World War 2 Terms

• Fascism is a populist political philosophy or movement that prioritizes nation and race over the individual, often featuring autocratic rule, a dictator, strict economic and social controls, and suppression of opposition.
• Blitzkrieg, or lightning war, was Germany’s military tactic.
• The Allies were the countries that fought against Germany, Italy, and Japan.
• Tojo, the Chief of Staff and military General, initiated the invasion of China.
• The policy of Appeasement, part of the Munich Agreement, conceded Czechoslovakia to Hitler.
• Nazism, rooted in extreme nationalism, became the operational plan for the Third Reich.
• Ghettos were designated, segregated areas in Polish cities where Jews were forced to live.
• Hitler’s “final solution” was a policy of Genocide, aimed at the systematic extermination of the entire Jewish population.
• The Axis Powers consisted of Germany, Italy, and Japan.
• Charles De Gaulle, a French general, established a government-in-exile in England after France's fall to Germany.
• Stalin, Hitler, and Mussolini established Totalitarian governments with the goal of total citizen control.
• The Holocaust, a campaign for racial purity, resulted in the deaths of over 11 million people across Europe, with Jews comprising more than half of the victims.
• The Lend-Lease Act was adopted by Congress to supply arms to any country vital to the United States' defense.
• Stalin and Hitler entered into a Non-Aggression Pact, amidst rising tensions over Poland.
• Josef Stalin, succeeded Lenin as the leader of the Soviet Union.
• Jews were forcibly relocated from their homes to Concentration Camps.
• Roosevelt and Churchill issued the Atlantic Charter, a joint declaration of war aims after a secret meeting.
• Kristallnacht, or “Night of Broken Glass,” involved Nazi storm troopers attacking Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues.

Facism

• Under Facsism, the state's interests outweigh those of the individual.
• Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, bolstered British morale and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
• Benito Mussolini successfully established a Fascist government via exploiting fears of economic collapse and communism.
• Neville Chamberlain appeased Hitler by conceding to his demands for the annexation of the Sudetenland.
• Hitler, as a powerful public speaker and organizer, rose to lead the National Socialist Workers Party.
• To avoid future U.S. involvement in wars, Congress passed the Neutrality Acts.
• Dwight Eisenhower led Allied forces and organized the D-Day invasion in WWII.
• President Harry Truman authorized the use of the atomic bomb.
• Kamikaze refers to a Japanese suicide plane.
• Nagasaki was the site where “Fat Man” was dropped, devastating much of the city.
• Hiroshima, a significant military center, was the target of “Little Boy.”
• The Battle of Midway marked a turning point in the War in the Pacific.
• The Battle of the Bulge was the final major German offensive, resulting in a Nazi retreat.
• Internment refers to the confinement or restriction of movement of Japanese Americans during wartime.
• The Nuremburg Trials were held to prosecute Nazi leaders for war crimes.
• Schutzstaffel, or SS, was the name for German police and Nazi security.
• Selection refers to when inmates were selected for their death in concentration camps.
• Adolf Hitler led Germany from 1933-1945, initially as chancellor and then as totalitarian leader of Nazi Germany.
• Benito Mussolini was the Fascist dictator of Italy from 1925 to 1945 turning Italy to a dictatorship
• Hideki Tojo, the Japanese prime minister from 1941-1944, had imperialist ambitions to control the Pacific Ocean and Asia.
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States from 1933-1945, led the U.S. through the Great Depression and into World War II.
• Harry Truman, the 33rd President of the United States, ended the war in Asia by using atomic bombs.
• Charles deGaulle was the leader of “Free France” and prime minister of the French Republic's provisional government, leading the government in exile after Germany's conquest of France.
• Neville Chamberlain, the British leader prior to Churchill, famously appeased Hitler by giving Czechoslovakia to the Nazis.
• Winston Churchill led Great Britain to victory after Chamberlain and helped shape the Allied strategy in the war.

Key Terms

• The Third Reich was the Nazi designation for the regime in Germany from 1933-1945, referencing Hitler’s vision of a modern revival of past German empires.
• Mein Kampf, meaning “My Struggle,” is Adolf Hitler's manifesto that became a “bible” of Nazism, outlining his racist ideology and plans for German expansion.
• The Final Solution was the plan for the annihilation of the Jewish people.
• Joseph Goebbels was a Nazi politician and chief propagandist for the Nazi Party.
• Josef Mengele, nicknamed the Angel of Death, was an SS officer who conducted deadly experiments on prisoners at Auschwitz-Birkenau.
• The Nuremberg Laws, enacted by Nazi Germany, stripped Jewish people of their citizenship and imposed discriminatory restrictions.
• The Enabling Act was a law allowing the Reich government to issue laws independent of German parliament consent.
• The Manhattan Project was the codename for the secret research and development of the atomic bomb.
• Gestapo refers to the Nazi secret police that carried out undercover missions to capture and punish Jews and suppress political opposition.
• Kapo refers Concentration camp foreman, SS officers that oversaw all functions of the camps.