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Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany
he joined a struggling group called the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, better known as the Nazi Party. This party had no ties to socialism. he proved to be a powerful public speaker and organizer that he quickly became the party's leader. -
Benito Mussolini's fascist government in Italy
Fascism stressed nationalism and placed the interests of the state above those of individuals. To strengthen the nation, Fascists argued, power must rest with a single strong leader and a small group of devoted party members. He gradually extended Fascist
control to every aspect of Italian life. Mussolini achieved this efficiency, however, by crushing all opposition and by making Italy a totalitarian state. -
Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf=my struggle; Hitler set forth the basic beliefs of
Nazism that became the plan of action for the Nazi Party. Nazism, the German brand of fascism, was based on extreme nationalism. Hitler dreamed of uniting all German-speaking people in a great
German empire. -
Japanese invasion of Manchuria
ignoring the protests of more moderate japanese officials, the militarists launched a surprise attack and seized control of the chinese province of Manchuria. within several months, Japan controlled the entire province -
storm troopers
The Great Depression helped the Nazis come to power. By 1932, some 6 million Germans were unemployed. Many men who were out of work joined Hitler’s private army, the stormtroopers (or Brown Shirts) -
Third Reich
when he gained power, Hitler quickly dismantled Germany’s democratic Weimar Republic. In its place he established the Third Reich, or Third German Empire. According to Hitler, the Third
Reich would be a “Thousand-Year Reich”—it would last for a thousand years. -
Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia
He began building his Roman Empire and his first target was Ethiopia. BY the fall, tens of thousands of Italian soldiers stood ready to advance on Ethiopia. when the invasion began the League's response was an ineffective economic boycott. -
Hitler's military build-up in Germany
The League of Nations had been established after World War I to prevent war. However the failure of the League of Nations to take action against Japan led HItler to pull Germany out of the League. He began a military buildup in violation of the Treaty of Versailles, -
Francisco Franco
He led a group of Spanish army officers who rebelled against the Spanish republic. Revolts broke out all over Spain, and the Spanish Civil War began. The war aroused passions not only in Spain but throughout the world. About 3,000 Americans formed the Abraham Lincoln Battalion and traveled to Spain to fight against Franco. -
Rome-Berlin Axis
Although the Soviet Union sent equipment and advisers, Hitler and Mussolini backed Franco’s forces with troops, weapons, tanks, and fighter planes. The war forged a close relationship between the German and Italian dictators, who signed a formal alliance known as the Rome-Berlin Axis. -
Hitler invades the Rhineland
He sent troops into the Rhineland, a German region bordering France and Belgium that was Demilitarized as result of the Treaty of Versailles. The League did nothing to stop Hitler. -
Hitler's Anschluss
Hitler's first target was Austria. German troops marched into Austria unopposed. A day later, Germany announced that its Anschluss, or “union,” with Austria was complete. The United States and the rest of the world did nothing -
Munich Agreement
turned the Sudetenland over to Germany without a single shot being fired. -
Nonagression Pact
fascist Germany and communist Russia now committed never to attack each other. Germany and the Soviet Union also signed a second, secret pact, agreeing to divide Poland between them. -
Blitzkrieg
first test of Germany’s newest military strategy known as blitzkrieg or lightning war. Blitzkrieg made use of advances in military technology—such as fast tanks and more powerful aircraft—to take the enemy by surprise and then quickly crush all opposition with overwhelming force. -
Joseph Stalin's totalitarian government in the Soviet Union
it tried to exert complete control over its citizens. In a totalitarian state, individuals have no rights, and the government suppresses all opposition. -
Phony War
After occupying eastern Poland, Stalin began annexing the
Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Late in 1939, Stalin
sent his Soviet army into Finland. After three months of fighting,
the outnumbered Finns surrendered. -
Britain and France declare war on Germany
the German Luftwaffe, or German air force, roared over Poland, raining bombs on military bases, airfields, railroads, and cities. At the same time, German tanks raced across the Polish countryside, spreading terror and confusion. On September 3, two days following the terror in Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany -
Hitler's invasion of the Netherlands
Hitler turned against the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, which were overrun by the end of May. the phony war had ended. -
Germany and Italy's invasion of France
The German offensive trapped almost 400,000 British and French soldiers as they fled to the beaches of Dunkirk on the French side of
the English Channel. Italy entered the war on the side of Germany and invaded France from the south as the Germans closed in on Paris from the north. -
The battle of Britain
Germans began to assemble an invasion fleet along the French coast. Because its naval power could not compete with that of Britain, Germany also launched an air war at the same time. The Luftwaffe began making bombing runs over Britain. Its goal was to gain total control of the skies by destroying Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF). this battle continued for a while. the RAF shot down over 185 German planes. Six weeks later, Hitler called off the invasion of Britain indefinitely. -
Marshal Philippe Petain
Germans would occupy the northern part of France, and a Nazi-controlled puppet government, headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain, would be set up at Vichy, in southern France. -
Hitler's invasion of Denmark and Norway
Hitler launched a surprise invasion of Denmark and Norway in order “to protect [those countries’] freedom and independence.” But in truth, Hitler planned to build bases along the coasts to strike at Great Britain. -
