World War II- Objectives 1-4

Treaty of Versailles

This ended WW I. It blamed Germany for WW I and handed down harsh punishment.

German Reparations

A source of 1920s economic imbalances, the agreement that Germany had to pay for damages from WWI

Dictator

A ruler who has complete power over a country

Totalitarianism

A political system in which the government has total control over the lives of individual citizens.

Leauge of Nations

an international organization up after World War I to prevent future wars

Mussolini

Fascist leader of Italy

Stalin

Dictator of the Soviet Union

Hitler

German Nazi dictator

Facism

A political system headed by a dictator that calls for extreme nationalism and racism and has no tolerance for opposition

Communism

A theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state.

Nazi

National Socialist German Workers Party

Kristallnacht

"Night of Broken Glass," when Nazis attacked Jews throughout Germany

Hirhito

Emperor of Japan

Tojo

Military leader of Japan

Neutrality Acts

1939 laws designed to keep the United States out of future wars

Axis Powers

Germany, Italy, Japan

Allied Powers

Great Britain, Soviet Union, and United States

War Production Board

government agency that decided which companies would make war materials and how to distribute raw materials

Rosie the Riveter

A propaganda character designed to increase production of female workers in the factories. It became a rallying symbol for women to do their part.

Japanese Internment

Executive Order 9066 forced Japanese Americans into camps away from the Pacific Coast.

Eisenhower

United States general who supervised the invasion of Normandy and the defeat of Nazi Germany

Montgomery

General who commanded Britain and led troops to a victory at El Alamein in Egypt.

Rommel

Commander of Axis troops in North Africa, known as the "Desert Fox"

Patton

American General led the invasion of Sicily; brought troops to Battle of the Bulge

Marshall

US General, created plan for rebuilding post-war Europe

MacArthur

American general; he commanded U.S. troops in the South Pacific during World War II

Nimitz

United States admiral of the Pacific fleet during World War II who used island hopping

European Theater

Fighting that took place on the continent of Europe against Hitler and Mussolini.

Pacific Theater

War on the Pacific between the Japanese and the allies.

Normandy, France

Where D-Day occurred

North African

Allied efforts to prevent the capture of the Suez Canal by the Germans

Italy

Allied invasion in 1943 and capture forced Germany to defend on 2 fronts. Churchill thought of it as the "soft underbelly" of Europe.

Berlin

German Capital- Final major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II; before the battle was over, Hitler and many of his followers committed suicide

Ardennes Forest

the forest located to the north of the Maginot Line through which the Germans sent the main attack force, later sight of Battle of the Bulge

Pearl Harbor

United States military base on Hawaii that was bombed by Japan on December 7, 1941, bringing the United States into World War II.

Midway

Turning point in Pacific Theater where American naval forces defeated Japanese naval forces.

Iwo Jima

Island of volcanic rock that turned into a fight to the death for Japanese soldiers, as the Americans were coming closer to Japan

El Alamein

Where the British pushed Germany west to stay away from the Suez Canal

Stalingrad

Soviet city where the German army was forced to surrender after a battle that lasted for months, considered a turning point on the eastern front of the European Theater

D-Day

Allied invasion of France on June 6, 1944

Battle of the Bulge

A 1944-1945 battle in which Allied forces turned back the last major German offensive of World War II.

Blitzkrieg

"Lighting war", type of fast-moving warfare used by German forces against Poland in 1939

Operation Overlord

the code name for the Allied invasion of Europe at Normandy on June 6, 1944; also known as D-Day

Kamikaze

Japanese suicide pilots

Island Hopping

A military strategy used during World War II that involved selectively attacking specific enemy-held islands and bypassing others