Benito Mussolini: The Fascist dictator of Italy during WWII.
National Socialists: Also known as Nazis, this was the political party of Adolf Hitler which combined militarism with racism.
Adolf Hitler: Chancellor of Germany, he was the instigator of WWII and responsible for the extermination of over 6 million Jews.
Lebensraum: The term referring to desired living space for the German population. This was Hitler’s reasoning for territorial expansion.
Kristallnacht: Literally, “the night of broken glass”, it occurred on November 9, 1938 and involved Nazi troops murdering hundreds of Jews and burning synagogues, hospitals, and orphanages.
Blitzkrieg: The German war strategy (“lightning war”) which involved a quick invasion using tanks and aircraft and overwhelming the target. This was used in the conquest of Poland.
Neutrality Act of 1939: Modified the previous act and allowed the sale of arms to Britain, France, and China.
Axis powers: The enemies of the United States and its allies, its primary members were Germany, Italy, and Japan.
Lend-Lease: A system for the sale, exchange, or lease of war supplies from the U.S. to the Allied powers. It was responsible for a massive transfer of goods to Great Britain, and pushed the U.S. closer to war.
Atlantic Charter: An agreement drawn up by Churchill and FDR that called for free trade, disarmament, and an end to territorial expansion after the war.
Pearl Harbor: December 7, 1941 – Japanese air forces attacked this location in Hawaii, destroying much of the American navy and leading to the American declaration of war.
War Powers Act: Gave the president special wartime powers, such as the power to create agencies, to censor news and media, to seize foreign-owned property, and to award government contracts freely.
OSS: Office of Strategic Services – developed to assess the enemy’s military strength, gather intelligence, and oversee espionage.
Bracero: The program that allowed 200,000 Mexican laborers to enter the United States during the war to be employed as farm workers.
“Rosie the Riveter”: A symbol of the model female citizen who worked “for the duration” to help with the war effort.
“Wildcat” Strike: Illegal strikes during WWII that were caused by the fact that the profits were not distributed equally among Americans. The most notable was a coal mining strike led by John Lewis.
Japanese Internment: The removal of Japanese (Issei) from war-related areas in the United States to internment camps. They faced heavy discrimination.
Issei: The first generation of Japanese immigrants to the United States (born in Japan).
Korematsu v. U.S.: The Supreme Court Case that upheld the constitutionality of the relocation and internment of the Japanese.
GI: Average draft soldiers during WWII (“government issue”) who forged bonds among their combat units.
WAC: The Women’s Army Corps was the first involvement of women in the military, proposed by Congresswoman Edith Rogers.
WAVES: The women’s division of the navy during WWII.
Nisei: United States citizens born of immigrant Japanese parents.
Conscientious Objector: Those who refused to participate in war due to religious or moral reasons; they were often recruited as medics.
POW: American prisoners of war were treated brutally in German and Japanese camps.
Winston Churchill: Prime minister of Great Britain during WWII, he actively participated in negotiations and several conferences to determine the future of Europe.
Totalitarianism: A governmental system that involved dictatorial rule; it was used by Mussolini, Hitler, and Stalin in WWII.
Rome-Berlin Axis: A formal treaty of alliance between Italy and Germany at the outset of WWII
“Double V”: The policy of African Americans of winning the war as well as winning civil rights at home. One of the key black figures of this period was Philip Randolph.
“Cash-and Carry”: A revision to the Neutrality Acts before the lend-lease system that allowed the U.S. to trade with belligerents (implying the Allies) provided that the British used their own ships to transport the goods and paid in cash.
Bataan Death March: A deadly 80-mile march of American and Filipino POWs that left thousands dead.
Dwight D. Eisenhower: The supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe, he contrasted from MacArthur’s conservative old-guard views and presented a model of leadership to his soldiers.
Operation Torch: The successful Allied invasion of North Africa in 1942.
Operation Overlord: The Allied invasion of German-occupied France that began with D-Day and resulted in a succession of Allied victories.
D-Day: June 6, 1944 – The Allies invaded Normandy, France, sustaining heavy casualties but succeeding in making an entrance to France to begin Operation Overlord.
