0009 World War II (SMR 2.9) Flashcards
(110 cards)
1
Q
What 4 factors led to WWII and US involvement?
A
- US Isolationism
- German humiliation after WWI
- Economic hardships of the Great Depression
- The rise of Totalitarianism and Fascism
2
Q
Why did German humiliation after WWI contribute to WWII?
A
Treaty of Versailles forced Germany to take the blame for the war, pay huge reparations and limit their army. This caused German Nationalism and desire for power following the Great Depression
3
Q
What countries experienced the rise of fascism and totalitarianism in their govts before WWII?
A
Italy, Germany, the Soviet Union, Spain, and Japan
Fascist leaders promised economic change, typically through a building up of a military
4
Q
What was the Berlin Rome Axis?
A
An alliance made between Germany and Italy (Hitler & Mussolini)
5
Q
What was considered “Russia’s private war with fascism”?
A
The USSR’s support of anti-fascism in Spain against Franco who was a fascist and supported by Germany and Italy
6
Q
In 1936, economic troubles led to a fascist named _____ in Spain.
A
Franco
7
Q
What was the Spanish Civil War?
A
The rise of fascism in Spain by Franco, supported by Mussolini and the Nazis, was a testing ground for Italy & Germany to see how their military units did with other countries,
8
Q
What role did Americans play in the Spanish Civil War?
A
some American companies supported with products/ arms because of the Neutrality Act loophole for civil wars but this was taken away in Neutrality Act of 1937
9
Q
______ & _______ both had an ________ spirit
A
imperial spirit because Italy wanted raw goods and Japan wanted more resources
10
Q
The invasion of what country in 1935 inspired Hitler to eventually plan his own invasions?
A
The 1935 invasion by Italy of Ethiopia. League of Nations is unable to stop Mussolini because the US is not involved in the League of Nations, Italy ends up leaving League of Nations after this deeming it useless. Hitler sees that Italy simply received a slap on the wrist for this invasion and this inspires him
11
Q
How did the US respond to Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia?
A
FDR doesn’t like what Italy has done so he stops trade altogether with Italy (even the items not listed in neutrality acts)
12
Q
What country did Japan invade for oil and raw materials in 1937?
A
China
13
Q
What terrible event occurs when Japan invades China?
A
The Rape of Nanking
14
Q
What started Japan’s initial anger towards the US?
A
FDR’s cash and carry policy that enabled Britain to support China against them
15
Q
What was FDR’s response to Japan’s invasion of China?
A
Galvanizes effort from FDR to get involved by providing military aid to China (he says he can get around the Neutrality Acts because Japan doesn’t officially declare war against China) and Congress is quite irritated. FDR garners a deal with Great Britain if Britain carries American goods to China than the US will trade with them. Intro: The cash and carry loophole, and the start of Japan’s anger towards US
16
Q
What was the Anschluss?
A
the“illegal” annexation of Austria to Germany in 1938, Germany and Austria ally together which was illegal under Treaty of Versailles
17
Q
Besides the Anschluss, what did Germany do that caused tensions and broke the Treaty of Versailles?
A
Annexation of Sudetenland (land lost in the Treaty of Versailles)
18
Q
What was the Munich Conference (Compromise)?
A
an appeasement made by League of Nations that Germany could have Sudetenland as long as they didn’t take over the rest of Czechoslovakia
19
Q
What was Hitler’s response to the Munich Conference/Compromise?
A
Hitler broke it by immediately invading Czechoslovakia
20
Q
Who signed a non aggression pact in August 1939? Why was this important?
A
USSR & Germany sign a secret non-aggression pact that says that if either country goes to war, they agree not to attack each other (important for Germans because it means they only have to focus on western europe)
21
Q
What made Britain and France declare war on Germany on September 3, 1939?
A
After Germany attacks and conquers part of Poland
22
Q
How did FDR react to Britain and France declaring war on Germany?
