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Manchukuo
Japan attacked the city of Manchuria, in northeastern China, to establish a puppet state. Japan controlled its domestic and foreign policies as well as its many resources. -
Holocaust
The mass slaughter of European civilians and especially Jews by the Nazis during World War II. Is often referred as the worst time in history. Systematic oppression against Jews that were not (originally) placed in camps; with use of ghettos. -
Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War, military revolt against the Republican government of Spain, supported by conservative elements within the country. The Nationalists, as the rebels were called, received aid from Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. The Republicans received aid from the Soviet Union, as well as from International Brigades, composed of volunteers from Europe and the United States. -
Nuremberg Laws
Two laws that excluded Jewish people:
Reichsburgergesetz (Law of the Reich Citizen), was designed to deprive Jews of their German citizenship. Only Germans or those with related blood were considered citizens of the Reich from then on.
The second law, Blutschutzgesetz, forbade marriage or sexual relations between Jews and those of German blood. This law prohibited the employment of German maids under the age of forty-five in Jewish households. Jews were not even allowed to raise the German flag. -
Rape of Nanjing
Mass murder and rape over a period of six weeks starting on December 13, 1937. It was executed by the Japanese troops who invaded, against the residents of Nanjing, then the capital of China. They murdered, raped, and looted civilians -
Anschluss
It was the union of Germany and Austria, which the latter country had little choice to accept. Hitler believed in the union of all German-speaking nations as part of Germany. He turned his attention towards Sudetenland, which was given to him to prevent conflict. -
Munich Pact
An agreement between France, Italy, Nazi Germany and Britain done after Hitler took Czechoslovakia, it was part of an appeasement plan and Hitler agreed not to use his military power in the future -
Quarantine Speech
"War is a contagion, whether it be declared or undeclared. It can engulf states and peoples remote from the original scene of hostilities. We are determined to keep out of war, yet we cannot insure ourselves against the disastrous effects of war and the dangers of involvement.”
-Franklin Roosevelt Was vastly criticized because many Americans believed in an isolationist stance, while their president was a interventionist. People thought going to war was the opposite of putting America First. -
Kristelnacht
After a Jewish refugee killed a German diplomat in Paris, Nazi officials ordered attacks on Jews in Germany, Austria, and the Sudetenland. Standing for “Night of the Broken Glass,” more than 1500 synagogues and 7500 Jewish-owned shops were destroyed. Also more than 200 Jews were killed and more than 600 were injured. Thousands were arrested. -
Kindertransport
An organised rescue effort that took place prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. The United Kingdom took in nearly 10,000 predominantly Jewish children from Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and the Free City of Danzig. -
Non-Aggression Project
Agreement between Stalin and Hitler that neither of them would invade the other's country. -
Blitzkrieg
It means “lightning war,” and used speed and firepower to penetrate deep into enemy territory. It was most notably used during the German attack on Poland on September 1, 1939. They used a coordinated attack by tanks, planes, motor vehicles, and infantry. The Soviet Union then attacked on September 17, 1939 and with just one month, Poland fell. -
Manhattan Project
The code name of a program in which the atomic bomb was being developed. FDR gave this project top priority starting in 1942. It cost billions of dollars but it employed tens of thousands of people. It was led by General Leslie Groves and physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. -
Neutrality Act 1939
This lifted the arms embargo and put all trade with belligerent nations under the terms of “cash-and-carry.” The ban on loans remained in effect, and American ships were barred from transporting goods to belligerent ports. Basically, Europe would have to come to America and go back in order to use our goods. -
Battle of Britain
It was a campaign headed by the German air force against the United Kingdom in 1940. Hitler wanted to gain air superiority over the RAF before commencing “Operation Sealion” so he attempted to destroy them. The RAF won and blocked the possibility of invasion and created conditions -
Selective Services Act
FDR signed the bill* requiring all males age 21 to 36 to register with the resurrected Selective Service System—although, for the first time, provisions were officially made for conscientious objectors. Some 45 million men registered and more than 10 million were later selected through this system.
*Our first peacetime draft -
Tripartite Pact
An agreement between Germany, Japan, and Italy signed in Berlin. This officially formed the Axis powers. It provided for mutual assistance if any of the countries suffer attacks by other nations not already involved in the war. -
Four Freedoms Speech
Given by FDR it was meant to boost moral and articulate the goals of World War 2. He's quoted for saying that, "everywhere in the world" ought to enjoy:
Freedom of speech, worship, from want, and from fear.
