Vocabulary: 
 
Adolf Hitler- leader of the Nazi party, German, killed himself before the end of the war 
Anti-Semitism- hostility to or prejudice against Jews 
Appeasement- the making of concessions to an aggressor in order to avoid war
Armistice- a truce or an agreement to end fighting
Autocratic- ruled with unlimited power
 
Benito Mussolini- leader of Italy, he admired Hitler 
Blitzkrieg- means lightning war--it was an attack using both ground troops and air force working together to hit targets 
 
Collectivization- a system in which private farms are eliminated and peasants work land owned by the government
Communism- an economic system in which all means of production--land, mines, factories, railroads, and businesses--are owned by the people, private property does not exists, and all goods and services are shared equally.
Concentration Camp- a camp where prisoners of war, political prisoners, or members of minority groups are confined, typically under harsh conditions
Czar/Tsar- Russian emperor
 
D-Day- June 6th, attacking the beaches of Normandy 
 
Famine- extreme and general scarcity of food, extreme hunger, starvation
Fascism- a political philosophy that glorifies the state above the individual by emphasizing the need for a strong central government led by a dictatorial ruler
Fat Man- the atomic bomb that landed on Nagasaki
Final Solution- the term used by Nazi Germany- referring to the mass murder of Europe's Jews. 
 
Genocide- the deliberate mass murder or physical extinction of a particular racial, political, or cultural group
Ghetto- formerly a district in a city in which Jews were required to live
 
Hiroshima- August 6th, 1945, little boy is the bomb dropped, airplane carrying the bomb is called Enola Gay, plane names after pilot's mother, 140,000 killed, 70,000 died instantly, buildings: 68% destroyed, 24% seriously damaged 
Holocaust- the killing of 6 million Jews in Europe
Holocaust was a genocide in which Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany and its collaborators killed about six million Jews
 
Infamy- evil, disgrace
Isolationism- a policy of national isolation by abstention from alliances and other international political and economic relations 
 
Josef Stalin- leader of the Soviet Union 
 
Kamikaze- Japanese aircraft loaded with explosives and making a deliberate suicidal crash on an enemy target
Kristallnacht- "Night of Broken Glass" -- Germans burnt down synagogues and broke windows of Jewish business owners 
 
Little Boy- the atomic bomb that landed on Hiroshima 
 
Manhattan Project- an ultra-secret program to build an atomic bomb, 200,000 American scientists and engineers work to build the new weapon
Mein Kampf- book that Hitler wrote about his views (extreme German nationalism, strong anti-semitism, and anti-communism and social Darwinian Theory)
 
Nagasaki- August 9th, 1945, fat man is the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, 74,000 killed (most died instantly), buildings: 25% destroyed, 11% seriously damaged 
Nazi Soviet Non Agression Pact- a pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union to invade and occupy Poland. 
Neutrality- refusal to take sides or become involved in wars between other nations
Nuremberg Racial Laws- At the annual party rally held in Nuremberg in 1935, the Nazis announced new laws which institutionalized many of the racial theories prevalent in Nazi ideology. The laws excluded German Jews from Reich citizenship and prohibited them from marrying or having sexual relations with persons of "German or related blood."
Nuremberg Trials- a series of court proceedings held in Nuremberg, Germany after World War II in which Nazi leaders were tried for aggression, violations of the rules of war, and crimes against humanity 
 
Operation Barbarossa- German's invasion of the Societ Union. Starting June 22, 1941.
Operation Overlord- (code name) a meeting to plan and inform troops about D-day. The meeting was ran by General Eisenhower
 
Pearl Harbor- Hawaii, December 7, 1941, Japan surprised bombed Hawaii navy base
Pogrom- the organized massacre of a minority group, especially Jews
 
Reparations- a payment made to the victor by the vanquished to cover the costs of war
 
The Big Three-1) Soviet Union leader Josef Stalin; 2) U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt; and 3) British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
Totalitarian State- a government that aims to control the political, economic, social, intellectual, and cultural lives of its citizens
 
United Nations- is an intergovernmental organization to promote international co-operation. A replacement for the ineffective League of Nations, the organization was established on October 24, 1945 after World War II in order to prevent another such conflict. At its founding, the UN had 51 member states; there are now 193. The headquarters of the United Nations is inManhattan, New York City,
 
V-E Day- Victory in Europe, May 8th 1945 
V-J Day- Victory in Japan, September 2nd, 1945 Japan surrenders
 
Winston Churchill- leader of Great Britain 
 
Yalta Conference- February of 1945 the "Big Three," leaders from Great Britain, the United States, and the U.S.S.R, met at Yalta in the Soviet Union to discuss post-war plans.   
 
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U.S. President that started the war: FDR--Franklin D. Roosevelt 
U.S. President that ended the war: Harry Truman 
 
Axis Powers- Germany, Japan, Italy 
Allies- Britain, France, United States, and U.S.S.R 
 
WWII official ends on September 2, 1945