A
FDR encourages Congress to repeal arms embargo because he wants to aid Britain and France against Nazi Germany
23
Q
FDR’s desire to aid Britain and France with munitions during WWII led to the _____ Neutrality Act. What did it do?
A
1939 / extends “Cash & Carry” to allow for munitions
24
Q
What occurred at the 1940 Blitzkrieg?
A
(Nazi Germany’s Lightning War)
Germany takes over Denmark & Norway
25
When did the first draft occur?
Sept 1940: First peacetime draft in the US in an effort to build up standing army in preparation to go to war
26
What was the lend-lease act?
March 1941: “lending” allies the weapons needed, ends US neutrality by lending to allied powers Britain and France
27
When was the Atlantic Charter signed and what was the significance of it?
1941 Atlantic Charter was signed: clarified that we would be allies with Britain.
(At the time of signing, Britain had not yet been attacked)
28
What led to the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor?
1940: US stops sale of steel to Japan, due to desire for neutrality and FDR’s antagonism of Japan and puts an embargo on oil because they feared Japan might take over East Indies. Japan tries to diplomatically fix things in order to get back trade but we refuse so Japan attacks.
29
Why is Japan threatened by the US leading up to WWII?
Japan is industrially strong but needs raw materials like steel and oil, if they can’t get these through trade, they get these through attack of China and other parts of Pacific Ocean, and the US is the only power that is not already involved in the war that can deal with them
30
What happened on December 7, 1941?
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii which killed 3,000 and destroyed many ships
31
Why was Pearl Harbor a target?
Pearl Harbor was home to our navy and Japan wanted to cripple our Navy so they could have time to take over other parts of the Pacific.
32
What occurred as a result of the Pearl Harbor attack?
December 1941: US declares war in Japan; Germany on US (because Japan was an ally of Germany), starts the Pacific Theater of the war
33
In 1941, a major turning point in the Pacific Theater occurred when Japan conquered _______.
The Philippines (a US territory in Asia) which is a huge blow to the US and strengthens Japan
34
What US win in the Pacific Theater causes Japan to be reduced to a defensive stance
June 1942: Battle at Midway
35
The Battle at Midway led to what?
Leads to desperate actions from Japan (aka Kamikaze attacks)
36
What was the Battle of al-Alamein and why was it significant?
November 8 1942 battle where Britain defeats Germany in North Africa.
Important because Germany was expanding unobstructed into North Africa until this point
37
What event in February 1943 caused Germany to be weakened on the eastern front?
Soviets win Stalingrad (a city of rubble), a moral victory that puts the Germans on the retreat in the Soviet Union, Germans are ill prepared for long winter in Soviet Union
38
Who is the first country to surrender in September 1943? What occurs as a result
Italy
As a result, Mussolini is arrested, Italy signs an armistice with the allied powers and Italy declares war on Germany
39
What turning point occurred on June 4, 1944?
Operation Overlord (D.Day; Normandy)
40
Wat was Operation Overlord?
(D.Day; Normandy), two years in the making, took multinational efforts of US, Britain and France to push for this, an attack on Germany proper and the reconquering of France
41
What happened in August 1944 following Operation Overlord?
Paris is freed
42
Germany's counter offensive takes place in _______.
Dec 1944: German counter offensive; allies are now in German territory, this is where many of the famous battles take place
43
When the allies converged on Germany to balance Russia, they discover what?
Concentration Camps
44
When and what is V-E day?
May 8, 1945, Germany surrenders in what is known as Victory in Europe Day (or V-E Day)
45
What caused a diplomatic change to occur in April 1945?
FDR dies; Truman (his VP) becomes president and this is a diplomatic change in the US. When FDR was alive, he had a good relationship with allied leaders; Churchill & Stalin. Truman takes most of his advice from military advisors
46
When did the US drop an atomic bomb on Japan?
August 1945
47
When and what is V-J day?
