World War II (US II)

Homefront

The efforts by many that were home in the U.S. to support the war effort. The home-front was called to support the war effort by supporting rationing, buying war bonds, and planting Victory gardens.

Pacific Theatre

The fighting in World War II in the Pacific. This consisted of island hopping as the United States fought against Japan.

European Theatre

The fighting in World War II that occurred in Europe. This consisted of the Allied forces of Great Britain, United States, Russia and France against primarily Germany.

Normandy

The invasion at this location is also referred to as "D Day," June 6, 1944. This began the effort to liberate western Europe.

Pearl Harbor

Japanese forces attacked this military base on December 7, 1941. As a result of this attack, the U.S. officially entered the war.

War Bonds

Americans were encouraged to buy these to help finance the war effort. They reduced the currency in circulation and curbed inflation.

Harry Truman

He was the President after Franklin D. Roosevelt at the end of WW2. He approved the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Concentration Camps

During World War II, Adolf Hitler ordered the Jews to be contained in these. Many were killed in these camps.

Volunteerism

During World War II, many on the home front were called upon to volunteer and assist the war effort. This included buying of war bonds, conserving raw materials, and planting Victory gardens.

Baby Boom

During this time over 30 million babies were born in the United States during the postwar era of prosperity.

Korematsu v US

Fred Korematsu filed this case claiming that his rights as a U.S. citizen were denied by the internment of Japanese Americans. The court ruled that the relocation of these citizens was constitutional.

Adolf Hitler

He became the leader of Nazi Germany and led an attempted genocide known as the "Final Solution."

Japan

The military faction in this country invaded Manchuria, allied with Germany and Italy and led the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Navajo Code Talkers

These Native Americans devised a code for transmitting messages in their language on the frontlines of the Pacific Theater.

Victory Gardens

These were also call "War Gardens," grown by Americans to help with the food supply during a period of rations.

Atomic weapons

These were developed during World War II as a result of the Manhattan Project. Two of these would be used on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Conventional weapons

These would include the weapons of war such as machine guns, tanks, and airplanes. It would not include atomic weapons.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

This General commanded the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe. He is known for success during Operation Torch and D-Day.

Midway

This battle is considered the turning point for the Pacific Theater. Americans broke the Japanese code and resulted in destroying 4 Japanese aircraft carriers.

Internment Camps

This is the term for detaining Germans, Italians and Japanese during WW2.

Office of War Information

This organization was created to encourage Americans to work for the war effort, photograph the war to use as propaganda to promote patriotism.

Rationing

This policy regulated the amount of goods that a consumer could obtain during the war. Exercising this policy was to work against anger over shortages.

Holocaust

This was the name for Hitler's mass extermination of people during WW2, totaling over 11 million. Many were kept in concentration camps.

Manhattan Project

This was the name for the development of the atomic bomb. The first successful test took place in New Mexico, 1945.

Executive Order 9066

This was the order given by President Franklin D. Roosevelt that called for the internment of all Americans of Japanese ancestry.

Island Hopping

This was the term for the military strategy for U.S. military advancement through the Pacific Islands through Japanese territory to the mainland.