Untitled Flashcards Set

World War II Study Guide

Rape of Nanjing (1937)

• Japanese forces massacred around 200,000 civilians and raped about 70,000 women in Nanjing, China.

• Survivors were often forced into slavery or sexual labor.

• In 1940, Japan made Nanjing the capital of their puppet state in China.

Anschluss (March 13, 1938)

• Forced union: Germany took over Austria.

• Britain and France did nothing to stop it (appeasement).

• Most Austrians accepted it, and there was no room for resistance.

Appeasement

• Britain and France gave Hitler what he wanted (like the Sudetenland) to avoid war.

• However, Hitler kept taking more territory and made pacts with other countries anyway.

The Hitler-Stalin Pact (Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact) (August 21, 1939)

• A non-aggression treaty between Germany (fascist) and Soviet Union (communist).

• Secretly agreed to divide Eastern Europe, including splitting Poland.

• Promised not to attack each other (until Hitler later broke it).

Allied Powers

• Britain, United States, Soviet Union, China, France.

• Worked together to defeat the Axis Powers.

Axis Powers

• Germany, Italy, Japan.

• Allies in trying to expand territory and control other nations.

Blitzkrieg

• German "lightning war" strategy: fast, surprising attacks using planes, tanks, and troops.

• Aimed to win wars quickly before the enemy could respond.

Battle of Britain (July–October 1940)

• Germany's first major defeat.

• Hitler’s Operation Sea Lion plan: bomb Britain into surrender by destroying airfields, factories, and then cities (like London).

• Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) resisted, radar helped, and Churchill rallied the people.

• Hitler failed to gain air control and gave up.

Operation Barbarossa (June 22, 1941)

• Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, breaking the Hitler-Stalin Pact.

• Three-pronged attack:

  • Leningrad (traditional capital)

  • Moscow (current capital)

  • Stalingrad (important for oil).

• Invaded with over 1 million soldiers.

• Mass extermination of Jewish people started during this invasion.

• Soviet resistance and brutal winter stalled German advances.

Winston Churchill (1940)

• Became Prime Minister after Chamberlain resigned.

• Refused to surrender to Hitler.

• Ordered bombings of Berlin after London was attacked.

• Famous for speeches that inspired British resistance.

D-Day (June 6, 1944)

• Britain, U.S., and Canada invaded the Normandy beaches in France.

• Aimed to liberate France from German control.

• German commanders were unprepared, and Hitler was asleep during the attack.

• Successful landing gave the Allies a way to move into Western Europe.

Battle of the Bulge (December 1944 – January 1945)

• Germany’s last major counterattack in the West.

• Created a "bulge" in Allied lines in Belgium.

• Failed in the end, and Allies began moving toward Berlin.

• Hitler committed suicide, and Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945 (V-E Day).

Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941)

• Japanese surprise attack on the U.S. naval base in Hawaii.

• Destroyed much of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

• U.S. declared war on Japan the next day; Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S. soon after.

Midway (June 1942)

• Turning point in the Pacific War.

• U.S. cryptographers broke Japanese codes and ambushed the Japanese fleet.

• Major U.S. victory, beginning the offensive toward Japan.

Firebombing (March 1945)

• U.S. firebombed Tokyo and other Japanese cities.

• Created huge firestorms that killed civilians and destroyed cities.

• Avoided sending large numbers of U.S. ground troops into Japan.

Island Hopping

• U.S. strategy of capturing key islands to get closer to Japan.

• Skipped heavily fortified islands to save resources and lives.

Kamikaze Pilots

• Japanese suicide pilots who crashed planes into U.S. ships.

• First used heavily during the Battle of Okinawa.

Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August 6–9, 1945)

• U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

• Mass destruction and radiation killed tens of thousands instantly.

• Only time nuclear weapons have been used in war.

• Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945 (V-J Day).

Nuremberg Laws (1935)

• Nazis stripped Jews of German citizenship.

• Banned marriage between Jews and non-Jews.

• Forced Jews to wear the Star of David in public.

Wannsee Conference (1942)

• Nazi leaders met to plan the "Final Solution".

• Agreed on systematic mass murder of Jews through extermination camps.

Auschwitz

• Largest Nazi death camp in Poland.

• Over 1 million people, mostly Jews, were killed (many in gas chambers).

“Final Solution”

• Nazi plan to exterminate all Jews in Europe.

• Led to mass killings in death camps like Auschwitz.

Yalta Conference (February 1945)

• Meeting of Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin.

• Planned the post-war world, dividing Germany, and starting the United Nations.

Potsdam Conference (July–August 1945)

• Meeting of Truman, Stalin, and Attlee after Germany’s defeat.

• Warned Japan to surrender.

• Set the terms for Germany’s occupation and beginnings of Cold War tensions.

United Nations (1945)

• International organization formed to promote peace and prevent future wars.

• Replaced the League of Nations.

• Has a Security Council with major world powers.

Containment

• U.S. Cold War strategy to stop communism from spreading.

• Used military alliances and economic aid to resist Soviet influence.

Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961)

• Failed U.S.-backed invasion of Cuba to overthrow Fidel Castro.

• Embarrassed President Kennedy and worsened U.S.-Soviet relations.