WW2 Flashcards
Who was the British Prime Minister during World War II?
Winston Churchill
Who was the French general committed to conquering France?
Charles de Gaulle
Who was the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe?
Dwight Eisenhower
What significant event did Hirohito preside over during World War II?
The invasion of China, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and the Japanese surrender
Who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until his suicide in 1945?
Adolf Hitler
What role did Douglas MacArthur serve during World War II?
Commander of the Allies land forces in the Pacific
Who founded the fascist party in Italy?
Benito Mussolini
Who is often called the ‘father of the atomic bomb’?
J. Robert Oppenheimer
What was Erwin Rommel known for during World War II?
A German general sent to help save Italy
Who was the 32nd president of the United States?
Franklin Roosevelt
What led Josef Stalin to join the Allies during World War II?
Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941
Who piloted the Enola Gay?
Paul Tibbets
What position did Hideki Tojo hold during World War II?
General of the Imperial Japanese Army and Prime Minister of Japan
What action did Harry Truman take to help end World War II?
Ordered the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Who was Japan’s greatest naval strategist?
Isoruko Yamamoto
Define Fascism
A militant political movement emphasizing loyalty to the state and obedience to its leader
What is Nazism?
A German fascist group led by Hitler during World War II
What is Mein Kampf?
A book outlining Hitler’s beliefs for Germany
What does appeasement mean?
Making concessions to an aggressive foreign power to avoid war
What were the Axis Powers?
An alliance agreement with Germany, Italy, and Japan
What does isolationism mean?
The belief that political ties to other countries should be avoided
What was the Third Reich?
The Nazi term for Germany from 1933 to 1945
What occurred at the Munich Conference?
Britain and France allowed Germany to annex the Sudetenland
What was the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact?
A secret agreement to divide Poland and for USSR to gain Baltic countries
What military strategy is referred to as Blitzkrieg?
A strategy using fast-moving planes, tanks, and weapons to surprise attack enemies
Fill in the blank: The second atomic bomb was dropped on _______.
Nagasaki
Fill in the blank: The first atomic bomb was dropped on _______.
Hiroshima
What was the Luftwaffe?
The German air force responsible for air defense
What event led the US to enter WWII?
The attack on Pearl Harbor
What does Aryan refer to in Nazi ideology?
The German acclaimed master race
What was the Holocaust?
The mass slaughter of Jews and other groups judged inferior by the Nazis
What does Kristallnacht mean?
Night of the Broken Glass, when Jewish shop windows were smashed
What is a ghetto in the context of WWII?
Segregated Jewish areas sealed off by the Nazis
What was the Final Solution?
Hitler’s plan to systematically murder those deemed inferior
Define genocide
The deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group
What was D-Day?
The Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944
What were kamikaze pilots?
Japanese suicide pilots who bombed Allied ships
What was the Manhattan Project?
A research program to develop nuclear weapons during WWII
What does the swastika symbolize?
The symbol of the German Nazi Party
What were the Nuremberg Trials?
Trials of Nazi leaders charged with crimes against humanity
What was the first act of appeasement by Hitler?
Announcing he would no longer follow the Treaty of Versailles
What was the last territory Hitler was allowed to annex before WWII?
All of Czechoslovakia
What was the Maginot Line?
A series of fortifications built by France along its border with Germany
What was the outcome of the Battle of Midway?
Considered the major turning point in the war against Japan in the Pacific
How many Jews were killed in the Holocaust?
Around 6 million
What was Hitler’s last major offensive in Europe?
The Battle of the Bulge
Which country had the largest number of Jews killed in the Holocaust?
German-occupied Poland
Where did Operation Overlord meet the most resistance?
Omaha Beach
What were the two Japanese cities targeted by atomic bombs?
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Which country saw the most casualties during WWII?
The Soviet Union
What organization was created after WWII to prevent future wars?
The United Nations
What battle cost the USSR over one million soldiers?
Battle of Stalingrad
