WWII Flashcards

405,400 people

how many Americans died in WWII

A. Philip Randolph

Who threatened to lead a march against Washington DC because of racial discrimination during WWII?

Adolf Hitler

leader of Nazi Party (National Socialist party) and Dictator of the German Empire

Allied Powers

Great Britain, Soviet Union, United States.

America First Committee

wants to stay out of the war and wants to send aid to Britain.

Anschluss

The annexation of Austria by Germany in 1938.& violation of Treaty of Versailles

anti-semitism

Discrimination against Jews

appeasement

attempting to avoid conflict by making concessions and agreeing to part of the demands (giving Hitler what he wanted so he would stop aggression)

Arsenal of Democracy

FDR's justification for lending weapons to the British

Atlantic Charter

secret agreement signed by President Franklin Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1941 outlining the two nations' war aims for self-determination

Axis Alliance

alliance between germany, italy, and japan because they all wanted empires and they were totalitarian

Battle of Britain

only battle to ever be fought completely in the air, Germany tries to subdue England with massive air attacks

Battle of Midway

U.S. naval victory over the Japanese fleet in June 1942, in which the Japanese lost four of their best aircraft carriers. It marked a turning point in World War II.

Battle of Stalingrad

a 1942-1943 battle of World War II, in which German forces were defeated in their attempt to capture the city of Stalingrad in the Soviet Union thanks to harsh winter --> turning point of war in Eastern Europe

Battle of the Atlantic

long fight to control the ocean trade routes between German U-Boats & USA --> 1943: Allies win thanks to refined radar

Battle of the Bulge

Germany's last battle

Benito Mussolini

fascist dictator of Italy, Il Duce -- the Leader

Berlin Airlift

Truman's response to Stalin cutting off West Berlin

Big Three

Stalin, FDR, Churchill

blitzkrieg

German for lightning war; the swift attacks launched by Germany in World War II

Cash and carry

A policy adopted by the United States in 1939 to preserve neutrality while aiding the Allies. Britain and France could buy goods from the United States if they paid in full and transported them.

Chamberlin

English prime minister, appeased Hitler @ Munich

Charles de Gaulle

led the Free French and backed the underground Resistance movement in France.

Charles Drew

Invented blood banks

Cold War

US versus USSR 1946-1988

Collaboration

to work together with other nations.

Concentration Camps

places where political prisoners are confined.

Containment

Surround Soviet satellites to prevent Communist expansion

Czechoslovakia

home od sedatan land (Hitler demanded it)

D-day

June 6, 1944 Allies land on the beaches in Normandy, France and go on the offensive to drive Hitler's forces back into Germany

D-Day/Operation Overlord

June 6th 1944, Allied forces under Dwight d. Eisenhower landed on the beaches of Normandy in history's greatest naval invasion --> surrounded Germ. to force surrender

June 6, 1944

Dday

Dec. 7, 1941

What was the date of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor?

Dec. 8, 1941

When did the US declare war on Japan?

desert fox

Rommel (German general)

Destroyer for bases deal

Deal between Roosevelt and Churchill where Roosevelt gave Britain 50 old destroyers for the right to build bases in British territory in the Americas.

dictator

governmental leader who has absolute control

Disarmament

reducing or eliminating military weapons

Domino theory

Once communism gets a foothold, everything around it falls as well

Doolittle

1st American hero, bombing raid in Tokoyo

Douglas MacArthur

Commander of the Allied forces on the Philippine islands

draft

Selective service

Dunkirk

the British military is trapped on the French coast but using civilian and military ships manages to evacuate most of its army - considered a miracle

Dunkirk

English army rescued (civilians helped) against English channel

Dwight D Eisenhower

General who commanded troops in North Africa

Enola Gay

the name of the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945.

Erwin Rommel

The Desert Fox. Commander of the Axis forces/ Afrika Korps in North Africa; esteemed Nazi general who tried to assassinate Hitler;

Executive order of 9066

Feb, 1942, signed by FDR and authorized the exclusion of more than 112,000 Japanese --> internment camps

Fascism

Hitler and Italy's Mussolini governed by a philosophy to authority of the leader over a individual.

fascism (fascist)

Militarily dominated government which controls all aspects of society

fatman & little boy

nicknames of A-bombs

FDR's four freedoms

1. Freedom of speech and expression
2. Freedom of religion
3. Freedom from want
4. Freedom from fear

Final Solution

Hitler's plan to kill all the Jews in Europe

France

Invaded and occupied by Germany until Allies came to the rescue: D-day

France, GB, China, USA & Soviet Union

awarded seats to the UN

Francisco Franco

led the Nationalists to form its own government.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

President of the US during Great Depression and start of World War II

Franklin D. Roosevelt

32 President, fought Great Depression by his New Deal, and battled congress over Supreme court control.

General Douglas MacArthur

One of the most-known American military leaders of WWII --> liberated the Philippines and made the Japanese surrender at Tokyo in 1945

George Marshall

army chief of staff, stayed in DC

George Patton

general always in trouble

ghetto

restricted areas of European cities that kept Jews separated from others

GI

an abbreviation of Government Issue .

