AP Euro WW2

Beer Hall Putsch

Beer Hall Putsch

Nov. 8-9 1923
Hitler tried to take over; failed & he was arrested

Mein Kampf

My Struggle; Hitler outlined plans for himself & Germany (autobio)

Paul von Hindenburg

President of Germany; appointed Hitler Chancellor when he was 86 yrs old

Reichstag

German Parliament

Enabling Act

allowed Hitler to govern w/o authority of Reichstag or President

Der Fuehrer

Hitler's new title after becoming President when Hindenburg died>> powers of Chancellor & President

Third Reich

Hitler's dictatorship (3rd Republic)

Nuremburg Laws

laws against Jews; dismissed from colleges & gov't jobs; no marriage b/w Jews & non-Jews>> took Jews Civil Rights

Kristallnacht

Night of Broken Glass; Jewish businesses & synagogues destroyed>> 1st overt action against the Jews

Axis Powers

in World War II, the nations of Germany, Italy, and Japan, which had formed an alliance in 1936.

Anti-Comintern Pact

treaty between Germany and Japan promising a common front against communism

Munich Conference

1938 conference at which European leaders (Chamberlain & premier of France Daladier) attempted to appease Hitler by turning over the Sudetenland to him in exchange for promise that Germany would not expand Germany's territory any further.

Neville Chamberlain

British Prime Minister prior to WWII who signed a peace treaty with Germany which promised "Peace in our time." Hitler did not honor the treaty, attacked Britain, and Winston Churchill replaced Chamberlain.

Non-aggression Pact

1939-Secret agreement between German leader Hitler and Soviet Leader Stalin not to attack one another and to divide Poland

Panzers and Stukas

Panzers: concentrated tank units
Stukas: dive bombers (planes)

Maginot Line

a system of fortifications along France's border with Germany>> but Germany just went through Belgium to get to France

Winston Churchill

A noted British statesman who led Britain throughout most of World War II and along with Roosevelt planned many allied campaigns. He predicted an iron curtain that would separate Communist Europe from the rest of the West.

Dunkirk

hITLER'S 1ST MISTAKE: Port city of Belgium where Allied troops were; heavily bombed by Germans>> Hitler didn't tell troops to drive allies into ocean>> uses air force but was too cloudy and boats were able to get away

Vichy Regime

Petain, French Prime Minister controls south 1/3 of France, and has to cooperate with Germans who control North 2/3>> puppet gov't

Operation Sea Lion

name for Hitler's plan to invade Britain by both air and sea

Battle of Britain

the prolonged bombardment of British cities by the German Luftwaffe during World War II and the aerial combat that accompanied it>> but British had radar and tracked planes from Germany

Blitz

2ND MISTAKE: large air attack on London>> gave RAF chance to regroup>> when created radar

Operation Barbarosa

3RD MISTAKE: Plan for German invasion of Soviet Union during WWII, where Germans broke peace treaty

Atlantic Charter

ANALOGY OF 14 POINTS: 1941-Pledge signed by US president FDR and British prime minister Winston Churchill not to acquire new territory as a result of WWII amd to work for peace after the war

Pearl Harbor

12/7/1941: US military base bombed by Japan, bringing US into war

Bataan Death March

Brutal march of American and Filipino prisoners by Japanese soldiers in April 1942 (1/3 died)

Desert Fox

Rommel: German field marshal noted for brilliant generalship in North Africa (head of Africa Korps) (1891-1944)

El Alamein

TURNING POINT IN AFRICA:, Town in Egypt, site of victory by Britain's Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery over German forces led by General Erwin Rommel in 1942-1943

Stalingrad

TURNING POINT IN EAST: City in Russia, site of a Red Army victory over the Germany army in 1942-1943.

