World War II

Question 1

Name two things that led to the rise of Hitler.

Answer 1

Feeble League of Nations

Faults of the Versailles Treaty

Question 2

What date did the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor?

Answer 2

December 7, 1941 “A day that will live in infamy”

Question 3

What people were persecuted by the US during WWII during which they lost their jobs and property and, without trial, were relocated to Mass Internment Relocation Camps?

Answer 3

Japanese

Question 4

How did Hitler rise to power in Germany in 1933?

Answer 4

He created a personality cult around himself and he abolished the constitution as soon as he was elected.

Question 5

Hitler adopted several programs to create his new German Empire. One program was above all others such that it overrode supply trains headed with supplies to the front so that Jews could be transported to the concentration camps and ultimate death through starvation, overwork, and murder. What was that program called?

Answer 5

The Final Solution

Question 6

Leading to WWII the League of Nations demonstrated its inability to intervene effectively in world events three times. What were they?

Answer 6

The couldn’t prevent Japan from invading China.
They couldn’t prevent Italy from invading Ethiopia.
They couldn’t intervene or stop the Spanish Civil War.

Question 7

In 1939 a pact was made between two countries that astonished and alarmed the world. It united fascism and communism. What was it called? What countries signed the agreement?

Answer 7

The German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact aka Hitler-Stalin Pact of 1939 was between Germany and Russia.

Question 8

Who was the prime minister of England who controlled foreign affairs during the Period of Appeasement?

Answer 8

Neville Chamberlain

Question 9

Who was the prime minister who served England during WWII?

Answer 9

Winston Churchill

Question 10

He was a great American journalist who gave first hand accounts of WWII from Europe. He set many of the standards for good journalism. (frequently ignored by FOX news)

Answer 10

Edward R Murrow

Question 11

What was the Phoney War?

Answer 11

It was an eight month period after WWII was declared when Europe stood down while Germany invaded the rest of Poland.

Question 12

What happened in 1940 that changed the whole world? Why do we say that?

Answer 12

Germany invaded and defeated France. To the world’s amazement, France was defeated very easily. Until then it had always prevailed over Germany. From then on, the world knew there was a risk that Germany would conquer the world. (Europe, Northern Africa, and maybe through Japan, the US and Pacific)

Question 13

Until WWII, the US had followed an isolationist policy, figuring that what happened in Europe could stay in Europe. The US was horrified by the levels of destruction and death that war could cause as experienced during WWI. How did the clergy react to the possibility of war?

Answer 13

They opposed going to war. They had believed the horror stories promulgated during WWI only to find that most of them had been made up and that the “Huns” were no worse than the Allies. Therefore they did not believe the horror stories coming out of Europe preceding and during the first part of WWII. These stories were true, though.

Question 14

After Germany succeeded so successfully in Europe, (only Britain was able to resist him.) Hitler turned his plans elsewhere. What did he do?

Answer 14

In June 1941, he invaded Russia (even though he had signed the Hitler-Stalin Pact. [90% of the German soldiers who died, died on the Russian front. They received insufficient supplies (The Final Solution interfered) and the Russian Winter was horrific.]

Question 15

In the meantime, Japan set sights on conquering the islands of the Pacific and from them reaching the US. When and where did Japan attack the US?

Answer 15

December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor

Question 16

A magazine popular during WWII and later years that published misleading stories about Japanese Internment Camps. The publication was a barometer for the time but is readily seen today as pushing racism and other propaganda.

Answer 16

Life Magazine (see Allan G Borst)

Question 17

Tell what happened in the Philippines during the Battle of Bataan.

Answer 17

US commanders in the Philippines knew that Pearl Harbor had been attacked but they did no pre-emptive actions in case the Philippines were attacked next. Consequently, 10 hours after attacking Pearl Harbor, Japan attacked the Philippines and destroyed most US ships in port because they were still “parked” next to each other. Luckily the carrier ships were out to sea at the time. The Battle of Bataan followed and the Japanese defeated the US. The prisoners of war taken by the Japanese during WWII were treated cruelly (40% died vs 1% in Nazi camps) including the Bataan Death March.

Question 18

When the Americans were first defeated in the Philippines, MacArthur vowed, “I will return.” Did he?

