Study Guide for the US History WWII Test

Joseph Stalin

(1878-1953) served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee from 1922 until his death in 1953. Initially, Stalin's role in the Committee was limited, but he gradually accumulated power and became the Party's leader and absolute ruler of the Soviet Union. Under his leadership, the Soviet Union played a major role in the defeat of Hitler's Germany during World War II.

The Phony War

'Phoney War' is the name given to the period of time in World War Two from September 1939 to April 1940 when, after the blitzkrieg attack on Poland in September 1939, seemingly nothing happened. Many in Great Britain expected a major calamity - but the title 'Phoney War' summaries what happened in Western Europe - near enough nothing. The term 'Phoney War' was first used, allegedly, by an American senator called Borah. Winston Churchill referred to the same period as the 'Twilight War' while the Germans referred to it as 'Sitzkrieg' - 'sitting war'. The Phoney War is this: Basically, Germany started to invade Poland. In response, Britain and France declared war on Germany. So you have these three huge superpowers in Europe who are officially at war.... and yet they are not fighting. In fact, there was no major fighting for the first 7 months. Basically, England and France had tons of troops on the border, ready to attack a near-defenseless Germany, but they didnt. So this was called the Phoney War because even though these nations were at war, for a long time they didnt even fight. So, in WW2, this period of neither side making any military advancements for such a long period of time is called "the Phoney War".

RADAR

1940s radar relied on a semiconductor crystal, or "rectifier." Radar worked by sending out a radio wave and analyzing the reflected wave after it bounced off any objects in the air.

The Axis Powers

A group of countries that opposed the Allied powers in World War II, including Germany, Italy, and Japan as well as Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Yugoslavia

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin Roosevelt served as president of the United States for all but four months of World War II, leading the country through one of the most consequential periods in its history. Under Roosevelt's leadership, the nation rebounded from the devastating surprise attack at Pearl Harbor in December 1941, nearly achieving victory in both Europe and the Pacific by the time Roosevelt suddenly died of a cerebral hemorrhage on 12 April 1945. He was succeeded by his vice president, Harry S. Truman. Roosevelt was one of the most influential presidents of all time.

Russian/German Non-Aggression Pact

On August 23, 1939-shortly before World War II (1939-45) broke out in Europe-enemies Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union surprised the world by signing the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, in which the two countries agreed to take no military action against each other for the next 10 years. With Europe on the brink of another major war, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin (1879-1953) viewed the pact as a way to keep his nation on peaceful terms with Germany, while giving him time to build up the Soviet military. German chancellor Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) used the pact to make sure Germany was able to invade Poland unopposed. The pact also contained a secret agreement in which the Soviets and Germans agreed how they would later divide up Eastern Europe. The German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact fell apart in June 1941, when Nazi forces invaded the Soviet Union.

Polish Invasion

Poland, invasion of definition. The action by Germany that began World War II in 1939. Germany invaded Poland only days after signing the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact, under which the Soviet Union agreed not to defend Poland from the east if Germany attacked it from the west.

Japanese Expansion

The 1930s did not mark the beginning of Japan's imperial ambitions, notes Susan Townsend of the University of Nottingham. Taiwan had been a Japanese possession since 1895, while the brief Russo-Japanese War of 1905 secured Japanese influence in the Manchuria region of mainland China. In 1910 Japan formally annexed Korea. After taking part in World War I on the Allied side, Japan gained the former German territories of Tsingtao and some Micronesian islands in 1919.

The Allied Powers

The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War (1939-1945). (in World War II) the nations that fought against the Axis: Great Britain, the U.S., the Soviet Union, and others.

Atlantic Charter

The Atlantic Charter was a pivotal policy statement issued in August 14, 1941 that, early in World War II, defined the Allied goals for the post-war world. It was drafted by the leaders of Britain and the United States, and later agreed to by all the Allies.

The Yalta Conference

The February 1945 Yalta Conference was the second wartime meeting of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. During the conference, the three leaders agreed to demand Germany's unconditional surrender and began plans for a post-war world. Stalin also agreed to permit free elections in Eastern Europe and to enter the Asian war against Japan, for which he was promised the return of lands lost to Japan in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05. Although most of these agreements were initially kept secret, the revelations of the conference particulars became controversial after Soviet-American wartime cooperation degenerated into the Cold War.

Lend-Lease Act

The Lend-Lease Act of March 11, 1941, was the principal means for providing U.S. military aid to foreign nations during World War II. The act authorized the president to transfer arms or any other defense materials for which Congress appropriated money to "the government of any country whose defense the President deems vital to the defense of the United States." Britain, the Soviet Union, China, Brazil, and many other countries received weapons under this law.

The Manhattan Project

The Manhattan Project was a research and development project that produced the first atomic bombs during World War II. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada.

Treaty of Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles was the peace treaty which officially ended World War I. It was signed by foreign German minister Hermann Müller. The armistice to end the fighting of WWI had been signed on 11 November 1918, but the Treaty of Versailles was the result of six months of negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference to conclude the terms of the peace treaty. The Treaty required that Germany accept sole responsibility for causing the war and that it make reparations to certain members of the Allied forces. Further conditions imposed by the Treaty included Germany losing a certain amount of its own territory to a number of surrounding countries and being stripped of all its overseas colonies. Germany was also required to substantially reduce its military to limit its ability to make war again. The Treaty of Versailles was a contentious one: none of the parties concerned were satisfied with its terms, and Germany was not permanently weakened. However, enough damage and humiliation was dealt to Germany to make them desire revenge to regain their pride, and as such this treaty can be seen as a cause of the Second World War.

Munich Conference

The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe, without the presence of Czechoslovakia. Today, it is widely regarded as a failed act of appeasement toward Germany. The agreement was signed in the early hours of 30 September 1938 (but dated 29 September). The purpose of the conference was to discuss the future of the Sudetenland in the face of ethnic demands made by Adolf Hitler. The agreement was signed by Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Italy.

Totalitarianism

Totalitarianism or totalitarian state is a concept used by some political scientists to describe a political system in which the state holds total authority over the society and seeks to control all aspects of public and private life wherever possible.

Blitzkrieg

War conducted with great speed and force; specifically : a violent surprise offensive by massed air forces and mechanized ground forces in close coordination. German, from Blitz lightning + Krieg war First Known Use: 1939

Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill (1874-1965) served as the prime minister of Great Britain from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. He led Britain's fight against Nazi Germany in World War II. Churchill was a talented orator, giving many stirring speeches to boost national morale during the war. A close friend of American presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, Churchill hoped to join the Americans in building a postwar order that limited Soviet leader Josef Stalin's ability to dominate European affairs. In January 1943, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met with President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Casablanca, Morocco to plan attacks on all war fronts, to invade Sicily and Italy, to send forces to the Pacific, and to better aid the Soviet Union.

United Nations

he United Nations was born of perceived necessity, as a means of better arbitrating international conflict and negotiating peace than was provided for by the old League of Nations. The growing Second World War became the real impetus for the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union to begin formulating the original U.N. Declaration, signed by 26 nations in January 1942, as a formal act of opposition to Germany, Italy, and Japan, the Axis Powers. The principles of the U.N. Charter were first formulated at the San Francisco Conference, which convened on April 25, 1945. It was presided over by President Franklin Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, and attended by representatives of 50 nations, including 9 continental European states, 21 North, Central, and South American republics, 7 Middle Eastern states, 5 British Commonwealth nations, 2 Soviet republics (in addition to the USSR itself), 2 East Asian nations, and 3 African states. The conference laid out a structure for a new international organization that was to "save succeeding generations from the scourge of war,...to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights,...to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom."