WWII

Dates to Know:

1. Invasion of Poland - September 1, 1939: The start of WWII when Germany invaded Poland, leading Britain and France to declare war on Germany.

2. Pearl Harbor - December 7, 1941: Japan’s surprise attack on the U.S. naval base in Hawaii, leading the United States to enter WWII.

Vocabulary:

1. Neutrality Acts - Laws passed by the U.S. in the 1930s to prevent involvement in foreign conflicts by restricting arms sales and loans to warring nations.

2. Appeasement - The policy of giving in to an aggressor’s demands to prevent conflict, notably used by Britain and France with Nazi Germany before WWII.

3. Dunkirk - The evacuation of Allied forces from France in May-June 1940, as German forces encircled them.

4. Lend-Lease Act - U.S. program (1941) that provided military aid to Allied nations without requiring immediate payment, helping them in WWII.

5. Nazi-Soviet Pact - A 1939 non-aggression treaty between Germany and the Soviet Union, allowing Hitler to invade Poland without fear of Soviet intervention.

6. Anschluss - The 1938 annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany.

7. Sudetenland - A region of Czechoslovakia with a large German-speaking population, ceded to Germany in 1938 as part of the Munich Agreement.

8. Blitzkrieg - “Lightning war”; a fast and intense military strategy used by Nazi Germany involving coordinated attacks using infantry, tanks, and air support.

9. Hiroshima - Japanese city hit by the first atomic bomb on August 6, 1945.

10. Nagasaki - Japanese city hit by the second atomic bomb on August 9, 1945.

11. Island-Hopping - U.S. military strategy in the Pacific to capture strategic islands while bypassing others to move closer to Japan.

12. Nuremberg Trials - Post-WWII trials of Nazi leaders for war crimes, held from 1945-1949.

13. Battle of the Bulge - A major German counteroffensive in December 1944 in Belgium, the last major Nazi attack of WWII.

14. Munich Conference - 1938 meeting where Britain and France allowed Hitler to annex the Sudetenland in exchange for a promise of no further territorial expansion.

15. Stalingrad - A brutal 1942-1943 battle between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, marking a turning point in favor of the Allies.

Concepts to Know:

1. Pearl Harbor: The surprise Japanese attack on U.S. soil that led to U.S. entry into WWII.

2. Island-Hopping: The U.S. strategy of capturing strategic islands in the Pacific to get closer to Japan, ultimately leading to victory in the Pacific.

3. Appeasement: The policy of Britain and France toward Nazi Germany, giving in to some demands to avoid conflict but ultimately failing to prevent war.

4. Spanish Civil War: A 1936-1939 conflict in Spain where the fascist Nationalists, led by Franco, fought against the Republican government, with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy supporting Franco.

5. Axis Power Invasions during the 1930s: Invasions by Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan during the 1930s, including Germany’s invasion of Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Poland, Italy’s attack on Ethiopia, and Japan’s invasion of China.

People:

1. Erwin Rommel: German field marshal known as the “Desert Fox,” who led Axis forces in North Africa during WWII.

2. FDR (Franklin D. Roosevelt): President of the U.S. during the Great Depression and most of WWII, who played a key role in Allied strategy.

3. Mussolini (Benito Mussolini): Italian dictator and leader of the National Fascist Party, who allied with Nazi Germany during WWII.

4. Hideki Tojo: Prime Minister of Japan during most of WWII, responsible for military actions like the attack on Pearl Harbor.

5. Hitler (Adolf Hitler): Leader of Nazi Germany and the architect of WWII and the Holocaust.

6. Neville Chamberlain: British Prime Minister known for his policy of appeasement toward Hitler before WWII.

7. Winston Churchill: British Prime Minister who led Britain through WWII, famously opposed appeasement, and rallied the British people during the war.

8. Stalin (Joseph Stalin): Leader of the Soviet Union during WWII, allied with the U.S. and Britain after initially signing the Nazi-Soviet Pact.