GI Bill of Rights

the Servicemen's Readjustment Act

Great Britain & USA

signed Atlantic charter

Great Britain and Soviet Union

Who received Lend Lease supplies from the US?

Greece and Turkey

What necessitated the Truman Doctrine

Harry S. Truman

33 President, authorized use of atomic bomb, and signed Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe. FDR's vice president made the decision to drop the Atomic bomb on Japan

Hideki Tojo

Prime minister of Japan during World War II

Hirohito

emperor of Japan who renounced his divinity and became a constitutional monarch after Japan surrendered at the end of World War II (1901-1989)

Hiroshima

1st Japanese city to be bombed by an atomic bomb

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

On what two cities were the atomic bombs dropped during WWII?

Holocaust

the organized killing of European Jews and others by the Nazis during WWII

humvs (hummers)

yesterday's jeeps,

income tax

deducted from American paychecks, 1942

Internment Camps

Used to hold Japanese-American citizens due to fear of spies and sabateurs during WWII

Interventionism

becoming involved in the affairs of another person or country.

Iron Curtain

Eastern Europe under Soviet control

island-hopping

an Allied tactic where only certain islands were targeted for attack in the Pacific - these islands had strategic significance

isolationism

withdrawing from world affairs

Iwo Jima

Bloody but crucial win since it was the last stage in the American island hoping campaign to defeat the Japanese army.

J Robert Oppenheimer

developed the atomic bomb

Japan

population boom, no resources, aggressive country

Japanese Americans

9066, people placed in internment camps

Josef Stalin

leader of Soviet Union, also worked with Roosevelt and Churchill during WWII.

kamikaze

towards the end of WWII Japanese pilots conducted suicide missions, crashing their planes into ships to sink them

Kellogg-Briand Pact

Outlawed war in 1928

Korematsu v. USA

Japanese Internment was constitutional because individual or group rights may be limited to protect national security

kristallnacht

(Night of the Broken Glass) November 9, 1938, when mobs throughout Germany destroyed Jewish property and terrorized Jews.

Lend lease

Program where U.S. supplied Allies vast amounts of war material during WWII --> ended the neutrality between Germany and the US

Liberty Ship

large, sturdy merchant ships that carried supplies or troops.

LLSS

loose lips sink ship

Luftwaffe

German air force

MacArthur

famous for Island Hopping

Manchuria

China's industrial northern province, invaded by Japan in 1931 --> League of Nations could not execute authority on countries that didn't recognize it -->US not willing to blockade Japan due to need for trade during Great Depression

Manhattan Project

code name for the secret United States project set up in 1942 to develop atomic bombs for use in World War II

Mao-Tse-Tung & Chang Tse-Tung

Chinese leaders, enemy before war & civil war after

Marshall Plan

$ for rebuilding Europe would hold off instability, anarchy, and communism

meeting at Yalta

founded UN, divided Germany & divided Berlin

Mexico

seized American oil in 1938, no military action

mobilization

the gathering of resources and preparation for war.

Munich Conference

1938; Chamberlain, France and other countries (not the USSR) --> appeasement: agreed that Sudentenland should be ceded to Germany if Hitler promised to end expansion --> Chamberlain thought he secured peace with Germany.

Munich Pact

Signed in 1938 between Great Britain, Germany, and France that gave part of Czechoslovakia to Germany; Chamberlain said it guaranteed peace in our time

Nagasaki

Location hit by the second atomic bomb 3 days after Hiroshima --> killed 40,000 --> Japan surrenders

National War Labor Board

helped resolve labor disputes that might slow down war production.

NATO

Collective security to meet the Russian threat

Navajo Language

used to create secret code that Japanese never broke

Neutrality Act of 1939

allowed European nations to buy war materials from U.S. on a cash-and-carry basis

Neutrality Acts

Effort in the 1930s to avoid making the same mistakes that got the USA into WWI

Neville Chamberlain

British Prime Minister pursued a policy of appeasement toward fascist Germany (1869-1940)

Neville Chamberlain

British prime minister and pursued a policy of appeasement.

