WWII Vocabulary Terms

1. InflationAn economic

condition when money loses its value and prices

rise. – Ex: This happened to the German

money due to the high war reparations of the Versailles Treaty.

Germany printed more money; making their currency worthless.

2. DictatorA leader who rules

with total authority in a cruel or brutal

manner.

• Dictators restrict individual human rights and freedoms.

3. Nazi Party “National

Socialist German Workers’ Party.”

Hitler’s fascist party.

Hitler’s political party Government during WWII.

4. FascismA political

philosophy in which total power is

given to a dictator and individual freedoms are

denied.

Ex: Hitler took away the right to protest or speak out against the government, eliminated the “free press,” and took the lives of over 6 million men, women, and children thought to be “inferior” in his eyes.

5. Appeasement Accepting demands in

order to avoid conflicts.

Ex: Britain and France thought that they could avoid war by accepting Germany’s demands. In 1936, they signed a treaty allowing Hitler to take Austria & part of Czechoslovakia.

6. CommunismA government in

which all economic and

social activity is controlled by totalitarian

leaders and one powerful political

party.

7. Allies (of WWII)Great Britain,

the USA, the USSR,

and France.

8. Axis PowersGermany, Italy,

and Japan were the

major Axis Powers of WW

II

9. Pearl HarborSite of

Japanese surprise attack on

December 7, 1941

Caused USA to enter WWII

10. Lend-Lease PolicyMarch 1941

Allowed the U.S. to sell, lend, or lease arms or

other war supplies to

nations considered vital to the defense of

the U.S.

11. Rationing Consumers could

buy only certain number of goods

so that the majority of these goods could be

sent abroad to aid in the war effort.

i.e. shoes, gasoline, tires, sugar, and meat.

12. “Rosie the Riveter”A fictional character

appearing on government

posters encouraging

women to help in the war effort.

“She” symbolized the many women working

in war-time jobs.

13. Japanese Internment Camps

Fearful of Japanese spies, more than

100,000 West Coast Japanese - Americans were

sent to detention centers.

Located mostly in desert areas, these camps were crowded, harsh,

uncomfortable, and stripped American citizens of their civil liberties.

14. PrejudiceAn often negative

preconceived opinion or

feeling towards someone due to

race, gender, religion, or

anything else.

15. HolocaustHitler’s “Final Solution.” The attempted Genocide*

of European Jews and others by the Nazis during World War II.

Over 6 million people including Jews, Soviet prisoners of war, Poles, Gypsies, and people with handicaps – were ruthlessly killed.

*Genocide - The systematic and widespread extermination or attempted extermination of an entire national, racial, religious, or ethnic group

16. Concentration CampsPrison and work camps for civilians.

Millions were made virtual slaves and were forced to work until they became sick or died. Most who entered these camps

never made it out alive.

17. Anti-SemitismHatred,

hostility, and discrimination

toward and against Jews.

Hitler and the Nazis party portrayed the German people as superior to all others. Much of their anger was directed against Jews. Unspeakable horrors were done to these people.

18. Aryan SupremacyThe belief that a

“pure” blood German with

blonde-hair and blue eyes was superior to all other races.

Hitler and the Nazi party portrayed

the German people as superior to all

others

19. Poland (and the Baltic Nations)

These countries borders the Soviet Union

and Germany. On September 1, 1939, Hitler’s

armies attacked Poland and claimed the western half for Nazi Germany

Official start of WW II.

20. Normandy Invasion (D-Day)

June 6, 1944: the largest combined

land-sea-air invasion in history to begin the liberation of

France from German occupation.

The turning point on the western front and the beginning of the end war in Europe.

Code name: Operation Overlord.

21. Hiroshima & Nagasaki

Two Japanese cities where

the U.S. dropped atomic bombs

ending WWII.

22. StalingradFebruary 1943, Soviet

victory (ousting Germans) marked a major turning point in the war for the

Allies on the eastern front.

Thousands died in this long and bloody battle. Germans were out-gunned due to the United States constant supply of weapons to the Soviets. German supplies were cut off. German troops were starving, and suffering the effects of the harsh Soviet winter.

23. Battle of MidwayThis was the first

major Japanese defeat and the turning point of the war in the

Pacific. The U.S. navy destroyed

four Japanese aircraft carriers and hundreds of airplanes.

24. Battle of Britain August – October

1940: Germans bombed British

shipyards, industries, & cities, destroying

entire neighborhoods,

killing many civilians.

British Royal Air Force defense forced Hitler to end the air

attacks resulting in a British victory.

WWII Leaders

25. Adolf HitlerHe used the anger over

the Treaty of Versailles and the depression in Germany to grab power in the 1920s. He wanted an all-powerful German Empire, believed in Aryan supremacy, and blamed the Jewish people for the loss of WWI. His evil reign of power lasted 12 years.

26. Benito MussoliniHe used unrest and

economic instability in Italy to grab power in the 1920s. Opposed to democracy, because he felt it “divided” the nation, this fascist dictator allowed no criticism of his government and controlled the army and the schools.

27. Hideki TojoHe was military

general and Prime Minister of Japan from 1941 – 1944. In order to secure new territories and natural resources for Japan, the country invaded Nanking, China and killed around one million unarmed citizens.

28. Winston ChurchillGreat Britain – urged

Britain to re-arm after Hitler’s

appointment in 1933. In 1939 said Britain and France

should form a military alliance with

the Soviet Union. Was appointed

Prime Minister in 1940 and led Britain with great courage.

29. Franklin RooseveltPresident of the U.S.

during WW II. He pushed for economic support of the Allies with the Lend Lease

program, while trying to keep his campaign promise to neutral. After the Japanese

bombed Pearl Harbor, he urged Congress to declare war on Japan.

30. Harry TrumanPresident FDR was

elected to serve a 4th term and chose

this man as his vice president.

After Roosevelt’s sudden death, he became President and the decision

to drop the atomic bomb on Japan fell

to him.

31. Joseph StalinThe tyrannical dictator of the Soviet Union

(USSR) who first supported the Axis

Powers. His country joined the Allies in 1941 after a non-aggression

pact with Germany was violated by a German invasion.