WWII Test

Blitzkrieg

"Lighting war", a type of fast-moving warfare used by German forces against Poland in 1939.

Holocaust

A genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany murdered some 6 million Jews across German-occupied Europe, around two-thirds of Europe's Jewish population. Gypsies, Germans with disabilities, and some of the Slavic people were also targeted.

Totalitarianism

A government that permits no individual freedom and that seeks to subordinate all aspects of individual life to the authority of the state. Ex. Japan, Germany

Tuskegee Flyers

A group of primarily African American military pilots and airmen who fought in World War II.

Battle of the Bulge

A major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II which took place from 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945. Hitler's aim was to split the Allies in their drive toward Germany. The German troops' failure to divide Britain, France and America paved the way to victory for the allies. This battle is often referred to as "the greatest American battle of the war." This battle lasted from December 16, 1944, to January 25, 1945. The allies won.

The Battle of Britain

A military campaign in which the Royal Air Force and the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force, the Luftwaffe. Jul 10, 1940 - Oct 31, 1940. British victory.

Communism

A political system using common ownership of property and equality of wealth- "from each according to their abilities, to each according to their needs". Ended up doing GOVERNMENT ownership of property. The Soviet Union practiced this.

Siege of Leningrad

A prolonged military blockade undertaken from the south by the Nazis against the Soviet city of Leningrad on the Eastern Front in World War II. Soviet victory. DEATHS: 1 million. The siege was lifted.

Dictator

A ruler with total power over a country, typically one who has obtained control by force (ex. Hitler)

Arsenal of Democracy

A slogan used by the U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in a radio broadcast delivered on December (winter) 29, 1940. Roosevelt promised to help the United Kingdom fight Nazi Germany by selling them military supplies while the United States stayed out of the actual fighting. President Roosevelt hoped the United States would be the arsenal of democracy because it would supply so many goods and weapo

Pearl Harbor

A surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, just before 08:00, on Sunday morning, December 7, 1941. The Japanese intended the attack as a preventive action to keep the United States Pacific Fleet from interfering with its planned military actions in Southeast Asia against overseas territories of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States.

D-day

Allied forces, US and Canadian, faced rough weather and fierce German gunfire as they stormed Normandy's coast in northern France on June (summer) 6th, 1944 in an aim to bring an end to the war. Despite tough odds and high casualties, Allied forces ultimately won the battle and helped turn the tide of World War II toward victory against Hitler's forces. US and Canadian forces invaded the coast of Normandy in northern France.

442nd Regiment

An infantry regiment that is best known for being a unit composed of almost entirely second generation American soldiers of Japanese ancestry in ww2.

Kamikaze

Any of the Japanese pilots who in World War II made deliberate suicidal crashes into enemy targets, usually ships. The term also denotes the aircraft used in such attacks. The practice was most prevalent from the Battle of Leyte Gulf, October 1944, to the end of the war.

WWII

Beginning in 1939 in Europe, when German troops invaded Poland, and ending in 1945 soon after Hitler committed suicide — fearing the Soviets would punish him. WWII started in Asia when Japan invaded China in 1937, and ended in 1945 when the Japanese surrendered to the allies after we dropped the atomic bomb. The allies won both parts of WWII. Battle Deaths: 15,000,000. Civilian Deaths: 45,000,000. 60 MILLION WWII DEATHS. COUNTRIES INVOLVED: U.S, Great Britain, France, Soviet Union, Japan, Germany, Italy.

Victory Gardens

During World War II, these were planted by families in the United States (the Home Front) to help prevent a food shortage. Planting Victory Gardens helped make sure that there was enough food for our soldiers fighting around the world. They also boosted morale and expressed patriotism.

Battle of Stalingrad

Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in Southern Russia on Aug 23rd, 1942 (summer) to (winter) Feb 2nd, 1943. It marked the end of Germany's advances into eastern Europe and Russia and it was the first major German loss during World War II. After the Germans lost in Stalingrad, they did not advance any farther into eastern Europe or Russia. The Soviet Union defeated Germany, marking the turning point of the war in Eastern Europe.

Antisemitism

Hostility to or prejudice against Jews.

Manhattan Project

In early 1939, America became aware that the Nazi's may have been developing a nuclear weapon. Albert Einstein then sent a letter to the US president, Franklin D. Roosevelt advising him to start a nuclear research program. The Manhattan Project then created the first atomic bomb.

GI

Initials used to describe the soldiers of the United States Army and airmen of the United States Air Force, like a synonym for an American soldier. Stands for "government issue."

Internment Camp

Japanese internment camps were established during World War II by President Franklin D. Roosevelt through his Executive Order 9066. From 1942 to 1945, it was the policy of the U.S. government that people of Japanese descent, including U.S. citizens, would be incarcerated in isolated camps. In other words, it was a mission to take all the people of Japanese descent into custody, surround them with troops, prevent them from buying land, and return them to their former homes after the war.