Operation Overlord

the code name for the Allied invasion of Europe at Normandy on June 6, 1944; also known as D-Day

D-Day

6/6/1944: Allied troops landed on 4 of 5 Normandy beaches>> some beaches had Germany on cliffs ready for them>> but at some the Germans took too long>> but Allies won (led by Eisenhower)

Battle of Leyte Gulf

largest naval battle of war/ history where kamikazes come; Japan lost most of remaining sea power and the ability to defend the Philippines

Yalta

When FDR, Churchill, and Stalin meet; they agreed to wage war on Japan, to divide Germany into 4 equal parts, on the big 5's veto, and to hold free elections for the liberated countries

Remagen

before>> Germans burned every bridge into Germany, but didn't burn one>>March 1945 the Allies found an intact bridge over River Rhine and established a bridgehead there. These were the first troops to cross the Rhine since those of Napoleon.

Potsdam

the place at which the three allied leaders, Truman, Stalin, and Atlee, met to discuss the distribution of Germany and the ultimatum that they would issue to Japan demanding thier immediate surrender

V-E Day

May 8, 1945; victory in Europe Day when the Germans surrendered

V-J Day

9/2/1945 "Victory over Japan day" is the celebration of the Surrender of Japan

Iron Curtain

Communist influence of Soviet Union that fell across Europe>> said by Churchill

Cold War

tense relations b/w Soviet Union & US

Battle of Midway

TURNING POINT IN PACIFIC , U.S. naval victory over the Japanese fleet in June 1942, in which the Japanese lost four of their best aircraft carriers

Pacifism

ALL ALLIES PACIFIST insistence on peace regardless of consequences>> some countries felt WW2 was mistake & Germany shouldn't be totally blamed

Cordon Sanitaire

created in 1919 against spread of Bolshivism; resented by rulers of USSR

Anschluss

union of Austria & Germany in March 1938 after German forces moved into Austria

Haile Selassie

emperor of Ethiopia; spoke out at LoN about Italian used chemical warfare on his people>> Mussolini wanted revenge for Adowa (7/17/1936-4/1/1939)>> 1st time non-whites beat white

Spanish Civil War

most devastating war in all Spanish history; over 600k died; b/w Republicans (loyal to Spanish Republic) & Nationalists (rebel group led by Francisco Franco)>> Nationalists won & Franco rules Spain for next 36 years>> rehearsal for WW2

Rome-Berlin Axis

an understanding b/w Hitler & Mussolini- diplomatic axis around which they hoped the world might turn

Little Entente

This alliance formed in 1920-21 joined Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Yugoslavia w/ purpose of common defense against Hungarian revision & prevention of Hapsburg restoration

Sudeten Issue

when Hitler kept getting aggressive, Czech military mobilized to defend region>> later Hitler made himself advocate for ethnic Germans living in Czechoslovakia>> wanted complete equality b/w Sudeten Germans & Czech people

Appeasement

giving in/ making compromise to maintain pacifism

Nazi-Soviet Pact

8/23/1939 Hitler and Joseph Stalin agreed not to attack each other but divided Poland for an easy win, but Germany didn't keep true to their word and attacked Stalin later (non aggression pact)

Blitzkrieg

lightening warfare>> concentrating overwhelming force at high speed to break through enemy lines>> keeps enemy offbalance

Luftwaffe

the German airforce

Marshall Petain

A French general who reached the distinction of Marshal of France, and was later Chief of State of Vichy France>> claimed to be trying to save France from further suffering

Festung Europe

Fortress of Europe; created it by stationing soldiers in areas of Europe controlled by Germans

"Quizlings"

sympathizers/ collaborators Germans found in other countries; prototype= Vidkun Quizling (organized a Norwegian Fascist Party>> prepared Norway for Nazi invasion)

Admiral Doenitz

designated by Hitler as his successor; went through formalities of surrender on 5/8/1945

Hiroshima

8/6/1945: 100k killed, city destroyed

Nagasaki

8/9/1845: 160k died

Phony war

was a phase in early World War II marked by few military operations in Continental Europe, in the months following the German invasion of Poland and preceding the Battle of France. Although the great powers of Europe had declared war on one another, neither side had yet committed to launching a significant attack, and there was relatively little fighting on the ground