WW2 study guide

Defiance of the Treaty of Versailles

  • Definition: Germany violated the Treaty by rearming, expanding its military, and occupying forbidden territories.

  • Significance: Showed Hitler's aggression and the League of Nations' weakness in stopping him.

  • Connections:

    • Anschluss: Germany’s annexation of Austria, further defying the treaty.

    • Lebensraum: Hitler’s justification for expanding into new territories.

    • Munich Conference: Allowed Germany to take Sudetenland without military resistance.

    • Appeasement: Britain and France’s policy of giving in to Hitler’s demands.

Italy Attacks Ethiopia (1935)

  • Definition: Mussolini invaded Ethiopia to build an Italian empire.

  • Significance: Showed the League of Nations’ inability to stop aggression.

  • Connections:

    • Fascism: Mussolini’s ideology justified expansionism.

    • Axis Powers: Strengthened the alliance between Italy and Nazi Germany.

    • Natural Resources: Ethiopia had valuable resources that Italy wanted.

Francisco Franco & Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)

  • Definition: Fascist leader who won Spain’s civil war with Nazi and Italian support.

  • Significance: Tested new German war tactics (like Blitzkrieg) and strengthened fascist alliances.

  • Connections:

    • Fascism: Franco’s ideology aligned with Hitler and Mussolini.

    • Axis Powers: Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy supported Franco’s rise to power.

Fascism

  • Definition: A political ideology promoting nationalism, dictatorship, and militarism.

  • Significance: Key ideology behind Hitler, Mussolini, and Franco’s regimes.

  • Connections:

    • Axis Powers: Shared ideology between Germany, Italy, and Japan.

    • Appeasement: Western democracies tried to avoid war with fascist nations.

Appeasement

  • Definition: Policy of giving into aggressive demands to avoid conflict.

  • Significance: Allowed Hitler to expand unchecked.

  • Connections:

    • Munich Conference: The event where appeasement was officially enacted.

    • Neville Chamberlain: British Prime Minister known for appeasement.

    • Sudetenland: Land given to Germany as part of appeasement.

Munich Conference (1938)

  • Definition: Britain and France allowed Hitler to take the Sudetenland in exchange for peace.

  • Significance: Failed attempt to avoid war.

  • Connections:

    • Appeasement: Policy that led to this decision.

    • Neville Chamberlain: Prime Minister who negotiated the agreement.

    • Czechoslovakia: Country forced to give up the Sudetenland.

Czechoslovakia & Sudetenland

  • Definition: Germany demanded and annexed Sudetenland, later occupied the whole country.

  • Significance: Showed Hitler’s expansionist policies beyond German-speaking areas.

  • Connections:

    • Munich Conference: Allowed Germany to take Sudetenland without resistance.

    • Appeasement: Britain and France allowed this to avoid war.

Anschluss (1938)

  • Definition: Germany annexed Austria.

  • Significance: Further violated the Treaty of Versailles.

  • Connections:

    • Lebensraum: Hitler’s justification for annexing Austria.

    • Appeasement: The Allies did nothing to stop it.

Lebensraum

  • Definition: Hitler’s belief that Germany needed more living space.

  • Significance: Justified Nazi expansion.

  • Connections:

    • Invasion of Poland: Expansion into Eastern Europe for “living space.”

    • Operation Barbarossa: German invasion of the Soviet Union for more land.

Neville Chamberlain

  • Definition: British Prime Minister known for appeasement.

  • Significance: Failed to stop Hitler’s aggression.

  • Connections:

    • Munich Conference: Negotiated Hitler’s acquisition of Sudetenland.

    • Appeasement: His main foreign policy approach.

Isolationism & Neutrality Acts

  • Definition: U.S. policy of avoiding involvement in European conflicts.

  • Significance: Delayed U.S. entry into the war.

  • Connections:

    • Lend-Lease Act: Later broke isolationist policies by supplying Allies.

    • Atlantic Charter: Shifted U.S. policy toward supporting Britain.

Nonaggression Pact (1939)

  • Definition: Germany and USSR agreed not to attack each other and divided Poland.

  • Significance: Allowed Hitler to invade Poland without Soviet resistance.

  • Connections:

    • Invasion of Poland: Led to WWII’s official start.

    • Operation Barbarossa: Hitler later broke this pact by invading the USSR.

