World War 2 Flashcards
Explain how Hitler expanded his power for each of the following event: Army Size
Broke Treaty of Versailles by starting to rebuilt his military, airforce, and navy in secret
Explain how Hitler expanded his power for each of the following event: Rhineland
Put his military in the region between France and Germany that was taken away from Germany in Treaty
Explain how Hitler expanded his power for each of the following event: Austria
Combined Austria into the German empire
Explain how Hitler expanded his power for each of the following event: Czechoslovakia
Took over the region and used its resources for their army
Why did Hitler/ Germans want the above things?
He wanted to make Germany powerful again, expand their living space, and combine all the German speaking people into one empire.
What is appeasement?
diplomatic policy of making political or material concessions to an aggressive power in order to avoid conflict.
What are the four reasons why Europe allowed appeasement?
- The Allied Powers were in the depths of the Great Depression, and did not have the money to be involved in another war.
- The memory of World War 1 was still fresh, and none of the world wanted to do that again.
- They were trying to convince themselves that Hitler’s demands were reasonable, and hoped he would be satisfied if he got what he wanted
- The militaries of the Allied countries were still recovering from WWI
What was the consequence of appeasement for the Allies?
- Allowed Hitler to control a larger population to use as an army
- Allowed Hitler to control a more people to tax and gather wealth from
- Made Hitler seem invincible to his own people, so they bought into him as a leader
- Allowed the Germans to control areas with tons of resources like iron, coal, and agricultural land
What was the importance of the Battle of Dunkirk?
Germany surrounded French troops and pushed them out of France to Great Britain.
Left France undefended from the Nazis, but saved 338,000 soldiers to fight later in the war.
What was the importance of the Battle of Britain?
Germany used constant bombing to try and have them surrender, since they could not have a land invasion across the sea easily.
This battle saved Europe from complete Nazi control, and was later the able to be used as the base of operations for retaking control of Europe from Hitler.
What was the importance of the attack on Pearl Harbor?
Japan bombed the United States Navy fleet to try to knock them out of the war before they could attack Japan.
This battle drew the United States into WW2
What was the importance of the Battle of Stalingrad?
The German and Russian army clashed in the bloodiest battle for control of this important Russian city
This battle was the turning point for the war, especially in the East. From this point on, Hitler’s armies were pushed back into Germany.
What was the importance of the D-Day?
Massive Allie re-invasion of Europe by the Allied powers, launched from England
This battle put Hitler into a 2 front war and stopped him from reinforcing his armies getting beat in Russia.
Who are the allies?
Britain, France, the United States, Soviet Union
Who are the Axis Powers?
Germany, Italy, Japan
How successful was Hitler at fighting in the war?
Hitler’s armies were very successful early in the war, but were terribly ineffective after the invasion of the Soviet Union.
What happened to Hitler?
He committed suicide as the war was coming to an end
Why does that happen?
He had lost the war, and did not want to be captured by the Soviets
What two cities does the US drop Atomic Bombs on?
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Why did the US drop the atomic bomb?
The invasion of Japan would have been costly in terms of lives, both Japanese and American
We wanted to show off our new weapons to the Soviets as a show of our power.
What were the negative consequences of doing this
It killed over 100,000 instantly, and more hundreds of thousands in the weeks that followed
The effects on the citizens of Japan was cruel, even by the standards of war.
What decisions were made at the Potsdam Conference?
Split Europe into two
East- Communist controlled
West- Democratic and capitalist controlled
What was the purpose of the Nuremberg Trials?
Attempted to bring justice to the Nazi leadership in Germany
Run by the United Nations
Important step towards having an international court to prosecute war crimes and “crimes against humanity”
What are the major functions of the United Nations General Assembly?
All countries have a vote in world affairs
What are the major functions of the United Nations Economic and Social Development groups?
Gives loans to developing countries
Deals with disease outbreaks and health
Helps children in developing countries
What are the major functions of the United Nations Security Council
?
Can step into conflicts in countries to stop them from escalating into war
What are the major functions of the United Nations International Court of Justice?
Convicts war criminals
How did Japan change after World War 2?
The United States took control of Japan
Forced it to demilitarize
Lost all colonies
Emperor had to admit he was not a god
A democracy was set up
Became allies with the
US during the Cold War
