Winston Churchill
when the civilian population in London and other cities withstood months of relentless bombing
Appeasement
giving in to the demands of another country in hopes of keeping peace
Rome-Berlin Axis
when Hitler first formed a military pact with Fascist Italy
Anti-Comintern Pact
Germany created a military alliance with Japan based on mutual distrust of communism
Axis Powers
The alliances among the 3 nations:
Third Reich
Hitler's plan to bring Austria under German rule (as the next step in the creation of the new German Empire)
Neville Chamberlain
the British prime minister, argued that a policy of appeasement would keep the peace and put an end to Hitler's demands for more land
Danzing
A Polish port in which Hitler wanted to take over just for the mere excuse to invade Poland
German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact
Germany and the Soviets agreed not to attack one another
Nanjing Massacre
when Japanese soldiers killed or raped many Chinese in the city of Nanjing for a 6 week period (a.k.a. rape of Nanjing)
Blitzkrieg
lightning war; a strategy by Hitler to quickly subdue Poland
Vichy Government
set up by the Nazis in France; under the leadership of Marshall Henri Petain to run the southern half of the country on Germany's behalf
Destroyers-for-Bases Agreement
The U.S. promised delivery of 50 destroyers in exchange for 8 British air and naval bases in the Western Hemisphere
Lend-Lease Act
the U.S. gave up all pretensions of neutrality by lending war materials to Britain
Luftwaffe
the German air force
Battle of Britain
initially targeting military bases, the Germans turned to bombing British cities after the British Royal Force conducted a raid on Berlin
Pearl Harbor
The U.S. naval base which Japan launched a surprise air attack on, resulted in the U.S. joining the war
Erwin Rommel
a.k.a "Desert Fox", a general who led German troops in Egypt and threatened to take the northern city of Alexandra
Battle of El Alamein
The British defeated general Rommel
Battle of Stalingrad
a Soviet counteroffensive successfully defeated the cream of Hitler's military, the German Sixth Army
Battle of the Coral Sea
when the U.S. navy stopped a Japanese fleet set to invade Australia
Battle of Midway Island
When the Allied naval forces demonstrated their superiority in the Pacific by destroying 4 Japanese aircraft carriers
island-hopping
A strategy used by Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
The U.S. general who controlled the Allied forces in the Pacific
Aircraft Carriers
Ships that allowed planes to take off and land from their decks at sea
D-Day
(June 6, 1944)
when Allied forces (numbering about 150,000) launched an amphibious invasion from England and landed on the beaches of Normandy in northern France
Battle of the Bulge
was fought in the Ardennes Forest across parts of France, Belgium, and Luxembourg
Battle of Kursk
the largest tank battle of the war; was fought about 300 miles south of Moscow
V-E Day
(May 8, 1945)
Marked the official end of the war in Europe; a.k.a Victory in Europe Day
Hiroshima
A Japanese city in which the U.S. Air Force dropped the first atomic bomb; resulted in more than 100,000 deaths of civilians
Nagasaki
Another Japanese city in which the U.S. Air force dropped the second atomic bomb; resulted in another 40,000 immediate civilian deaths
V-J Day
Truman designated September 2, the day of the formal surrender ceremonies (after the devastating nuclear attacks), as Victory over Japan Day
Heinrich Himmler
The leader of the Nazi special police
Big Three
Great Britain, U.S., and the Soviet Union
Yalta Conference
The Soviet leader Joseph Stalin revealed his distrust of his allies
Potsdam Conference
The final meeting between the Big Three; held in Germany in July 1945
Holocaust
The campaign that eliminated the entire Jewish population; Jews were the single largest group targeted by the Nazis
Mein Kampf
Written by Hitler in which he declared his extreme anti-Semitic views
Nuremberg Laws
Banned Jews from certain professions and certain schools
Kristallnacht
in 1938, Jews throughout Germany and Austria were beaten and more than 90 were killed; their homes, shops, and synagogues were looted and smashed
Ghettos
Special sections of cities in which Jews were forced to live