World War Two Flashcards
Define: Blitzkreig
translates to “Lightning Fast War.”
Define: The Allies
were made up of France, Britain and the commonwealth countries (Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand). The US and Russia later joined in 1941 and India and Jamaica also supported them
Define: The Axis Powers
were made up of Germany, Italy and Japan but were also supported by Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Vichy France
Define: Dunkirk
the evacuation of troops out of the French port of Dunkirk because Axis Powers were so successful that they forced the Allied troops out of Europe.
Define: Battle of Britain
a massive bombing of London and Englsih cities and had German bombers attack English planes. It was called operation Sealion and it cause massive amounts of death and destruction and also made the allies more resolved to defeat the Germans
Define: Operation Bararosa
a plan in June 1941 by Hitler and Nazi Germany to invade the Soviet Union despite the non-agression pact he had signed. The Soviets were unprepared and German troops advanced to the outskirts of Moscow. This showed Hitler’s power, strength and that he will break promises to get power.
Define: Pearl Harbour
a bombing of the US naval base in Hawaii which destroyed half the US fleet. This forced the US into joining the war with the Allies so now the whole world was involved in war.
Define: Rosie the Riveteer
a term used to describe women who did “mens work” during wartime like turret lathe operators, punch press operators, drillers, grinders, and welders. She represented the time period and allowed for women to prove to society that they were valuable in the workplace
Define: Ontario Farm Service Force
a government program introduced during WW2 and it was created to ease the shortage of farm workers. They mainly hired women who were 16 and older. It provided food for soldiers and allowed for women to have a place in the work force doing the same work as men.
Define: Family Allowance
a government funded system where each parent would recieve $115/month for each child to help pay for their basic needs as well as a baby bonus
Define: Battle of the Atlantic
a battle between Allied ships carrying food from Canada and German U-boats. The u-boats knew that is they sink ships full of food, British soldiers would starve and not be able to fight. Canada played a significant role in this.
Define: Convoy
a group of slow moving supply ships guarded by warships so that the supplies could safely get over to Britain where they were desperately needed.
Define: Corvette
small fast ships that were equipped with depth charges that could explode underwater making them hard to see and defend against. They were targeted to wreck German u-boats
Define: Air Ferry Program
a program that was created to help semd bomber planes to the war effort. They were American built but left from Newfoundland to ireland
Define: Women’s Divison of the RCAF
part of the Royal Canadian Air Force that trained women to become clerks, cooks, welders, instrumet mechanics, engine mechanics and even pilots, but they weren’t allowed to fight in combat
Define: War Measures Act
was implemented with the outbreak of hostilities in WW2 and gave the federal government full authority to do everything deemed necessary for the security, defence, peace, order and welfare of Canada.
Define: Ghetto
an area where people from a specific racial or ethnic background are united in a specific area;it may be voluntary or involuntary
Define: Wannsee Conference
a meeting held by Heydrich with 15 topNazi officals to fomalize plans for the final solution to the Jews. His plan was to deport and exterminate all Jews and undesireables in German territory
Define: Einsatzgruppen
were special groups of SS Nazi soldiers who followed behind advancing German forces into the Soviet Union. They would find and kill all Jews with their “mobile killing units”
Define: Concentration Camps
was housing for large numbers of Jews and the Jews would often be sent to do hard slave work. Many Jews died because of horrible conditions and some concentration camps also did extermination.
Define: Extermination Camps
were camps that were used to kill prisoners or get little work from them, then kill them.
Who is Joeseph Stalin?
he became the leader of the communist party in 1924 after lenin died. He was a ruthless dictator and launched a 5 year plan to industrialize and people who ent against him were often killed.
Who is Benito Mussolini?
he was the leader of the Facist Party and was in control of Italy during WW2. He was eventually overthrown by the people of Italy and executed him and his wife.
Who is Mackenzie Kind?
the prime minister for the second time during WW2. He thought that Hitler was pleasent and affectionate after meeting him and liked to avoid taking a side, especially over conscription.
