WORLD WAR II (PART TWO) Flashcards
what were some reasons that Japan attacked the U.S.?
US did not like Japan’s aggressive tactics in Asia
FDR limited what Japan buys from US
US and Japanese diplomats sign a peace treaty
militant officer supported war with the US
half of the US naval fleet was held here
wanted to cripple US and achieve Asia before US rebuilt
what caused FDR to ask Congress to declare war?
the attack on Pearl Harbor
what was the Atlantic Charter?
an agreement between FDR and Winston Churchill that outlined the US and Britain’s war goals and later forms the basis for the United Nations
who was part of the Axis Powers?
Germany, Italy, and Japan
who was part of the Allied Powers?
US, Britain, France, and USSR
what was the Casablanca Conference?
FDR and Churchill meet in Morocco to create a strategy; deal with Europe first before war in Pacific and agreed to nothing less than “unconditional surrender” of the Axis Powers
what happened at the Battle of Stalingrad?
Germans invade Soviet Union but had a disadvantage because of the cold weather
what was a major turning point in the war for the Allies?
the Battle of Stalingrad because Germans were freezing and had no supplies; surrendered and lost many troops
what is carpet bombing?
a technique which planes scattered large numbers of bombs over a wide area
what did Britain use in bombing Germany?
carpet bombing; aircraft factories, railway lines, bridges, and cities were destroyed to prevent Germany to keep fighting
what was Operation Overlord?
a massive military attack that was launched by Britain that was kept a secret from Germany
when was D-Day?
June 6, 1944
what happened on D-Day?
Allied troops stormed the shoreline of Normandy and was considered the largest landing by sea in history
what happened at the Battle of the Bulge?
Germany launched a counterattack in Belgium and Luxembourg and pushed back the US First Army
what was the largest battle fought by the US Army and in all of Western Europe?
Battle of the Bulge
what were many of the Nazi leaders aware of after the Battle of the Bulge?
the war would be over after the battle
what did Japan use as a base for further expansion into Europe after they experienced a boom in their population?
Manchuria
what happened at the Battle of Midway?
a wave of Japanese bombers attacked the island; the US destroyed 3 of 4 Japanese carriers and the Japanese were unable to launch any more operations
suicide planes used by Japanese; pilots loaded aircraft with bombs and then deliberately crashed them into enemy ships to inflict maximum damage
Kamikazes
what was two of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific?
Battle of Iwo Jima and Battle of Okinawa
the Secret American program during WWII to develop an atomic bomb
Manhattan Project
what major people were involved with the Manhattan Project?
Robert Oppenheimer and Albert Einstein
what called for the complete and unconditional surrender of Japan?
Potsdam Declaration
what were other possibilities that could have happened to end the war instead of the atomic bomb?
massive invasion of Japan
set up naval blockade to starve Japan and bomb strikes
give a demonstration of the weapon on a deserted island
offer an unconditional surrender
when is the atomic bomb used at Hiroshima?
August 6, 1945
what was the radiation that fell back to the earth from the bomb called?
“black rain”
what did Japan do after the bombing of Hiroshima?
they did nothing–did not surrender
when was the second atomic bomb used in Nagasaki?
August 9, 1945
what was the bomb named at Hiroshima?
Little Boy
what was the bomb named at Nagasaki?
Fat Man
when was V-J Day?
August 14, 1945
what was V-J Day?
the day that Japan surrenders and accepts the American terms
when was VE Day?
May 8, 1945
what was VE Day?
The war in Europe was over after the remainder of Germans surrendered
what happened to Mussolini at the end of the war?
he was captured and executed by Italian partisans and his body was taken to Ilan and hung upside down for public viewing
what happened to Hitler at the end of the war?
a few days prior to the end of war he marries his girlfriend and commits suicide in a bunker as Soviet troops enter Berlin
Nazi Germany’s systematic murder of European Jews
Holocaust
what was another name for the Nazi elite?
Gestapo
a place where political prisoners are confined under harsh conditions
concentration camps
the “Night of Broken Glass”
Kristallnacht
what happened at Kristallnacht?
Nazis looted and destroyed Jewish stores, houses, and synagogues
the deliberate destruction of an ethnic or cultural group
genocide
existed primarily for mass murder; “extermination camps”
death camps
created by FDR in 1944 to help people threatened by Nazis
War Refugee Board
what happened when the camps were liberated?
German troops moved all prisoners to German soil; many died on the way
what were the Nuremberg Trials?
trials that charged Nazi leaders with war crimes
confined in “relocation” camps in remote areas far from the coast
interned
citizens born in US to Japanese immigrant parents
Nisei
what did many of the Japanese find when they returned home?
many lost their businesses, homes, and farms
what was the Korematsu vs United States issue?
Supreme Court ruled that relocation policy not based on race but on a “military urgency”
what was passed years after the war for the Japanese?
Civil Liberties Act of 1988
what is the Civil Liberties Act of 1988?
Congress awarded surviving Japanese-Americans internee a tax-free $20,000
what was the Bataan Death March?
American and Filipino soldiers were captured and forced to surrender to the Japanese; left out in the sun without any water for many hours, many were also shot
what day was Pearl Harbor attacked by Japan?
December 7, 1941
