Key People
After France fell under the Germans in 1940, a French general named Charles de Gaulle fled to London where he set up a government-in-exile committed to reconquering France. He went on to organize the Free French military forces that battled the Nazis until France was liberated in 1944.
Winston Churchill, the new British prime minister and probably the greatest weapon the British had, declared that his nation would never give in to the Germans. Widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the 20th century, Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a historian, a writer, and an artist.
Douglas MacArthur, son of a Civil War army officer, was commander of the Allied land forces in the Pacific and grew to become one of the most brilliant military strategists of WWII. He is known for his “island hopping” campaign past Japanese strong points where he then planned to seize islands that were not well defended but were closer to Japan.
Hirohito, was emperor of Japan and head of state under the limitation of the Constitution of the Empire of Japan during Japan's imperial expansion, militarization, and involvement in WWII. During the postwar period, he became the symbol of the new state and Japan's recovery, and by the end of his reign, Japan had emerged as the world's second largest economy.
German forces had been advancing and retreating across the North African desert since early 1941. General Erwin Rommel took the key port city of Tobruk in June 1942. His leadership of German and Italian forces in the North African campaign established him as one of the most able commanders of the war, and earned him the nickname "Desert Fox."
Dwight D. Eisenhower was a five-star general in the United States Army during World War II and served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe. He was responsible for planning and supervising the invasion of North Africa in Operation Torch in 1942–43 and the successful invasion of France and Germany in 1944–45 from the Western Front.
FDR (Franklin Delano Roosevelt) served as the 32nd President of the United States, leading the country through one of the most momentous periods in its history, WWII. Under Roosevelt's leadership, the nation bounced back from the devastating surprise attack at Pearl Harbor in December 1941, nearly achieving victory in both Europe and the Pacific.
Joseph Stalin, one of the most powerful and murderous dictators in history, was the supreme ruler of the Soviet Union for a quarter of a century. His regime of terror caused the death and suffering of tens of millions, but he also oversaw the war machine that played a key role in the defeat of Nazism.
Benito Mussolini, was the founder of Fascism and leader of Italy from 1922 to 1943. In July 1943, Mussolini was overthrown and imprisoned by his former colleagues in the Fascist government. As the Allies advanced northwards through Italy, Mussolini fled towards Switzerland but was captured by Italian partisans and shot on 28 April 1945.
Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler, was one of the most powerful and infamous dictators of the 20th century. After WWI, he rose to power in the National Socialist German Workers Party and his attack on Poland in 1939 started World War II. Hitler killed himself shortly before Germany’s defeat.
Chiang Kai-Shek was a Chinese military and political leader who led the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party) for five decades and was head of state of the Chinese Nationalist government between 1928 and 1949.
Harry Truman, the 33rd U.S. president, succeeded President Franklin D. Roosevelt in office. In the White House from 1945 to 1953, Truman made the decision to use the atomic bomb against Japan, helped rebuild postwar Europe, worked to contain communism and led the United States into the Korean War.
Key Terms
On March 12, 1938 Hitler announces an Anschluss, “union,” between Austria and Germany and it refers to the annexation of Austria into Germany.
The Axis Powers battled against the Allies in WWII and consisted of Germany, Italy, and Japan (Bulgaria and Romania later join). They lost to the Allies by the end of the war.
The Battle of Britain was the German air force’s attempt to gain air superiority over Britain’s RAF (Royal Air Force). They bombed Great Britain, targeting British airfields and aircraft factories. Although the RAF was badly outnumbered by the German’s air force they fought back hard and eventually turned the tide of the war in their favor. The battle continued until May 10, 1941 when a stunned Hitler decided to call off his attacks.
The Battle of Iwo Jima began when three U.S. marine divisions landed on the island in February 1945 in search for a base near the Japanese coast. Iwo Jima was defended by approximately 23,000 Japanese army and navy troops, who fought from an elaborate network of caves, dugouts, tunnels and underground installations. Despite the difficulty of the conditions, the marines wiped out the defending forces after just a month of fighting.
Six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States defeated Japan in one of the most significant naval battles of WWII, the Battle of Midway. Due to major advances in code breaking, the United States was able to anticipate and counter Japan’s planned ambush of its few remaining aircraft carriers, inflicting permanent damage on the Japanese Navy.
The Battle of Stalingrad, which began on August 23, 1942, was the successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad in the U.S.S.R. during WWII. It stopped the German advance into the Soviet Union and marked the turning of the tide of war in favor of the Allies. The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the bloodiest battles in history, with combined military and civilian casualties of nearly 2 million.
Gestapo is German for “Secret State police.” The Gestapo ruthlessly eliminated opposition to the Nazis within Germany and its occupied territories and was responsible for the roundup of Jews throughout Europe for deportation to extermination camps.
Lebensraum was an important component of Nazi ideology and the word is German for “habitat” or “living space.” The Nazis used this ideology to support territorial expansion and as a reason to eliminate people in order to make room for what they believed was the Aryan race.
The S.S. was founded by Adolf Hitler as a small personal bodyguard but with the success of the Nazi movement it grew from a small paramilitary formation to one of the largest and most powerful organizations in all of Germany. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the S.S. was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during WWII.
V.E. Day (Victory in Europe Day) was on May 8, 1945 and it officially announced the end of WWII in Europe.
On August 14, 1945, it was announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, ending WWII. Since then, both August 14 and August 15 have been known as “Victory over Japan Day,” or simply V.J. Day.
The Wannsee Conference held on January 20, 1942, was a conference in which 15 high-ranking Nazi Party and German government officials gathered in the Berlin suburbs of Wannsee to discuss and coordinate the implementation of what they called the "Final Solution of the Jewish Question."
