1. World War II
Unit 7 Study Guide

2. Explain the policy of appeasement.
Giving into an aggressor’s demands
Avoid war
Allow Germany to re-militarize
Allow Germany to be imperialistic
War fatigue
German troops entering the Rhineland

3. What was the Munich Conference
What was the Munich Conference? How does it symbolize the policy of appeasement?
Meeting of Britain and Germany
Munich, Germany
Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler
Deal: Czechoslovakia to Ger. for promise to end aggression

4. Describe the events leading to the beginning of WWII.
Industrialization
Imperialism
Nationalism
Militarism
Appeasement & Isolationism
Treaty of Versailles
League of Nations
Europe and Pacific

5. How was the Spanish Civil War a prelude to WWII?
Republican, democratic government & Communists
Vs.
Fascists, military
USSR supports gov’t
Ger./Italy support Franco
US, UK, Fra: neutral
Fascists win.

6. What event caused Great Britain and France to declare war against Germany?
German invasion of Poland
1939

7. What was Germany’s strategy to win the war in Europe?
Schlieffen Plan
Knock out France 1st, then
attack Russia (USSR)
Better technology: Tanks, armored vehicles make it successful

8. What was the Allied strategy to defeat Germany? Japan?
Invade Europe and defeat Germany 1st
Open a western front in Normandy, France against Germany
(D-Day)
2nd: Defeat Japan
Island-hopping campaign

9. What type of leader was Winston Churchill
What type of leader was Winston Churchill? What made him an effective leader?
Uncompromising, tough
“Never surrender”
Opposed appeasement
War hawk

10. Why did Germany and Russia sign a non-aggression pact?
They both wanted Polish territory
That was lost in World War I
Soviet poster made after 1941 German invasion of Russia

11. Describe the reasons behind the Holocaust.
Mein Kampf
Nazi ideology of racial purity of “Aryan” race
Genocide of Holocaust the “Final Solution” to accomplish that goal
Extermination camps for mass murder

12. What was Kristallnacht and why did it occur?
“Night of Broken Glass”
Response to murder of German diplomat in Paris by Jewish teenager
Brutal beat down of Jews, their businesses, and synagogues
Escalation of hate targeted at Jewish minority

13. List the similarities between Germany, Italy, and Japan in the 1930s.
Industrialized
Imperialistic
Totalitarian
Fascist
Axis Alliance

14. What were the two “teams” of countries in WWII?
Axis:
Germany
Italy
Japan
Allies:
Great Britain
U.S.S.R. (Russia)
United States

15. Name the major battles in Europe, North Africa, and the Pacific
Name the major battles in Europe, North Africa, and the Pacific. Why was each important?
1939 Invasion of Poland
1941 Invasion of Russia (Operation Barbarossa)
Battle of Britain (England)
1944 D-Day Invasion
Battle of Midway: Turning point in Pacific (U.S. victory)
Battle of the Bulge: Last German offensive

16. What were the Nuremberg Trials? Did they accomplish their objectives?
War Crimes trials
Against Nazi officials
Partly successful

17. How were Japanese-Americans treated during WWII inside the U. S
How were Japanese-Americans treated during WWII inside the U.S.? Germans? Italians?
Executive Order 9066
Japanese internment camps
Manzanar, others
Germans, Italians not targeted in same way

18. How was Japan’s government changed after WWII?
Changed to a democracy
De-militarized
Constitution
(Similar to what was tried in Iraq)

19. Discuss the losses, in people and money, for the major countries of the war.
Soviet Union had most casualties (both military and civilian)
Polish Jews suffered most deaths

20. Who were the “Big Three” Allied leaders
Who were the “Big Three” Allied leaders? What were the major wartime conferences they had? What decisions were made at those conferences?
Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt (Truman after he dies)
Potsdam
Yalta

21. How did WWII end in the Pacific?
The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Forced the unconditional surrender of Japan to the U.S.

22. Germany/Italy/Japan Similarities Differences totalitarian goals
aggressive expansion in the 1930s
Weakness of League of Nations encouraged this.
(Japan’s invasion of China was not stopped)
Ger/Italy
Leaders promised to restore their nations to former greatness
Differences
Germany & Italy were fascist (NOT Japan)

23. Vocabulary aryan genocide displaced persons isolationism
Great Depression
appeasement
nationalism

24. Important People Adolf Hitler (Germany) Joseph Stalin (Soviet Union)
Emperor Hirohito (Japan)
Benito Mussolini (Italy)
Frustrated Italy got little land after WWI
(territorial gains)

25. Key Ideas fascism communism
anti-Semitism a key component
ultra-nationalism allows for only one identity
minorities not respected or protected
communism
failure of democracies to deal with Great Depression
Led countries like Italy, Germany, and Spain to choose totalitarian, undemocratic govt.s

26. Key Countries USSR (Soviet Union) formerly Russia Germany communist
totalitarian
suffered most deaths in WWII
Germany
fascist

27. Asia before and during WWII
Japan
Invaded Manchuria
Invaded China
Rape of Janjing
China
Civil war
Communists (Mao Zedong) vs. Nationalists (Chang Kaishek)
They united to fight Japan