world war 2
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54 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Adolf Hitler | This dictator was the leader of the Nazi Party. He believed that strong leadership was required to save Germanic society, which was at risk due to Jewish, socialist, democratic, and liberal forces. |
| Benito Mussolini | Fascist dictator of Italy (1922-1943). He led Italy to conquer Ethiopia (1935), joined Germany in the Axis pact (1936), and allied Italy with Germany in World War II. He was overthrown in 1943 when the Allies invaded Italy. (p. 786) |
| Mein Kampf | Hitler's book in which he outlined his ideas on race, living space, and the Fuhrer |
| der Fuhrer | Hitler's title |
| blitzkrieg | Lighting war", typed of fast-moving warfare used by German forces against Poland n 1939 |
| Winston Churchill | Recognized the threat of renewed aggression and global war. Became Britian's prime minister |
| Third Reich | The Third Republic of Germany which began Hitler's rule in 1933 and ended with his defeat in 1945 |
| Charles de Gaulle | the leader of the Free French forces in exile |
| Battle of Britain | an aerial battle fought in World War II in 1940 between the German Luftwaffe (air force), which carried out extensive bombing in Britain, and the British Royal Air Force, which offered successful resistance. |
| Luftwaffe | the German air force before and during World War II |
| Field Marshal Erwin Rommel | Leader of Afrika Korps, nicknamed "Desert Fox" |
| lend lease act | Approved by Congress in March 1941; The act allowed America to sell, lend or lease arms or other supplies to nations considered "vital to the defense of the United States." |
| Pearl Harbor | United States military base on Hawaii that was bombed by Japan, bringing the United States into World War II. Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941 around 8:00 that morning. |
| Battle of Midway | U.S. naval victory over the Japanese fleet in June 1942, in which the Japanese lost four of their best aircraft carriers. It marked a turning point in World War II. |
| Douglas MacArthur | United States general who served as chief of staff and commanded Allied forces in the South Pacific during World War II |
| Hiroshima | City in Japan, the first to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, on August 6, 1945. The bombing hastened the end of World War II. |
| Nagasaki | Japanese city in which the second atomic bomb was dropped (August 9, 1945). |
| Invasion of Poland | official start of WWII |
| Axis Powers | Japan, Germany, Italy and 6 other countries |
| Allied Powers | US, Britain, France, Soviet Union and 30 other countries |
| War Bonds and Stamps | Given out by the American government to raise money for the World War II effort |
| General Dwight Eisenhower | American general in command of the join British and American forces in North Africa |
| War Production Board | Control of production. helped factories switch from making consumer goods to war materials |
| three sources of international tension | high war debt on Germany from Treaty of Versailles. competition of colonies, resources, and markets among Europe Extreme nationalism |
| Union of Soviet Socialist Republics | Vladimir Lenin renamed Russia the USSR. He had established total communist dictatorship. |
| Joseph Stalin | Assumed full control of the Communist party and the Soviet Union in 1927. (russia) |
| Chiang Kai-shek | General of the National Chinese Government |
| Mao Tse-tung | Chinese Communists leader |
| Claire Chennault | American general that commanded the "flying tigers" and flew sorties against the Japanese and fought them in the air |
| Haile Selassie I | Emperor of Ethiopia |
| Francisco Franco | General of Spain who was supported by Germany and Italy |
| Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and Premier Edouard Daladier | From Britian and from France. Flew to Munich, Germany to confer with HItler and Mussolini. |
| Munich Pact | september 29,1938 dismembered Czechoslovakia by turning over the Sudetenland to Germany. Chamberlain and Daladier agreed to Hitler's demands and signed this |
| september 1, 1939 | Date Nazi moved into Poland |
| september 3, 1939 | Date World War II bagan |
| Stuka | Nazi dive bombers |
| Panzer | Nazi tanks |
| Treblinka and Auschwitz | Two of the most infamous Nazi concentration camps located in Poland |
| Fifth Columnists | Nazi sympathizers |
| Vidkun Quisling | Was installed as the head of the Nazi puppet government, now moved to London. |
| Vichy | Small zone of southern France (the capital) that escaped going under German conrtol |
| Operation Sea-Lion | Luftwaffe would destroy the British people by one month of constant air raids |
| Genera "Mud" and General "Winter" | Russia's two great allies |
| America First COmmittee | Formed by Colonel Charles A. Lindebergh. Dedicated to keeping the US out of a general European war |
| Neutrality Act of 1937 | Continued the terms of the earlier legislation and adopted the important "cash-and-carry" principle for dealing with warring nations |
| Neutraltiy Act of 1939 | Designed to keep US out of war,but only succeeded in sacrificing principle of "freedom of the seas" |
| Selective Service Act | Required all men of 18-65 to register with their local draft boards |
| General Hideki Tojo | Japanese extremely militaristic new general that strained American and Japanese relations to the breaking point |
| December 7, 1941 | date of Pearl harbor attack |
| Office of War Mobilization | Formation of a wartime cabinet-new general staff for the home front |
| Liberty ships | Enabled Allies to win the battle of supple |
| WACS | Women who joined the armed services |
| WAVES | Women who joined the women's branch of the navy |
| "God Bless America" and "White Cristmas" | Two most popular songs during the war years by Irving Berlin |
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