Pearl Harbor Attack
Japanese dive-bomber swooped low over Pearl Harbor— the largest U.S. naval base in the Pacific. The bomber was followed by more than 180 Japanese warplanes launched from six aircraft carriers. In less than two hours, the Japanese had killed 2,403 Americans and wounded 1,178 more. The surprise raid had
sunk or damaged 21 ships, including 8 battleships—nearly
the whole U.S. Pacific fleet -
Lend-lease Act
the president would lend or lease arms and other supplies to “any country whose defense was vital to the United States.” Roosevelt compared his plan to lending a garden hose to a neighbor whose
house was on fire. He asserted that this was the only sensible thing to do to prevent the fire from spreading to your own property. -
War Productions Board
The WPB decided which companies would convert from peacetime to wartime production and allocated raw materials to key industries. The WPB also organized drives to collect scrap iron, tin cans, paper, rags, and cooking fat for recycling into war goods. Across America, children scoured attics, cellars, garages, vacant lots, and back alleys, looking for useful junk. -
Manhattan Project
The most significant achievement of the OSRD, however, was the secret development of a new weapon, the atomic bomb. The OSRD set up an intensive program in 1942 to develop a bomb as quickly as possible. Because much of the early research was performed at Columbia University in Manhattan, the Manhattan Project became the code name for research work that extended across the country. -
Office of Price Administration
The OPA fought inflation by freezing prices on most goods. Congress also raised income tax rates and extended the tax to millions of people who had never paid it before. The higher taxes reduced consumer demand on scarce goods by leaving workers with less to spend. In addition, the government encouraged Americans to use their extra cash to buy war bonds. As a result of these measures, inflation remained below 30 percent—about half that of World War I—for the entire period of World War II. -
Internment
confinement -
Battle of the Atlantic
The German aim in the Battle of the Atlantic was to prevent food and war materials from reaching Great Britain and the Soviet Union. Britain depended on supplies from the sea. The 3,000-milelong
shipping lanes from North America were her lifeline. Hitler knew that if he cut that lifeline, Britain would be starved into submission. Germany sank may ships off the Atlantic Shore. -
Battle of the Stalingrad
The Luftwaffe—the German air force—prepared the way with nightly bombing raids over the city. Nearly every wooden building in Stalingrad was set ablaze. For weeks the Germans pressed in on Stalingrad, conquering it house by house in brutal hand-to-hand combat. By the end of September, they controlled nine-tenths of the city—or what was left of it. Then another winter set in. The german commander surrendered and the soviet victory marked a turning point in the war. -
operation torch
an invasion of Axis-controlled North Africa, commanded by American General Dwight D. Eisenhower -
unconditional surrender
enemy nations would have to accept whatever terms of peace the Allies dictated. -
Women's Auxiliary Arm Corps
Under this bill, women volunteers would serve in noncombat positions. The law gave the WAACs an official status and salary but few of the benefits granted to male soldiers. In July 1943, after thousands of women had enlisted, the U.S. Army dropped the “auxiliary” status, and granted WACs full U.S. Army benefits. WACs worked as nurses, ambulance drivers, radio operators, electricians, and pilots—nearly every duty not involving direct combat. -
U.S Convoy System
The Allies responded by organizing their cargo ships into convoys. Convoys were groups of ships traveling together for mutual protection. The convoys were escorted across the Atlantic by destroyers equipped with sonar for detecting submarines underwater. They were also accompanied by airplanes that used radar to spot U-boats on the ocean’s surface. With this improved tracking, the Allies were able to find and destroy German Uboats
faster than the Germans could build them. -
Korematsu v. Untied States
the Supreme Court decided, in Korematsu v. United States, that the government’s policy of evacuating Japanese Americans to camps was justified on the basis of “military necessity.” -
Bloody Anzio
this battle was the hardest battles the Allies encountered in Europe that was fought less than 40 miles from Rome. It lasted four months and left about 25,000 Allied and 30,000 Axis casualties. During the year after Anzio, German armies continued to put up strong resistance. The effort to free Italy did not succeed until 1945, when Germany itself was close to collapse -
The battle of the Bulge
under cover of dense fog, eight German tank divisions broke through weak American defenses along an 80-mile front. Hitler hoped that a victory would split American and British forces and break up Allied
supply lines. Tanks drove 60 miles into Allied territory, creating a bulge in the lines that gave this desperate last ditch offensive its name. The battle raged for a month. events had taken a decisive turn. The Germans had lost 120,000 troops, 600 tanks and assault guns, and 1,600 planes -
D-Day
Under Eisenhower’s direction in England, the Allies gathered a force of nearly 3 million British, American, and Canadian troops, together with mountains of military equipment and supplies. To keep their plans secret, the Allies set up a huge phantom army with its own headquarters and equipment. Eisenhower planned to attack Normandy in northern France. Despite the massive air and sea bombardment by the Allies, German retaliation was brutal, particularly at Omaha Beach. -
Death of Hitler
The same day, he married his wife, he wrote out his last address to the German people. In it he blamed the Jews for starting the war and his generals for losing it. The next day Hitler shot himself while his new wife swallowed poison. In accordance with Hitler’s orders, the two bodies were carried outside, soaked with gasoline, and burned -
Harry S. Truman
He was vice present for Roosevelt and after the president had a stroke he became the 33rd president -
V-E Day
General Eisenhower accepted the unconditional surrender of
the Third Reich. the Allies celebrated V-E Day—Victory in Europe Day. The war in Europe was finally over.
