Unit 6 - World War II

Beginning of World War II

September 1, 1939

Nazi Germany invaded Poland

What countries did Germany take over breaking the Treaty of Versailles?

Poland, Denmark, Norway, Austria, Czechoslovakia, the Sudetenland

The term for giving in to some of the demands of an aggressor in order to keep the peace. This British Leader encouraged it?

Appeasement

Neville Chamberlain

Ways in which Hitler violated the Treaty of Versailles

Rebuilt the Army, Navy and Air force, Moved troops into the Rhineland, Annexed Austria, Sudetenland

Economic Causes of World War II

Great Depression in Germany and Japan/Japan's need for raw materials/High unemployment in Japan and Germany

Political Causes of World War II

Rise of Dictatorships in Italy, Germany, and Japan/German anger with Versailles Treaty/Appeasement

Cultural Factors that led to World War II

Racist beliefs in Germany, Italy and Japan/Rise of Military greatness in Italy, Germany and Japan/Loss of independence of social institutions

What was the significance of the term "Blitzkrieg?"

Lightning War. German style of fighting which involved speed and coordination between tanks and infantry forces.

What country signed a nonaggression pact with Germany? Why did they both sign it?

Soviet Union(Stalin): It was made to divide up Poland and also allowed Germany to remain aggressive.

What 3 countries made up the Axis powers? Who were their leaders?

Germany: Adolf Hitler

Italy: Benito Mussolini

Japan: Hideki Tojo and Hirohito

Important Battle: D-Day:

June 6, 1944 - Allies won, it began the land invasion in Europe

Important Battle: Battle of Britain:

July-October, 1940 - Britain won, Germany failed to conquer Great Britain, Major Air battle, introduction of radar

Important Battle: Midway:

June 4-7, 1942 - U.S. won, it was the turning point in the Pacific and 6 months after Pearl Harbor

Important Battle: Battle of Atlantic:

Allies won, it kept the supply line to the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. open; longest continuous campaign of World War II

Important Battle: Stalingrad

August, 1942 - February, 1943 - Soviets won, it was the turning point of the war in Eastern Europe and civilians weren't allowed to leave

Important Battle: Pearl Harbor

December 7, 1941: Japan won, sneak attack on U.S. Naval fleet stationed in HI (no carriers); it got the U.S. to enter the war

What was the Holocaust?

During the war over 6 million Jews died in camps/3 million others died in concentration / labor camps (genocide)

What is meant by Hitler's "Final Solution"?

the overall execution of Jews throughout Europe and the rest of the world

Other groups arrested, imprisoned and killed by the Nazi's during the Holocaust

The Poles, Slavs, homosexuals, people with disabilities, communists and Gypsies

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

The two Japanese cities targeted by the U.S. with Atomic bombs

What is a Kamikaze? Why did the Japanese use them?

A Suicide pilot for Japan. They had no other way to win the war and it was an honorable death.

Nuremberg Laws

They were laws passed that legalized discrimination against Jews in Germany.

Country that suffered the highest number of casualties during World War II

Soviet Union

The US plan to land and attack the Japanese and then "hop" to the next island to attack. It was used in the Pacific.

Island Hopping

Potsdam Conference

July 26, 1945 - Allied leaders Truman, Stalin and Churchill met in Germany to set up zones of control and to inform the Japanese that if they refused to surrender at once, they would face total destruction; beginning of the end of warm relations between U.S. and U.S.S.R.

Yalta Conference

February, 1945 Meeting with US president FDR, British Prime Minister(PM) Winston Churchill, and and Soviet Leader Stalin during WWII to plan for post-war

Truman demanded free elections in Eastern Europe at this conference.

Potsdamn Conference.

Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact

Agreement between Germany and the Soviet Union to not attack one another.

Comintern Pact

Agreement between Germany and Japan to work together against communism.

V-J Day (Victory in Japan)

August 15, 1945 was the surrender of Japan and the final end to World War II.

Mobilization

the process of assembling troops and supplies and making them ready for war