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WWII Unit Vocabulary
Militarism
This concept refers to
when a country places
heavy emphasis on
building up its army and
weaponry into the best in
the world; many of the
countries of Europe were
pursuing this sort of policy
in the lead-up to World
War I
Nationalism
This term refers to supporting and taking pride in one's country;
actions involved with this concept might include displays of
national colors, singing the national anthem, and joining the
military
Propaganda
The use of deliberately misleading
advertising techniques and
misinformation and sometimes even
lies to mislead and manipulate citizens
into supporting certain government
policies
The Secret Police
This is the use of spies
throughout the country
who disguise themselves
as normal citizens, but are
in fact looking for any
activities that show
disloyalty to the
government and reporting
what they find to their
superiors
Censorship
This is when a government
(or another organization)
limits and restricts the
types of things that are
allowed to be said or
published in a place.
Nazism
This political philosophy's main belief was the superiority of the
German people to all other nations of the world. It also stressed
nationalism and the cleansing of the country from foreigners.
Fascism
This political system
places total importance
on Nationalism and the
power of the state. All
citizens are viewed as
having a particular role to
play in the greatness of
the country. Italy in the
1930's was an example
Benito Mussolini
Ruled Italy from the
1920's until his death
during World War II; he
promoted Nationalism
as the most important
ideal for his country
and led the Fascist
party; he allied with
Hitler in World War II
Adolf Hitler
This man used the anger of the German people and
fiery public speeches to become Chancellor of Germany
in the 1930's; he became the leader of Nazism,
emphasizing that Germans were "superior" to all other
races
Joseph Stalin
This man became dictator of
the Soviet Union following the
death of Lenin. He instituted
many totalitarian policies in
order to bring citizens under
his control, including the use of
propaganda designed to make
himself look good
Emperor Hirohito
He was the figurehead of the
Japanese government during
World War II; he did not
really have much power, but
was more of a symbolic
leader of the country
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
He was President of the United States
during the Great Depression and for
most of World War II; crippled as a
child by Polio, he was often seen in a
wheel chair; he was the main force
behind the New Deal and declared
war on the Axis Powers after the
attack at Pearl Harbor
Neville Chamberlain
He has gone down in history as one of the
most foolish leaders in the history of Great
Britain; he infamously gave in to the
demands of Hitler as Hitler expanded across
Europe at the Munich Conference; upon
returning from the Munich conference with
the signed assurance from Hitler that he
would "not expand and attack anymore",
this leader famously said that he had
brought "peace for our time"-- our time,
apparently, meant 11 months
Winston Churchill
This man became prime minister
of Great Britain during the early
stages of World War II; he is
widely considered to be one of
the greatest wartime leaders in
modern history; he replaced
Neville Chamberlain
Charles de Gaulle
The unofficial leader of France
during most of World War II; he
was a high-ranking French
general who led a government
in exile in London after France
was taken over by the Germans
Appeasement
This is a policy of giving
in to the demands of
aggressive nations or
people in order to
avoid problems, such
as war and violence
Isolationism
This is a government policy
of trying to separate your
country from the outside
world; countries following
this policy may restrict
immigration, ban foreign
ideas, and refuse to trade
with other nations
The Axis Powers
This alliance of Germany,
Italy, and Japan were the
main aggressors during World
War II; their attacks on areas
around Europe and Asia
began the war as they sought
to expand their respective
Empires
The Allied Powers
This alliance of Great Britain, France, the United States, and the
Soviet Union fought against Hitler and his allies during World
War II
Blitzkrieg
the "lightning war"; this was a
military tactic used to great
success by Hitler in Eastern
Europe and France to quickly
force the surrender of other
nations; it involved the use of
fast-moving planes and tanks
to intimidate and surprise
attack other nations, causing
fear and confusion
Battle of Britain
This tremendously important battle
of World War II took place in the
skies over London and other areas
of England as the Nazis attempted
to force the surrender of the British
people; through the use of
determination and new
technologies, the British defeated
the Nazis in this battle, forcing their
retreat and prolonging World War II
Ghettos
These were secluded,
small, walled-off
neighborhoods in cities
that Jews in Germany
were rounded up into
and forced to live in
early on in the
Holocaust.
Non-Aggression Pact
This was a secret
agreement between Hitler
and the Stalin during the
early stages of World War
II; they agreed not to
attack one another; they
also agreed to split Poland
between the two of them
Operation Barbarossa
This was Hitler's secret plan to invade the Soviet Union;
he began to carry out this plan after being defeated in
the Battle of Britain.
Neutrality
This policy refers to when
a person or country does
not take a side in a
conflict; the United States
attempted to follow this
policy during World War I.
The “Final Solution”
Hitler came up with the Final
Solution to the Jewish ‘problem’
after he occupied territories with
large Jewish population. The Final
Solution involved exterminating all
of the Jewish people in Europe.
This started a systematic murder of
Jewish people by the Nazis.
Genocide
Any attempt to wipe out an entire "race" or culture of people
The Holocaust
This was an attempt by the Nazis to
systematically wipe out and
eliminate all minority groups that it
deemed "inferior" and "weak"; it
most famously targeted Jews, but
also included the attempted
extermination of the Roma, gays,
the physically and mentally
disabled, and some clergy
Concentration
Camps
These large prison camps
were areas into which the
Nazis eventually forced
those minority groups
that they sought to
eliminate; some of these
places were work camps;
others were death camps,
where prisoners would be
gassed or shot to death
and have their bodies
burnt to nothing
Pearl Harbor
On December 7, 1941, the United States was attacked by the
Empire of Japan in a surprise attack. This was a “date that would
live in infamy” as the United States was forced into WWII.
D-Day
This is often considered to be the
largest military operation in the
history of the world; it involved
simultaneous attacks by land, air,
and sea by Allied forces on the
Northern edge of Germancontrolled France; the success of
this attack was the beginning of
the end for Hitler's domination
of Europe
General Douglass McArthur
He was the general in charge of the United States' Pacific war
against Japan. He pioneered a strategy called "island-hopping",
to skip from island to island to get closer to Japan itself, rather
than try and take back everything Japan controlled
Harry Truman
He served as Franklin Delano Roosevelt's vice-president; he
became president after Roosevelt died from a stroke; he finished
World War II as leader of the United States, making the decision
to use the atomic bomb on Japan
Nuclear Weapons
These are weapons of immense devastating power; they
function by splitting atoms of radioactive heavy metals; this
reaction unleashed a massive amount of energy, resulting in an
explosion
Unconditional Surrender
The United States would
demand that Japan
surrender unconditionally.
This means that the U.S.
would make the terms of the
treaty. One condition the
U.S. asked for was that
Emperor Hirohito needed to
step down. Japan refused
and the U.S. dropped the
first atomic bomb.
Hiroshima
This city was the site of
the first use of nuclear
weapons as a weapon
in war; the city was
devastated by the
attack. The U.S. would
bomb Hiroshima after
Japan refused to accept
unconditional surrender
Nagasaki
This city was the site of the
second nuclear attack. This was
the last time an atomic bomb was
used during war. The U.S. remains
the only nation to drop the
atomic bombs. The U.S. would
drop the second bomb after
Japan refused to accept
unconditional surrender, again.
Six days after this bombing Japan
would accept unconditional
surrender ending WWII.