Nisei

What were Japanese Americans who were born in the US called?

non-aggression pact

Agreement between Germany and Russia not to fight each other

Nuremberg trials

trials of high ranking German officials for war crimes

Office of Price Administration

WWII Office that installs price controls on essential items to prevent inflation

Office of Scientific Research and Development

WWII agency contributes $100Ms to scientific projects like Manhattan, radar, sonar, etc

Okinawa

last land Pacific battle before abomb

Parochial

USA's view of the world in 1920; abandoned 1945

Pearl Harbor

December 7, 1941 -Japan attacks US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - this brings the US into WWII

Phony War

after fall of Poland, French and British troops wait for German attack along the Maginot line

Poland

Invasion of this nation by Hitler led to Allies declaring war on Germany

Potsdam Conference

Here Germany was officially divided into zones - The Eat versus West standoff had begun

Price Freeze, increased income tax, war bonds, rationing

What steps were taken to prevent high inflation in the US during WWII?

propaganda

misleading information designed to sway ones opinion

quarantine speech

Act of condemnation of Japan's invasion of China in 1937 --> FDR showed that he was moving the country slowly out of isolationism.

rationed

butter, sugar, gasoline, tires...

rationing

The limiting of the amounts of goods people can buy - often imposed by governments during wartime.

Reparations

Payments losers make to winners after wars

Resistance

to hold off or not to give in.

Rhineland

Hitler looked to see if he can remilitarize the Rhineland.

Rosie the Riveter

poster for womens role in the workforce

Rosie the Riveter

Propaganda tool to character who encouraged women to take factory jobs.

Selective Service Act

1st peace time draft

Selective Service System

The system used in the United States to draft young people into armed service. Though the United States at present has no draft, young men are required by law to register with the Selective Service when they reach the age of eighteen.

September 1, 1939

Germany invades Poland (WWII starts)

Soviet Union

recognized in 1933 by USA after broken ties

striking at the underbelly

an Allied battle plan attacking the Axis powers through Italy - divides Hitler's forces and draws attention away from Normandy in preparation for D-day

The Berlin Blockade

June 1948 to May 1949

The Cold War

1946 to 1990

The death of President Roosevelt

April 12, 1945

The establishment of the Marshall plan

June 1947

The establishment of the Truman doctrine

March 1947

The French Resistance

after Germany takes control of the French government, these French citizens disrupt the German military so as to help the allied war effort

The Korean War

1950 to 1953

The Potsdam conference

July 1945

The Yalta conference

February 1945

Tojo

wartime leader, prime minister of Japan

Totalitarian

exerts total control over a nation.

Truman Doctrine

Defined containment

Tuskegee Airmen

all black unit of fighter pilots. trained in Tuskegee Alabama. won many awards for bravery and never lost a single pilot

ultimatum

a final choice

unconditional surrender

surrendering to your enemies on their terms - no negotiations

US Foriegn Policy in the 1930's

Isolationism

US oil embargo against Japan

1941: US attempt to stop aggressions of Japan against neighbors

V-E Day

May 8, 1945; Signaled the end to WWII

veto power

the ability to stop any proposed UN action by voting no

Victory Garden

home vegetable garden planted to add to the home food supply and replace farm produce sent to feed the soldiers.

victory over Axis Powers & over racism

African Americans fought for double V

VJ Day

What was the Japanese surrender in the Pacific called?

WAACs

The Women's Army Axillary Corps , Women being in the army changed their roles in society and gained them new respect.

War Bonds

How the US financed WWII

War Production Board

Converted factories from civilian to military production. Manufacturing output tripled. Ex: Ford

WAVES

women in navy

WAX

women army core

WAX & WAVES

2 biggest women's branches

Wendyl Wilkee

FDR's pres. opponent in 1940 (from indiana)

wind talkers

pacific Navaho warriors nickname

Winston Churchill

Prime Minister of Great Britain during WWII

Women

Who worked in industry after many of the men who normally worked those jobs were sent overseas?

Yalta Conference

1945 Meeting between Allied leaders; FDR, Churchill, and Stalin during WWII to plan for post-war, signs that US Britain feared future Communist expansion. Russia agreed to fight Japan but claimed East Europe as its own

Zoot Suit

Clothing worn by Mexican-Americans which used lots of material

Zoot suit riots

racial conflict, California youth riot