Island Hopping

Leapfrogging, also known as island hopping, was a military strategy employed by the Allies in the Pacific War against the Empire of Japan during World War II. The key idea is to bypass heavily fortified enemy islands instead of trying to capture every island in sequence en route to a final target.

Fascism

Mean importance of the nation above all else. The unity of the national community is prioritized above the rights of individuals. This leads to an intense interest in defining which groups belong or do not belong to the national body. Between 1933 and 1945 Germany had its own fascist dictator in Adolf Hitler. Fascism spread because of the hurting economy in Europe. The countries in WWII that were fascist was Germany and Italy

Nazi-Soviet 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. The German-Soviet Pact ended any chance of the USSR siding with the British and French in 1939 and ultimately enabled Germany to attack Poland without fear of Soviet intervention.

Hiroshima

On August 6, 1945, during World War II, an American B-29 bomber dropped the world's first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion immediately killed an estimated 80,000 people; tens of thousands more would later die of radiation exposure.

Operation Barbarossa

Original name Operation Fritz, during World War II, code name for the German invasion of the Soviet Union, which was launched in summer 1941. The failure of German troops to defeat Soviet forces in the campaign signaled a crucial turning point in the war. This was the largest, deadliest military operation in history.

Ration

Supplies such as gasoline, butter, sugar and canned milk were rationed because they needed to be diverted to the war effort. Ration cards included stamps with drawings of airplanes, guns, tanks, aircraft, ears of wheat and fruit, which were used to purchase rationed items.

Operation Husky

The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed by this operation, was launched on July 10, 1943 (summer), when the Allies launched a massive amphibious assault on the southern shores of the island. The strategy of "island hopping" was used. The allied proved successful by gaining Sicily, and German resources were shifted to the islands of Sardinia and Corsica.

The London Blitz

The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom from September 7th, 1940 to May 11th, 1941. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term "Blitzkrieg", the German word for 'lightning war'. The Germans conducted mass air attacks against industrial targets, towns, and cities, beginning with raids on London; in hopes of drawing RAF fighter command into a war of complete destruction. Famous landmarks in London were hit that needed to be rebuilt after the war.

Bataan Death March

The Japanese troops captured American and Filipino army soldiers and forced them to take part in what would later be known as the Bataan Death March, a torturous march of more than 65 miles, in which thousands of troops died due to starvation, dehydration, and gratuitous violence. Thousands more would die in prisoner of war camps before they were liberated three years later.

The Lend Lease Act

The Lend-Lease Act, approved by Congress in March 1941, had given President Roosevelt (the U.S. government) virtually unlimited authority to direct material aid such as ammunition, tanks, airplanes, trucks, and food to the war effort in Europe without violating the nation's official position of neutrality.

Battle of Midway

The U.S. Navy's decisive victory in the air-sea battle on June (summer) 4-6,1942 and its successful defense of the major base located at Midway Island dashed Japan's hopes of neutralizing the United States as a naval power and effectively turned the tide of World War II in the Pacific. Code-breakers were able to decipher Japanese naval code, allowing American leaders to anticipate Japanese maneuvers. The U.S. Navy was then able to launch a surprise attack on the larger Japanese fleet in the area.

Genocide

The deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation, ethnic group, religion, or race, with the aim of destroying that nation or group (ex. Holocaust)

The Axis Leaders

The leaders were Adolf Hitler (Germany), Benito Mussolini (Italy), and Emperor Hirohito (Japan).

The Allied Leaders

The leaders were Franklin Roosevelt (the United States), Winston Churchill (Great Britain), and Joseph Stalin (the Soviet Union).

Appeasement

This means giving in and to someone's demands to maintain the level of world peace in the world and avoid conflict as much as possible. This was the policy of giving Hitler what he wanted to stop him from going to war. This allowed Hitler to violate the Treaty of Versailles and, eventually, to take over other countries, without resisting him. They allowed Hitler to do so because they did not want a war. This also included Britain's leader.

Operation Torch

This operation was given the name of the Allied invasion of French North Africa in November (fall) 1942. It was first time the British and Americans had jointly worked on an invasion plan together. The Allies planned to invade Morocco and Algeria. American armed forces had the opportunity to engage in the fight against Nazi Germany on a limited scale — resulting in an allied victory.

V-E Day

This was when the allied forces accepted Germany's surrender of its armed forces and fighting stopped in Europe (May 8, 1945).

V-J Day

Victory over Japan Day on August (summer) 14th, 1945 marks the end of World War II, on the day President Harry S. Truman announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally. This caused the war-weary United States people to break out in celebration.

W.A.C.

Women's Army Corps U.S. Army unit created during World War II to enable women to serve in noncombat positions on May (spring), 15th 1942. Never before had women, with the exception of nurses, served within the ranks of the U.S. Army. They had spots of clerks, typists, drivers, cooks and unit cadre, while primarily working in four fields: baking, clerical, driving and medical.