World War II Flashcards
Historical Context of World War II
The 1940s was marked predominantly by World War II, a global conflict involving the vast majority of the world's countries and all of the great powers.
Major Political Forces Leading to World War II
Several factors contributed to the outbreak of World War II:
Nationalism: The intense pride and devotion to one's nation, often at the expense of others.
Militarism: The belief in building up strong armed forces to prepare for war; notably seen in Germany and Japan.
Appeasement: The policy of making concessions to an aggressor in order to avoid conflict, championed by Western powers in the late 1930s.
Anti-communism: Hostility toward communist ideologies, which Hitler used to gain support from conservative elites.
Economic depression: The Great Depression (1929) caused global economic collapse, leading populations to turn to extremist leaders.
Japanese expansionism: Driven by a need for raw materials and a desire for hegemony in Asia.
Rise of fascism in Italy: The establishment of a fascist regime under Benito Mussolini in 1922.
Treaty of Versailles: The treaty that ended World War I imposed heavy reparations (33 billion dollars) on Germany, leading to hyperinflation and resentment.
Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany
Mein Kampf (My Struggle): A book written by Adolf Hitler while in prison, outlining his racial theories and his plan for Lebensraum (living space).
The Nazi Party (NSDAP) rose to power by exploiting economic misery and national humiliation.
The Reichstag Fire: In February 1933, a fire at the parliament building allowed Hitler to suspend civil liberties.
Enabling Act: Passed in 1933, it gave Hitler dictatorial powers for four years.
Appointed Chancellor in 1933 by President Paul von Hindenburg.
Upon Hindenburg's death in 1934, Hitler declared himself Fuhrer (leader).
Established the Third Reich, a totalitarian regime that controlled all aspects of German life.
The Holocaust
The Holocaust was the state-sponsored, systematic persecution and murder of approximately 6 million Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators.
The "Final Solution": The Nazi plan to exterminate the Jewish people, formalized at the Wannsee Conference in 1942.
Other targeted groups included Roma, people with disabilities, Soviet prisoners of war, and political dissidents.
Concentration camps such as Auschwitz-Birkenau served as centers for forced labor and mass murder.
Other Key Leaders
Joseph Stalin
Leader of the Soviet Union who transformed the country through Five-Year Plans for industrialization and the brutal Great Purge of political rivals.
Benito Mussolini
Known as Il Duce, he used the "Blackshirts" to suppress opposition.
Notably invaded Ethiopia in 1935 to expand the Italian Empire.
Japanese Expansion Under Emperor Hirohito
Japan was led by Emperor Hirohito, though military leaders like Hideki Tojo held significant executive power.
Key aggression includes:
Invasion of Manchuria in 1931, setting up the puppet state of Manchukuo.
The Rape of Nanking (1937): A period of mass killing and atrocities following the capture of the Chinese capital.
United States' Initial Stance
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) maintained a policy of isolationism publicly but supported the Allies through the Lend-Lease Act (1941), providing food, oil, and materiel.
European Expansion by Nazi Germany
Austria (Anschluss): Annexation in 1938 in violation of the Treaty of Versailles.
Sudetenland: Ceded to Germany following the Munich Pact of 1938, where Neville Chamberlain famously declared "peace for our time."
Non-Aggression Pact: In August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, secretly agreeing to divide Poland.
Invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, utilized the Blitzkrieg (lightning war) tactic, combining fast-moving tanks and air support.
Reaction from Allied Powers
Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939.
The Phoney War: A period of relative inactivity on the Western Front from autumn 1939 to spring 1940.
Axis and Allied Powers
Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan.
Allied Powers: Great Britain, France, Soviet Union (after 1941), United States (after 1941), and China.
Further Military Campaigns
Fall of France: France surrendered in June 1940; the northern half was occupied, while the south became Vichy France, a puppet government.
Battle of Britain: An aerial conflict where the Royal Air Force (RAF) defended the UK against the Luftwaffe.
Operation Barbarossa: The German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, breaking the non-aggression pact.
Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943): The bloodiest battle in history and a major turning point where the Soviet Union halted the German advance.
U.S. Involvement and Home Front
Army grew from 174,000 in 1939 to over 8 million; the first peacetime draft started in 1940.
Women in the War: Over 350,000 women served in the military (WACs and WASPs), and millions more worked in defense industries, symbolized by "Rosie the Riveter."
African-Americans: Fought for the "Double V" campaign (victory over fascism abroad and racism at home). Notable units include the Tuskegee Airmen.
Escalation to War
Pearl Harbor: December 7, 1941. Japan attacked the U.S. Pacific Fleet to prevent American interference with Japanese expansion. 2,403 Americans were killed.
FDR's speech: "A date which will live in infamy."
War Lab and Science
Manhattan Project: A secret research project led by Robert Oppenheimer to develop atomic weapons.
Executive Order 9066: Resulted in the forced relocation and internment of over 120,000 Japanese-Americans, many of whom were U.S. citizens.
Turning the Tide
Battle of Midway (June 1942): U.S. Navy defeated the Imperial Japanese Navy, marking the end of Japanese naval supremacy.
D-Day (June 6, 1944): Known as Operation Overlord, the massive amphibious invasion of Normandy, France, involving over 150,000 Allied troops.
Battle of the Bulge (1944-1945): The last major German offensive on the Western Front.
Conclusion of the War
Yalta Conference (February 1945): Churchill, FDR, and Stalin planned the occupation of Germany and the creation of the United Nations.
Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945.
V-E Day (Victory in Europe): May 8, 1945.
Atomic Bombings: Hiroshima (August 6) and Nagasaki (August 9) led to Japan's surrender.
V-J Day (Victory over Japan): September 2, 1945, following the formal surrender on the USS Missouri.
Post-War Adjustments
Nuremberg Trials: Established the principle that individuals can be held accountable for crimes against humanity.
The Marshall Plan: A U.S. initiative to provide economic aid to rebuild Western Europe and prevent the spread of communism.
Cold War Origins: Tensions between the U.S. and USSR led to the Iron Curtain, the division of Germany, and the formation of NATO (1949) and the Warsaw Pact (1955).
Historical Context of World War II
The 1940s was marked predominantly by World War II, a global conflict involving the vast majority of the world's countries and all of the great powers.
Failure of the League of Nations: The inability of the League to prevent aggression by Italy, Germany, and Japan weakened international order.
Major Political Forces Leading to World War II
Several factors contributed to the outbreak of World War II:
Nationalism: The intense pride and devotion to one's nation, often at the expense of others.
Militarism: The belief in building up strong armed forces to prepare for war; notably seen in Germany and Japan.
Appeasement: The policy of making concessions to an aggressor in order to avoid conflict, championed by Western powers in the late 1930s.
Anti-communism: Hostility toward communist ideologies, which Hitler used to gain support from conservative elites.
Economic depression: The Great Depression (1929) caused global economic collapse, leading populations to turn to extremist leaders.
Japanese expansionism: Driven by a need for raw materials and a desire for hegemony in Asia.
Rise of fascism in Italy: The establishment of a fascist regime under Benito Mussolini in 1922.
Treaty of Versailles: The treaty that ended World War I imposed heavy reparations (33 billion dollars) on Germany, leading to hyperinflation and resentment.
Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany
Mein Kampf (My Struggle): A book written by Adolf Hitler while in prison, outlining his racial theories and his plan for Lebensraum (living space).
The Nazi Party (NSDAP) rose to power by exploiting economic misery and national humiliation.
The Reichstag Fire: In February 1933, a fire at the parliament building allowed Hitler to suspend civil liberties.
Enabling Act: Passed in 1933, it gave Hitler dictatorial powers for four years.
Appointed Chancellor in 1933 by President Paul von Hindenburg.
Upon Hindenburg's death in 1934, Hitler declared himself Fuhrer (leader).
Established the Third Reich, a totalitarian regime that controlled all aspects of German life.
The Holocaust
The Holocaust was the state-sponsored, systematic persecution and murder of approximately 6 million Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators.
