World War II Study Guide: Key Events and Concepts

The Holocaust

The Holocaust was the systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators during World War II. Other groups, including Romani people, disabled individuals, and political dissidents, were also targeted.

How many Jews died during the Holocaust?

Approximately six million Jews were killed.

Genocide

The deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group.

Concentration Camp

A place where large numbers of people, especially political prisoners or persecuted groups, were imprisoned and often killed under harsh conditions.

Ghetto

Segregated areas within cities where Jews were forced to live under Nazi rule before being transported to concentration camps.

The Final Solution

The Final Solution was Nazi Germany's plan to exterminate the Jewish population of Europe through mass killings, primarily in extermination camps.

Two rights that were restricted for Jews

1. Jews were forbidden from owning businesses. 2. Jews were banned from attending schools and universities.

Kristallnacht

Kristallnacht, or the "Night of Broken Glass," was a violent anti-Jewish pogrom on November 9-10, 1938, during which synagogues, businesses, and homes were destroyed, and thousands of Jews were arrested or killed.

Bataan Death March

After the fall of Bataan in the Philippines in 1942, thousands of American and Filipino soldiers were forced to march over 60 miles to a Japanese prison camp under brutal conditions, resulting in thousands of deaths.

Battle of Midway

The Battle of Midway (June 1942) was a turning point in the Pacific War, where the U.S. Navy decisively defeated the Japanese fleet, halting their expansion and shifting the momentum in favor of the Allies.

Island Hopping strategy

The Island Hopping strategy involved capturing key islands while bypassing others to gradually move closer to Japan.

Doolittle Raids

The Doolittle Raid (April 1942) was the first U.S. air raid on Japan. It boosted American morale and demonstrated that Japan was vulnerable to attacks.

Conditions of the war in the Pacific

1. Extreme heat and humidity. 2. Dense jungle and difficult terrain. 3. High disease rates (malaria, dysentery).

Japanese deaths in the Mariana Islands battles

Many Japanese soldiers fought to the death rather than surrender, and civilians were also encouraged to commit suicide rather than be captured.

Kamikaze

Kamikazes were Japanese suicide pilots who crashed their planes into enemy ships to inflict maximum damage.

Bloodiest battle of the Pacific

The Battle of Okinawa (April-June 1945) was the bloodiest battle, with high casualties on both sides.

Battle of Iwo Jima

This image is from the Battle of Iwo Jima (February-March 1945).

Potsdam Conference

The Potsdam Conference (July 1945) was a meeting between the Allies (U.S., U.K., U.S.S.R.) to decide post-war plans. Attendees included Harry Truman (U.S.), Winston Churchill (U.K.), and Joseph Stalin (U.S.S.R.).

Manhattan Project

The secret U.S. project to develop the atomic bomb during World War II.

Leader of the Manhattan Project

J. Robert Oppenheimer.

First successful test of the Manhattan Project

The first successful test was conducted in Alamogordo, New Mexico, on July 16, 1945.

Names of the two atomic bombs

"Little Boy" (Hiroshima) and "Fat Man" (Nagasaki).

Bomb drop locations

Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945).

Repercussions of the atomic bombs

Massive destruction, tens of thousands of immediate deaths, long-term radiation effects, and Japan's surrender.

USS Indianapolis

It was torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine on July 30, 1945, after delivering atomic bomb components.

Survivors of the USS Indianapolis

They endured days in shark-infested waters with little food or water, and many died before being rescued.

Casualties in Hiroshima

Approximately 140,000 dead.

Casualties in Nagasaki

Approximately 70,000 dead.

Effects of the atomic bomb

1. Immediate destruction of cities. 2. High radiation exposure leading to illness. 3. Long-term environmental and health effects. 4. The surrender of Japan, ending World War II.

VJ Day

"Victory over Japan" Day (August 15, 1945) marked Japan's surrender, effectively ending World War II.