Download Study Guide 2014

Name: __________________________________
Class: _________
Study Guide for Unit on WWII
Questions:
1. Explain the role each of the following played in the events of WWII:
o Adolph Hitler dictator of Germany who believed German people should not have to pay war debts from
WWI; persecuted Jewish people and others who he saw as “undesirable”
o Josef Stalin communist leader of the Soviet Union before and after WWII
o Benito Mussolini Facist dictator of Italy during WWII
o Winston Churchill Prime Minister of Great Britain during WWII
o Franklin D. Roosevelt President of the U.S. at the beginning of WWII
o Harry Truman President of the U.S. at the end of WWII. Made the decision to use the atomic bomb
Against Japan.
2. What countries made up the Axis Powers in WWII? (page 361)
 Germany
 Italy
 Japan
3. What countries made up the Allied Powers (or Allies) in WWII? (page 361)
 Great Britain
 France
 Soviet Union
 United States
4. What event began World War II in Europe? (page 361)
 Germany invaded Poland
5. What was meant by the term “appeasement”? How did Great Britain and France try to appease Germany?
Appeasement means giving someone something in an effort to avoid conflict. When Germany began
invading other countries Great Britain and France made an agreement with Hitler that he could have
the land he already had if he agreed not to make any more land demands.
6. What is meant by isolationism?
The United States had this policy. It was the policy of not wanting to get involved in the other
countries’ problems or affairs. When Germany began invading other countries we did not get involved
because of this policy
7. What event brought the United States into WWII? On what date did this happen? (p. 363)
On December 7, 1941 Japan bombed our Naval and Air Force bases at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
8. How did the U.S. military’s need for war supplies affect the nation’s factories? (page 371)
Factories began producing supplies for the war.
9. What were some key developments in technology that impacted WWII?
 aviation Airplanes became more widely used including carrying bombs.

Weaponry the atomic bomb was used for the first time

Communication radar and sonar technology
10. How did U.S. involvement in WWII impact women and African Americans?
Because so many men were away at war many women and African Americans went to work taking jobs
they were not allowed to do before and opening up opportunities for them.
11. What was the impact of WWII on Japanese-Americans in the United States? (page 372-373)
Japanese-Americans living on the Pacific coast were taken to internment camps. Many of them lost their
jobs and homes.
12. What was D-Day (Invasion of Normandy) and what was its impact on World War II? (pages 377, 382-383)
The invasion opened a new Allied front allowing the Allies to take back France and eventually make their
Way to Germany and win the war.
13. What was “Pacific Island Hopping” and how did it help the United States and the Allies in its fight against
Japan in World War II? (page 378-379)
This was the strategy of taking over smaller, strategic islands on the way to an invasion of mainland
Japan.
14. What was the “Battle of Midway,” and how was it a turning point in the war for the Allies?
Japan’s navy was no longer able to capture islands.
15. What was President Truman’s dilemma with using the atomic bomb?
President Truman had to make the decision about the human costs of using the bomb. He decided that ending
the war early would save many more lives.
16. What events led to the Allied victory over Japan in August 1945? (page 380)
The use of the atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
17. What change did President Truman make in the military after WWII?
He banned racial segregation in the military.
18. What caused conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States after WWII?
The Soviet Union had a communist government and attempted to make other countries in Europe
communist as well.