World War Two Flashcards
A ruler with unrestricted power
Dictator
Political system that seeks to control both the individual’s public and private life.
Totalitarian state
A form of authoritarian government that is totalitarian and nationalistic.
Facist
Democratic government in Germany after the First World War.
Weimar Republic
The rise in prices for goods and services.
Inflation
German political party that became the Nazis under Hitler.
National Socialists
The Aryan race; those Hitler thought were the pure race.
Master Race
Discrimination or hostility toward Jewish people.
Anti-Semitism
Hitler’s armed force within the party, also know as the SA.
Stormtroopers
What was Kristallnacht?
Night of the Broken Glass. In response to a German official in Paris being murdered by a young Polish Jew, a mob attack on the night of November 9-10, 1938, many Jews were murdered, and thousands of shops were looted. Also, Germany fined all the Jews $400 million dollars to pay for the damages.
Area between France and Germany which according to the Treaty of Versailles, was demilitarized and Germany was forbidden from going into; Hitler ordered his army to take this over in 1936
Rhineland
Czechoslovakian territory near the German border containing heavy industry and the main Czech defences; all of Czechoslovakia will be occupied in March of 1939.
Sudetenland
Signed in September, 1938 between Chamberlain, Daladier and Hitler, giving Germany the Sudetenland
Munich Agreement
For six weeks, starting on December 13, 1937 Japanese solders massacred the inhabitants of Nanking. What was this called?
Nanking Massacre
The act of sending someone back to his or her native land
Deportation
Jews on this boat were forced to return to Europe where many would later die in concentration camps.
St Louis
The Allies
Britain, France, Canada, and after 1941, the United States and the U.S.S.R.
The Axis
Alliance between Germany, Italy and Japan
When did Germany attack Poland starting WW2?
September 1, 1939
Means “lightning war”; German war tactic of surprise attacks by tanks and fighter planes
Blitzkrieg
The day that Britain and France declared war on Germany
September 3, 1939
The day that Canada declared war on Germany
September 10, 1939
Port town in France from which a massive Allied evacuation took place. May 26 – June 4, 1940, when German forces conquered France.
Dunkirk
Name of the German air force.
Luftwaffe
Name given to the heavy, frequent bombing attacks on London and other British cities by Nazi Germany; lasted from August, 1940 through to mid-May, 1941
“The Blitz”
Tell me about the Battle of Britain
- July 10 – October 31, 1940
- Battle was mostly caught in the air.
- An air campaign was launched by the Royal Air Force to stop the Germans from achieving air superiority.
- Britain won thanks to it utilization of the radar.
- Hitler’s mistake was switching bombing from radar installations, airfields and factories to cities.
Act of 1941 which made it easier for Britain and other Allies to buy U.S. military supplies as they were allowed to postpone payments on the goods
Lend-Lease Act
Causes of the Invasion of Poland
Cause: Hitler believed no one could stop him from doing what he wanted. Germany and the USSR signed a treaty to take over Poland and split the land.
Events of the Invasion of Poland
Events: Poland was invaded by them both using the blitzkrieg strategy and lost badly.
Results of Invasion of Poland
Result: Britain and France declared war against Germany and started WW2.
Causes, events and results of Operation Barbarossa
Cause: One thing the Nazis hated almost as much as Jews were Communists (and I find myself to agree with my fellow fascists on this one); also, Germany was running out of resources for the war, so they wanted to take Russia’s abundance of oil.
Events of Operation Barbarossa
Events: The USSR was unprepared for the surprise attack, and Germany was winning in the beginning, then the Communist winter came along, and the Germans weren’t prepared for it, while the Russians were very used to it.
Results of Operation Barbarossa
Results: Germany failed to defeat the USSR, and they joined the Allies (ew communists, on our side??? yucky.).
Causes of Pearl Harbor
Cause: USA stopped selling Japan oil, but more importantly, Japan wanted to make sure the USA could never ever join the war; Japan had to get the USA out of the war before they even joined.
