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Allied Nations

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those countries fighting against the Axis powers. i.e. Britain, France, USA, Canada, USSR etc.

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American First Committee

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Organization created by isolationists who argued that the United States should keep out of Europe's business.

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Annex

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Process by which a government gains control over a territory not presently under their jurisdiction. It usually involves either conquest or the use of force. ( for example: Germany annexed the Rhineland, Austria, Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia and Poland.)

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Anti-Semitism

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policies, views, or actions that harm or discriminate against Jews

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Atlantic Charter

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British-American declaration that stated the countries aims for the outcome of the war. Stated people of every nation should be free to choose their own form of government and live free of fear and want, disarmament, and a permanent system of general security.

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Appeasement

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policy by which Great Britain and France agreed to Germany's annexation of the Sudetenland in agreement for not taking any additional Czech territory.

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Axis Powers

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Japan, Germany and Italy

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Bataan Death March

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April 1942, American soldiers were forced to march 65 miles to prison camps by their Japanese captors. It is called the Death March because so many of the prisoners died en route.

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Battle of Britain

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an aerial battle fought in World War II in 1940 between the German Luftwaffe (air force), which carried out extensive bombing in Britain, and the British Royal Air Force, which offered successful resistance.

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Battle of the Bulge

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the actions following the German offensive through the Ardennes forests in December 1944.

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Blitzkrieg

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German lightning warfare.

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Bracero Program

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United States labor agents recruited thousands of farm and railroad workers from Mexico. The program stimulated emigration from Mexico.

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Cash and Carry

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1939; Britain and France could buy goods from the United States if they paid in full and transported them.

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Civil Defense

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protective measures in case of attack. (For example, during WWII volunteers scanned the skies for enemy aircraft and coastal cities enforced blackouts)

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Code Talker

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Special code based on the Navajo language used to send messages during WWII. The Japanese never broke the code.

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Concentration Camps

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prison camps used under the rule of Hitler in Nazi Germany. Conditions were inhuman, and prisoners were generally starved or worked to death, or killed immediately.

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D-Day

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(Day of Days) June 6, 1944; Allied forces landed in Normandy, France to begin a massive offensive against the Germans in the occupied territory of Europe.

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Death Camps

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camps used under the rule of Hitler in Nazi Germany for the purpose of killing prisoners immediately.

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Dictator

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Political leader who rules a country with absolute power, usually by force

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Disarmament

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giving up military weapons

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Fair Employment Practices Commission

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established to combat discrimination in industries that held government contracts.

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Fascism

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any movement, ideology, or attitude that favors dictatorial government, centralized control of private enterprise, repression of all opposition, and extreme nationalism

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Genocide

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Wiping out an entire group of people

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Holocaust

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the systematic extermination of millions of European Jews, as well as Roma, Slavs, intellectuals, homosexuals, and political dissidents, by the Nazis and their allies during World War II.

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IL Duce

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the Leader; Benito Mussolini

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Internment Camps

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Detention centers where more than 100,000 Japanese Americans were relocated during World War II by order of the President.

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Island Hopping

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the American navy attacked islands held by the Japanese in the Pacific Ocean. The capture of each successive island from the Japanese brought the American navy closer to an invasion of Japan.

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Lend-Lease Act

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March 1941; act allowed America to sell, lend or lease arms or other supplies to nations considered "vital to the defense of the United States."

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Kamikaze

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Japanese suicide pilots who loaded their planes with explosives and crashed them into American ships.

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Korematsu v United States

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1944 Supreme Court case where the Supreme Court upheld the order providing for the relocation of Japanese Americans.

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Magic

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Code name for U.S. code-breaking operations against the Japanese.

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Maginot Line

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String of steel and concrete bunkers along the German border from Belgium to Switzerland set up by the British and French

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Manhattan Project

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Code name for the U.S. effort during World War II to produce the atomic bomb.

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Mobilization

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the gathering of resources and preparation for war.

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Munich Conference

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1938 conference at which European leaders attempted to appease Hitler by turning over the Sudetenland to him in exchange for promise that Germany would not expand Germany's territory any further.

