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Formally ended World War I by imposing harsh terms on Germany, including massive financial reparations, significant territorial losses, and drastic military limitations, while also establishing the League of Nations. -
Japan invaded Manchuria primarily to secure vital natural resources like coal and iron for its industrial economy, to expand its imperial power and create a buffer against the Soviet Union, and to find a solution to its growing population and economic hardship caused by the Great Depression. -
The Holocaust, known in Hebrew as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe, around two-thirds of Europe's Jewish population. -
Initiating the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, using advanced weaponry, including chemical gas, with the goal of recreating Roman glory and expanding its empire. Despite the League of Nation's ineffective sanctions, Italy defeated Ethiopia by May 1936, annexing the country and committing atrocities that shocked the world. -
German troops re-occupied the Rhineland, a de-militarised zone according to the Treaty of Versailles. The League's inability to come to a decision due to Britain's fear of a war fueled Hitler to undermine more terms of the Treaty of Versailles. -
The 1938 annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany, which unified the two German-speaking nations under Hitler's control, eliminating Austria's independence. This aggressive territorial expansion, part of Hitler's goal to unite all German peoples and achieve greater German dominance. -
To address the problem of German and Austrian Jewish refugees wishing to flee persecution by Nazi Germany. One result of the conference was the establishment of the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees (ICR), which would continue to work on the refugee problem. -
The Munich Conference concluded that the Sudetenland territory would be ceded to Germany. In addition, Hitler would take over portions of Czechoslovakia provided he would not seek further expansion. -
Was a failed U.S. legislative proposal to admit 20,000 German refugee children to the country outside existing immigration quotas. Despite humanitarian arguments and support from figures. -
The MS St. Louis was a German ocean liner that, in May 1939, carried 937 Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany seeking asylum in the Americas. Denied entry by Cuba and the United States, the ship was forced to return to Europe. -
A military tactic characterized by concentrated, rapid, and deep attacks by armored units, supported by mobile infantry and tactical air power, to quickly defeat an enemy by dislocating and disrupting their lines of communication and command rather than through prolonged attrition. -
The Nazi-Soviet Pact, signed just days before World War II, enabled Germany and the Soviet Union to invade and partition Poland, marking the beginning of the war. The secret protocol of the pact divided Poland into German and Soviet spheres of influence, with the Soviets gaining control of the eastern regions and the Germans taking the more industrialized western parts -
Triggering World War II. In response to German aggression, Great Britain and France declared war on Nazi Germany.The attack on Poland was an initial victory for Germany that surpassed the staff's initial expectations, but it also galvanized Polish military resistance. -
German U-boats tried to sink Allied merchant ships to starve Britain, but the Allies countered with convoys, radar, and code-breaking to secure their supply lines and project power across the ocean. Allied victory, despite the loss of 3,500 merchant ships and 175 warships, at the cost of 783 U-boats and roughly 30,000 German sailors. -
a U.S. law that allowed belligerent nations to buy U.S. goods, including military equipment, but only if they paid in cash upfront and transported the goods on their own ships. Enacted as a revision to the Neutrality Acts, this policy aimed to support the Allies. -
Was a decisive aerial campaign from July to October 1940 where the Royal Air Force successfully defended the United Kingdom against Nazi Germany's Luftwaffe. -
Marked a major shift in U.S. foreign policy from neutrality toward supporting the Allies, provided crucial naval and air bases to the U.S. for defending the Western Hemisphere, and created a strong Anglo-American wartime partnership that led to further cooperation like the Lend-Lease Act. -
The Lend-Lease Act of 1941 was a United States program that allowed the President to provide military and economic aid, such as weapons, food, and supplies, to Allied nations vital to American defense during World War II. In exchange, recipients would return the materials or provide other benefits, such as leases on military bases, without immediate payment. -
A joint declaration of principles issued by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in August 1941, outlining their vision for the postwar world after World War II. The Atlantic Charter provided a broad statement of U.S. and the British war aims. -
A surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, to cripple the U.S. Pacific Fleet, allowing Japan to expand its empire in Southeast Asia and secure vital natural resources like oil from colonies in the region. -
Was the first naval battle in history fought entirely by aircraft carriers, resulting in a strategic Allied victory by halting the Japanese invasion of Port Moresby, despite both sides suffering heavy losses, including the U.S. carrier USS Lexington. -
Turned the tide of the war in the Pacific by destroying four Japanese aircraft carriers and crippling their offensive capabilities, while the U.S. lost only one carrier, the Yorktown.Japanese codes, allowed American forces to anticipate the attack on Midway, resulting in a devastating blow to the Japanese navy. -
President Roosevelt to rescue Jews and other victims of Nazi persecution during World War II. The Board coordinated efforts to provide relief, establish safe havens, and facilitate the rescue of approximately 200,000 people. -
The Allied forces landed troops on Normandy beaches for the largest amphibious assault in history, beginning the march eastward to defeat Germany. -
A surprise attack launched through the Ardennes Forest in December 1944 to split the Allied armies and force them to negotiate. After initial German success creating a "bulge" in the Allied lines, the Allies rallied, eventually pushing the Germans back and closing the bulge. -
Was the act of the United States Army freeing prisoners from the Nazis, after which Allied commander Dwight D. Eisenhower visited one of its subcamps. It marked the end of the Nazi era for the prisoners held there and highlighted the horrors of the concentration camp system. -
The final major battle of the Pacific theater, a bloody and costly strategic victory for the Allies that influenced the decision to use the atomic bomb on Japan to avoid a potentially devastating invasion. -
Little Boy was a type of atomic bomb created by the Manhattan Project during World War II. The name is also often used to describe the specific bomb used in the bombing of the Japanese. -
Fat Man was an implosion-type nuclear weapon with a solid plutonium core, and later with improved cores. The bomb was dropped by a USAAF B-29 airplane named "Bockscar", piloted by U.S. Army Air Force Major Charles Sweeney. -
Victory over Japan Day is the day on which Imperial Japan surrendered in World War II, in effect bringing the war to an end. The name, V-J Day, had been selected by the Allies after they named V-E Day for the victory in Europe. -
The world's foremost international organization, by 51 countries to prevent future wars and maintain global peace and security, human rights, and sustainable development. -
The trials presented overwhelming evidence of Nazi atrocities and resulted in the conviction and sentencing of numerous Nazi officials, though some escaped punishment. The trials were significant for establishing individual responsibility under international law and creating precedents for future international war crimes tribunals. -
The Truman Doctrine was a U.S. foreign policy, announced by President Harry S. Truman, that pledged American support to "free peoples" resisting subjugation by authoritarian forces or "outside pressures". Its primary goal was to contain the spread of communism by providing political, military, and economic assistance to nations. -
A U.S. foreign aid program that provided over $13 billion to help Western European countries rebuild after World War II, aiming to stabilize economies, restore industries, and counter the spread of communism. -
A milestone document in the history of human rights. Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, it set out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected. -
Its primary purpose was to create a collective security alliance among North American and European nations to prevent military aggression and provide collective defense against potential threats, particularly from the Soviet Union, following the end of World War II.