World War II Flashcards
Big Three
Alliance between England, United States, and Soviet Russia
Appeasement
Policy used by Western Europe toward Germany because:
Great Depression & Inflation
They couldn’t afford another war
There was more fear of communists than fascists.
Lack of Allies (no more US or Russia)
Axis Powers
Germany, Italy, and Japan
Spanish Civil War
1936-1939
Francisco Franco leads a military coup.
^fascists v. Spanish Republic
Fascists win and Franco becomes dictator until 1970.
Served as a battlefield test for Hitler’s weapons.
Hitler’s Goal
Overturn Versailles
Regain German land lost due to Versailles.
Subdue France and ally with England.
Conquer Slavic nations (for living space and use as labor force)
Eliminate undesirables.
Anglo-German Naval Agreement (1935)
Allows Hitler to start building a navy and building up military power and armaments.
Lend Lease Act
March 1941
Allowed America to lend or sell war materials to any country in order to aid in their defense.
Pearl Harbor
December 7th, 1941
Japanese surprise attack on U.S naval base.
Provoked the United States to join WWII
Battle of the Bulge
December, 1944
The final push from Germany which resulted in the Allies pushing back all the way to Berlin
Served as the dress rehearsal for WWII
The Spanish Civil War
“D day” or “Operation overload”
June 6th, 1944
Assault on France through the beaches of Normandy.
Starts the 2 front war
Blitzkrieg
“Lightning war”
Hitler’s plan to defeat enemies including air bombardment and tanks
Holocaust
The elimination of targeted groups such as Jews, Slavs, Gypsies, Deviants, and Political Prisoners.
Anschluss
The unification of Germany with Austria
Atlantic Charter
August 1941
Roosevelt and Churchill agreed to a slightly modified version of Wilsons 14 points.
Theoretical basis for the peace they sought.
Tehran
November, 1943
First meeting of Big Three.
Agrees to open a two front war.
USSR and Britain will help US against Japan later.
V.E Day
May 8th, 1945
British, American, and Soviet forces go into Berlin.
Germany surrenders.
Yalta Conference
February, 1945 in Crimea
Concessions made to Stalin for support in war against Japan.
Germany’s fate: heavy reparations and zones of occupation.
Discuss creation of United Nations
Potsdam Conference
July, 1945
Soviets already in Berlin
Truman, Atlee, and Stalin
Truman and Stalin don’t get along
Hiroshima/Nagasaki
Where Americans dropped 2 atomic bombs.
Japan surrenders
Battle of Kursk
1943
Massive tank battle.
Russian victory.
Turning point, Russians begin to slowly push back the Germans
Fortress Europe
Everyone on the continent is either allied, occupied, or neutral.
Battle of the Britain
Massive air battle between Royal Air Force vs. Luftwaffe
British cities bombed to breakdown moral of people, does the opposite.
English victory, destroyed more than twice of what they lost.
Destroys Hitler’s plans of invading.
Vichy France
Puppet government on the Mediterranean Coast.
Technically independent but orders came from Germany.
Rome-Berlin Axis
Alliance between Germany and Italy
Fascism!!
Anti-Comintern Pact
Germany and Japan
Munich Conference
1938
Decides fate of Czechoslovakia
Britain, Germany, Italy, & France are present but not Czechoslovakia.
Germany gets Sudetenland.
Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
August 23, 1939
Public agreement between Germany and Russia that declared they would not invade each others territory.
Secretly divided Eastern Europe.
Germany: Romania, Lithuania, W. Poland
Soviets: Latvia, Estonia, Finland, E. Poland.
Germany invaded Poland
September 1st, 1939
Britain and France declare war on Germany
Begins WWII
Battle of Stalingrad
1942-1943
Most intense urban fighting ever seen.
1 million Russians (civil and soldiers) die.
Turning point of the war.
Russian victory, they start pushing back.
Charles De Gaulle
Head of Free French Forces, the resistance movement.
Untermenschen
“Under people”
Sub-human
Wansee Conference
1942
Reinhard Hegdrich; plans for the implementation of the Final Solution.
Night Witches
Female pilots protecting Stalingrad with biplanes
Albert Speer
The Minister of Armaments
Centralized some of the German economy in 1942
Women in Germany
Never really got involved in the war
Katyn Massacre
September 1944
The execution of 20,000 Polish army officers ordered by Stalin
