World War Two Flashcards
The leader of the Soviet Union
Josef Stalin
A government that has total authority over every aspect of people’s lives.
Totalitarianism/Totalitarian State
The fascist leader of Italy
Benito Mussolini
The NAZI leader of Germany
Adolf Hitler
The leader of Japan
Hirohito
Unprovoked attack
Aggression
Giving into an aggressor-nation in order to maintain peace and avoid war
Appeasement
What agreement allowed Germany to invade Poland without fear of attack from one of Poland’s powerful neighbors?
Soviet-German Nonaggression Pact.
Which country surrendered to Germany in June of 1940, then divided in half with one part being run by a puppet government known as Vichy?
France
British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill
Who attacked the British during the Battle of Britain? How did the British defend their country?
Germany. They defended to their country using radar to detect the enemy, air raid warnings to signal citizens to take cover, or planes to fight back.
What warfare tactic was used to quickly attack and overcome Germany’s enemies?
Lighting war, or Blitzkrieg.
What was the Lend-Lease Act?
The U.S. could sell or lend weapons to countries at war for their own defense.
Why did the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor?
The U.S. placed an oil embargo on Japan
The President of the U.S until his death; he was President during the Depression and almost all of World War Two.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Supreme Allied Commander during WW2 that led the D-Day invasion
Dwight D. Eisenhower
An American Commanding Officer in the Pacific, who lead U.S. in Philippines
Douglas MacArthur
What was the name of the battle that took place in the Pacific Theater in June of 1942? It was considered a turning point in the war as the Allies went on the offense for the first time
The Battle of Midway.
How did World War II end the Great Depression?
There were jobs again with signing up for the military and working in factories
A system that provided everyone with a certain amount of something
Rationing
Provide 3 examples of goods rationed in the United States
Butter, sugar, and coffee. Lots of food products, but there was other products like rubber and scrap metal
What conclusion can be drawn about the economic effects of rationing on the United States?
It insured that important resources were reserved, and helped stabilize prices that might get out of control because of shortages
What did Rosie the Riveter symbolize for many Americans?
Women getting jobs instead of men
Imprisonment or confinement of people
Internment
Why were Japanese Americans sent to internment camps?
Fear of espionage and sabotage after the bombing of Pearl Harbor
Japanese Americans were sent to camps because of a presidential command, not a law approved by Congress. What is this type of presidential command called?
Executive Order
Which major action is considered to be the beginning of the end of war for the European Theater as Allies were able to invade France and push back German forces?
D-Day invasion
Why did the Allies open a second front by invading at Normandy?
The Soviets wanted the Allies to relieve the pressure Germany was putting on them, to push Germany out of Europe, and to liberate France.
What was the name of Germany’s major counterattack following D-Day?
The Battle of the Bulge.
The man who became President after Roosevelt died
Harry S Truman
A United States offensive strategy would attack and capture key islands and use them as bases
Island hopping
What was the name of the island whose capture allowed U.S. troops to gain an airstrip closer to Japan for the purpose of round the clock bombings over Tokyo?
Iwo Jima
Suicide pilots
Kamikaze
The surrender of all Japanese armed forces
Potsdam Declaration
Which two cities were destroyed by atomic bombs at the conclusion of WWII?
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
What occurred during the Holocaust?
The hunting of the Jews. It started off as restrictive laws, but escalated into genocide
The deliberate killing of a large group of people
Genocide
What was the purpose of the Nuremberg Trials (and the Tokyo Trials)?
To legally decide who was responsible for war crimes committed by Germans and Japanese