After France fell under the Germans in 1940, a French general named Charles de Gaulle fled to London where he set up a government-in-exile committed to reconquering France. He went on to organize the Free French military forces that battled the Nazis until France was liberated in 1944.
Winston Churchill, the new British prime minister and probably the greatest weapon the British had, declared that his nation would never give in to the Germans. Widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the 20th century, Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a historian, a writer, and an artist.
Douglas MacArthur, son of a Civil War army officer, was commander of the Allied land forces in the Pacific and grew to become one of the most brilliant military strategists of WWII. He is known for his “island hopping” campaign past Japanese strong points where he then planned to seize islands that were not well defended but were closer to Japan.
Hirohito, was emperor of Japan and head of state under the limitation of the Constitution of the Empire of Japan during Japan's imperial expansion, militarization, and involvement in WWII. During the postwar period, he became the symbol of the new state and Japan's recovery, and by the end of his reign, Japan had emerged as the world's second largest economy.
German forces had been advancing and retreating across the North African desert since early 1941. General Erwin Rommel took the key port city of Tobruk in June 1942. His leadership of German and Italian forces in the North African campaign established him as one of the most able commanders of the war, and earned him the nickname "Desert Fox."
Dwight D. Eisenhower was a five-star general in the United States Army during World War II and served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe. He was responsible for planning and supervising the invasion of North Africa in Operation Torch in 1942–43 and the successful invasion of France and Germany in 1944–45 from the Western Front.
FDR (Franklin Delano Roosevelt) served as the 32nd President of the United States, leading the country through one of the most momentous periods in its history, WWII. Under Roosevelt's leadership, the nation bounced back from the devastating surprise attack at Pearl Harbor in December 1941, nearly achieving victory in both Europe and the Pacific.
Joseph Stalin, one of the most powerful and murderous dictators in history, was the supreme ruler of the Soviet Union for a quarter of a century. His regime of terror caused the death and suffering of tens of millions, but he also oversaw the war machine that played a key role in the defeat of Nazism.
Benito Mussolini, was the founder of Fascism and leader of Italy from 1922 to 1943. In July 1943, Mussolini was overthrown and imprisoned by his former colleagues in the Fascist government. As the Allies advanced northwards through Italy, Mussolini fled towards Switzerland but was captured by Italian partisans and shot on 28 April 1945.
Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler, was one of the most powerful and infamous dictators of the 20th century. After WWI, he rose to power in the National Socialist German Workers Party and his attack on Poland in 1939 started World War II. Hitler killed himself shortly before Germany’s defeat.
Chiang Kai-Shek was a Chinese military and political leader who led the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party) for five decades and was head of state of the Chinese Nationalist government between 1928 and 1949.
Harry Truman, the 33rd U.S. president, succeeded President Franklin D. Roosevelt in office. In the White House from 1945 to 1953, Truman made the decision to use the atomic bomb against Japan, helped rebuild postwar Europe, worked to contain communism and led the United States into the Korean War.
Key Terms
On March 12, 1938 Hitler announces an Anschluss, “union,” between Austria and Germany and it refers to the annexation of Austria into Germany.
The Axis Powers battled against the Allies in WWII and consisted of Germany, Italy, and Japan (Bulgaria and Romania later join). They lost to the Allies by the end of the war.
The Battle of Britain was the German air force’s attempt to gain air superiority over Britain’s RAF (Royal Air Force). They bombed Great Britain, targeting British airfields and aircraft factories. Although the RAF was badly outnumbered by the German’s air force they fought back hard and eventually turned the tide of the war in their favor. The battle continued until May 10, 1941 when a stunned Hitler decided to call off his attacks.
The Battle of Iwo Jima began when three U.S. marine divisions landed on the island in February 1945 in search for a base near the Japanese coast. Iwo Jima was defended by approximately 23,000 Japanese army and navy troops, who fought from an elaborate network of caves, dugouts, tunnels and underground installations. Despite the difficulty of the conditions, the marines wiped out the defending forces after just a month of fighting.
Six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States defeated Japan in one of the most significant naval battles of WWII, the Battle of Midway. Due to major advances in code breaking, the United States was able to anticipate and counter Japan’s planned ambush of its few remaining aircraft carriers, inflicting permanent damage on the Japanese Navy.
The Battle of Stalingrad, which began on August 23, 1942, was the successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad in the U.S.S.R. during WWII. It stopped the German advance into the Soviet Union and marked the turning of the tide of war in favor of the Allies. The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the bloodiest battles in history, with combined military and civilian casualties of nearly 2 million.
Gestapo is German for “Secret State police.” The Gestapo ruthlessly eliminated opposition to the Nazis within Germany and its occupied territories and was responsible for the roundup of Jews throughout Europe for deportation to extermination camps.
Lebensraum was an important component of Nazi ideology and the word is German for “habitat” or “living space.” The Nazis used this ideology to support territorial expansion and as a reason to eliminate people in order to make room for what they believed was the Aryan race.
The S.S. was founded by Adolf Hitler as a small personal bodyguard but with the success of the Nazi movement it grew from a small paramilitary formation to one of the largest and most powerful organizations in all of Germany. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the S.S. was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during WWII.
V.E. Day (Victory in Europe Day) was on May 8, 1945 and it officially announced the end of WWII in Europe.
On August 14, 1945, it was announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, ending WWII. Since then, both August 14 and August 15 have been known as “Victory over Japan Day,” or simply V.J. Day.
The Wannsee Conference held on January 20, 1942, was a conference in which 15 high-ranking Nazi Party and German government officials gathered in the Berlin suburbs of Wannsee to discuss and coordinate the implementation of what they called the "Final Solution of the Jewish Question."