Concentration Camps
a place where large numbers of people, especially political prisoners or members of persecuted minorities, are deliberately imprisoned in a relatively small area with inadequate facilities, sometimes to provide forced labor or to await mass execution
Heinrich Himmler
individual Hitler entrusted to control all concentration camps throughout Europe
Ghettos
separate section of a city where members of a minority group are forced to live
Crematoriums
a place used to burn corpses
Auschwitz
a group of three German concentration camps and extermination camps in southern Poland, built and operated during the Third Reich
Anne Frank
most well known Jewish survivor of the Holocaust because of the diary she kept
War Refugee Board
a US government agency established to assist people trying to escape persecution during WW2
Genocide
deliberate and systematic killing of people who belong to a particular racial, ethnic,or cultural group.
Total War
channeling of a nation's entire resources into a war effort
Rationing
allowing each individual to have a fixed amount of something
Internment
confinement during wartime
“Rosie the Riveter”
symbol of Women’s participation in the war effort
Aircraft Carriers
ship that accommodates the taking off and landing of airplanes, and transports aircraft
Battle of Midway
naval battle fought between US and Japan in June 1942
General Bernard Montgomery
British commander of the 8th army in both Africa and Europe
General Dwight D. Eisenhower
US general of led forces in Europe during WW2
Armistice
agreement to end fighting in a war
Battle of Stalingrad
a brutal military campaign between Russia and Germany where the Russians were able to defeat the Germans, one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the war
D-Day
code name for June 6, 1944, the day that Allied forces invaded France during WWII
Normandy
5 beaches in northern France where the invasion of D-Day took place
Battle of the Bulge
last major German offensive campaign in western Europe in WW2
Yalta Conference
meeting between Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin in February 1945 where the three leaders made agreements regarding the end of World War II
Self Determination
right of the people to freely choose their sovereignty
V-E Day
Victory in Europe Day, May 8, 1945, the day the Allies won WWII in Europe
Bataan Death March
during World War II, the forced march of Filipino and American prisoners of war under brutal conditions by the Japanese military
Island Hopping
military strategy used by the Allies in the Pacific against the Japanese
General Douglas MacArthur
American General who led the American forces in the Pacific against Japan
Kamikaze
Japanese pilot who undertook a suicide mission
Manhattan Project
code name for the project to build the first atomic bomb during WWII
Harry Truman
Harry Truman (1884–1972) was the vice president of the United States when Roosevelt died and became the 33rd president upon his death. After being in office for only a few months, Truman made the decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan.
Hiroshima/Nagasaki
city in Japan where the first atomic bomb was dropped in August 1945, Japanese city; on an island in its harbor, the Tokugawa shoguns in the 1600s permitted one or two Dutch ships to trade with Japan each year
Nuremberg Trials
series of war crimes trials held in Germany after WWII
United Nations
an international organization formed in 1945 at the end of World War II. Since then, its global role has expanded to include economic and social development, human rights, humanitarian aid, and international law.