World War II: A Comprehensive Study Guide

These vocabulary flashcards cover the causes of WWII, the rise of dictators, key military operations, Canadian involvement, and the human cost of the conflict according to the lecture notes.

The Treaty of Versailles

Signed in $1919$ to end World War I, this treaty planted seeds of the next war by humiliating Germany and imposing crushing reparations and the loss of the Rhineland.

Reparations

Enormous sums of money Germany was forced to pay to the victorious Allies, which crippled its economy after World War I.

Hyperinflation

A catastrophic rise in prices in Germany that made the German mark worthless, where by $1923$, $50,000$ marks were needed to buy $1$ US.

Fascism

A form of government, usually a dictatorship, backed by secret police and the army, based on nationalistic and racist theories.

Dictatorship

A form of government in which one person holds all power, uses force to stay in power, and allows no free elections or legal way to remove them.

Benito Mussolini

The leader of Italy who founded fascism and was known as "Il Duce" (The Leader).

Adolf Hitler

The leader of the Nazi Party in Germany, known as "Der Führer," who rose to power promising to avenge the Treaty of Versailles.

Joseph Stalin

The Communist dictator of the Soviet Union known as the "man of steel" who implemented five-year plans and led the Great Purges.

Mein Kampf

A book written by Hitler during his imprisonment that outlined his ideology of German racial superiority, anti-Semitism, and the need for Lebensraum.

Lebensraum

A German term meaning "living space," which Hitler claimed was needed in Eastern Europe.

SA (Stormtroopers)

Nazi street bullies who were used to intimidate political opponents.

SS (Protection Squad)

The personal bodyguards of Adolf Hitler.

Night of the Long Knives

A $1934$ event where Hitler eliminated opponents within his own party by murdering approximately $400$ people he did not trust.

Five Year Plan

Stalin's economic policy calling for crash industrialization and the collectivization of agriculture to revitalize the Soviet economy.

Collectivization of agriculture

Stalin's policy of forcing farmers to give up private farms to work on large state-run collective farms.

The Great Purges

Stalin's campaign to remove opponents, resulting in the execution of tens of thousands of religious figures and the decimation of the military and party leadership.

Anschluss

The event in March $1938$ when Hitler invaded and annexed Austria.

Appeasement

The policy of giving in to Hitler’s demands in hopes of avoiding war, used by Britain and France before World War II.

Munich Agreement

A September $1938$ agreement where Britain, France, Italy, and Germany allowed Germany to take the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia.

Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

A shocking promise between Hitler and Stalin not to wage war on each other and to secretly split Poland.

Blitzkrieg

Meaning "lightning war," a military tactic using fast-moving tanks, aircraft, and infantry to overwhelm defenses.

The Phony War

A six-month period from September $1939$ to May $1940$ with no major invasions, also known as the "Sitzkrieg."

Maginot Line

A formidable line of French fortifications that the Germans bypassed by going through the Ardennes Forest.

Battle of Britain

The summer $1940$ air battle in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) resisted the German Luftwaffe, resulting in Hitler's first decisive defeat.

Operation Sea Lion

Hitler's four-step plan to take control of the skies and invade Britain, which was eventually postponed indefinitely.

Operation Barbarossa

The June $22$, $1941$ German invasion of the Soviet Union, involving the largest invading army in history.

Pearl Harbor

The site of a surprise Japanese attack on the US Pacific Fleet on December $7$, $1941$, causing the United States to enter the war.

Dieppe Raid (Operation Jubilee)

An August $19$, $1942$ Allied attack on the French coast that resulted in a disastrous defeat, especially for Canadian forces.

Stalingrad

The official turning point of the war where German forces were surrounded and surrendered in January $1943$ after a brutal winter.

Anti-Semitism

The hatred of Jewish people, which was the core ideology behind Hitler's persecution of Jews.

Nuremberg Laws

$1935$ laws that stripped Jewish people of their civil and legal rights, including the right to vote and marry non-Jews.

Kristallnacht

Known as the "Night of Broken Glass," a fall $1938$ attack where secret police destroyed synagogues and terrorized Jewish populations.

Final Solution

Hitler's plan for the outright extermination of all Jews living under German control via concentration camps.

Total War

A conflict where all of a nation's resources, industries, and people are mobilized to support the war effort.

Victory Bonds

Financial instruments used by the Canadian government to borrow money from citizens to pay for the war.

Camp X

A top-secret spy school near Oshawa, Ontario, that trained Allied agents in secret warfare and communications.

D-Day (Operation Overlord)

The June $6$, $1944$ Allied invasion of Normandy, France, to establish a western front and liberate Europe.

Juno Beach

The specific beach assigned to Canadian forces during D-Day, where they successfully achieved all of their objectives.

VE Day

May $7$, $1945$, marking Victory in Europe when Nazi Germany formally surrendered.

Kamikaze

Japanese pilots who flew suicide missions targeting US naval ships during the final stages of the war.

VJ Day

September $2$, $1945$, marking Victory over Japan and the official end of World War II.