Term Definitions - World War II

Invasion of Poland:
The event that triggered the start of World War II. Germany invaded Poland, thus breaking the Versailles Treaty for yet another time. This time, though, Britain and France decided to take action against Germany.

Blitzkrieg:
The manuever Germany used to quickly invade and attack Poland leading to an all out war.

Nazi-soviet Nonaggression Pact:
This pact was signed between Stalin and Hitler to declare an alliance between Germany and the Soviet Union.

Tripartite Pact:
The Pact signed by the leaders of Germany, Italy, and Japan to form the alliance known as the Axis Powers that worked to try and defeat the Allied Powers in World War II.

Anti Comintern Pact:
The pact signed between Germany and Japan which would lead to violating the Nazi-soviet Nonaggression Pact by going against the Soviet Union.

Operation Barbarossa:
This was the event where Germany attacked the Soviet Union and violated the Nazi-soviet Nonaggression Pact.

Winston Churchill:
Represented Great Britain throughout most of World War II.

Atlantic Charter:
The result of a meeting between Churchill and Roosevelt where they originally planned to plan military tactics for the war.

Pearl Harbor:
The site of the United States naval fleet on Oahu, Hawaii. It is the site where Japan bombed the United States, thus declaring war, even though their official declaration of war hadn't been received until after the bombing.

D-Day:
This was the name given to the first day the Allied Powers landed in Normandy to fight the Nazi army during World War II. This was also the first victory for the Allied Powers in World War II.

Stalingrad:
The was a battle fought between the Axis Powers and the Soviet Union. It was located in Stalingrad, Russia and some say it was the turning point of the war.

Midway:
This was another major naval battle fought between Japan and the United States that resulted in greatly hurting the Japanese milatary.

Hiroshima & Nagasaki:
These are the events where the United States dropped nuclear bombs on Japan. The first bombed was dropped on Hiroshima and the second on Nagasaki 3 days later. After both bombings, Japan didn't surrender for another 4 days.

Robert Oppenheimer:
Nicknamed the "Father of the Atomic Bomb" and was one of the lead scientists working on the Manhattan Project, the New Mexico based project working on creating the atomic bomb.

Yalta Conference:
This was a meeting between Russia, Great Britain, and the United States where they discussed how to deal with the European countries after the war, mainly the countries taken over by Germany.

F.D.R:
The only United States president to be elected for more than two terms. He was president during World War II and tried to keep the United States out of the war until Japan declared war at Pearl Harbor.

Dwight D. Eisenhower:
He was Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers during World War II and later became president of the United States.

NATO:
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a military organization made up of collective defense.

Warsaw Pact:
The pact that formed an alliance between communist states and was signed in Warsaw, Poland. It was created as a response to West Germany joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Term Definitions

Appeasement:
The policy in which one or more countries gives into another country's demands so that they won't get mad and start another war.

League of Nations:
The organization formed at the end of World War I and the Paris Peace Conference. The idea was mostly President Wilson's, but the United States never joined. During the time between World War I and World War II, the League of Nations faile dto do its job in preventing conflicts and preventing particular countries from taking over.

Colletive Security:
The idea where a number of countries would ally together for a more peaceful Europe.

Neville Chamberlain:
He was the Prime Minister of Great Britain and dealt with the agreements and appeasment of Germany. His dealing with Hitler led to the Munich Conference and Munich Agreement.

Remilitarization of the Rhineland:
Germany remilitarized the Rhineland a year earlier than what was planned for the rest of the countries. This remilitarization violated the Versailles Treaty, but the League of Nations did nothing what-so-ever to prevent it.

Anschluss:
The annexation of Austria by Germany where Germany incorporated Austria as its own.

Lebensraum:
Germany believed that they were entitled to the land of Czechoslovakia and demanded to take it back under German control.

Austrian Nazi Party:
A political party in Austria that combined with the German Nazi Party to create a more powerful Germany.

Austrian Plebiscite:
A vote taken by the Austrian people on whether they wanted to be under Austrian or German or power. The vote ended up being for Austrian power in the end.

Kurt Schuschnigg:
Chancellor of Austria who administered the Austrian Plebiscite and dealt with Hitler during the Anschluss.

Abyssiania Crisis:
Started by the Walwal incident, a conflict betweem Italy and Ethiopia. Italy took over Ethiopia, the League of Nations tried to do something, but they didnt want trouble and let it happen. This led to the alliance between Germany and Italy.

Sudetenland:
The region owned by Czechoslovakia after Germany lost the land in the aftermath of World War I. Germany ended up taking over the Sudetenland, but created more troubled when they tried to take over all of Czechoslovakia.

Munich Agreement:
The agreement signed at the Munich Conference stating that Germany could have the Sudetenland in exchange for no more demands in land. The conference was held between Germany, France, Great Britain, and Italy. Ironically, Czechoslovakia was not invited.