Blitzkrieg

  • Definition: Fast, overwhelming military tactics used by Germany.

  • Significance: Helped Germany quickly conquer territory.

  • Connections:

    • Invasion of Poland: First major use of Blitzkrieg.

    • Battle of France: Allowed rapid Nazi victory over France.

Pearl Harbor (1941)

  • Definition: Japanese attack on U.S. naval base.

  • Significance: Led the U.S. to enter WWII.

  • Connections:

    • Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto: Planned the attack.

    • Aircraft Carriers: Key target in the battle.

Operation Barbarossa & Impact on USSR

  • Definition: German invasion of the Soviet Union.

  • Significance: Opened the Eastern Front, leading to German defeats.

  • Connections:

    • Scorched Earth: Soviet strategy of destroying resources to slow Nazis.

    • Leningrad: One of the hardest-hit cities.

    • Battle of Stalingrad: Turning point in the Eastern Front.

D-Day (1944)

  • Definition: Allied invasion of Normandy, France.

  • Significance: Liberated France and pushed Nazis back.

  • Connections:

    • Dwight D. Eisenhower: Supreme commander of the invasion.

    • Two-Front War: Opened a new front against Germany.

Atomic Bombs (Hiroshima & Nagasaki, 1945)

  • Definition: U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Japan.

  • Significance: Led to Japan’s surrender.

  • Connections:

    • Harry Truman: U.S. President who ordered the bombings.

    • Kamikazes: Japanese pilots who used suicide attacks, showing Japan’s desperation.

Nuremberg Trials

  • Definition: Trials of Nazi leaders for war crimes.

  • Significance: Established accountability for war crimes.

  • Connections:

    • Holocaust: Trials were held to punish those responsible.

    • Geneva Convention: Influenced war crime policies.

Marshall Plan

  • Definition: U.S. aid program to rebuild Europe after WWII.

  • Significance: Prevented the spread of communism.

  • Connections:

    • Political Turmoil: Helped stabilize war-torn nations.

    • Democratization: Encouraged democratic governments in Europe.

I. Prelude to War: The Rise of Aggression

Defiance of the Treaty of Versailles

After World War I, the Treaty of Versailles placed strict limitations on Germany’s military and territorial expansion. However, Adolf Hitler openly defied these restrictions by rebuilding the military, remilitarizing the Rhineland, and pursuing aggressive expansion.

Italy Attacks Ethiopia

In 1935, Benito Mussolini's Italy invaded Ethiopia, demonstrating the failure of the League of Nations and encouraging further aggression from other Axis powers.

Francisco Franco & Fascism

Francisco Franco led the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) and established a fascist dictatorship. Fascism, an authoritarian ideology promoting nationalism and military strength, also rose in Germany (Hitler) and Italy (Mussolini).

Appeasement, Munich Conference, and the Sudetenland

To avoid war, Britain and France followed a policy of appeasement, allowing Hitler to annex the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia at the 1938 Munich Conference. Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister, famously declared “peace in our time,” though Hitler soon broke his promises.

Anschluss & Lebensraum

Hitler sought to unite all German-speaking people (Anschluss with Austria in 1938) and expand eastward (Lebensraum—"living space" for Germans). His aggressive policies led to war.

Isolationism & the Nonaggression Pact

The United States remained neutral (Isolationism), while Hitler and Stalin signed the Nonaggression Pact (1939), agreeing not to attack each other. This allowed Hitler to invade Poland without fearing Soviet intervention.

II. The War Begins (1939–1941)

Third Reich & Axis Powers

Hitler’s government, the Third Reich, formed the Axis Powers alliance with Mussolini’s Italy and Japan.

Blitzkrieg & the Invasion of Poland

Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, using Blitzkrieg tactics—fast-moving coordinated attacks with tanks (Panzers), aircraft (Luftwaffe), and infantry. Britain and France declared war, starting WWII.

The Phony War & the Fall of France

For months after declaring war, there was little fighting (Phony War). Then, in 1940, Germany swiftly conquered France, establishing the Vichy Government, a puppet regime under Nazi control.

Dunkirk & Operation Dynamo

During the Fall of France, Allied soldiers were trapped at Dunkirk. Operation Dynamo was a mass evacuation effort using civilian boats to rescue over 300,000 soldiers.

Winston Churchill & Charles de Gaulle

After France fell, Winston Churchill became Britain’s Prime Minister, refusing to surrender. Charles de Gaulle led the Free French forces in exile.

