Name: ______Date: ______

America and World War II

Causes of WWII

  1. Give FOUR things the Germans had to do as part of the Versailles Treaty:

a)______

b)______

c)______

d)______

  1. What caused countries like Germany and Italy to abandon their democratic forms of government? ______
  2. A government which attempts to control every aspect of the lives of people under its control is known as a ______.
  1. Give THREE characteristics of a totalitarian state:

a)______

b)______

c)______

  1. Name THREE European dictators of the 1930s and the country they ruled:

a) ______

b) ______

c) ______

  1. The Italian dictator who founded Italy’s Fascist Party in the 1920s and used the anger over the Treaty of Versailles to gain power was ______.
  1. The leader of the 1917 Russian Revolution who set up Communists governments throughout the Russian empire after taking over was ______.
  1. The Soviet dictator who had 8 to 10 million people put to death for opposing Communist policies and would led the Soviet Union through World War II and into the Cold War was ______.
  1. The dictator of Nazi Germany who would lead Europe into war and would also be primarily responsible for the Holocaust was ______.
  1. Why did Japan want control of Manchuria? ______
  1. What THREE countries made up the “Axis Powers”?

a)______b) ______

c) ______

  1. What FIVE countries (primarily) made up the Allied Powers?

a)b)c)

d)e)

  1. Following World War I, many Americans supported ______and wanted to stay out of foreign affairs.
  1. What was the Neutrality Act of 1935?

______

  1. Prior to 1939, why didn’t European leaders stand up to Adolf Hitler? ______
  1. Give FOUR of Hitler’s territorial demands before invading Poland to start World War II:

a)______

b)______

c)______

d)______

  1. In March of 1938, Hitler annexed ______without a shot being fired, completing the Anschluss, or unification of the two German speaking countries.
  1. Hitler wanted a region of Czechoslovakia known as the ______, a region belonged to Germany before World War I and most of the population spoke German.
  1. What was the result of the Munich Conference? ______
  1. What was the Hitler-Stalin Pact?

______

  1. The policy of giving in to someone’s demands in order to keep peace is called ______.
  1. Hitler wanted a part of Poland that was taken from Germany at the Treaty of Versailles that became known as the ______because it split German East Prussia from the rest of Germany.
  1. In 1939, Hitler shocked the world when he signed a peace treaty with ______– the arch-enemy of the Nazis.
  1. Describe Kristallnacht.

______

Major Events of WWII

  1. World War II began when Germany invaded ______on ______.
  1. The type of lightening quick warfare Germany used to take over Europe was called ______.
  1. What TWO countries declared war on Germany two days after Germany’s invasion of Poland?

a) ______b) ______

  1. After conquering Poland, in early 1940, Hitler turned to the west and conquered what country? ______
  1. The air battle between Germany and Britain which took place from late 1940 until early 1941 when the British RAF defeated Hitler’s vaunted air force – known as the Luftwaffe – was the ______.
  1. The British war hero and British Prime Minister during World War II whose leadership led the British through the tough times of the war was ______.
  1. What did losing the air battle over Great Britain prevent Hitler from doing? ______

______

  1. What was the destroyers-for-bases idea FDR offered Churchill? ______
  1. Why did President Roosevelt decide to run for a third term as president? ______
  1. The law that allowed the U.S. to send weapons to Great Britain if Britain promised to return or pay rent for them after the war was the ______.
  1. In June of 1941, Hitler violated the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact and started a massive invasion of ______
  1. What led Congress to declare war on Japan?

______

  1. The President of the United States for much of World War II who said called December 7, 1941 (the date of the attack on Pearl Harbor) “a date which will live in infamy was ______.
  1. The Commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II who was also the person who oversaw the Allied invasion of Europe in 1944 (Operation Overlord/D-Day) was ______.
  1. The U.S. President who took over following the death of FDR in 1945 who made the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan in August of 1945 was ______.
  1. What was the Selective Service and Training Act?

______

  1. Give THREE ways that the military was segregated during World War II:

a)______

b)______

c)______

  1. Give TWO things President Roosevelt did to try to end racism in the military:

a)______

b)______

  1. What role did women have in the military during World War II? ______
  1. Describe Executive Order 9066 and its impact on Japanese Americans.

______

Major Battles of WWII
Battle / Date(s) / Forces Involved / Description of Event / Significance
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Battle of Midway
Battle of Iwo Jima
Battle of Okinawa
D-Day
Fall of Berlin
Bombing of Hiroshima
Bombing of Nagasaki