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Benito Mussolini's Fascist Government in Italy
Mussolini established the Fascist party, which stressed nationalism and placed the interests of the state above those of individuals. The Fascist party was appealing in Italy because unemployment and inflation led people to want stronger leadership. He led a march on Rome with his followers, the "Black Shirts," and when important government officials, the army, and the police sided with the Fascists, the Italian king appointed Mussolini as head of the government and he became known as Il Duce. -
Mein Kampf (My Struggle)
Adolf Hitler's book that set forth the basic beliefs of Nazism that became the plan of action for the Nazi Party. The three main ideas of Nazism were to unite all German-speaking people in a great German empire that would last for a thousand years (The Third Reich), enforce racial purification to make blue-eyed, blond-haired "Aryans" rule the world, and expand the German empire. -
Japanese Invasion of Manchuria
Despite protests of moderate Japanese officials, militarists launched a surprise attack on the Chinese province of Manchuria. Within several months, Japanese troops controlled the entire province, a large region about twice the size of Texas, that was rich in natural resources. The League of Nations condemned Japan for this, who in turn simply quit the League. The success of the attack put the militarists firmly in control of Japan's government. -
Storm Troopers
Many men who were out of work joined Hitler's private army, the storm troopers (or Brown Shirts). -
Adolf Hitler's Rise to Power in Germany
Adolf Hitler joined the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi Party) and quickly became its leader, being called "Der Führer," or "the Leader." He strove to create the Third Reich, a great German empire that would last over a thousand years. The Great Depression helped Nazis come to power as war debts and American dependence hurt Germany's economy and caused many to turn to Hitler. Nazis became the strongest political party in Germany and Hitler was appointed chancellor. -
Third Reich
The Third Reich was Hitler's attempt at creating a great German empire that would last for a thousand years ruled by the Aryans. -
Hitler's Military Build-Up in Germany
Hitler began a military buildup in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. -
Hitler Invades the Rhineland
Hitler sent troops to the Rhineland, a demilitarized German area that bordered France and Belgium. -
Mussolini's Invasion of Ethiopia
Mussolini began building his new Roman Empire, which began with invading Ethiopia in fall 1935. -
Rome-Berlin Axis
The Spanish Civil War forged a strong bond between the German and Italian dictators, who signed a formal alliance. -
Hitler's Anschluss
Austria, whose predominant demographic were Germans, merged with Germany and created an "Anschluss," or Union. -
Munich Agreement
Hitler invited French premier Édouard Daladier and British prime minister Neville Chamberlain to meet with him in Munich when war seemed inevitable. Hitler declared that the annexation of the Sudetenland would be his "last territorial demand." In their eagerness to avoid war, Daladier and Chamberlain signed the Munich Agreement, which turned the Sudetenland over to Germany with Germany promising to not expand further. -
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco established a fascist government in Spain after winning the Spanish Civil War. Franco became the dictator of Spain after the Soviet Union sent equipment and advisers and Germany and Italy backed his troops with troops, weapons, tanks, and fighter planes in 1936. -
Joseph Stalin's Totalitarian Government in the Soviet Union
Joseph Stalin aimed to create a model communist state by making both agricultural and industrial growth the main goals of the Soviet Union. Through enormous human costs, he transformed the Soviet Union into the world's second-largest industrial power, only surpassed in overall production by the United States. His totalitarian government exerted complete control over its citizens; individuals had no rights, and the government destroyed all opposition. -
Manhattan Project
The research project created by the Office of Science Research and Development about the development of the atomic bomb. It got its namesake from Columbia University in Manhattan, where most of the research took place. -
Nonaggression Pact
Fascist Germany and Communist Russia agreed to not attack each other. They also signed a second secret pact where they agreed to divide Poland between them. -
Blitzkrieg
The German war strategy during World War II, meaning "lightning war". It was where powerful aircraft would take the enemy by surprise and tanks and infantry would overwhelm them. -
Britain and France Declare War on Germany
Britain and France declared war on Germany two days after Germany invaded Poland. -
Phony War
The period in which French and British forces occupied the Maginot Line along France's eastern border and German forces occupied the Siegfried Line a few miles away. There was very little conflict, earning the period the name "The Phony War" and the term sitzkrieg, or "sitting war". -
Battle of the Atlantic
Hitler tried to stop American shipping to Britain to starve the country into submission using U-boats to sink American ships. The Allies responded by organizing their cargo ships into convoys. The Allied ships were protected by destroyers which used sonar to detect submerged German U-boats and airplanes which used radar to detect surfaced German U-Boats. With the U.S. also mass-producing Liberty ships, the battle turned in favor of the Allies. -
