People, Terms, & Definitions Flashcards
Bonds
What U.S. citizens paid the government to support the war effort. Without the bonds, the U.S. military wouldn’t have enough money to continue WW11, and the war would’ve ended very differently.
Fascism
Authoritarian nationalist ideology, that promotes national unity, and national “rebirth” by subordinating personal interests to those of the state—Ex: The Nazi Party led by Adolf Hitler.
Totalitarian
The state regulates every aspect of life; use of secret police, propaganda, & mass media control; restriction of free discussion and widespread use of terror- Ex. The Naxi Party led by Hitler and the Soviet Union led by Joesph Stalin
Blitzkrieg
A military tactic popularized by the Germans during WW11. Blitzkrieg relied on creating disorganization and psychological stress in the enemy. It involved attacking the enemy from the front while surrounding troops from the back and on both sides. This would demoralize the enemy leaving them with no choice but to surrender or to face death. Ex. the invasion of Poland in 1939
War Crimes
An action that was done during the conduct of war that violates the accepted international rules of war.
Communism
A political and economic system in which the government controls anything that is used to create goods and services. It was also loosely based on Marxism. The main difference between the two of them was that Marxism believes in democratic elections but communism doesn’t. Ex. Soviet Union
Churchill
The UK’s prime minister during World War 11.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Saved the US from the Great Depression- Created a powerful wartime coalition with Britain and the Soviet Union and led the nation to victory against Nazi Germany.
Harry S. Truman
Became president after FDR died. He helped arrange Germany’s surrender, drafted a charter for the UN, and authorized the dropping of two atomic bombs on Japan (Hiroshima and Nagasaki).
Rammel
A German general who was viewed with positivity & respect by other generals which war rare for a Nazi General. He was known as “The Desert Fox”. He also was a general in North Africa.
Mussolini
He was the founder of the Italian Fascist Party. He was dictator of Italy and ruler of that country during World War II.
Genocide
the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group to destroy that nation or group