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National War Labor Board

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helped resolve labor disputes that might slow down war production.

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Nazism

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The doctrines of nationalism, racial purity, anti-Communism, and the all-powerful role of the State. The National Socialist German Workers Party, otherwise known as the Nazi Party.

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Nisei

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American-born children of Japanese immigrants; second generation Japanese Americans.

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Neutrality Acts

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Originally designed to avoid American involvement in World War II by preventing loans to those countries taking part in the conflict; modified in 1939 to allow aid to the Allies

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Nuremberg Laws

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established legal basis in Nazi Germany for discrimination against Jews.

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Office of Price Administration

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set limits on consumer prices and rent to prevent inflation.

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Office of War Information

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established by the government to promote patriotism and help keep Americans united behind the war effort.

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Operation Overlord

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Official name for the Allied invasion of Normandy in June of 1944.

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Pearl Harbor

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US military base on Hawaii that was bombed by Japan on December 7, 1941, bringing the United States into World War II.

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Potsdam Declaration

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Ultimatum from the Potsdam Conference that was issued by the United States, Great Britain and China to Japan offering that country the choice between unconditional surrender and total annihilation.

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Rationing

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Taking items that are in short supply and distributing them according to a system. For instance, during World War II, gas, sugar, and butter were a few of the items rationed in the United States.

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Revenue Act of 1942

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raised corporation taxes and required nearly all Americans to pay income taxes.

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Rosie the Riveter

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Advertising campaign character who encouraged women to take factory jobs.

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Royal Air Force (RAF)

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Royal Air Force. (Britain's air force)

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Siege

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military blockade

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Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact

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1939 agreement between Germany and the Soviet Union. The two nations agreed not to attack one another and to split the country of Poland between them.

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Totalitarian

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a single party and leader who suppress all opposition and control all aspects of people's lives

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Tuskegee Airmen

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332 Fighter Group famous for shooting down over 200 enemy planes. African American pilots who trained at the Tuskegee flying school.

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United Nations

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organization founded after World War II to promote international peace and cooperation.

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The War Production Board

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supervised the conversion of industries to war production. For example, automakers shifted from making cars to trucks and tanks.

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V-E Day

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Victory in Europe, May 8, 1945

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V-J Day

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Victory of Japan, September 2, 1945

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WACs

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Women's Army Corps

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WAVES

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Women Appointed for Volunteer Emergency Service in the Navy

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Neville Chamberlain

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Prime Minister of Great Britain from -1940; famous for appeasing Hitler at the Munich Conference.

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Benito Mussolini

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head of the Italian Fascist party. Mussolini was known as El Duce and was leader of Italy, the first Fascist regime, during World War II.

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Erwin Rommel

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The Desert Fox. Commander of the Axis forces in North Africa.

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Dwight D. Eisenhower

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American General who began in North Africa and became the Commander of Allied forces in Europe.

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George Patton

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Famous American General who fought in North Africa and Europe.

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Hideki Tojo

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Prime Minister of Japan during World War II.

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Winston Churchill

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Prime minister of Great Britain from 1940-1945 and again 1951-1955.

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Adolf Hitler

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Leader of the Nazi Party and the Third Reich in Germany during World War II.

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Joseph Stalin

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general secretary of the Communist Part of the Soviet Union, he led from 1922 until his death in 1953 and established a communist totalitarian state.

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Franklin Delano Roosevelt

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the 32nd president of the United States. He was president from 1933 until his death in 1945 during both the Great Depression and World War II. He is the only president to have been elected 4 times, a feat no longer permissible due to the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution.

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Douglas MacArthur

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American general, who commanded allied troops in the Pacific during World War II.

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Harry S. Truman

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33rd president of the United States. He assumed the presidency at the death of FDR in 1945 and served until 1953. Under his leadership the United States saw the end of the Second World War with the dropping of the two atomic bombs on Japan and also the establishment of the Truman Doctrine for foreign policy, which seeks to limit the spread of Communism.

World War II Vocabulary – Flashcards

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