WW2

Blitzkrieg

The German “lightning war” strategy using fast-moving planes, tanks, and troops to overwhelm enemies quickly.

Lebensraum

Hitler’s idea of “living space” that justified German expansion into Eastern Europe.

Appeasement

Giving in to an aggressor’s demands to maintain peace.

Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

1939 pact where Germany and the USSR agreed not to attack each other and secretly divided Poland.

Nuremberg Laws

1935 Nazi racial laws that stripped Jews of citizenship and rights.

Kristallnacht

“Night of Broken Glass” when Nazi mobs attacked Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues.

Final Solution

The Nazi plan to exterminate the Jewish population through mass murder and death camps.

Why was Hitler able to come to power?

Germany was in economic collapse; unemployment, unrest, and Nazi propaganda helped him gain support.

What happened on September 1, 1939?

Germany invaded Poland, starting WWII when Britain and France declared war.

What was the Holocaust?

The systematic murder of six million Jews by the Nazis.

Groups targeted besides Jews

Roma, disabled people, LGBTQ+ individuals, Slavs, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and political opponents.

Conditions in ghettos

Overcrowding, starvation, disease, poor sanitation, forced labor.

Conditions in concentration/death camps

Starvation, forced labor, torture, disease, and gas chamber executions.

Why didn’t the U.S. accept more Jewish refugees?

Strict quotas, job fears during the Depression, and antisemitism.

Selective Training and Service Act

First peacetime draft in U.S. history (1940).

Lend-Lease Act

Allowed the U.S. to send weapons and supplies to Allies before joining the war.

What happened on Dec. 7, 1941?

Japan attacked Pearl Harbor; the U.S. entered WWII.

Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor?

The U.S. cut off oil and steel shipments to Japan.

Results of Pearl Harbor attack

U.S. naval losses and Congress declared war on Japan.

Executive Order 9066

Authorized internment of Japanese Americans for “national security.”

Conditions in Japanese internment camps

Barbed wire, guards, crowded barracks, poor food, and harsh conditions.

War’s impact on women

Women filled factory jobs and military support roles.

War’s impact on African Americans

More job opportunities and migration; Double V campaign.

Dwight Eisenhower

Supreme Allied Commander in Europe; led D-Day.

Battle of the Bulge

Germany’s last major offensive; Allies defeated them and Germany was weakened.

Nuremberg Trials

Trials that held Nazi leaders accountable for war crimes.

Operation Overlord

Allied plan to invade Nazi-occupied France through Normandy (D-Day).

What happened on June 6, 1944?

D-Day: Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy.

Significance of D-Day

Opened a Western front and turned the tide against Germany.

Omaha Beach experience

Heavy fire, rough waves, mines, and high casualties; soldiers pushed through.

Kamikaze

Japanese suicide pilots who crashed into Allied ships.

Manhattan Project

Secret U.S. project that developed the atomic bomb.

Emperor Hirohito

Japan’s emperor during WWII who announced Japan’s surrender.

Hideki Tojo

Japanese Prime Minister during WWII; led Japan during expansion and the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Harry Truman

U.S. president after FDR; made the decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan.

Pacific strategy used by the U.S.

Island hopping—capturing key islands while bypassing heavily fortified ones to move closer to Japan.

How did island hopping work?

The U.S. skipped strongholds, cut off Japanese supply lines, and used captured islands as bases.

Last two islands captured before invading Japan

Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

Results of the Battle of Iwo Jima

U.S. victory with heavy casualties; island used for airbases close to Japan.

Results of the Battle of Okinawa

Extremely bloody battle; showed how deadly a full invasion of Japan would be.

Why were Iwo Jima and Okinawa important?

They provided air bases and staging grounds for attacks on Japan.

Argument for dropping the atomic bomb: save lives

It avoided a full invasion of Japan, which would have caused massive U.S. and Japanese casualties.

Argument for dropping the atomic bomb: end war quickly

The bomb forced Japan to surrender, ending WWII faster.

Argument for dropping the atomic bomb: show power

It demonstrated U.S. military strength, especially to the Soviet Union.

Argument against dropping the atomic bomb: civilian deaths

It killed hundreds of thousands of civilians instantly and through radiation.

Argument against dropping the atomic bomb: moral concerns

The bomb caused extreme suffering and raised ethical issues.

Argument against dropping the atomic bomb: alternatives existed

Japan may have surrendered through other means like negotiations or demonstration.

Where was the first atomic bomb dropped?

Hiroshima, Japan.

When was the first atomic bomb dropped?

August 6, 1945.

Where was the second atomic bomb dropped?

Nagasaki, Japan.

When was the second atomic bomb dropped?

August 9, 1945.

Effects of the atomic bombs

Mass destruction, radiation sickness, long-term health effects, and Japan’s surrender.