World War II, Cold War, and Decolonization: Key Events and Leaders

What was the Nazi German invasion of the Soviet Union called?

Operation Barbarossa.

In the 1920s, where were Europeans more likely to identify anti-Semitic violence?

In Eastern Europe, particularly Russia, Poland, and Ukraine.

What was one theme of Hitler's Mein Kampf?

Jews and Communists were working together for global domination.

Why did the United States refuse to ally with the Soviet Union during World War II?

Due to deep-seated suspicions of communism.

In September 1938, European leaders met in which city to address territorial claims?

Munich.

What did Stalin's 'Five-Year Plans' aim to change in the Soviet Union?

Industry.

What were Benito Mussolini's paramilitary Fascist police called?

Blackshirts.

The Sudetenland was the German-speaking region of which country?

Czechoslovakia.

What does the German word Lebensraum best translate to?

'Living space.'

What did the Nuremberg Laws of 1935 do?

Deprived Jews of citizenship in Hitler's Reich.

What is the German term for Hitler's annexation of Austria?

Anschluss.

What term describes a system where the state dominates public and private life?

Totalitarianism.

What battle is considered the turning point on the Eastern Front during World War II?

The Battle of Stalingrad.

Which pact committed Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union to non-aggression?

The Molotov-Ribbentrop Non-Aggression Pact.

Which city did Stalin blockade in June 1948?

Berlin.

In 1905, which country did Japan defeat, marking a significant victory for a non-European nation?

Russia.

Where did the 'Big Three' meet in February 1945 to discuss post-war Europe?

Yalta.

Was Japan one of the victorious powers in the First World War?

True.

Where did the first major conflict of the Cold War begin in 1950?

Korean peninsula.

What military alliance was created by the United States and its Western European allies in 1949?

NATO.

Which country was divided into East and West in 1949?

Germany.

What battle marked the turning point on the Eastern Front in World War II?

The Battle of Stalingrad

What was not a goal of the Soviet Union at the end of World War II?

The restoration of the prewar German economy

What was the primary goal of the Truman Doctrine and the policy of containment?

Stopping the global spread of communism

What did Winston Churchill refer to with the phrase 'iron curtain' in 1946?

The Soviet Union's imposition of communist regimes in Eastern Europe

When did the Second World War in Europe officially begin?

September 1939 with the Nazi German invasion of Poland

What justification did the Japanese Empire use for its expansion in the 1930s and 1940s?

Japan would liberate the peoples of East Asia from European colonialism

Who led the revolutionary army known as the Viet Minh?

Ho Chi Minh

What was the name of the Chinese Nationalists' military campaign to unify China in the 1920s?

Northern Expedition

In which country did a communist insurgency emerge after Ngo Dinh Diem refused to hold elections in 1956?

South Vietnam

What characterized the Soviet model for Third World development during the Cold War?

State planning of economic activity and rapid growth in heavy industries, but not liberal democratic political institutions

When did the global process of decolonization begin?

In the aftermath of the Second World War

Which country experienced a Nationalist revolution in 1911 that overthrew its imperial system?

China

Who proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949?

Mao Zedong

Which revolutionary leader argued that imperialism was 'the highest stage of capitalism'?

Vladimir Lenin

Did the Chinese Communist Party emerge victorious in the Chinese Civil War due to control of major cities and U.S. support?

False

Which country did not gain independence after the Second World War?

China

During the first Indochina War, who did the people of Vietnam fight for independence from?

France

Did the people of North Vietnam fight against the United States during the Second Indochina War?

True

Who was the political leader of the Indian independence movement?

Jawaharlal Nehru

Who was the Chinese Nationalist general that unified China in the 1920s?

Chiang Kai-shek