August 15, 1945: We celebrate V-J Day (Victory in Japan Day) and WWII finally ends
48
What was foreign policy like before WWII?
America was smoothing relations over with Latin America and wanted to protect isolationism, but FDR was a bit less isolationist
49
What doctrines, policies , and tariffs were part of American foreign policy before WWII?
Hawley Smoot Tariff, Stimson Doctrine, FDR's Good Neighbor Policy, Cash & Carry, Three Neutrality Acts
50
What is the Stimson Doctrine?
US does not recognize territories occupied by Japan → early opposition to Japanese aggression
51
What is FDR's Good Neighbor Policy?
(rescinds the Roosevelt Corollary): non-intervention policy put in place, we won’t intervene in Latin America, reinforced the idea that the US would be a good neighbor, an attempt to get on Latin America/ Mexico’s good side
52
What was the reasoning behind FDR's Good Neighbor Policy?
This comes after US has made attempts to reconcile with some of their neighbors like Cuba by annulling the Platt Amendment, etc.
Keep in mind that one of the causes of America’s entry into WWI was the Zimmerman telegraph between Germany and Mexico. The good neighbor policy was to make sure that Latin America/ Mexico would have good relations with US instead of siding with beligerrent nations
53
What was the reason for the Neutrality Acts?
put in place because Congress and the majority of Americans believed that America needed to take care of their own people before providing foreign aid, some people believe our neutrality actually caused WWII (leads to America getting very involved in foreign affairs after WWII),
54
What were the three Neutrality Acts and what did they do?
Neutrality Act of 1935: a general embargo on trading in arms and war materials with all parties in a war
Neutrality Act of 1936: expanded 1935 act and forbade any loans and credits to belligerents
Neutrality Act of 1937: tied up a loophole that would have let companies give loans or credits to belligerents in a civil war, forbade trade of any good or passengers at all to belligerent countries, did not have an expiration date like other acts
55
What did the Neutrality Act of 1935 do?
a general embargo on trading in arms and war materials with all parties in a war
56
What did the Neutrality Act of 1936 do?
expanded 1935 act and forbade any loans and credits to belligerents
57
What did the Neutrality Act of 1937 do?
tied up a loophole that would have let companies give loans or credits to belligerents in a civil war, forbade trade of any good or passengers at all to belligerent countries, did not have an expiration date like other acts
58
What did FDR bring forward that challenged the Neutrality Acts?
Cash & Carry Loophole
59
What was the Cash & Carry Loophole?
n FDR policy that gets added to Neutrality Act of 1937, that claims America can manufacture war goods (to help benefit the economy during the depression) and sell them as long as 1. They were paid immediately in cash and 2. The country came to pick them up themselves (no shipping would be done)
60
What led to the Cash & Carry Loophole?
After the rape of Nanking, FDR wanted to provide aid to China against Japan, but b/c of Neutrality Acts he can’t technically do this, so he has Britain do it for them. This leads to the cash and carry concept
61
Why was the "Carry" part of "Cash & Carry" important?
FDR though that Britain & France would be the only ones to benefit since they had the navys to come and get them, but Japan also had a strong navy
62
What was the Japanese American Internment?
Imprisoned more than 110,000 Japanese Americans, more than ⅔ of whom were US citizens (1942-1945) because US govt was fearful that Japanese Americans might serve as enemy agents from within US borders
63
Japanese Imprisonment was based solely on ________.
Ethnic background
64
Where were many of the Japanese Internment camps?
Japanese Americans placed in desolate prison camps away from the West Coast (this was important b/c most Japanese Americans live in Hawaii and on West Coast and this was close to major ports and army bases i.e. Miramar in California, Pearl Harbor, etc.)
65
How did the Japanese Internment Camps impact the Japanese in America?
Most Japanese Americans lost homes & possessions as a result
66
What court case challenged Japanese Internment?
Korematsu v. US -- 1944
67
What was the Korematsu vs. US case?