Events of Pearl Harbor
Events: Japan launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Japan was able to do alot of damage but failed to meet their real goal of destroying the Pacific Fleet’s aircraft carriers since they were out at sea.
Result of Pearl Harbor
Results: USA declares war on Japan, because Germany is Japan’s ally, Germany now has to declare war on USA.
What was the first battle Canadian troops got to see action in WW2?
The Battle of Hong Kong on December 8, 1941
Causes of the Dieppe Raid
Causes: Allies wanted to gather information about German defenses and to test new strategies and equipment to seize and hold a major port.
Events of the Dieppe Raid
Events: Troops went by boat. By the time the troops reached the beach, it was broad daylight. The Germans could fully see them, and there was no element of surprise. Moreover, the beaches were rocky with pebbles which got stuck in the tank’s tire. There was alot no air support. The battle was an utter failure for the allies.
Results of the Dieppe Raid
Results: No major objectives were accomplished! But, the allies learned from their mistakes and better prepared for future battles (Like D-Day).
Causes of the Italian Campaign
Causes: Goal was to keep the Axis forces occupied on multiple fronts. Soviets on the east, France on the west, and now attacking from the south through Italy.
Events of the Italian Campaign
Events: Allies caught the Italians by surprise, Hitler sent his own troops to keep fighting; at the same time as the battle, the Italians rebelled against Mussolini and executed him. Also I watched a YouTube Video that said USA worked with the Italian Mafia to plan out this attack (Yay for the power of the Fedoras).
Results of the Italian Campaign
Results: the axis was now surrounded. Successful as it was able to pull German troops away from both the western and eastern fronts. Italy was basically knocked out of the war. Also, this allowed the Allies to invade French on D-Day, since this invasion weakened Germanies line of defense on the coast of France because German troops were taken from their positions to fortify the south.
Causes of D-Day
Causes: Allies needed to free France from German rule. So they first had to capture the beaches and then march inland to liberate France. Once they had the beaches to use as a port, they could march inland all they want.
Events of D-Day
Events: Everybody knew it was going to happen, just not when or where. The Allies had to use alotta trickery to make sure the Germans didn’t figure it out, they built fake planes and tanks. The Allies were able to catch the Germans by surprise and were able to capture the beaches and march inland.
Results of D-Day
Results: France was freed from German rule, Jewish people were freed in France, and German forces were greatly weakened. Troops slowly began to march toward German capital, Berlin. This marked the beginning of the end of WW2 (Part 3 when??).
Causes of the Liberation of the Netherlands
Causes: The Netherlands were the last barrier before the German army would have to retreat back to their own country. So the allies had to get this.
Events of the Liberation of the Netherlands
Events: nothign actually that cool happned here. I guess paratroopers were dropped and stuff i guess. Um, well the British paratroopers landed to far away form their objective i guess. It ended on a win also.
Results of the Liberation of the Netherlands
Results: The Germans surrendered and the Dutch were pretty thankful, they now give Canada alotta tulips every year.
Causes of the Attack on Japan
Causes: USA WANTED REVENGE. THey still didn’t forgive Japan for Pearl Harbor. Also, the Japanese just weren’t giving up; it was kinda annoying. So they ahd to be forced to.
Events of the Attack on Japan
Events: A lone bomber flew over the Japanese coastal town of Hiroshima. The plane dropped “Little Boy’ the atomic bomb. Japan still didn’t surrender, so they did it again, except on Nagasaki with “Fatman,” and ofcourse, they surrendered to Fatman.
Results of the Attack on Japan
Results: Everybody now feared USA. Official end to WW2. This was also Victory in Japan day (V-J Day). Fear of nuclear weapons and distrust between USA and USSR led to the Cold War.
Put the following battles in order from first to last:
Attack on Japan,
Attack on Pearl Harbor,
D-Day,
Dieppe Raid,
Invasion of Poland,
Italian Campaign,
Liberation of the Netherlands,
Operation Barbarossa.