Battle of the Bulge: A German offensive in Belgium that inflicted many casualties but eventually failed.
Eastern Front: The military area east of Germany consisting of conflict between Germany and the Soviet Union.
Battle of Midway: The turning point of the war in the Pacific where U.S. naval forces inflicted a crushing defeat on Japan after intercepting Japanese coded signals.
Island Hopping: The strategy employed by the U.S. navy in order to capture areas in the Pacific and reach Japan – this strategy is similar to the German Blitzkrieg.
Kamikaze: “Divine Winds” – fighter pilots that dive-bombed into American ships with a bomb and not enough fuel for the return trip.
Holocaust: The systematic murder of Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, and others that were considered enemies of the German Reich in concentration camps by Hitler and the Nazi regime.
Casablanca Conference: A meeting between FDR and Churchill that demanded the immediate unconditional surrender of the Axis Powers in 1943.
Yalta Conference: A meeting between FDR, Churchill, and Stalin that was governed by each countries desires for “spheres of influence” and which guaranteed a Soviet declaration of war on Japan within 2 months of Germany’s surrender.
Potsdam Conference: A meeting held just outside Berlin among Truman, Churchill, and Stalin whose post-war views differed, but the necessity for the surrender of Japan was agreed upon. Here Truman received the news of the successful testing of the atomic bomb.
Tehran Conference: The first conference among Stalin, FDR, and Churchill in Iran where war strategies against Germany were discussed, especially the formation of a western front.
Harry S. Truman: Succeeded the presidency after FDR, oversaw the end of WWII, and authorized the dropping of the two atomic bombs.
Enola Gay: The plan that carried the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
Hiroshima: The location of the first atomic bombing of Japan. The bomb inflicted massive destruction
Nagasaki: The location of the second atomic bomb dropping in Japan.
Douglas MacArthur: Supreme commander of Allied forces in the Pacific, he was extremely conservative and was said to admire the German army.
V-J Day: Victory over Japan Day – the celebration of the surrender of Japan which formally ended WWII (August 14, 1945 or September 2, 1945 – declaration vs. signing of treaty)
National Socialists: Also known as Nazis, this was the political party of Adolf Hitler which combined militarism with racism.
Adolf Hitler: Chancellor of Germany, he was the instigator of WWII and responsible for the extermination of over 6 million Jews.
Lebensraum: The term referring to desired living space for the German population. This was Hitler’s reasoning for territorial expansion.
Kristallnacht: Literally, “the night of broken glass”, it occurred on November 9, 1938 and involved Nazi troops murdering hundreds of Jews and burning synagogues, hospitals, and orphanages.
Blitzkrieg: The German war strategy (“lightning war”) which involved a quick invasion using tanks and aircraft and overwhelming the target. This was used in the conquest of Poland.
Neutrality Act of 1939: Modified the previous act and allowed the sale of arms to Britain, France, and China.
Axis powers: The enemies of the United States and its allies, its primary members were Germany, Italy, and Japan.
Lend-Lease: A system for the sale, exchange, or lease of war supplies from the U.S. to the Allied powers. It was responsible for a massive transfer of goods to Great Britain, and pushed the U.S. closer to war.
Atlantic Charter: An agreement drawn up by Churchill and FDR that called for free trade, disarmament, and an end to territorial expansion after the war.
Pearl Harbor: December 7, 1941 – Japanese air forces attacked this location in Hawaii, destroying much of the American navy and leading to the American declaration of war.
War Powers Act: Gave the president special wartime powers, such as the power to create agencies, to censor news and media, to seize foreign-owned property, and to award government contracts freely.
OSS: Office of Strategic Services – developed to assess the enemy’s military strength, gather intelligence, and oversee espionage.
Bracero: The program that allowed 200,000 Mexican laborers to enter the United States during the war to be employed as farm workers.
“Rosie the Riveter”: A symbol of the model female citizen who worked “for the duration” to help with the war effort.
“Wildcat” Strike: Illegal strikes during WWII that were caused by the fact that the profits were not distributed equally among Americans. The most notable was a coal mining strike led by John Lewis.