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, he planned to build bases along the coasts to strike at Great Britain. -
Hitler's Invasion of the Netherlands
Hitler invaded the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, which were overrun by the end of May. -
Germany and Italy's Invasion of France
Germany invaded France from the north while Italy invaded France from the south. Hitler handed French officials the terms for surrender on June 22, 1940. -
Marshal Philippe Pétain
The head of the Nazi-controlled puppet government at Vichy, in southern France. -
The Battle of Britain
Germany launched an air war against Britain since their naval power could not compete with Britain's. The Luftwaffe began making bombing runs over Britain to gain total control of the skies through the defeat of Britain's Royal Air Force. Every night for a solid two months, bombers pounded London. With the use of radar, the RAF was able to fight back against the Luftwaffe, even during the night. Six weeks later, Hitler called of the invasion of Britain indefinitely. -
War Productions Board
The organization that ensured that the armed forces and war industries received the resources they needed to win the war. It decided which companies would convert from peacetime to wartime production and allocated raw materials to key industries. It also organized drives to collect scrap iron, tin cans, paper, rags, and cooking fat for recycling into war goods. -
Lend-Lease Act
The plan in which the U.S. would lend or lease arms or other supplies to "any country whose defense was vital to the United States." -
Office of Price Administration
Due to potential inflation from dropping supply and increasing demand, President Roosevelt created the Office of Price Administration. It fought inflation by freezing prices on most goods. Congress raised income taxes to give workers less money to spend to reduce demand and convinced people to buy war bonds. Inflation remained below 30% through this program. -
Pearl Harbor Attack
The Japanese launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, a naval base in Hawaii, to destroy the American fleet stationed there. -
Internment
Japanese Americans were forced into concentration camps due to public sentiment against them. -
Women's Auxiliary Army Corps
Army Chief of Staff General George Marshall pushed for the formation of the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps. Women served in noncombat positions in this organization. -
U.S. Convoy System
The system in which the U.S. escorted merchant ships. Destroyers used sonar to detect U-boats while airplanes used radar to detect U-boats. -
Battle of Stalingrad
Hitler sent German forces to Stalingrad because he wanted to destroy a major industrial center on the Volga river. Once the Luftwaffe began nightly bombings of the city, Stalin ordered that his namesake city be protected no matter what the cost. Germans controlled 90% of the city, then another winter set in. The Soviet army began their counterattack by closing around Stalingrad, trapping Germans in and around the city and cutting their supplies. The German commander surrendered on 1/31/1943. -
Operation Torch
The Allied invasion of Axis-controlled North Africa, commanded by Dwight D. Eisenhower and suggested by Churchill and Roosevelt. This was the alternative plan to Stalin's suggestion of invading Germany through the English Channel. -
Unconditional Surrender
Surrender in which the offender must agree to all terms set by the defender. Roosevelt, Churchill, and their commanders met in Casablanca and decided to only accept the unconditional surrender of the Axis powers. -
Korematsu v. United States
The Supreme Court case in which Japanese American internment was justified on the basis of "military necessity." -
Bloody Anzio
The battle in which German troops tried to stop the Allied forces in Italy rather than on German soil after the Allies defeated Mussolini. This battle resulted in 25,000 Allied casualties and 30,000 Axis casualties. German armies continued to put up strong resistance a year after Anzio. The effort to free Italy did not succeed until 1945, when Germany was close to collapse. -
Death of Hitler
Hitler and his wife Eva Braun committed suicide to avoid the humiliation of losing World War II to the Allies. -
D-Day
Originally called Operation Overlord, this was the U.S. invasion along the coast of Normandy in northern France to free Western Europe from the Nazis. To keep it secret, the Allies set up a huge phantom army and leaked information to Germany that they would attack the French port of Calais, 150 miles away. The Allies held the coast after the invasion despite the heavy casualties, making this the largest land-sea-air operation in army history. -
The Battle of the Bulge
Hitler ordered his troops to break through the Allied lines and recapture the Belgian port of Antwerp. German troops failed to pierce through Allied defenses and took irreparable losses, causing retreat and sealing Germany's fate in World War II. -
Harry S. Truman
After President Franklin D. Roosevelt died of a stroke while posing for a portrait in Warm Springs, Georgia, Vice President Harry S. Truman became the 33rd President of the United States. -
V-E Day
The Allies celebrated Victory in Europe Day after Dwight D. Eisenhower accepted the unconditional surrender of the Third Reich.
