Chapter 23 World War II

What is fascism?

a system of government characterized by authoritarian rule, extreme nationalism, the belief in racial (Aryan) superiority and suppression of civil liberties

What did Japan do before WWII started?

it modernized its military and industries, needed raw materials and new overseas markets, so it used its military to begin conquering its neighbors

Who was emperor of Japan?

Hirohito

Who was Prime Minister of Japan?

Hideki Tojo

What did Japan do in 1931 and 1937 to China?

it invaded Manchuria, China (northern territory) in 1931 and a full invasion of 1937

What countries did Japan conquer in 1940?

Korea, Vietnam, Loas, Cambodia, Phillipines, and Indonesia

Who came into power in Italy in 1922?

Benito Mussolini

What was Benito Mussolini nicknamed?

Il Duce (The Leader)

What were some of Mussolini’s beliefs/ideas?

he condemned the Versailles Treaty for denying Italian territorial claims in Africa and the Middle East and he planned to build a modern Roman Empire

What did Italy do in 1935?

invaded Ethiopia

What were factors that contributed to Adolf Hitler’s rise with the Nazi party?

WWI war debt, reparation payments, economic depression, rising unemployment, fear of communism

What book outlined Hitler’s beliefs and plans?

his autobiography Mein Kampf (My Struggle)

Who and what did Hitler blame for Germany’s problems?

he blamed the Versailles Treaty and Jewish people

What did Hitler plan to do with the Versailles Treaty?

he planned to overturn it

What was Hitler’s plan with Europe?

to annex large parts of it to unite Germans into a central “fatherland”

What did Hitler believe about racial purity?

“inferior races” (Jews, Slavs, Gypsies) would be subjugated by “master race” (Aryans)

What happened in 1933 that made Hitler gain his power?

he was appointed chancellor and the Reichstag (parliament) granted him dictatorial powers

What were some of the first things Hitler did when he came into power?

he outlawed all other political parties, arrested political rivals and declared himself Der Fuhrer (the Leader)

What did Hitler do in 1935 in violation of the Versailles Treaty?

he rearmed the German military

What did Hitler do in 1936?

invaded Rhineland

What did Italy and Germany form and what did it change to when Japan joined?

the Rome-Berlin Axis and then the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis (Axis Powers)

What was the Neutrality Act of 1935?

passed by the US, it imposed an embargo on weapons sales to any warring nations and warned Americans traveling abroad did so at their own risk

What did the Neutrality Act of 1935 ban in 1936?

loans to warring nations

What did the Neutrality Act of 1935 impose in 1937?

a “cash-and-carry” requirement: warring country could purchase nonmilitary goods from U.S. but had to pay cash and transport goods on their own ships

What did the Neutrality Act of 1935 permit in 1939?

the sale of military goods on “cash and carry” terms; later changed to allow Allies to “cash and carry” military items

What did most Americans support?

isolationism

What did Hitler do and plan to do in 1938?

he annexed Austria and planned to seize Sudetenland (western Czechoslovakia)

What was the Munich Conference in 1938?

meeting between England, France & Germany; England & France agreed to let Hitler annex Sudetenland if pledged not to annex any more land

What did Hitler do against the agreements in the Munich Conference?

Hitlet annexed the rest of Czechoslovakia six months later

What did Hitler and Joseph Stalin do in August 1939?

they signed a non-aggression pledge

What was the beginning of WWII?

Hitler invaded Poland; England & France declared war on Germany

What is the date of the start of WWII?

September 1, 1939

What happened to Europe by June 1940?

Germany conquered Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Norway, Denmark & France

Who was re-elected in 1940 (US)?

FDR to his third term

What was FDR’s Four Freedoms speech in January 1941?

(freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, & freedom from fear) State of the Union address championing human rights and justifying American support for England

What was the Lend-Lease Act?

passed by Congress, the president could lend/loan weapons to England or any country whose defense was vital to American security; countries could repay America later

What was the Attack on Pearl Harbor?

Japanese attack on a US navy base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

What is the date for the Attack on Pearl Harbor?

December 7, 1941

What was the damage from the Attack on Pearl Harbor?

2400 Americans dead; several naval vessels damaged/destroyed; 200 planes destroyed

When did the US declare war on Japan?

a day after Pearl Harbor (December 8, 1941)

When did the Axis Powers declare war on the US?

3 days after the US declared war on Japan (December 11, 1941)

What was the War Powers Act?

FDR had unprecedented  control over all aspects of the war effort

What was the 1942 Revenue Act?

expanded from 3.9 million to 42.6 million the number of income tax paying Americans; paid for 50% of war effort

Who did the government borrow money from?

wealthy Americans and expanded the war bond program

What was the War Production Board (WPB)?

awarded military contracts, allocated resources, and encouraged factories to convert to military production

How many men and women enlisted in the armed forces?

