Unit 7: Global Conflict — World War II Comprehensive Review

Total War

A conflict where civilian and military resources are mobilized, blurring the lines between combatants and non-combatants.

Treaty of Versailles

The 1919 agreement that ended World War I and imposed heavy reparations on Germany.

War Guilt Clause

A statement in the Treaty of Versailles that declared Germany responsible for starting World War I.

Hyperinflation

Rapid and out-of-control price increases in an economy, often resulting in the devaluation of currency.

Mandate System

A system established after World War I where Allied powers governed former Ottoman and German territories.

Appeasement

The policy of conceding to an aggressor's demands in order to maintain peace.

Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere

An imperial concept by Japan to dominate Asia by claiming to liberate it from Western colonialism.

Anschluss

The annexation of Austria by Germany in 1938.

Blitzkrieg

A military tactic using fast-moving and coordinated attacks by air and ground forces.

Island Hopping

A military strategy used by the US in the Pacific during WWII to capture strategic islands.

The Holocaust

The systematic genocide of six million Jews and millions of others by the Nazi regime during WWII.

Final Solution

Nazi Germany's plan to exterminate the Jewish people.

Lebensraum

A Nazi policy aimed at acquiring 'living space' for the German people.

Comfort Women

Women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during WWII.

Rape of Nanking

The widespread atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers during their invasion of China in 1937.

Battle of Stalingrad

A major turning point in WWII where the Soviet army defeated German forces.

D-Day

The Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, marking the start of the liberation of Western Europe.

Battle of Midway

A decisive naval battle in the Pacific Theater of WWII, marking a turning point against Japan.

Firebombing of Dresden

Allied bombing raids that resulted in the destruction of the German city of Dresden.

US Entry into WWII

The United States officially entered World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

Cold War

The indirect conflict and ideological struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union following WWII.

Axis Powers

The alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan during WWII.

Allied Powers

The coalition of nations including the US, UK, USSR, and France, opposed to the Axis Powers during WWII.

Economic Mobilization

The process by which a country's economy is geared towards supporting wartime production and efforts.

Propaganda

Information used to promote a political cause or point of view, often biased and misleading.

Colonial Troops

Soldiers from a country's colonies who were enlisted to fight in conflicts, often with the hope of gaining independence.