Fred Korematsu sued US saying that this was a violation of constitutional rights but Executive order 966: executive order that interned Americans, was upheld saying that it was protecting us from espionage
During the trial, the Solicitor General suppressed the fact that there was no evidence of Japanese Americans being a part of the attack or any espionage
68
What happened in 1988 regarding Japanese internment?
US govt formally apologized and distributed reparations
69
How did the allies respond to the Holocaust?
Allies were aware of laws put against the jews but could not understand the scale, in fact the US turned away Jewish refugees and more than half of those turned away would be killed in the Holocaust
70
Why did the US place a limit on the # of Jewish refugee?
Many concerned they would deny US citizens jobs, threaten economic recovery
Widespread anti-semitism among Europeans and Americans, fear that “enemy agents” would enter the country disguised as Jews
71
What was the name of the German ocean liner turned away in Miami?
The St. Louis
72
How many people died in the Holocaust?
Generally believed that 6 out of the 11 million European Jews were killed in the Holocaust but this # could be a lot more because Nazi’s fudged the #’s towards the end
73
An executive order in Germany came to _______ of concentration camps.
hide all evidence by killing and burning everything and everyone to the ground.,
some Nazi’s escaped before being able to do this and that is how allied troops found out about them
74
What roles did African Americans play in the war?
most are in support roles (cooking staff, mechanics, etc.)
1 million served despite discrimation and segregated units
Tuskegee Airmen
75
Who were the Tuskegee Airmen?
first group of black pilots from Tuskegee Institute, shining record, earned many medals
76
What roles did Japanese Americans play in WWII?
were able to join forces to show their loyalty to US
| 100th Battalion & 442nd Regimental Combat Unit
77
Why were Japanese American soldiers important in WWII?
Japanese Americans were vital to the Asian Theatre of the war because they knew and could understand Japanese
78
What was the 100th Battalion?
made up of Hawaiian Nisei - a term used to delineate first generation immigrants from their children. The Issei were the first generation that had come over from Japan and the Nisei were their children who were US citizens born and raised in the US
79
What was the 442nd Regimental Combat Unit?
the most decorated American armed force unit, their bravery was highly commended, made up of Hawaiian Nisei (Japanese Americans)
80
What role did Native Americans play in WWII?
Did not have their own units but were dispersed into other units
Navajo Codetalkers
81
What were the Navajo Code Talkers?
Used Navajo language to transmit telephone & radio messages
82
Why were the Native Americans important in WWII?
Native Americans were important to the European theater because the Navajo Codetalkers made it possible to have communication through codes that couldn’t be translated
83
_____ women entered the workforce for the first time in WWII
6 million, 1/3 of them in defense plants, some as nurses, etc.
84
Women's involvement in WWII gave birth to propaganda such as ______.
Rosie the Riveter
85
What was the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC)
nurses, ambulance drivers, radio operators, electricians, pilots -- women are very close to getting involved in warfront duties, but act as more support services
86
What was American Foreign Policy like DURING WWII?
We started out trying to stay neutral and be isolationist but once we entered the war in 1941, The Big Three leaders would meet multiple times (Tehran, Yalta Conference, Potsdam Conference) to attempt to end the war.
87
Who were the Big Three?
The allied leaders; Churchill from Britain, Stalin from Soviet Union and FDR from USA. They met multiple times to discuss military strategy and determine postwar situation
88
Where was the first meeting of the Big Three held?
In Tehran in November 1943.
89
What was planned by the Big Three in Tehran?
Planned Normandy invasion - D-Day, and agreed Soviet Union would not be involved in D-Day and they would attack at their own time.
Agreed to force Germany into a two-front war.
90
Why did Churchill and Stalin have distrust with one another?
They both felt that they were taking the brunt of the attack and Stalin felt that D-Day had come too late. Churchill thought Stalin was creating an "iron curtain"
91
What took place at the Yalta Conference in February 1945?
