WWII Flashcards
Tojo - what did he want?
Japanese military dictatorship
Wanted an empire where japan will have dominance over neighboring countries since they needed natural resources
Okinawa
Last major battle if WWII
America took island, now had place to land invade Japan
Arguments for dropping the atomic bomb
- Invasion of Japan was estimated to cost at least 500,000 American soldiers and millions of Japanese civilians
- The United States knew that Japan would continue to fight to the end Japanese culture thought surrendering was worse than death
- The United States wanted to show off their new weapon to the Soviets Scared of communists spreading Us secret program to develop it.
Holocaust
genocide of over 6 million European Jews during World War II by the Nazi party Codenamed the final solution
Genocide
the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group
Nuremberg trials
Run by the United Nations-23 allied nations
an international court to prosecute war crimes and “crimes against humanity”
Attempted to bring justice to the Nazi leadership in Germany
Tuskegee Airmen
African Americans “experiment” segregated military section who first to see combat in war and fly pilots. Important in battle in Italy to push axis powers back
Totalatrainism
A government, usually with one leader, takes total control of all aspects of public and private life.
How the great depression allowed dictators to take over in Europe but not America
In Italy/ Germany New to democracy= did not trust it yet
Great Depression occured= allowed people to think they needed to be strong leaders again to fix the problems
America/ Great Britain/ France Use to democracies
Battle of Midway( importance)
topped Japanese advance in Pacific
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The locations of where the US dropped the two atomic bombs on japan.
Non-aggression pact( what it was, why, and effect)
Hitler and Stalin agreed to not fight each other, and in return, they split Poland in half Hitler did not want to have to fight a two-front war again( WWI) Stalin wanted land to protect from others
V- E DAY
Victory in Europe day VJ( Victory in Japan day)
May 8th
Battle of Britain
Germany used constant bombing to try and have them surrender, since they could not have a land invasion across the sea easily. Britain was able to maintain with the use of new technology- radar to see german planes coming
Why did America not do more to stop the Holocaust?
Did not believe it/ was okay with what was occurring/ wanted to end the war fast first
Joseph Stalin
Leader of the new Soviet/ communist Russia
Wanted to expand their territory and legitimize the regime
create a buffer zone between themselves and Germany
Korematsu v united states
Fred Korematsu, an American citizen of Japanese ancestry, sued the United States over Executive Order 9066. He argued his Constitutional rights were being violated because he had not committed a crime and was denied due process. Supreme Court took the United States’ side- allowed to do this!
Zoot Suit Riots
Mexican Americans: 300,000 enlisted in WWII/ Millions more worked on farms in southwest, California to produce food for troops Tensions rise between whites and Mexican Americans In May and June of 1943, fighting broke out in Los Angeles, CA between groups of Mexican American youth, police, and soldiers who were stationed in L.A. “The Zoot Suit Riots” - types of clothing that were popular with many young Mexican American men