He broke his promise of non-interventionism in this speech and outlined the plan for war. -
Lend-Lease Act
Stated that the US would offer aid to any country whose defense was vital to American security. This allowed us to help Britain with the promise that after the war we would be paid very well for our help. -
Pearl Harbor
Attack from Japan to America. Took place in Hawaii where Japan bombed an United State's Military base. This was our Final push into the war. -
Executive Order 8802
The order was issued after A. Philip Randolph threatened a march on Washington to protest discrimination in industry and in the military. It prohibited racial discrimination in the military. It was the first federal action to prohibit employment discrimination in the US. -
Atlantic Charter
Stated the ideal goals of war such as:
No territorial changes, total surrender, reduction of trade restriction, global cooperation, better economic conditions internationally, and of course the four freedoms. -
War Production Board
Created by FDR, its purpose was to regulate the production and use of materials and fuel during the war -
Executive Order 9066
Fueled by fear and racism; this executive order put Japanese-Americans into internment camps during the war regardless of citizenship -
Congress of Racial Inequality
CORE was an African American civil rights organization. They gained much of their attention from helping to participate in “freedom rides” which helped to desegregate public facilities. They also helped black people gain the right to vote and helped to culminate the famous March on Washington of 1963 -
Bataan Death March
This was the forcible transfer by Imperial Japanese Army of Filipinos and American prisoners from Saisaih Point to Camp O'Donnell. This march is considered to have been severely abusive and resulted in over 10,000 deaths. -
Doolittle Raid
This was an air raid on Tokyo, Japan planned by James H. Doolittle. It didn’t have much of an effect, damage wise, but it did help to bring the Japanese moral down. -
Battle of Coral Sea
This battle took place in the Pacific Theater between the Japanese Navy and the American Air force.It was the first pure carrier-versus-carrier battle in history and was an important turning point in the war because it was the first Allies victory against Japan. -
Women's Army Corps
Edith Nourse Rogers was a congresswoman who presented a bill to make a women’s reserve force for the military. They worked mostly non-combat jobs but helped progress our victory even the more -
G.I. Bill
Bill: Passed in 1944, it gave benefits to WWII veterans. It provided grants for school and college tuition, low-interest mortgage and small business loans, job training, hiring privileges and unemployment payments -
Bracero Program
This was when we brought immigrants, mostly Mexicans into America to work on our farms and railroads during the war. It helped the economy to meet the demand imposed by the war. It was really just a way for the US to obtain cheap labor but we could not have done a lot of the things we did without their help -
Battle of El Alamein
Battle of El Alamein was a decisive battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein. Due to months of preparation to get the upperhand, the Allies held victorious, marking the watershed of the Western Desert Campaign. -
Casablanca Conference
In 1943, it was a meeting between FDR and Winston Churchill. They focused on creating strong strategies against the axis powers. Importance was placed on destroying German u-boats and also the decision was made that the allies would only accept unconditional surrender from the axis powers. -
Nazi Surrender at Stalingrad
Considered to be another turning point of the war, this battle bled the German army dry and forced them to surrender. It was a major battle on the Eastern Front in which Nazi Germany fought the Soviet Union in hopes to gain control of Stalingrad (lol @nonaggressionact). -
Battle of Kasserine Pass
In 1943 German General Erwin Rommel made the bold decision to go after Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. He decided that the weakest point of the allies was the Kasserine Pass. His first attack was defeated but he had tank reinforcements. He was able to push through allied forces and the US withdrew their position marking the first big defeat of the US. -
Tuskegee Airmen
An all African American group of pilots who never lost a man or a battle. Very good at aiming and won everything they fought in. When they got home, however, they were not allowed to become commercial pilots. -
Office of War Information
The United States Office of War Information was a government agency created during World War II to consolidate existing government information services and deliver propaganda both at home and abroad. -
Tehran Conference
In 1943 FDR met with Stalin and Churchill to discuss strategies to win and peace afterward. This was where the decision for Operation Overlord was decided. After the conference, FDR and Churchill went to Cairo together to discuss who would lead the operation. -
Korematsu versus United States
Supreme Court case concerning the constitutionality of internment camps during war times. the Supreme Court held that the wartime internment of American citizens of Japanese descent was constitutional. -
Operation Fortitude
It was a massive plan of deception by the allies. The aim was to convince the Germans that their aircraft landing would take place in Pas-de-Calais. They deliberately allowed them Germans to get a hold of information they thought was real. The allies also set up dummy armies with fake tanks and inflatable airplanes -
442nd Regimental
This regiment was composed almost entirely of Japanese soldiers whose families were still restricted to the concentration camp. The Regiment fought primarily in Europe during WWII and became the most decorated unit. Also fought to encourage others to not fear Japan. -
D-Day
Allies liberated from Germany's Control. 156,000 forces landed on five beaches to the heavily fortified coast of France's Normandy region. -
Battle of the Buldge
In December 1944, Hitler ordered a counterattack on allied troops in Belgium. It failed and ended up crippling Germany by using up men and resources -
Battle of Iwo Jima
American soldiers make their first strike on the home island of Japan. The American invasion was rooted in needing to be closer to Japan's base near the coast. -
Battle of Okinawa
In 1945, this was the largest amphibious landing in what was known as the Pacific Theatre during WWII. It also resulted in the largest number of casualties with 100,000 Japanese and 50,000 allies. It showed how deadly the invasion of the mainland of Japan would be -
V-E day
Allied victory in Europe. -
Potsdam Conference
Truman, Stalin, and Churchill met for a third time. It was held to negotiate terms at the end of the war. It was decided to demilitarize Germany and place it under four Allied sanctions. Also request were made for Japan to unconditionally surrender to the allies, which they refused -
Hiroshima
The United States dropped nuclear weapons on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima during the final stage of World War II -
Nagasaki
The second atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. This resulted in Japan’s unconditional surrender because they didn't know we had nothing left. -
V-J day
Allied victory in Japan.
