his

Adolf Hitler

Nazi dictator of Germany who started WWII in Europe and orchestrated the Holocaust.

Albert Einstein

Theoretical physicist who developed the theory of relativity and influenced modern atomic science.

Benito Mussolini

Fascist dictator of Italy who allied with Hitler and led his country into WWII.

Charles de Gaulle

Leader of the Free French forces who resisted Nazi occupation during World War II.

Col. Benjamin Oliver Davis Jr.

Commander of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen and first Black US Air Force general.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Supreme Allied Commander in Europe who planned and executed the D

Franklin D. Roosevelt

US President who led America through the Great Depression and most of World War II.

Francisco Franco

Fascist dictator who won the Spanish Civil War and ruled Spain for decades.

General Douglas MacArthur

Supreme Allied Commander in the Pacific who led the island

General George Patton

Aggressive US tank commander who led victories in North Africa, Sicily, and Europe.

General Omar Bradley

Highly respected US general who commanded major ground forces in North Africa and Europe.

Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone

Legendary Marine hero awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism at Guadalcanal.

Harry S. Truman

US President who made the decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan, ending WWII.

Hideki Tojo

Prime minister and military leader of wartime Japan who authorized the Pearl Harbor attack.

J. Robert Oppenheimer

Physicist known as the "father of the atomic bomb" for leading the Manhattan Project.

Joseph Stalin

Soviet dictator who led the USSR to victory over Germany in World War II.

Vladimir Lenin

Bolshevik leader who founded the Soviet Union and established its communist regime.

Winston Churchill

British Prime Minister whose defiant leadership rallied Great Britain against Nazi Germany.

Terms to Know

Allied Powers

WW2 alliance primarily led by Great Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union.

Annexation of Austria

Nazi Germany’s forced unification with Austria in 1938, also known as the Anschluss.

Appeasement

Policy of giving in to an aggressor's demands to avoid war, used with Hitler.

Atomic Bomb

Powerful nuclear weapon developed by the US that ended World War II.

Attack on Pearl Harbor

Surprise Japanese military strike on December 7, 1941, bringing the US into WWII.

Axis Powers

WW2 military alliance formed by Germany, Italy, and Japan.

Bastogne

Belgian town defended by US troops during the critical Battle of the Bulge.

Bataan Death March

Forced, brutal march of American and Filipino prisoners by Japanese captors in 1942.

Battle of Britain

Extended WWII air campaign where the British RAF defended against Nazi Luftwaffe attacks.

Battle of Midway

Turning point Pacific naval battle where the US crippled the Japanese fleet.

Battle of Okinawa

Brutal, high

Battle of Stalingrad

Decisive Soviet victory over Germany, marking the turning point of WWII in Europe.

Battle of the Atlantic

Longest continuous military campaign of WWII, fighting for control of ocean supply lines.

Battle of the Bulge

Germany’s last major offensive campaign on the Western Front, which ultimately failed.

Beer Hall Putsch

Hitler's failed 1923 coup attempt to overthrow the German Weimar Republic.

Black Shirts

Paramilitary wing of Benito Mussolini’s Italian Fascist Party.

Blitzkrieg

"Lightning war"; German military tactic using rapid, overwhelming force by tanks and planes.

Cash and Carry Program

1939 US policy allowing warring nations to buy goods if they paid cash and transported them.

Communism

Political economic system targeting a classless society through state control of production.

D Day

June 6, 1944; the massive Allied amphibious invasion of Nazi

Doolittle’s Raid

US retaliatory air raid on Tokyo in 1942, boosting American morale.

Enabling Act 1933

German law that allowed Adolf Hitler to enact laws without parliament's consent.

Fascism

Authoritarian, nationalistic political ideology prioritizing the state over individual freedoms.

Five Year Plan

Stalin’s economic initiatives designed to rapidly industrialize the Soviet Union.

French Strategic Error

France's over

Geneva Conventions

International treaties establishing humanitarian rules for the treatment of wartime prisoners and civilians.

Gestapo

The brutal secret police force of Nazi Germany.

Guadalcanal

First major Allied offensive in the Pacific, halting Japanese expansion.

Gulag

Soviet system of forced labor camps used to imprison political dissidents and criminals.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Japanese cities destroyed by US atomic bombs in August 1945.

Internment Camps

Centers where citizens or foreign nationals are detained during wartime without trial.

Invasion of Poland

Germany’s September 1, 1939 attack that directly triggered World War II.

Italian Campaign

Allied military operations to invade Italy and remove it from the Axis.

Iwo Jima

Fierce Pacific battle famed for the iconic US flag

Japanese Internment

Forced relocation and incarceration of Japanese

Kamikaze

Japanese suicide pilots who intentionally crashed planes into Allied warships.

“Little Boy” and “Fat Man”

Codenames for the two atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

NKVD + KGB

Soviet secret police agencies responsible for state security and political repression.

Korematsu v. United States

Supreme Court ruling that upheld the legality of Japanese

Lend Lease Act

1941 program allowing the US to supply war materials to Allied nations.

Leningrad

Soviet city subjected to a brutal, deadly 900 day siege by German forces.

Luftwaffe

The official German air force before and during World War II.

Maginot Line

Heavily fortified French defensive line that German forces bypassed by invading through Belgium.

Manhattan Project

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Mein Kampf

Hitler’s autobiographical manifesto outlining his racist ideology and political plans.

Munich Pact

1938 agreement letting Germany annex Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland in exchange for peace.

Nationalism

Extreme loyalty and devotion to one’s nation, often placing it above others.

Nazis

Members of Adolf Hitler's National Socialist German Workers' Party.

Neutrality Acts

Series of 1930s US laws designed to keep America out of foreign wars.

New Economic Policy (Lenin)

Temporary Soviet economic policy mixing limited capitalism with state control.

Molotov

Ribbentrop Pact (1939)

North Africa Campaign

WW2 struggle between Axis and Allies for control of the Mediterranean and Middle East.

Nuremberg War Trials

Post

Omaha Beach

Most heavily defended Normandy beach sector during the Allied D

Operation Overlord

Codename for the entire Allied invasion of northwest Europe, starting on D

Operation Torch

Allied amphibious invasion of Axis

Pearl Harbor

Strategic US naval base in Hawaii attacked by Japan in 1941.

Radar

Technology using radio waves to detect distant aircraft, crucial for British air defense.

Royal Air Force (RAF)

Great Britain’s air force, vital in winning the Battle of Britain.

Sonar

Technology using sound waves to detect submerged submarines, vital against German U

Stalinism

Stalin’s authoritarian rule was characterized by rapid industrialization, terror, and total state control.

Stalin’s Purge

Campaign of political repression and execution of perceived enemies within the Soviet Union.

Sudetenland

Border region of Czechoslovakia annexed by Nazi Germany under the Munich Pact.

Surrender of Japan

August 1945 announcement ending WWII after the atomic bombings.

Third Reich

Official Nazi designation for the regime ruling Germany from 1933 to 1945.

Totalitarianism

Government system requiring complete subservience to a centralized, dictatorial state.

Tripartite Pact

1940 agreement formally establishing the Berlin

Tuskegee Airmen

First African American military aviators in the US Armed Forces.

U.S. Oil Embargo on Japan

1941 economic sanction cutting off oil, provoking Japan's Pearl Harbor attack.

U

boat

Ukrainian Holodomor

Man

Unconditional Surrender

Complete surrender without guarantees, demanded by Allies from Axis powers.

V

E Day

Yalta Conference

1945 wartime meeting of Allied leaders to plan Europe’s post