weapons, and materials

Battle of Leyte Gulf

The largest naval battle of WW2 and one of the largest in history. naval battle between us and japan around the phillipine island of Leyte destroying the japanese navy and opened the door for Phillippines liberation. Proving American naval dominance

Invasion of Sicily

the allies, mainly us and britain launched a massive assault on Sicily to knock Italy out of the war and secure contorl of the mediteranian. Forcing Germany to defend Italy and opened the path to mainland euopre. Sicily was chosen because the allies had just won north africa and they needed. a place to attack that was close and would hurt germany. also knock italy out of the war

Postdam

The conference where the allies decided how to deal with defeated germany and where the cold war truly began to take shape, a meeting between stalin, truman and churchill/attlee to finalize post war plans for Germany and Europe. Happened after Germany surrenderd but before Japan. Also where cold war truly began

A Philip Randolph

founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first major black union. A powerful voice for racial equality. Important to ww2 because he led the u.s government to ban discrimination in deffense jobs during ww2 a breakthrough that reshaped american labor and civil rights

Bureau of Motion pictures

The U.S government’s film advisory agency in which its job was to make sure that movies supported the war, democracy and avoided harmful steryotypes. Comabatted enemy propaganda and to educate the public.

Office of War information

The U.S’s information headquarters for ww2, the job was to make sure that every American and the world understood that the u.s was fighting, how the allies were progressing, what sacrafice was needed, and why unity and morale mattered. Propaganda communication, including shaping films, posters, radio and news to suppotr war effort.