WWII VOCABULARY TERMS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOVEy1tC7nk

1. Atlantic Charter

Statement signed by the U.S. & Great Britain in 1941 expressing their aims for an end to WWII.

2. Appeasement

The granting of concessions to a hostile power in order to keep peace.

3. Lend-Lease Act

Policy of making a loan of goods or services to an ally and receiving goods or services in return.

4. Neutrality Act

Several laws passed by Congress between 1935 and 1937 to keep America out of war.

5. Blitzkrieg

Means "lightning war". Blitzkrieg was first used by the Germans in WWII and was a tactic based on speed and surprise and needed a military force to be based around light tank units supported by planes and infantry (foot soldiers).

6. Non-Aggression Pact

Deal between Germany & Soviet Union to not attack each other. They also agreed to divide Poland between them.

7. Fascism

A political philosophy that advocates a strong, centralized nationalistic government headed by a powerful dictator.

8. Munich Conference

Meeting between Hitler and Neville Chamberlain on 9/29/1938. Germany gained control of the Sudetenland, in exchange for a promise to stop seeking any more territory.

9. Anti-Semitism

Prejudice against Jews.

10. Aryan Supremacy

The Nazi belief that pure blooded Germans were the “master race.”

11. Holocaust

The mass slaughter of 6 million Jews by the Nazis. It was an attempt to wipe out all the Jews in Europe.

12. Genocide

The deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group.

13. Concentration Camps

The Nazis developed an “efficient system” of mass murder. They built these death camps in Poland. Millions of people were transported to these camps in railway cattle cars and were killed in gas chambers. Others were tortured or used in horrifying medical experiments.

14. Island-hopping

American commanders used this strategy to capture some Japanese-held islands and go around others. Each island taken was a stepping stone toward Japan.

15. Internment Camps

Because of security concerns, FDR signed Executive Order 9066 that authorized the U.S. government to forcibly roundup 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry, most of whom were on west coast, and put them in these camps.

16. Kamikaze

Japanese pilots who flew suicide missions into American naval vessels during the later year of WWII.

17. Rationing

Limits set on the amount of certain goods people can buy.

18. Rosie The Riveter

A symbol of the American women’s contribution to the war effort and employment opportunities for women during WWII.