The Second World War Flashcards
FDR’s formal policy to oppose foreign intervention in Latin America
initiated to limit Nazi influence in Latin America
led to US withdrawal of troops from Haiti and Nicaragua in the 1930s and US acceptance of Cuba’s repeal of the Platt Amendment
Mexico tested Roosevelt’s committment to the policy by seizing oil assets
Good Neighbor Policy
This group includes…
…Anastaio Somoza in Nicaragua
…Rafael Trujillo Molina in the Dominican Republic
…Fulgencio Batista in Cuba
Latin American Dictators supported by FDR
“He may be a son of a bitch, but he’s our son of a bitch.”
FDR speaking of Nicaraguan dictator Somoza
Invaded by Japan in 1931 during lead up to WWII
Manchuria
Province in Northern China
Invaded by Italy’s Mussolini in 1935
US was unable to help due to the Neutrality Law of 1935
Ethiopia
Occupied by Germany in 1936
Prior to the occupation, was the demilitarized zone between France & Germany
Rhineland
Led uprising in Spain, beginning in 1936, which led to the Spanish Civil War
General Francisco Franco
Invaded and overrun by Japan in 1937, killing 300,000
Nanjing, China
Hitler annexed in 1938
Austria and Sudetenland
Diplomatic meeting in 1938 which awarded the Sudentenland to Hitler
British diplomat Chamberlain appeased by Hitler’s guarantee of “peace in our time”
Munich Conference
We shall have “peace in our time”
Hitler’s Guarantee to Chamberlain
Munich Conference of 1938
American view of the growing conflict, influenced by…
…perception of the threat as distant
…belief that German power countered Soviet Union communism
…desire to not give up the German market
…desire to continue to trade trucks, aircraft, oil with the Japanese
Isolationism
Congressional entity that found bankers and arms exporters had greatly benefited from WWI
Influenced the general American preference for isolationism
Nye Committee
Prohibited American from trading arms with any country at war
Established that any American citizen traveling on a ship of a country at war was doing so at his or her own risk
Resulted in embargo of arms sales to both sides of the Spanish Civil War and kept America from helping to defend Ethiopia from Mussolini
Neutrality Act of 1935
Popular term for American servicemen during World War II
Virtually anything the servicemen wore or used was “government issued”
GI
Surprise agreement after Soviet Union initially proposed agreement with Britain and France to oppose Germany
Britain and France had refused the proposal, wanted to stop Stalin
Nazi-Soviet Pact
Event that led directly to the declaration of war by Britain and France against Germany
German Invasion of Poland
German style of war that allowed it to quickly overrun Poland, Scandinavia, Belgium, the Netherlands and ultimately occupy Paris by June 14, 1940
German blitzkrieg
Group of Germany, Italy, Japan that was formally created in September 1940
Axis Alliance
German air force launched attacks on London
Royal Air Force turned back the air assault
Churchill called on the “new world, with all its power and might, to step forward and rescue the old.”
Battle of Britain in 1940-41
“What worries me is that public opinion over here is patting itself on the back every morning and thanking God for the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean”
Churchill on American Isolationism
Allowed Britain and France to buy arms on a “cash and carry” basis – Britain had to pay cash and transport them on British ships
Approved plans for re-armament
Neutrality Act of 1939