USH - Unit 13: World War 2 (Part I)

All things World War 2

Adolf Hitler

German Nazi dictator during World War II

Allied Powers (WW2)

Alliance of Great Britain, Soviet Union, United States, and France during WW2

Appeasement

A policy of making concessions to an aggressor in the hopes of avoiding war, associated with the policy of making concessions to Adolf Hitler.

Arsenal of Democracy

Term introduced by President Franklin Roosevelt for America's role in supplying the Allies in WW2

Atlantic Wall

extensive coastal fortifications built by the Germans along the Atlantic with the intention of deterring an allied invasion of Europe

Axis Powers (WW2)

Germany, Italy, Japan

Bataan Death March

April 1942, American soldiers were forced to march 65 miles to prison camps by their Japanese captors, many die along the way

Battle of Coral Sea

A battle between Japanese and American naval forces that stopped the Japanese advance on Australia.

Battle of Guadalcanal

WW2 battle in the Pacific representing the first Allied counter-attack against Japanese forces; Allied victory forced Japanese forces to abandon the island

Battle of Midway

U.S. naval victory over the Japanese fleet in June 1942, in which the Japanese lost four of their best aircraft carriers. It marked a turning point in WW2

Battle of Stalingrad

(1942) World War II battle between invading German forces and Soviet defenders for control of Stalingrad; each side sustained hundreds of thousands of casualties; Germany's defeat marked turning point in the war

Battle of the Bulge

A 1944-1945 battle in which Allied forces turned back the last major German offensive of World War II in the Ardennes Forest.

Benito Mussolini

Italian fascist dictator of Italy

Blitzkrieg

"Lighting war", type of fast-moving warfare used by German forces against Poland, the Low Countries, France, and the Soviet Union

DDay

Allied invasion of Europe on June 6, 1944

Doolittle Raid

The retaliatory attack by American bombers after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor

Double V Campaign

WW2-era effort of black Americans to gain "a Victory over racism at home as well as Victory abroad."

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Supreme Allied Commander during WW2--leader of troops in Africa and commander in DDay invasion

Flying Tigers

Americans who volunteered to serve as pilots fighting the Japanese in China prior and immediately after the US entering the war.

Hideki Tojo

Prime minister of Japan during World War II

Lend-Lease Act

allowed sales or loans of war materials to any country whose defense the president deems vital to the defense of the U.S

Mein Kampf

Influential book Written by Adolf Hitler describing his life and ideology.

Munich Conference

1938 conference at which European leaders 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.

Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

Hitler and Joseph Stalin agreed not to attack each other but divided Poland for an easy win

NAZIs

a member of the National Socialist German Workers' Party.

North Platte Canteen

stop for troop trains across the US, residents provided homemade foods and drinks to US service members as they travelled cross-country

Operation Torch

Allied invasion of North Africa

Rosie the Riveter

A propaganda character designed to increase the production of female workers in the factories becoming a rallying symbol for women to do their part.

Third Reich

The Third Republic of Germany which began Hitler's rule in 1933 and ended with his defeat in 1945

Tuskegee Airmen

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

WAACs

The "Women's Army Axillary Corps", an acronym given to reference women in the army during WW2, changed their roles in society and gained them new respect.

War Production Board

Converted factories from civilian to military production. Manufacturing output tripled.

WASPS

women army air force service pilots during WW2, ferried military planes from the US to fighting areas

WAVES

Women Appointed for Volunteer Emergency Service in the Navy during World War 2

*Korematsu v. US*

1944 US Supreme Court decision that upheld as constitutional the internment of more than 100,000 Japanese-Americans in camps during WW2

Hirohito

Japanese emperor in WW2

Douglas MacAruthur

US General in the Pacific during WW2, oversaw the occupation of Japan after the war

Winston Churchill

British Prime Minister during WW2, known for his iconic speeches and leadership

Strategic bombing

military tactic where large-scale bombing is carried out on enemy targets, such as factories, cities, and infrastructure, with the aim of weakening their ability to fight and win the war