The "Final Solution": The Nazi plan to exterminate the Jewish people, formalized at the Wannsee Conference in 1942.
Other targeted groups included Roma, people with disabilities, Soviet prisoners of war, and political dissidents.
Concentration camps such as Auschwitz-Birkenau served as centers for forced labor and mass murder.
Other Key Leaders
Joseph Stalin
Leader of the Soviet Union who transformed the country through Five-Year Plans for industrialization and the brutal Great Purge of political rivals.
Benito Mussolini
Known as Il Duce, he used the "Blackshirts" to suppress opposition.
Notably invaded Ethiopia in 1935 to expand the Italian Empire.
Japanese Expansion Under Emperor Hirohito
Japan was led by Emperor Hirohito, though military leaders like Hideki Tojo held significant executive power.
Key aggression includes:
Invasion of Manchuria in 1931, setting up the puppet state of Manchukuo.
The Rape of Nanking (1937): A period of mass killing and atrocities following the capture of the Chinese capital.
Bataan Death March (1942): The forcible transfer of 60,000–80,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war characterized by severe physical abuse and killings.
United States' Initial Stance
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) maintained a policy of isolationism publicly but supported the Allies through the Lend-Lease Act (1941), providing food, oil, and materiel.
European Expansion by Nazi Germany
Austria (Anschluss): Annexation in 1938 in violation of the Treaty of Versailles.
Sudetenland: Ceded to Germany following the Munich Pact of 1938, where Neville Chamberlain famously declared "peace for our time."
Non-Aggression Pact: In August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, secretly agreeing to divide Poland.
Invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, utilized the Blitzkrieg (lightning war) tactic, combining fast-moving tanks and air support.
Reaction from Allied Powers
Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939.
The Phoney War: A period of relative inactivity on the Western Front from autumn 1939 to spring 1940.
Axis and Allied Powers
Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan.
Allied Powers: Great Britain, France, Soviet Union (after 1941), United States (after 1941), and China.
Further Military Campaigns
Fall of France: France surrendered in June 1940; the northern half was occupied, while the south became Vichy France, a puppet government.
Battle of Britain: An aerial conflict where the Royal Air Force (RAF) defended the UK against the Luftwaffe.
The North African Campaign: A struggle for control of the Suez Canal and oil resources. Notable battle: Battle of El Alamein (1942), where British forces under General Montgomery defeated the German Afrika Korps led by Erwin Rommel.
Italian Campaign: Allied forces invaded Sicily (Operation Husky) in 1943, leading to the fall of Mussolini and the liberation of Rome in June 1944.
Operation Barbarossa: The German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, breaking the non-aggression pact.
Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943): The bloodiest battle in history and a major turning point where the Soviet Union halted the German advance.
U.S. Involvement and Home Front
Army grew from 174,000 in 1939 to over 8 million; the first peacetime draft started in 1940.
Women in the War: Over 350,000 women served in the military (WACs and WASPs), and millions more worked in defense industries, symbolized by "Rosie the Riveter."
African-Americans: Fought for the "Double V" campaign (victory over fascism abroad and racism at home). Notable units include the Tuskegee Airmen.
Escalation to War
Pearl Harbor: December 7, 1941. Japan attacked the U.S. Pacific Fleet to prevent American interference with Japanese expansion. 2,403 Americans were killed.
FDR's speech: "A date which will live in infamy."
War Lab and Science
Manhattan Project: A secret research project led by Robert Oppenheimer to develop atomic weapons.
Executive Order 9066: Resulted in the forced relocation and internment of over 120,000 Japanese-Americans, many of whom were U.S. citizens.
Turning the Tide
Battle of Midway (June 1942): U.S. Navy defeated the Imperial Japanese Navy, marking the end of Japanese naval supremacy.
Island Hopping Strategy: The Allied strategy in the Pacific to bypass heavily fortified Japanese positions and instead concentrate on strategically important islands that were not well defended.
D-Day (June 6, 1944): Known as Operation Overlord, the massive amphibious invasion of Normandy, France, involving over 150,000 Allied troops.