III. Expansion of the War (1941–1942)

Battle of Britain, Radar, and The Blitz

Germany launched air raids in the Battle of Britain, but British use of Radar and codebreaking (Enigma) helped them resist. Germany retaliated with The Blitz, bombing British cities.

Operation Barbarossa & the Nazi Invasion of the USSR

In 1941, Hitler broke the Nonaggression Pact, invading the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa). Stalin’s Scorched Earth policy and the harsh winter led to German failure in Leningrad and Moscow.

Neutrality Acts & the Lend-Lease Act

The U.S. passed Neutrality Acts to stay out of war but later supplied Britain and the USSR with weapons through the Lend-Lease Act.

Atlantic Charter & U-Boats

Churchill and Roosevelt signed the Atlantic Charter, outlining postwar goals. Meanwhile, German U-boats (submarines) targeted Allied supply ships in the Atlantic.

Natural Resources & Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

Japan lacked Natural Resources, pushing them to expand. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto planned the attack on Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941), leading the U.S. to join the war.

IV. War in the Pacific (1941–1945)

Japanese Empire, Bataan Death March, and Aircraft Carriers

Japan’s expansion led to the brutal Bataan Death March in the Philippines. Naval warfare depended heavily on Aircraft Carriers.

Doolittle Raids, Coral Sea, and the Battle of Midway

The Doolittle Raids bombed Tokyo in retaliation for Pearl Harbor. The U.S. stopped Japanese advances at the Battle of Coral Sea, and the Battle of Midway was a turning point, crippling Japan’s navy.

Island Hopping, Battle of Guadalcanal, and Douglas MacArthur

The U.S. used Island Hopping to capture strategic islands. The Battle of Guadalcanal was the first major U.S. offensive. Douglas MacArthur led Allied forces in the Pacific.

Manchuria, Nanking, John Rabe, and Kamikaze

Japan invaded Manchuria and committed atrocities in Nanking (Nanjing). John Rabe, a German businessman, helped save civilians. Later, Japan used Kamikaze suicide pilots.

V. The Holocaust & Nazi Occupation

Joseph Goebbels, Hermann Göring, Heinrich Himmler

Goebbels controlled Nazi propaganda, Göring led the Luftwaffe, and Himmler oversaw the SS and concentration camps.

Geneva Convention & Einsatzgruppen

Despite the Geneva Convention (1929) setting war rules, Nazi Einsatzgruppen carried out mass executions.

Luftwaffe, Panzers, Holocaust, and Genocide

The Holocaust saw mass Genocide, using Luftwaffe bombings and Panzers in military invasions.

Nuremberg Laws, Kristallnacht, Ghettos, and Jewish Resistance

The Nuremberg Laws restricted Jewish rights, Kristallnacht was a violent anti-Jewish attack, and Jews were forced into Ghettos like the Warsaw Ghetto, where some fought back.

VI. The End of the War (1943–1945)

Erwin Rommel, Operation Torch, and Two-Front War

Erwin Rommel, the “Desert Fox,” led German forces in Africa. The Allies launched Operation Torch, opening a Two-Front War.

Battle of Stalingrad, Russian Winters, and Total War

The Battle of Stalingrad was a turning point in the East. Germany struggled against the brutal Russian Winter. Both sides mobilized for Total War.

D-Day & Battle of the Bulge

On D-Day (June 6, 1944), the Allies invaded France. The Battle of the Bulge was Hitler’s last counteroffensive.

Hitler’s Death & V-E Day

Hitler committed suicide in April 1945. Germany surrendered on V-E Day (Victory in Europe, May 8, 1945).

Atomic Bombs, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and V-J Day

The U.S. dropped Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, forcing Japan’s surrender (V-J Day, August 1945).

VII. The Aftermath

Dwight D. Eisenhower, Franklin Roosevelt, and Harry Truman

Eisenhower led the Allies, Roosevelt was the U.S. President (died 1945), and Truman approved the atomic bombs.

Yalta, Tehran, Potsdam Conferences & Nuremberg Trials

These conferences planned postwar policies. The Nuremberg Trials held Nazi leaders accountable.

Political Turmoil, Famine, Disease, and the Marshall Plan

Postwar Europe faced Political Turmoil, Famine, Disease, and Destruction. The Marshall Plan helped rebuild.