Key Events and Concepts of World War II

Hitler's anger towards intellectuals, Communists, and Jews

He blamed them for Germany's economic depression and its defeat in World War I.

Founder of the Italian fascist party

Benito Mussolini

Totalitarian government

Controls every aspect of citizens' lives.

Treaty causing resentment among Germans after World War I

Treaty of Versailles

Britain and France's declaration of war on Germany in 1939

They had pledged to defend Poland against Hitler, who attacked it from the West.

Policy of avoiding war by giving in to aggressive demands

Appeasement

Reason for Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor

To give itself time to secure control of East Asia before the U.S. military could respond.

Lend-Lease Act

Allowed the U.S. to send billions of dollars' worth of supplies to Allied countries.

Congress's action after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor

Voted to declare war on Japan and enter World War II.

U.S. factories during World War II

Factories ran twenty-four hours a day producing military supplies.

Selective Training and Service Act of 1940

It was the first peacetime draft in the country's history.

U.S. government action to help military production during the war

Banned the production of cars so that auto plants could make military equipment.

Zoot Suit Riots in Los Angeles in 1943

White mobs attacked Mexican Americans.

Women in the military during World War II

They served as nurses in battle areas.

Highest-ranking African American officer in the U.S. military during WWII

Benjamin O. Davis

Internment of Japanese Americans during World War II

U.S. citizens and the government viewed them with suspicion and fear.

Issei

Immigrants born in Japan.

Feelings of Japanese American soldiers during World War II

Felt betrayed by the U.S. government's practice of internment.

Sonar's help to the Allies during WWII

Helping Allied ships find and destroy German U-boats.

Operation Overlord

Building up troops in Great Britain to invade France.

Tensions between the Soviet Union and Allied forces during WWII

The Allies did not give the Soviet Union enough help in fighting off German attacks.

Effectiveness of Ernie Pyle's reporting from the front lines

It could bring to life the thought process of an anxious soldier on patrol in unfamiliar territory.

Japanese kamikaze pilots

Purposefully crashed their planes into enemy ships.

German plan during the Battle of the Bulge

Drive through a weak spot in Allied lines and capture Antwerp, Belgium.

President Roosevelt in April 1945

He died of a stroke.

V-E Day

Victory in Europe Day.

Disposal of murdered Jews' bodies during the Holocaust

In mass graves or cremated.

The Holocaust

The Nazis' attempt to exterminate the entire Jewish population of Europe.

Genocide

The extermination of an entire group of people.

Nagasaki on August 9, 1945

An atomic bomb was dropped, killing 22,000 people instantly.

Condition of the U.S. after World War II

It escaped much destruction and was the strongest power in the world at the time.

Hitler's rise to power

He was appointed chancellor and then consolidated power legally.

Tuskegee Airmen

African American pilots who flew missions in Europe.

Zoot Suit Riots

White sailors attacked Mexican Americans.

World War II and the Great Depression

World War II helped end the Great Depression.

Japan's surrender

Japan surrendered after the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs.

Soviet Union and Stalingrad

Stalin demanded they hold the city.

D-Day

The beginning of the Allied invasion of Western Europe.

Battle of the Coral Sea

The Allies won the battle.

Battle of the Bulge

Counterattack launched by the Germans after the D-Day invasion.

Benito Mussolini

Fascist Italian leader who allied with Hitler to form the Axis Powers.

A. Philip Randolph

Organized a 1941 march on Washington to demand equal pay for Black workers.

Battle of Stalingrad

Battle in the Soviet Union where German soldiers froze or starved.

Appeasement

Policy of avoiding war by giving in to an aggressor's demands.

Harry S. Truman

President who ordered the use of atomic bombs on Japan.

Omaha Beach

D-Day landing site with about 3,000 Allied casualties.

Lend-Lease Act

Allowed the U.S. to aid any nation vital to its defense.