Battle of the Bulge (1944-1945): The last major German offensive on the Western Front.
Iwo Jima and Okinawa (1945): Brutal battles in the Pacific that demonstrated Japanese resolve and influenced the decision to use the atomic bomb.
Conclusion of the War
Yalta Conference (February 1945): Churchill, FDR, and Stalin planned the occupation of Germany and the creation of the United Nations.
Potsdam Conference (July-August 1945): Truman (who succeeded FDR), Stalin, and Attlee met to clarify the post-war administration of Germany and issued the Potsdam Declaration for Japan's unconditional surrender.
Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945.
V-E Day (Victory in Europe): May 8, 1945.
Atomic Bombings: Hiroshima (August 6) and Nagasaki (August 9) led to Japan's surrender.
V-J Day (Victory over Japan): September 2, 1945, following the formal surrender on the USS Missouri.
Casualties: It is estimated that between 70 million and 85 million people died, making it the deadliest conflict in human history.
Post-War Adjustments
Nuremberg Trials: Established the principle that individuals can be held accountable for crimes against humanity.
The Marshall Plan: A U.S. initiative to provide economic aid to rebuild Western Europe and prevent the spread of communism.
Cold War Origins: Tensions between the U.S. and USSR led to the Iron Curtain, the division of Germany, and the formation of NATO (1949) and the Warsaw Pact (1955).
1. General Overview and Key Dates
Timeline of World War II: The war lasted from 1939 to 1945.
Total War: A conflict in which nations mobilize all available resources—including economic, industrial, and human—to support the war effort, often blurring the lines between civilian and military targets.
Genocide: The deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group.
2. Ideologies and Governance
Democracy: A system of government by the whole population, typically through elected representatives (e.g., U.S., Great Britain).
Communism: A political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating for class war and a society in which all property is publicly owned (e.g., Soviet Union under Stalin).
Fascism: A far-right, authoritarian ultranationalism characterized by dictatorial power and forcible suppression of opposition (e.g., Italy under Mussolini).
Nazism: The political principles of the National Socialist German Workers' Party; a form of fascism that incorporates scientific racism and anti-Semitism.
Dictator: A ruler with total power over a country, typically one who has obtained power by force.
3. Pre-War Tensions and Causes
Causes of WWII: Include the Treaty of Versailles, the failure of the League of Nations, the Great Depression, and the rise of totalitarian regimes.
Isolationism: The policy of remaining apart from the affairs or interests of other groups, especially the political affairs of other countries.
Charles Lindbergh: A famous aviator and leader of the "America First" Committee, which strongly opposed U.S. intervention in the war.
Appeasement: The policy of making concessions to dictatorial powers to avoid conflict.
Munich Pact (1938): An agreement between Britain (Neville Chamberlain) and Germany that allowed Germany to annex the Sudetenland in exchange for a promise of no further expansion.
Non-Aggression Pact (1939): Also known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, a secret agreement between the Soviet Union and Germany to not attack each other and to divide Poland.
Lebensraum: "Living space"; the Nazi ideology that Germany needed to expand its territory to the east for the Aryan race.
Anti-Semitism: Hostility toward or discrimination against Jews as a religious, ethnic, or racial group.
4. The Holocaust (The Shoah)
Meaning of Holocaust: Derived from the Greek word holokaustos, meaning "burnt offering."
Nuremberg Laws (1935): Deprived German Jews of their rights of citizenship and forbade marriage between Jews and non-Jews.
Kristallnacht (1938): The "Night of Broken Glass," a state-sponsored pogrom where Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues were destroyed.
The Ghettos: Enclosed districts of a city where Jews were forced to live under miserable conditions.
The Final Solution: The Nazi plan to systematically murder all European Jews.
Concentration Camps: Detention centers for "enemies of the state."
Auschwitz: The largest and most notorious concentration and extermination camp.
Cattle Cars: Overcrowded freight cars used to transport victims to the camps.
Gas Chambers: Used for mass execution; the primary gas used was Zyklon B.
