Interwar Period & World War II

Fascism

A totalitarian political system emphasizing nationalism and dictatorship.

Totalitarianism

A government that seeks complete control over public and private life.

Benito Mussolini

Fascist dictator of Italy.

Adolf Hitler

Nazi dictator of Germany.

Nazism

A form of fascism based on racism and extreme nationalism.

Great Depression

A global economic crisis beginning in 1929 that contributed to political instability.

Expansionism

A policy of expanding territory by force.

Appeasement

A policy of giving concessions to aggressive nations to avoid conflict.

Axis Powers

Germany, Italy, and Japan during WWII.

Allied Powers

Britain, Soviet Union, United States, France, and others during WWII.

Pearl Harbor

Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base in Hawaii in 1941.

D-Day

The Allied invasion of Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944.

Battle of Stalingrad

A major turning point where the Soviet Union defeated Germany.

Siege of Leningrad

A long and deadly German blockade of a Soviet city.

Holocaust

The genocide of six million Jews and millions of others by Nazi Germany.

Nuremberg Laws

Laws stripping Jews of rights in Nazi Germany.

Genocide

The deliberate destruction of a racial, ethnic, national, or religious group.

Concentration Camps

Prison camps where people were imprisoned under harsh conditions.

Winston Churchill

Prime Minister of Britain during WWII.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

U.S. president during most of WWII.

Joseph Stalin

Leader of the Soviet Union during WWII and the Cold War.

Manhattan Project

The secret U.S. project that developed atomic bombs.

Hiroshima

The first city destroyed by an atomic bomb on August 6, 1945.

Nagasaki

The second Japanese city bombed with an atomic weapon on August 9, 1945.

Nuclear Age

The period following the development of nuclear weapons.