WWII

Communism

A system where individual people do not own land, factories, or machinery. Instead, the government of the whole community owns these things.

Fascism

A system based on extreme nationalism, the greatness of the leader, and the supremacy of an ethnicity/race.

Stalin's 5-Year Plans

Stalin's initiative to "modernize" Soviet agriculture and industry through a series of plans.

Gulags

Soviet labor camps in Siberia where millions of people were sent.

The Great Purge

Stalin's campaign to rid the USSR of "enemies," resulting in the arrest and murder of millions.

Benito Mussolini

Italian leader who called for Italy to have a dictator and organized fascist groups throughout the country.

Il Duce

Mussolini's title as the leader of Italy, aiming to create a new Roman Empire.

Adolf Hitler

German leader who joined the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazis) and wrote Mein Kampf while in prison.

Nazism

Hitler's philosophy based on German nationalism and racial superiority.

Emperor Hirohito

Japanese emperor who led Japan's shift to militarism and ultra-nationalism.

Sino-Japanese War

Japan's invasion of mainland China, resulting in the Nanking Massacre.

Nazi Expansion

Hitler's goal to expand east and conquer the USSR for "lebensraum" (living space).

Anschluss

Hitler's annexation of Austria with little resistance.

Sudetenland

The industrial region in Czechoslovakia invaded by the Nazis.

Lightning War (Blitzkrieg)

A fast, concentrated air and land attack strategy used by the Nazis.

Miracle of Dunkirk

The evacuation of British and French troops by civilian boats

Invasion of France

Hitler's army sweeping through France, leading to the French surrender.

Battle of Britain

The Nazi air assault on Britain, which lasted for 9 months.

Munich Conference

A meeting where Neville Chamberlain and Edouard Daladier practiced appeasement towards Hitler's demands.

Attack on Pearl Harbor

Japan's surprise attack on the US naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Rhineland

A region in western Germany that was demilitarized by the Treaty of Versailles