Answer 18

The US liberated the Philippines on Oct 20, 1944 with a force of 700 vessels and 174,000 men. At that time, MacArthur deliberately waded to shore on Leyte Island. When he arrived at the shore he made a radio speech declaring to the Philippine people, “People of the Philippines, I have returned.”

Question 19

What was the difference between Churchill’s approach to WWII and Roosevelt’s?

Answer 19

Churchill was very hands on and consulted and advised his generals regularly. Roosevelt trusted his generals and focused on domestic issues.

Question 20

The European Theatre of WWII had two alliances seen skeptically in both instances by the other side. What were the alliances and why were they perceived as shaky by the other side?

Answer 20

Axis Powers: Germany/Italy/Russia. How could a pact between fascism and communism endure? (BTW it didn’t)
Allied Powers: Britain/US/Russia. How could a republic, a monarchy, and a Marxist Dictatorship maintain a partnership. (BTW, there was a lot of suspicion held by US and Britain against Russia.)

Question 21

How did Churchill want the US to participate in the war on the European front? What did the US actually do?

Answer 21

Churchill wanted to keep Germany fighting on two fronts: Britain and the underground in the West and Russia in the East. Russia wanted US to help them win the war but Churchill wanted Germany to keep fighting there–plus he didn’t trust Stalin who had already changed sides once. The US chose to fight in Northern Africa which Italy had invaded so Russia had to continue to fight alone.

Question 22

What was different about the way Allied forces fought compared to German and Japanese?

Answer 22

Allied forces fought for an ideal with great animosity toward their enemies; they were backed by good supplies, intelligence operations, and excellent weapons. The Axis powers did not have necessary supplies because they were fighting on two fronts and the Final Solution often delayed reinforcements in food, supplies, and people. Even so, the Axis soldiers for Germany loved Hitler and fiercely fought for him to the death. The Axis soldiers for Japan were driven by honor. They could not accept an honorable defeat so they usually fought until the last man died.

Question 23

Name two tactics of subetrefuge one used by Germany and the other by the US that worked for both of them.

Answer 23

The Germans disguised themselves as Allied soldiers, entered camps, and spread rumors and fake news. Half of a million GI’s had to change procedures and ask each other questions to prove who was really an ally.
The United states engaged the Navajo tribe to develop a code using their language. Called the Navajo Code Talkers, the Japanese were never able to understand them.

Question 24

What are the facts about Yalta?

Answer 24

Yalta is a resort city along the Black Sea. In February 1945 Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin met there to determine the post-war fate of Germany and the rest of Europe. Already by that time the Cold War was starting because of the distrust between Stalin and the other Allied powers, Britain and the US. However, Russia successfully gained “possession” of huge tracts of eastern Europe.

Question 25

When did the US enter WWII? What were the steps?

Answer 25

Japan bombed Pearl Harbor 12/7/41. On 12/8/41 US declared war on Japan. Then Germany (an ally of Japan) declared war on the US. On Dec 11, 1941 US declared war on Germany.

Question 26

How did WWII first get started?

Answer 26

On September 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland which prompted Britain and France to declare war on September 3, 1939. On April 9, 1940 Germany invaded Norway and occupied Denmark. This actually started the war.

Question 27

General Eisenhower was the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces on the European front. What huge battle did he command?

Answer 27

D-Day invasion –Allied invasion of Normandy. Largest seaborne invasion in history; fought on five fronts at the same time.

Question 28

What was the Battle of the Bulge?

Answer 28

The last big offensive from the Germans. After this battle the Germans only retreated until the end of the war.

Question 29

Because the Pacific islands were so many and so far apart, waging war with Japan was very time consuming. Added to that was the fact that Japanese soldiers would not surrender. So even when battles were won the fighting continued. Based on these premises, after Germany surrendered, the US estimated that war with Japan would last another 5 years and result in 100 million more soldier deaths. This added urgency to a special project housed in Hanford, WA, Oakridge TN, and Los Alamos, NM. What was it? What came from it?

Answer 29

The Manhattan Project.
An atom bomb was dropped on the civilian cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and August 9 of 1945. It killed over 170,000 civilian people (counting radiation sickness). These were non-combatants.

Question 30

What did the war do to the US economy?

Answer 30

It boomed. New technology. Women included in workforce. High wages. Full employment