World War II Studies

KEY TERMS AND PEOPLE

Appeasement

• British and French Policy Allowing Hitler to Annex Territories in Europe

Neville Chamberlin

• Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1937-1940– Advocated for Appeasement of Germany

Winston Churchill

• Prime Minister of Great Britain During Most of the War.

• One of the Major Forces Behind Organizing the Allied Powers and of Resisting Germany.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

• Supreme Allied Commander in Europe• Helped Heavily in Planning the Allied Invasion

of Europe.• Future President of the United States (Two

Terms)

Hirohito

• Emperor of Japan From 1926-1989.• Leader of Japan During WWII• Was Allowed to Keep Position After the War’s

Completion• Never Tried for War Crimes

Adolf Hitler

• Leader “Fuhrer” of Germany During WWII.• Had Absolute Power Over the Country.• Advocated for the “Final Solution” – Killing All

People of Jewish Descent.– This is what led to the Holocaust

Benito Mussolini

• Prime Minister of Italy from 1922-1943.• A Facist Dictator Who Had Absolute Power

Over The Country

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

• President of The United States for Most of the War.

• Served Four Terms as President• Played an Instrumental Role in Keeping the

Allies Together

Harry S. Truman

• President of the United States from 1945-1953• Succeeded FDR After His Death• Made the Decision to Drop Atomic Bombs on

Japan.

Joseph Stalin

• General Secretary of the Soviet Union from 1922-1953.

• Brutal Dictator in his own Right.• Succeeded in Holding Russia Together Through

the War.

Allied Powers

• Alliance of Countries who Opposed Germany’s Wartime Positions

• Britain, France, United States, Russia, and Many Other Countries

Axis Powers

• Germany, Italy and Japan’s Military Alliance• Other Countries Were In and Out Over the

Period of WWII

Blitzkrieg

• “Lightning War”• The German Strategy of Attacking Quickly and

With Great Force• Applied in Invasions of Poland, France, and

Soviet Union

Fascism

• A Far Right Wing Form of Government, Generally With One Powerful Leader.

• In Place in Germany (Until 1945), Italy (Until 1943), and Spain (Until 1974) Amongst Others

Final Solution

• Hitler’s Plan to Exterminate all Jewish Citizens as Well as Members of Other Groups During His Time In Power

Gestapo

• The German Secret Police Force• Largely Responsible for Much of the Removal

of Jewish People During the Holocaust

Lebensraum

• “Living Space”• Hitler’s Justification of His Territorial

Expansion

Luftwaffe

• German Air Force

Manhattan Project

• Secret US Project Designed to Produce the First Atomic Weapon

• Began in 1942, Continued Until Atomic Weapons Used in 1945

Operation Overlord

• The Code Name for the Allied Invasion of Europe.