Key Figures and Victims:
Josef Mengele: Known as the "Angel of Death," a doctor at Auschwitz who performed horrific medical experiments on prisoners, especially twins.
Gerda Weissman Klein: A Holocaust survivor and author known for her accounts of the death marches and liberation.
Statistics: Approximately 6 million Jews and 5 million others (Roma, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+, political dissidents) were murdered. About 67\% (2/3) of the European Jewish population was killed.
5. Major World Leaders
The Axis Powers:
Adolf Hitler: Fuhrer of Germany and leader of the Third Reich.
Benito Mussolini: Leader of Italy.
Hideki Tojo: Prime Minister and military leader of Japan.
Emperor Hirohito: Sovereign of Japan.
Francisco Franco: Dictator of Spain (remained officially neutral but sympathetic to the Axis).
The Allied Powers ("The Big Three"):
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR): President of the United States during most of the war.
Winston Churchill: Prime Minister of Great Britain.
Josef Stalin: Leader of the Soviet Union.
Other Key Leaders:
Harry Truman: Succeeded FDR; made the decision to use the atomic bomb.
Douglas MacArthur: U.S. General who commanded the Allied forces in the Pacific theater.
6. The War Effort and Key Events
Blitzkrieg: "Lightning war"; a fast-moving military tactic using tanks and planes used by Germany in the Invasion of Poland.
Why did Britain and France enter the war?: To honor their defense guarantees to Poland after the German invasion on September 1, 1939.
Why did the US enter the war?: Primarily due to the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
FDR's Response: He asked Congress for a declaration of war, calling it "a date which will live in infamy."
D-Day (June 6, 1944): The Allied invasion of Normandy, France; the largest amphibious assault in history.
Kamikaze: Japanese suicide pilots who crashed their planes into Allied ships.
Ending the War:
V-E Day (May 8, 1945): Victory in Europe Day, following Hitler's Death by suicide on April 30.
The A-Bomb: Developed via the Manhattan Project. Used on Hiroshima (August 6) and Nagasaki (August 9).
In favor: Arguing it would end the war quickly and save millions of American lives.
Opposed: Ethical concerns regarding the mass killing of civilians.
Hibakusha: A term for the survivors of the atomic bombings.
V-J Day (September 2, 1945): Victory in Japan Day, marking the formal surrender of Japan.
7. The U.S. Home Front and Social Impact
Rosie the Riveter: A cultural icon representing the women who worked in factories and shipyards during the war.
Japanese-American Internment:
Executive Order 9066: Authorized the removal of persons of Japanese ancestry to relocation centers.
Issei: First-generation Japanese immigrants (born in Japan).
Nisei: Second-generation Japanese-Americans (born in the U.S.).
Amache: A relocation center located in Colorado.
Ralph Carr: The Governor of Colorado who was one of the few politicians to publicly defend Japanese-Americans and welcome them to his state.
Minorities and Sports:
Pete Gray: A one-armed major league baseball player who played for the St. Louis Browns, symbolizing the manpower shortages during the war.
Jackie Robinson: Broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball in 1947, shortly after the war's conclusion.
Propaganda:
Dr. Seuss: Created numerous political cartoons attacking isolationism and racism (though some of his early wartime work included anti-Japanese caricatures).
8. Post-War World
Nuremberg Trials: Trials held to bring Nazi war criminals to justice.
Germany Post-War: Divided into four occupation zones (U.S., British, French, and Soviet).
The United Nations: Established in 1945 to maintain international peace and security.
The Iron Curtain: A term coined by Churchill to describe the division between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled Eastern Bloc.
The Marshall Plan: U.S. aid program to help rebuild Western Europe and prevent the spread of communism.
Decolonization:
Pakistan and India: Gained independence from British rule in 1947.
Domestic U.S. Changes:
22nd Amendment: Limited the President to two terms in office, a reaction to FDR’s four terms.
Levittowns: Mass-produced suburban housing developments for returning veterans.
Thomas Dewey: The Republican candidate who famously (and incorrectly) was expected to defeat