World War II Vocabulary

ADOLF HITLER Chancellor of Germany. Came to power in 1933 after feeding off of the fears and anger of German citizens.

APPEASEMENT Name given to the strategy of giving Hitler what he wanted so as to not escalate to a violent conflict

NEUTRALITY ACTS Laws passed by Congress preventing any American from travelling on ships of nations at war, or selling weapons to countries at war.

FLYING TIGERS American pilots that helped deliver goods to China after Japan invaded China.

PEARL HARBOR Naval base in Hawaii that housed all of the American Pacific fleet. Came under surprise attach on December 7, 1941.

RATIONING Limiting the amount of goods that people can by to support the war effort

VICTORY GARDENS Gardens grown by American citizens to help with the war effort by supplementing foods limited by rationing.

OFFICE OF WAR INFORMATION American propaganda machine that made posters, radio broadcasts and films to try to promote unrest in Italy, Germany and Japan

TUSKEEGEE AIRMEN African American pilots that helped integrate the American Air Corps

EXECUTIVE ORDER 9066 Presidential order that allowed for the internment of Japanese Americans here in the US

KOREMATSU vs. U.S. Supreme court decision that upheld Executive Order Said the need to protect the country versus Japanese spies outweighed the rights of citizens

GEORGE PATTON One of the most successful American Generals. Helped lead troops in Africa and southern Europe. *Once pistol whipped a subordinate soldier

DWIGHT EISENHOWER Supreme Allied Commander of the fighting in Europe. Led ALL TROOPS.

GEORGE MARSHALL American Chief of Staff of the Army during WWII. Helped plan the invasion of Europe. Created the “Marshall Plan” which set up a plan to rebuild Europe after the war.

VERNON BAKER African American soldier that was awarded the Medal of Honor 52 years after serving in WW2.

OMAR BRADLEY 5 Star general that was the commander of the ground forces invading Germany from the West.

HOLOCAUST Hitler’s “Final Solution” was the attempted extermination of all peoples deemed to be of impure blood. (Jews, gypsies, invalids, homosexuals)

BATAAN DEATH MARCH THE 60 Mile forced march of thousand Filipino and American POWs by the Japanese in the Philippines.

NAVAJO CODE TALKERS Native American soldiers who were used to communicate with each other by speaking Navajo to each other.

BATTLE OF MIDWAY The turning point of the war in the Pacific when the American Navy defeated the Japanese

NUREMBURG TRIALS The trials of the Nazi leadership for war crimes and crimes against humanity after the discovery of the atrocities at concentration camps.

DOUGLAS MacARTHUR Commander of American forces in the Pacific, lead the “Island Hopping” campaign

HARRY TRUMAN President at the end of the United States at the end of WW2 after FDR died in office. Made the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan.

Hiroshima/Nagasaki Two Japanese cities that were destroyed by atomic bombs. After the bomb on Nagasaki, Japan accepted unconditional surrender terms.