(Class 19) World War II Flashcards
1
Q
Appeasement
A
- Definition: The diplomatic policy of making political or material concessions to an enemy power in order to avoid conflict
- In 1938 British Prime Minister Chamberlain offered to allow Germany to reclaim Sudetenland if Hitler agreed to leave the rest of Czechoslovakia alone
- Hitler accepted but did not keep his promise
- By 1939 Hitler had annexed all of Czechoslovakia
- Appeasement FAILED Miserably
2
Q
Lend-Lease Act
A
- Cash and Carry for arms and supplies did not work as Britain ran low on money
- Roosevelt proposed a lend lease policy which allowed the British to obtain arms from the US without paying cash but with promise to reimburse the United States after war ended
- Congress approved the Lend-Lease Act in 1941
- Was a policy intended to defend democracy and human rights
- By the time the war ended Lend-Lease support to Britain totaled more than $50 billion – more than all federal expenditures combined since Roosevelt took office
3
Q
Japanese Ambitions
A
- The interests of Japan clashed more openly with American interests especially in China
- Japan wanted control of all of Asia
- Wanted to form Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
- Had already invaded China for 10 years
- America demanded that Japan stop its campaign of aggression
- In 1940 Japan allies with Germany and Italy
- Forms the Tripartite Pact
- In July 1941 Roosevelt imposes trade embargo on Japan
4
Q
Pearl Harbor Attack
A
- Militarists seize control of the Japanese government in October 1941
- Angered by embargo they convince Emperor Hirohito that American naval base in the Pacific needs to be destroyed to allow Japan to control Asia
- On December 7, 1941Japan attacks the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
- Sank all the battleships and killed 2,400 Americans
- Failed to destroy aircrafts or oil storage facilities
- Unites all Americans to avenge the attack
5
Q
December 8, 1941
A
- Roosevelt goes to Congress next day
- Asks for a declaration of war on Japan in light of Peal Harbor
- Congress declares war on Japan
- Leads Hitler and Mussolini to declare war against the United States on December 11
- America is now in all out war in both Europe and Asia
6
Q
Japanese Internment Camps
A
- Especially true of the Japanese
- Americans of Japanese descent became targets
- Pearl Harbor and racial prejudice contributed to this
- Campaign to round up all mainland Japanese-Americans
- Most were US citizens
- February 19, 1942 Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066
- Sent all Americans of Japanese decent to 10 internment camps in remote areas
- They lost homes and businesses and lived out war in these camps
- Several thousand Japanese Americans served with distinction in the war
- No case of subversion by a Japanese American was ever uncovered
- Supreme Court upheld the Executive Order as justified by “military necessity”
- Although blatantly unconstitutional
7
Q
GI Bill of Rights
A
- In June 1944 Congress unanimously passes GI bill
- Recognizes sacrifices made
- Gave veterans money for education, housing and health care
- Loans for homes and businesses
- Empowered millions of GIs to better themselves after the war
- Still in effect today
8
Q
The Holocaust
A
- Since the 1930s the Nazis persecuted Jews in Germany and all the countries they occupied
- Jews sought to immigrate to the United States
- 82% of Americans opposed admitting them and turned them away
- Ann Frank and her family were refused entrance to the United States
- In 1942 numerous reports reached the United States that Hitler was sending Jews, Gypsies, religious and political dissenters, homosexuals, and others to concentration and death camps
- U.S. officials refused to grant asylum to Jewish refugees
- Most Americans, including top officials, believed reports were exaggerated
- The nightmare was all too real
- Russian troops arrived at Auschwitz Death Camp in Poland in January 1945
- They found emaciated prisoners, skeletal remains, gas chambers, and pits filled with human ashes
- But it was too late
- 11 million civilian victims – mostly Jews (6 million) – were killed by the Nazis
9
Q
Unconditional Surrender
A
- January 1943
- Roosevelt and Churchill meet in Casablanca
- Announce they would accept nothing less than “unconditional surrender” from Axis powers
- Would not accept peace negotiation with Axis powers
- Agreed to strike Italy next
10
Q
General Dwight D. Eisenhower
A
- West Point graduate
- Fought in North African theater of operations
- December 1943, Roosevelt decided that Eisenhower would be Supreme Allied Commander in Europe
- Eisenhower launched the largest amphibious assault in world history on June 6, 1944
11
Q
D-Day (Operation Overlord)
A
- Allied forces landed at Normandy beachhead
- Liberated Paris on August 25, 1944
- In December 1944 Allied and Soviet forces close in on Germany
- Hitler orders counter attack to capture supply line at Antwerp
12
Q
The Big Three
A
- November 1943
- Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin meet to discuss wartime strategy
- Roosevelt conceded to Stalin that after the war Soviet Union would exercise control over the Eastern European countries that the Red Army occupied
- Stalin agreed to enter war against Japan once Germany surrendered
- Roosevelt and Churchill promised to launch a massive assault in France in May 1944
13
Q
Yalta Conference
A
- Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin meet secretly in Yalta (Russia)
- Make plans for postwar world
- Stalin agreed to self determination for eastern Europe
- Allies pledged to support Chiang Kai-shek in China
- Soviets got role in post war Korea and Manchuria in exchange for aiding U.S. in Japan
14
Q
Manhattan Project
A
- In July Allied forces prepared for final assault on Japan
- Knew it would result in massive loss of Allied military lives – approx. 250,000
- On July 16, 1945 scientists tested an atomic bomb
- Roosevelt had authorized in 1942 the Manhattan Project
- Top secret
- Find a way to convert nuclear energy into a bomb
- More than 100,000 American scientists, engineers and military worked on it
- At Los Alamos, New Mexico
- Truman had no problem using the bomb on Japan if doing so would save American lives
15
Q
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
A
- Before dropping the bomb Truman issues ultimatum to Japan
- Japan must surrender unconditionally or face utter ruin
- Gave Japan deadline to respond
- Japan refused to surrender
- Truman ordered the bomb be dropped on a Japanese city
- On August 6, 1945 bomb is dropped
- Levels the city
- Kills 40,000
- Japan still refused to surrender after Hiroshima
- Second bomb dropped on Nagasaki 3 days later