- Invasion of Poland
- Operation Barbarossa
- Attack on Pearl Harbor
- Dieppe Raid
- Italian Campaign
- D-Day
- Liberation of the Netherlands
- Attack on Japan
The 5 beaches D-Day took place on
Juno, Sword, Gold, Omaha, and Utah
Soldiers trained to parachute from airplanes onto combat areas
Paratroopers
When did Germany surrendered to the Allies?
May 8, 1945, the allies declared it Victory in Europe (VE) day
Bomb containing radioactive material, capable of destroying an entire city or region
Atomic bomb
Name of the two atomic bombs dropped
Little Boy (The first one) and Fat Man (The second one)
When was victory over Japan Day (VJ Day)?
August 15, 1945
Name of the U.S. battleship where the formal surrender of Japan took place
USS Missouri
Term for “enlisted the mobilization of the entire resources of a nation for war’
Total war
Term for “what everyone who was at home during the war was urged to do”
“Do your bit”
Information, usually produced by governments, presented in such a way as to inspire and spread particular beliefs or opinions
Propaganda
Issued by the Canadian government to support the war; way of loaning money to the government and then after the war, could be cashed in for profit
Victory bonds
Board formed by the government in 1942 to control prices and supervise the distribution of food and other scarce goods (ew), also froze all wages and prices to try to prevent inflation (bigger ew)
Wartime Prices and Trade Board
Limited the amounts of certain goods that Canadians were allowed per week
Food rationing
These were now required to buy certain goods, to help with rationing. They were handed out each week.
Ration cards
Program that registered women for work in factories and established daycare centres in Ontario and Quebec where industry was concentrated
National Selective Service program
CWAC
Canadian Women’s Army Corps
CWAAF
Canadian Women’s Auxiliary Air Force
WRCNS
Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service
Act passed in 1940 enabling the government to do whatever was necessary for the war effort; required all adult males to register for national service
National Resources Mobilization Act
First wartime spy training camp in North America
Camp X
Act that gives the federal government emergency powers during wartime, including the right to detain people without laying charges
War Measures Act
Government-run camp where people who are considered a threat were detained
Internment camp
This was set up by the Canadian government in 1946 to review the claims of those Japanese who felt they had not been compensated fairly for what they had lost
Japanese Property Claims Commission
Dictator of Nazi Germany
Adolf Hitler
German Kaiser till he resigned, allowing Germany to become the Weimar Republic
Kaiser Wilhelm II
Communist who caused the Kapp Putsch to try to overthrow the Weimar Republic
Wolfgang Kapp
Minister of Propaganda in Germany
Josef Goebbels
Official member of the Nazi Party. One of the main organizers of the Holocaust.
Adolf Eichmann
German doctor who performed deadly experiments on prisoners who were to be killed in the gas chamber
Josef Mengele
Christian pastor who was against Nazism. He was hung for trying an assassination attempt on Hitler
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Director of Canada’s immigration branch, during WW2. Would not let Jews into Canada.
Frederick Blair
Prime Minister of Canada during WW2
W.L.M King
Man who tried to save as many children as he could. He got hundreds of children to foster homes in England.
Nicolas Winton
Woman who saved thousands of Jews. She smuggled children through sewers and smuggled babies in ambulances and in trams.
Irena Sendlerowa
Spanish Diplomat who issued protective passes. He used bogus credentials to save thousands of Jews.
Giorio Perlasca
Chief persecutor in the Nuremburg Trial
Robert H. Jackson
Japanese man who led the attack on Pearl Harbor
Admiral Yamamoto
A man who was held in Japan as a prisoner of war, he was an Olympic distance runner and a World War 2 veteran.
Louis Zamperini
Doctor in World War 2 who did all he could to save as many lives as possible at the Battle of Okinawa.
Desmond Doss
Why was Dieppe raid such a failure?
- Soldiers landed in broad daylight
- German soldiers were fully alerted
- Lack of air support
- Rocky beaches, the rocks got stuck in the tanks preventing them form driving
