WWII Vocabulary Study Guide
Test Date: Monday, January 22, 2018
1. Pearl Harbor – Attack by Japan on December 7, 1941 on a naval base in Hawaii, this led the United States to join World War II.
2. D-Day – Largest sea invasion in history, led by US General Eisenhower; ultimately pushed the Germans out of France
3. Holocaust – the killing of millions of Jews and other people by the Nazis during World War II
4. VE Day – Day that Americans and Europeans celebrated Germany’s surrender (Victory in Europe Day).
5. Iwo Jima – Pacific Island where the Japanese put up a fierce battle but eventually lost to US Marines, part of island-hopping military campaign to get US troops closer to Japan.
6. Hiroshima – Japanese city where the first atomic bomb ever used in war was dropped.
7. Nagasaki – Japanese city where the 2nd atomic bomb was dropped. It led Japan to finally surrender.
8. VJ Day – Day when the Japanese finally surrendered (Victory in Japan Day).
9. Franklin Roosevelt – US president during most of WWII; he died in office in 1945 (Allies).
10. Joseph Stalin – dictator of Soviet Union during WWII (Allies)
11. Winston Churchill – Prime Minister of Great Britain during WWII (Allies)
12. Harry Truman – Became president when Roosevelt died, made the decision to use atomic bombs on Japan; desegregated the military in 1948 (Allies)
13. Adolf Hitler – Dictator of Germany that was responsible for starting WWII and the Holocaust (Axis)
14. Benito Mussolini – Dictator of Italy during WWII (Axis)
15. Hirohito – Leader of the Japan during WWII; had a plan for an East Asia empire (Axis)
16. Rationing – Most Americans had to limit their consumer good during WWII (gasoline, coffee, sugar, etc.)
17. Rosie the Riveter – Government poster that represented women going to work in factories while men were away at war.
18. Tuskegee Airman – Famous African American pilots who protected bomber planes during WWII.
19. United Nations – International peacekeeping organization that was created as a result of WWII.
20. Fascism – Is when the government controls the economy, culture, and all parts of people’s lives. Fascist governments usually have dictators for leaders.
21. Dictator – is a ruler who has total control of country and its people.
22. Racism – is the idea the one race, or group of people, is better than other races.
23. Atomic bomb – is a powerful bomb that can destroy an entire city.
24. Concentration Camp – a type of prison where large numbers of people who are not soldiers are kept during a war and are usually forced to live in very bad conditions
25. Mobilize – means to get ready for war.
26. Market economy – an economic system in which people and businesses make most economic decision.
27. Anti-Semitism – hostility toward or discrimination against Jews as a religion, ethnic, or racial group
28. Genocide – the deliberate killing of people who belong to a particular racial, political, or cultural group
29. Ghetto – a part of a city in which members of a particular group or race live usually in poor conditions
30. Liberate – to free someone or something from being controlled by another person or group
31. Nazi – a member of the German national socialist party that controlled Germany from 1933 to 1945 under Adolf Hitler
32. Persecution – the act or practice of persecuting especially those who differ in origin, religion, or social outlook
33. Segregation – the practice or policy of keeping people of different races, religions, and so on separate from each other
34. Survival – the state or fact of continuing to live or exist especially in spite of difficult conditions
35. German-Soviet Non Aggression Pact – When the Soviet Union and Germany agreed to take no military action against each other for 10 years. The pact was broken when Hitler tried to invade Russia.