World War 2 Flashcards
Vladimir Lenin
Leader of Russia and then the Soviet Union
Benito Mussolini
Fascist leader of Italy
USSR
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, created by Lenin
Capital of Soviet Russia
Moscow
Joseph Stalin
Took over Russia after Lenin’s death in 1924
NSDAP
National sozialistische Deutshe Arbeit Partei “National Socialist German Workers’ Party” Hitler mad it aka the Nazi Party
Manifesto
Wrote Mein Kamp about his beliefs of Nationalism, anti-semitism, and anti-communism
Master race
Aryan, perfect race of people who’re descendants of Ancient Romans and Greeks
Living room
“Lebensraum”- for his perfect race to live in with plenty of room
Empire
The Third Reich in model of the Roman Empire and the German Empire (pre-WWI)
Rhineland
Buffer zone between France and Germany, but on German land. It was demilitarized, so it had no troops or weapons until Hitler violated it by marching his troops through it
Rome Berlin Axis
Italian and German alliance between Hitler and Mussolini because they both dreamed of perfect empires
Anti-Comintern Act
Against communism between Germany and Japan
Nazi Soviet Nonaggression Pact
Signed Aug 23, 1939
Promise not to attack each other
Promise Stalin control of eastern Poland and the Balkans
Official start of WWII
Germany attacked Poland on Sep. 1, 1939
On September 3 Britain and France declared war on Germany
Allies
Great Britain, US, and Soviet Union
Axis powers
Germany, Japan, and Italy
Official end to WWII
Japan surrendered on August 14, 1945 60 million people had died
Holocaust
6 million Jews were killed. There was lots of murder, death camps, starvation, and medical experiments
Anti-semitism
Hatred of Jews
Josef Mengele
“Angel of Death”; experimented in Auschwitz, fled to South America after war ended
Leningrad
Capital of the Soviet Union used to be Petrograd. Under siege for 900 days; named after Lenin died to honor him and this battle was called the “Battle of Machines”
Women on the home front
Rosie the riveter was a propaganda poster encouraging women
Soviet Union women were allowed in combat!
Tehran Conference
In Iran; “big three negotiators” (US, GB, SU) decide the future course of the war and their final assault on Germany in Spring of 1944
Yalta Conference
In Ukraine in Feb of 1945; creation of the United Nations; Polish gains independence; gets Germany to surrender and divide Germany into 4 zones for control by US, GB, SU, and France
Potsdam Conference
In Germany; Harry Truman demands free elections in Eastern Europe, but Stalin disagrees because he wants security for the SU
Nuremberg
In Germany; the trials for Nazi leaders’ crimes were held here
