World War II Study Guide: Key Events and Concepts

Appeasement

Giving in to someone's demands to avoid conflict.

Pacifism

Believing that war and violence are wrong.

Neutrality Acts

U.S. laws that said America would stay out of foreign wars.

Axis Powers

Germany, Italy, and Japan alliance.

Francisco Franco

Leader of Spain who became dictator after the Spanish Civil War.

Anschluss

Union of Austria with Germany.

Sudetenland

Area of Czechoslovakia with many Germans that Hitler wanted.

Winston Churchill

Prime Minister of Britain during WWII.

Nazi-Soviet Pact

Agreement between Germany and the Soviet Union to not fight each other and secretly divide Poland.

Blitzkrieg

"Lightning war," fast attacks by Germany.

Operation Sea Lion

Germany's plan to invade Britain.

Luftwaffe

German air force.

The Blitz

German bombing of Britain.

Dunkirk

Rescue of British and French soldiers trapped in France.

Operation Barbarossa

Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union.

Vichy

Part of France that cooperated with Germany.

Pearl Harbor

Japanese attack on a U.S. navy base, bringing the U.S. into the war.

Erwin Rommel

German general in North Africa ("Desert Fox").

Atlantic Charter

An agreement between U.S. and Britain about goals for after the war. (outlining their shared vision for a postwar world. It set forth eight principles focused on post-war peace, democracy, and international cooperation_

Franklin D. Roosevelt

U.S. President during most of WWII.

Hideki Tojo

Japanese military leader and prime minister.

Lend-Lease Act

U.S. law allowing them to send supplies to Allies before joining the war.

Concentration Camp

Prison camps where Nazis sent Jews and others.

Holocaust

The killing of 6 million Jews by the Nazis.

Crematorium

Place where bodies were burned.

Auschwitz

Largest and most deadly Nazi death camp.

Josef Mengele

Nazi doctor known for cruel experiments.

Heinrich Himmler

Leader of the Nazi SS and camps.

Ghettos

City sections where Jews were forced to live.

Final Solution

Nazi plan to kill all Jews.

St. Louis

Ship carrying Jewish refugees that was turned away.

War Refugee Board

U.S. agency to help Jews escape.

David Ben-Gurion

Jewish leader who helped found Israel.

Early actions against Jews

Took away rights, destroyed businesses.

Other groups targeted

Roma (Gypsies), disabled people, political prisoners.

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

Jewish resistance that was crushed.

Jewish resistance

Many fought back, though it was very hard. (they opposed Nazi-rule)

Non-Jewish reactions

Some helped, many stayed silent.

Why nations refused refugees

Fear of economic problems and antisemitism.

Liberation

Soviet, U.S., and British forces freed the camps.

Global impact

Led to human rights movements and the creation of Israel.

Internment

Forcing Japanese-Americans into camps during WWII.

Rosie the Riveter

Symbol of American women working in factories.

Aircraft Carriers

Ships that launched planes, key in naval battles.

Dwight Eisenhower

U.S. general who led D-Day.

Stalingrad

Major Soviet victory; turning point in the east. (Germany’s military was very weakened as the Soviets were expecting them)

D-Day

Allied invasion of France to defeat Germany.

Yalta Conference

Meeting where Allied leaders planned post-war Europe.

War Bonds

Money citizens lent to the government for the war.

Battle of Coral Sea

U.S. stopped a Japanese advance. (significant naval and air engagement)

Battle of Midway

Major U.S. victory that weakened Japan. (naval battle that took place 6 months after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor)

Battle of El Alamein

British victory in North Africa.

Gen. George Patton

American tank commander.

V-E Day

Victory in Europe Day (Germany surrendered).

Bataan Death March

Brutal march of American and Filipino prisoners by Japan.

Island Hopping

Strategy to capture key islands from Japan to advance towards them by selectively capturing important islands in the Pacific.

Douglas MacArthur

U.S. general in the Pacific. (developing the "island-hopping" strategy and led the liberation of the Philippines.)

Kamikaze

Japanese pilots who crashed into enemy ships.

Manhattan Project

Secret project to build the atomic bomb.

Harry Truman

U.S. president who decided to drop the atomic bomb.

Hiroshima

First city hit by an atomic bomb.

Nagasaki

Second city hit by an atomic bomb.

Nuremburg Trials

Trials for Nazi war criminals.

United Nations

International organization to keep peace.

Chester Nimitz

U.S. admiral in the Pacific.

Battle of Guadalcanal

First major Allied victory against Japan. (intense fighting on land and sea)