WWII Vocab

Totalitarianism

a theory of government in which a single party or leader controls the economic, social, and cultural lives of its people.

Joseph Stalin

leader of communist Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) from 1924-1953. His efforts to transform the Soviet Union into an industrial power and form state-run collective farms caused extreme hardship and millions of deaths. A partner with Germany in 1939, Stalin later joined the Allies in World War II. After the war, Stalin became an aggressive participant in the Cold War

Benito Mussolini

fascist leader and dictator of Italy between 1922-1945. He was called Il Duce ("the leader") and established a totalitarian dictatorship that promoted extreme nationalism. During his dictatorship, Italy invaded Ethiopia and partnered with Germany during World War II.

Fascism

a political movement that stressed extreme nationalism and autocratic rule

Adolf Hitler

leader of the National Socialist (Nazi) party and dictator of Germany from 1933-1945. He rose to power by promoting racist and nationalist views. In 1939, he invaded Poland, which began World War II. He established a system of concentration camps, leading to the Holocaust, a systematic and brutal murder of millions of Jews and others.

Appeasement

policy of granting concessions in order to keep peace

Franklin D. Roosevelt

served as assistant secretary of the Navy (1913-1920), before running unsuccessfully for Vice President on the Democratic ticket in 1920. Stricken with polio the following year, Roosevelt recovered to resume his political career as governor of New York (1929-1933). Elected President in 1932, he lead the nation through the Great Depression and World War II before dying in office in 1945.

Axis Powers

group of countries led by Germany, Italy, and Japan that fought the Allies in World War II

Allies

group of countries led by Britain, France, the United States, and the Soviet Union that fought the Axis Powers in World War II

Winston Churchill

Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1940 to 1945, Churchill inspired the British during World War II. After the war, he was not re-elected. However, he resumed office again between 1951 to 1955. He strongly opposed the expansion of Soviet communism, referring to nations under communism as being behind the "Iron Curtain."

Neutrality Act of 1939

act that allowed nations at war to buy goods and arms in the United States if they paid cash and carried the merchandise on their own ships

Lend-Lease Act

act passed in 1941 that allowed President Roosevelt to sell or lend war supplies to any country whose defense he considered vital to the safety of the United States

Atlantic Charter

pact signed by Great Britain and the United States that endorsed certain principles for building a lasting peace and establishing free governments in the world

Hideki Tojo

became Japan's prime minister in October of 1941 when plans were already underway to attack the United States Navy at Pearl Harbor. He led Japan until July 1944. After the war, he was tried for war crimes and hanged in December 1948.

Pearl Harbor

American military base attacked by the Japanese on December 7, 1941

George Marshall

became the army's chief of staff in 1939. Marshall used his quiet strength, negotiating skills, and planning genius to build a fighting force as quickly as possible. As Secretary of State after the war, he devised a plan of aid, called the Marshall Plan, to help Western Europe recover. In 1950, he returned as Secretary of Defense at the start of the Korean War and helped to prepare the army one more time.

Women's Army Corps (WAC)

United States Army group established during World War II so that women could serve in non-combat roles

Douglas MacArthur

commanded American troops in World War I, where he developed a reputation for bravery. As supreme commander of Allied forces in the Pacific (1942-1945) he accepted Japan's surrender to end World War II. In 1950, he became commander of UN forces in the Korean War. He retired after his controversial removal from command in 1951, following a dispute with President Harry Truman.

Bataan Death March

during World War II, the forced march of American and Filipino prisoners of war under brutal conditions led by the Japanese military

Dwight Eisenhower

was given command of all American forces in Europe in 1942. After strong performances in North Africa and Italy, he was made Supreme Commander of Allied Forces. His skillful handling of the D-Day invasion and the drive to Germany won wide respect. Eisenhower went on to serve two terms as President before retiring.

Tuskegee Airmen

African American squadron that escorted bombers in the air war over Europe during World War II

Battle of Midway

turning point of World War II in the Pacific, in which the Japanese advance was stopped

A. Philip Randolph

was a strong labor leader and leader of the civil rights movement for decades. In 1925, he became head of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. After more than a decade of battling, he got the Pullman Corporation to sign the first contract in history between a major company and a predominantly African American labor union. Next Randolph turned his attention to discrimination in war industries, convincing President Roosevelt to issue Executive Order 8802 in 1941. After the war, he persuaded President Truman to pass another executive order banning discrimination in the military. Randolph was a driving force behind the 1963 March on Washington.

Bracero Program

plan that brought laborers from Mexico to work on American farms

442nd Regimental Combat Team

World War II unit made up of Japanese American volunteers

Rationing

government-controlled limits on the amount of certain goods that civilians could buy during wartime

Office of War Information (OWI)

government agency that encouraged support of the war effort during World War II

War Bond

a bond bought to fund a war effort, redeemable for interest after a certain period of time

Demographics

statistics that show human characteristics of a population

Battle of the Bulge

last major German offensive on the Western Front during World War II; it was an unsuccessful attempt to push back the Allies that crippled Germany by forcing it to use more resources than it could afford

Harry S. Truman

was President of the United States from 1945-1953. Truman took office after Franklin Roosevelt's death and led the nation during the final months of World War II, making the decision to use atomic weapons against Japan. In the early years of the Cold War, Truman worked to rebuild Europe and to oppose the spread of communism. When communist North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950, beginning the Korean War, Truman sent American troops into the conflict.

Island-Hopping

World War II strategy that involved seizing selected Japanese-held islands in the Pacific while bypassing others

Manhattan Project

code name of the U.S. government research project that developed the atomic bomb