16 million

What were the code talkers?

500+ Native Americans who were trained to use their native languages to send/receive coded messages that were never broken by the Axis

What were some places 350,000 women enlisted in?

Women’s Army Corps (WAC), Women Accepted for Volunteers Emergency Service (WAVES), or Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs)

What were some jobs women had during WW2?

transport pilots, ferry captains, nurses, clerks, mechanics, radio operators, logistical operations, etc.

What was the 1944 Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (“G.I. Bill”)?

provided education, job training, medical care, pensions and home loans for men & women who served in the military

Was unemployment high by 1943?

no, it reached pre-Depression levels

What did government recruiters encourage people to do?

men to enlist and women to “get a war job”

What were “Rosies” and Rosie the Riveter?

36% of American workforce were women (nicknamed Rosies)

What was the “Double V” Campaign?

launched by African Americans, it was for victory over Nazism abroad and Jim Crow discrimination at home

What did the “Double V” Campaign renew calls for?

to end job/housing discrimination, segregation, and voter suppression

What was Executive Order 8802?

signed by FDR, it prohibited discrimination in the hiring of workers based on race, creed, color or national origin” & created Fair Employment Practice Committee (FEPC) as a watchdog over hiring practices

What was the Bracero Program?

U.S. brought hundreds of thousands of Mexican workers to the U.S., especially for low-wage farm workers

Where did 15 million Americans move during WW2?

to new residences for work; about half moved to a different state, mostly moving to big cities

What happened to German and Italian Americans during WW2?

around 15,000 of them were detained by police

What did Pearl Harbor uncover towards Japanese Americans?

long-standing racism towards Japanese Americans

What was Executive Order 9066?

signed in 1942 by FDR, it forced removal of Japanese Americans from their homes to relocation camps to the interior of the U.S. for the duration of the war

What were Nisei?

native-born Americans of Japanese ancestry

What were the majority of people imprisoned as a result of Executive Order 9066?

Nisei

What were some things that happened when Executive Order 9066 went into effect?

in a few days warning, businesses were abandoned or sold off; Nisei could serve in the military but only in the European theater of combat

What was result of Korematsu vs US?

upreme Court upheld the removal of Japanese Americans as a “military necessity”

What did the US do in 1988 as a response to the internment camps?

US Government apologized for the internment camps and paid reparations to each of the 82,000 surviving internees

Was FDR re-elected for a 4th term?

yes, in 1944

What were the Allies?

England, Soviet Union & US

What were the Big Three?

Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin & FDR

What was the goal of the allies?

defeating Germany first, Japan second

What did Stalin want when Germany invaded the Soviet Union and reached the outskirts of Moscow?

the Allies to open a second front by invading France

Why did the Germans drive into southern Russia and North Africa?

Russia: to seize oil fields

North Africa: to seize Suez Canal in Egypt and capture oil fields of Middle East

What was the Battle of El-Alamein and in 1943 after?

British troops halt German advance in Egypt and in 1943, American/English troops launch counteroffensive in North Africa

What happened at the Battle of Stalingrad?

Russian troops halt German advance

How did Italy fall?

1943, Allied invasion of Italy; Rome capture in 1944; Mussolini captured/executed by Italian rebels

What was D-Day?

Allied invasion of France; second front opened against Germany

When was D-Day?

June 6, 1944

How does Germany fall?

1945: Allies invade Germany; Hitler committed suicide on April 30th; Germany surrendered on May 7th

What was the Holocaust?

Germany’s campaign that exterminated 6 million European Jews and 6 million “undesirables” (Poles, Slavs, gypsies, homosexuals, the disabled)

What were some concentration camps found?

Buchenwald, Dachau, Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen

What did Japan conquer?

Wake Island, Guam, the Solomon Islands & Malaysia

What was the Battle of Coral Sea?

May 1942, U.S. halted Japanese advance and prevented Japan from invading Australia

What was the Battle of Midway?

June, 1942: U.S. navy smashed Japanese fleet, destroying several aircraft carriers

Why did the Allies do island hopping?

to get within bombing range of Japan

What did Japanese pilots resort to?

kamikazi attacks

By 1945, what did the Allies begin to do to Japanese cities?

they began bombing them

Who becomes president after FDR dies?

VP Harry Truman

What was the Manhattan Project?

1942-1945: code name for atomic bomb research project that cost 2 billion dollars

Who led the Manhattan Project?

General Leslie Groves and physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer

Where and when was the atomic bomb test?

in Los Alamos, NM in July 1945

What happened on August 6, 1945?

atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima (100,000 casualties)

What happened on August 9, 1945?

atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki (60,000 casualties)

What did Japan do on August 12, 1945?

 Japanese government surrendered unconditionally

What did Japan do on September 2, 1945?

Japan signed the formal surrender papers