Japanese Internment: The removal of Japanese (Issei) from war-related areas in the United States to internment camps. They faced heavy discrimination.
Issei: The first generation of Japanese immigrants to the United States (born in Japan).
Korematsu v. U.S.: The Supreme Court Case that upheld the constitutionality of the relocation and internment of the Japanese.
GI: Average draft soldiers during WWII (“government issue”) who forged bonds among their combat units.
WAC: The Women’s Army Corps was the first involvement of women in the military, proposed by Congresswoman Edith Rogers.
WAVES: The women’s division of the navy during WWII.
Nisei: United States citizens born of immigrant Japanese parents.
Conscientious Objector: Those who refused to participate in war due to religious or moral reasons; they were often recruited as medics.
POW: American prisoners of war were treated brutally in German and Japanese camps.
Winston Churchill: Prime minister of Great Britain during WWII, he actively participated in negotiations and several conferences to determine the future of Europe.
Totalitarianism: A governmental system that involved dictatorial rule; it was used by Mussolini, Hitler, and Stalin in WWII.
Rome-Berlin Axis: A formal treaty of alliance between Italy and Germany at the outset of WWII
“Double V”: The policy of African Americans of winning the war as well as winning civil rights at home. One of the key black figures of this period was Philip Randolph.
“Cash-and Carry”: A revision to the Neutrality Acts before the lend-lease system that allowed the U.S. to trade with belligerents (implying the Allies) provided that the British used their own ships to transport the goods and paid in cash.
Bataan Death March: A deadly 80-mile march of American and Filipino POWs that left thousands dead.
Dwight D. Eisenhower: The supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe, he contrasted from MacArthur’s conservative old-guard views and presented a model of leadership to his soldiers.
Operation Torch: The successful Allied invasion of North Africa in 1942.
Operation Overlord: The Allied invasion of German-occupied France that began with D-Day and resulted in a succession of Allied victories.
D-Day: June 6, 1944 – The Allies invaded Normandy, France, sustaining heavy casualties but succeeding in making an entrance to France to begin Operation Overlord.
Battle of the Bulge: A German offensive in Belgium that inflicted many casualties but eventually failed.
Eastern Front: The military area east of Germany consisting of conflict between Germany and the Soviet Union.
Battle of Midway: The turning point of the war in the Pacific where U.S. naval forces inflicted a crushing defeat on Japan after intercepting Japanese coded signals.
Island Hopping: The strategy employed by the U.S. navy in order to capture areas in the Pacific and reach Japan – this strategy is similar to the German Blitzkrieg.
Kamikaze: “Divine Winds” – fighter pilots that dive-bombed into American ships with a bomb and not enough fuel for the return trip.
Holocaust: The systematic murder of Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, and others that were considered enemies of the German Reich in concentration camps by Hitler and the Nazi regime.
Casablanca Conference: A meeting between FDR and Churchill that demanded the immediate unconditional surrender of the Axis Powers in 1943.
Yalta Conference: A meeting between FDR, Churchill, and Stalin that was governed by each countries desires for “spheres of influence” and which guaranteed a Soviet declaration of war on Japan within 2 months of Germany’s surrender.
Potsdam Conference: A meeting held just outside Berlin among Truman, Churchill, and Stalin whose post-war views differed, but the necessity for the surrender of Japan was agreed upon. Here Truman received the news of the successful testing of the atomic bomb.
Tehran Conference: The first conference among Stalin, FDR, and Churchill in Iran where war strategies against Germany were discussed, especially the formation of a western front.
Harry S. Truman: Succeeded the presidency after FDR, oversaw the end of WWII, and authorized the dropping of the two atomic bombs.
Enola Gay: The plan that carried the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
Hiroshima: The location of the first atomic bombing of Japan. The bomb inflicted massive destruction
Nagasaki: The location of the second atomic bomb dropping in Japan.
Douglas MacArthur: Supreme commander of Allied forces in the Pacific, he was extremely conservative and was said to admire the German army.
V-J Day: Victory over Japan Day – the celebration of the surrender of Japan which formally ended WWII (August 14, 1945 or September 2, 1945 – declaration vs. signing of treaty)