1. The Big Three agreed to split Germany & Berlin into occupied zones, a portion to Great Britain, France, US, and Soviet Union
2. Stalin agreed to join war against Japan, in return he was given free reign in Eastern Europe as long as he promised to hold elections after the war was over
92
What was important to FDR regarding Stalin and the USSR?
It was important to FDR that the Soviet Union held fair elections in all of their territories because he believed that the people should have a choice on who was leading them
93
What caused the descent of the Iron Curtain (as Churchill called it)?
When three weeks after the Yalta Conference, Soviet tanks rolled into Romania and begun Soviet "satellites"
94
What were soviet satellites?
Countries that were formally independent but still communist and under heavy influence from Soviet Union (i.e. Romania, Poland, Czechoslavakia)
95
Who were the new leaders in power at the Potsdam Conference?
Truman replaced FDR after his death.
Atlee replaced Churchill.
Stalin was still there but didn't trust any of them.
96
When was the Potsdam Conference?
July 1945 (two months after V-E day and a month before V-J day)
97
What occurs at the Potsdam Conference?
Differences between US and Soviet Union become more pronounced, Truman pushes for free elections and Stalin’s actions in Eastern Europe contradicted promises at Yalta. Truman believes that Stalin is creating puppet states rather than giving states free elections
98
Why were technological developments important to the war effort and beyond?
The development of them helped us out of the Great Depression. Gave us movement forward in technology to aid the war, after the war these technological developments help the private sector and are integral to the economy of 1950’s and the Cold War
99
During WWII, the USA created 9,000 ________, 80,000 ______, 300,000 ______ and millions of _______.
warships / tanks/ aircrafts / machine guns
100
What four technological developments aid the war effort?
1. Semiconductors
2. Computers
3. Freeze-dried food
4. Radar & Sonar
101
What was the project called that created the atomic bomb?
1941: Manhattan Project
102
Why was the Manhattan Project created?
(Einstein and Fermi’s warnings against Axis technology): Einstein and Fermi were scientist who came over as immigrants and had knowledge of Technology and advancements of Axis powers (Italy, Germany) so they warned US that they needed to act, which is how the Manhattan Project came about
103
The Manhattan Project was based in _____ and the nuclear portion was run by __________.
Los Alamos, NM
Robert Oppenheimer
104
The first test of the Atomic Bomb occurred on ____ 16, _____. It was called the _______.
July 1945, The Trinity Test
105
On August ___ 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped on ______. On August ___ 1945, the second atomic bomb was dropped on _______.
6th , Hiroshima
| 9th, Nagasaki
106
What was the result of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan?
200,000 deaths by the end of the year (from the bomb itself as well as from starvation and radiation)
And Japan surrendering leading to V-J day
107
Why did the US decide to drop the atomic bomb? (3)
1. Many advisors to Truman, including Secretary of War Henry Stimson, believed bombing the Japanese mainland was the only way to end the war
2. If bomb isn’t dropped, Manhattan Project was a huge waste of money
3. Side condition was that it gives US advantage over Soviet Union in shaping postwar world, one less area he felt he would need to contain communism
108
Why did Secretary of War Henry Stimson believe dropping an atomic bomb was the only way to end the war?
Evidenced by huge American casualty figures from Iwo Jima and Okinawa, “Bushido” samurai style -- said they would take out as many people as possible, evidenced by Kamikaze attacks
109
What were the 4 arguments against dropping the atomic bomb?
1. Scientists who helped develop the bomb had doubts about using it, no one had tested long term effects of bomb
2. Immoral to drop atomic bombs without fair warning
3. Stage demonstration of bomb on deserted land instead
4. Japanese were ready to surrender w/o the bomb
110
Who believed that the Japanese would have surrendered without dropping an atomic bomb?
General Eisenhower believed this and his field advisors were telling him that Japan was ready to surrender
