World War II

Question 1

yielding to an enemy’s demands in order to maintain peace; the way in which Europe dealt with Hitler in the 1930s.

Answer 1

appeasement

Question 2

the 1938 agreement in which Britain and France appeased Hitler by agreeing that Germany could annex the Sudetenland, a German-speaking region of Czechoslovakia;

Answer 2

Munich Pact

Question 3

a system in which the government totally controls all aspects of society, including the economy; Soviet Union under Stalin

Answer 3

Totalitarianism

Question 4

a political movement based on an extreme nationalism in which the state comes first and individual liberty is secondary; Italy under Mussolini

Answer 4

Fascism

Question 5

a form of fascism that promoted the belief that Germans and other Nordic peoples were superior to other races; Germany under Hitler

Answer 5

Nazism

Question 6

a country marked by extreme nationalism; the military controls the civilian government; territorial expansion is used to obtain raw materials

Answer 6

Militarism

Question 7

legislation passed by Congress in 1936 and 1937 designed to keep the United States out of European conflicts, such as the Spanish Civil War; a major reason for America’s neutrality at the start of WWII

Answer 7

Neutrality Acts, 1936/1937

Question 8

Agreement signed in August 1939 between Germany and the Soviet Union that neither would attack the other if war broke out in Europe; furthered the territorial interests of both countries; agreement broken in 1941 with Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union

Answer 8

Non-Aggression Pact

Question 9

“lightning war,” the German military strategy during World War II of attacking without warning; use of aerial bombing, quickly followed by fast-moving vehicle attacks (tanks), and then followed up with infantry troops.

Answer 9

blitzkrieg

Question 10

the assembling of troops and equipment for war

Answer 10

mobilization

Question 11

a government that is run by citizens of a conquered country who carry out the policies of the conqueror; e.g. Vichy France after 1940

Answer 11

puppet government

Question 12

legislation passed by the U.S. Congress in 1941 adopting a plan to lend arms (guns, ammo, vehicles) to Britain, with payment to come after the war.

Answer 12

Lend-Lease Act

Question 13

location of United States Pacific fleet in 1941; site of Japanese surprise attack on December 7, 1941; brought the United States into WWII

Answer 13

Pearl Harbor

Question 14

President of the United States from 1933-1945; led the United States through the Great Depression and WWII; part of the “Big Three” of Allied leaders

Answer 14

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Question 15

leader of Nazi Germany; gifted speaker; anti-Semitic views lead to the events of the Holocaust

Answer 15

Adolf Hitler

Question 16

dictator-leader of the Soviet Union during the course of the war; murdered millions of his own citizens in political purges before and during the war; part of the “Big Three” of Allied leaders

Answer 16

Joseph Stalin

Question 17

fascist leader of Italy from the 1920s-1944; failed military leader; part of the Axis leadership

Answer 17

Benito Mussolini

Question 18

military general that led Japan’s government during the course of WWII; part of the Axis leadership

Answer 18

Hideki Tojo

Question 19

Prime Minister of Great Britain through much of WWII; led the British people during “the Blitz” bombings of 1940-41; part of the “Big Three” Allied leadership

Answer 19

Winston Churchill

Question 20

a system for limiting the distribution of food, gasoline, and other goods so that the military can have the weapons, equipment, and supplies it needs; U.S. citizens were forced to practice this throughout the course of WWII.

Answer 20

rationing

Question 21

the federal agency set up to manage the conversion of industries to military production during World War II

Answer 21

War Production Board

Question 22

the total value of the goods and services produced in a country in a year

Answer 22

gross domestic product (GDP)

Question 23

a new tax system that increased tax rates on individuals and companies; increased the number of individuals required to pay income tax; this system simplified tax collecting through a withholding system, whereby employers portioned a certain amount from every paycheck to send directly to the government. This system of payroll taxes is still in place today.

Answer 23

Revenue Act of 1942

Question 24

a system of legal restrictions on the prices charged for goods; most necessary goods and products were under this system during WWII.

Answer 24

price controls

Question 25

Government Issue; term to describe all the provided materials/supplies to American soldiers; quickly became the term for the United States soldiers themselves

Answer 25

GI

Question 26

a center for confining people who have been relocated for reasons of national security;

Answer 26

internment camp

Question 27

an executive order issued by FDR in 1942 allowing internment camps to be set up to exclude current residents believed to be a threat to security; led the forced internment of Japanese-Americans.

Answer 27

Executive Order 9066

Question 28

the 1944 Supreme Court decision declaring that the government had the right to keep Japanese Americans in internment camps

Answer 28

Korematsu v. United States

Question 29

fictional character from the federal government and used to represent all the real women who worked to support the war effort by working manufacturing jobs.

Answer 29

Rose the Riveter

Question 30

a women’s unit of the U.S. Army, established in 1942; women underwent the same rigorous training as men; never saw combat though.

Answer 30

Womens Army Corps (WAC)

Question 31

a campaign in which black leaders called for all citizens to fight against racism by seeking a “double victory”—a victory for democracy at home and abroad; this was an origin of the Civil Rights Movement as black Americans sought equal treatment under the law.

Answer 31

Double V Campaign

Question 32

a group of Army Air Corps pilots and support crews, established in 1941 as the first black combat unit; highly decorated and honored, these pilots became known for their expert flying and fierce determination to finish each mission with no casualties.

Answer 32

Tuskegee Airmen

Question 33

an agency created in 1944 that arranged for Jewish refugees to stay at centers in Italy and North Africa, as well as in former army camps in the United States

Answer 33

War Refugee Board

Question 34

racial clashes in Los Angeles in 1943 between mobs of sailors, Marines and Mexican American youths (pachucos);

Answer 34

Zoot Suit Riots