WWII Vocabulary Terms

An economic condition when money loses its value and prices rise. 1. Inflation An economic condition when money loses its value and prices rise. Ex: This happened to the German money due to the high war reparations of the Versailles Treaty. Germany printed more money; making their currency worthless.

A leader who rules with total authority in a cruel or brutal manner. 2. Dictator A leader who rules with total authority in a cruel or brutal manner. Individual human rights and freedoms are restricted.

3. Nazi Party “National Socialist German Workers’ Party.” Hitler’s fascist party. Government during WWII.

4. Fascism A political philosophy in which total power is given to a dictator and individual freedoms are denied. Ex: Hitler took away the right to protest or speak out against the government, eliminated the “free press,” and took the lives of over 6 million men, women, and children thought to be “inferior” in his eyes.

Accepting demands in order to avoid conflicts. 5. Appeasement Accepting demands in order to avoid conflicts. Ex: Britain and France thought that they could avoid war by accepting Germany’s demands. In 1936, they signed a treaty allowing Hitler to take Austria & part of Czechoslovakia.

6. Communism A government in which all economic and social activity is controlled by totalitarian leaders and one powerful political party.

Great Britain, the USA, the USSR, and France. 7. Allies (of WWII) Great Britain, the USA, the USSR, and France.

Germany, Italy, and Japan. 8. Axis Powers Germany, Italy, and Japan.

9. Pearl Harbor Site of Japanese surprise attack on December 7, 1941 Caused USA to enter WWII

10. Lend-Lease Policy The U.S. helped Great Britain by supplying ammunition & old warships in exchange for several military bases in Bermuda & the Caribbean.

11. Rationing Consumers could buy only certain number of goods so that the majority of these goods could be sent abroad to aid in the war effort. i.e. shoes, gasoline, tires, sugar, and meat.

“She” symbolized the many women working in war-time jobs. 12. “Rosie the Riveter” A fictional character appearing on government posters encouraging women to help in the war effort. “She” symbolized the many women working in war-time jobs.

13. Japanese Internment Camps Fearful of Japanese spies, more than 100,000 West Coast Japanese - Americans were sent to detention centers. Located mostly in desert areas, these camps were crowded, harsh, uncomfortable, and stripped American citizens of their civil liberties.

14. Prejudice An often negative preconceived opinion or feeling towards someone due to race, gender, religion, or anything else.

Hitler’s “Final Solution.” 15. Holocaust Hitler’s “Final Solution.” Genocide* (systematic killing) of European Jews and others by the Nazis during World War II. Over 6 million people including Jews, Soviet prisoners of war, Poles, Gypsies, and people with handicaps – were ruthlessly killed. *Genocide - The systematic and widespread extermination or attempted extermination of an entire national, racial, religious, or ethnic group

Prison and work camps for civilians. 16. Concentration Camps Prison and work camps for civilians. Thousands were made virtual slaves and were forced to work until they became sick or died. Most who entered these camps never made it out alive.

Hatred, hostility, and discrimination toward and against Jews. 17. Anti-Semitism Hatred, hostility, and discrimination toward and against Jews. Hitler and the Nazis party portrayed the German people as superior to all others. Much of their anger was directed against Jews. Unspeakable horrors were done to these people.

18. Aryan Supremacy The belief that a “pure” blood German with blonde-hair and blue eyes was superior to all other races.

19. Poland and the Baltic Nations This country borders the Soviet Union and Germany. On September 1, 1939, Hitler’s armies attacked this country and claimed it for Nazi Germany. Official start of WW II.

20. Normandy Invasion (D-Day) June 6, 1944: the largest combined land-sea-air invasion in history to begin the liberation of France from German occupation. The turning point on the western front and the beginning of the end war in Europe. Code name: Operation Overlord.

Two Japanese cities where the U.S. dropped atomic bombs ending WWII. 21. Hiroshima & Nagasaki Two Japanese cities where the U.S. dropped atomic bombs ending WWII.

22. Stalingrad February 1943, Soviet victory (ousting Germans) marked a major turning point in the war for the Allies on the eastern front. Thousands died in this long and bloody battle. Germans were out-gunned due to the United States constant supply of weapons to the Soviets. German supplies were cut off. German troops were starving, and suffering the effects of the harsh Soviet winter.

23. Battle of Midway This was the first major Japanese defeat and the turning point of the war in the Pacific. The U.S. navy destroyed four Japanese aircraft carriers and hundreds of airplanes.

24. Battle of Britain August – October 1940: Germans bombed British shipyards, industries, & cities, destroying entire neighborhoods, killing many civilians. British Royal Air Force defense forced Hitler to end the air attacks resulting in a British victory.

WWII Leaders

25. Adolf Hitler He used the anger over the Treaty of Versailles and the depression in Germany to grab power in the 1920s. He wanted an all-powerful German Empire, believed in Aryan supremacy, and blamed the Jewish people for the loss of WWI. His evil reign of power lasted 12 years.

26. Benito Mussolini He used unrest and economic instability in Italy to grab power in the 1920s. Opposed to democracy, because he felt it “divided” the nation, this fascist dictator allowed no criticism of his government and controlled the army and the schools.

27. Hideki Tojo He was military general and Prime Minister of Japan from 1941 – 1944. In order to secure new territories and natural resources for Japan, the country invaded Nanking, China and killed around one million unarmed citizens.

28. Winston Churchill Great Britain – urged Britain to re-arm after Hitler’s election in 1933. In 1939 said Britain and France should form a military alliance with the Soviet Union. Was appointed Prime Minister in 1940 and led Britain with great courage.

29. Franklin Roosevelt He pushed for economic support of the Allies with the Lend Lease program, while trying to keep his campaign promise to neutral. After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, he urged Congress to declare war on Japan.

30. Harry Truman President FDR was elected to serve a 4th term and chose this man as his vice president. After Roosevelt’s sudden death, he became President and the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan fell to him.

31. Joseph Stalin The tyrannical dictator of the Soviet Union (USSR) who first supported the Axis Powers. His country joined the Allies in 1941 after a non-aggression pact with Germany was violated by a German invasion.