Definitions Flashcards
(16 cards)
Fascism
Far-right, authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement
Prioritizes the nation over everything else
Ex. Extreme use of nationalism and nation symbols
Having a dictator
Ex. Rigged elections to keep single person in power
Militarism
Ex. Military supremacy and advocating for violence, obsessed with national security
Luftwaffe
German Aerial Force
Fought in the Battle of Sedan (May 12-15, 1940) along the Maginot line
Germany captured Sedan, France easily, as they were trying to trap the Allied forces that were advancing East into Belgium
Luftwaffe prevented the British Royal Air force and the French Armée de l’Air from destroying the bridgeheads
Ardennes Forest
Forest that German forces went through when they began their invasion (May 10, 1940)
Forest was located in Southeastern Belgium and Northern Luxembourg
Atomic Bomb
The US dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, effectively causing Japan to surrender, and marking the start of the end of the war
Made possible through the Manhattan Project, a research program designed to produce the first nuclear weapons in WW2
The Bombing of Hiroshima (August 9, 1945)
City was important for communications, shipping port, assembly area for troops, and manufacturing war materials
Primary target
Bomb named “little boy”, released from “Enola Gay” plane
Majorly affected the city, and civilians overlooked the multiple warnings from the US
The Bombing of Nagasaki (August 9, 1945)
City was important for being a seaport, producing war materials, and having a wide-range of industrial activity
Secondary target, clouds made it difficult to bomb primary target (Kokura)
Bomb named “fat man”, released from “Bockscar” plane
Bomb was dropped into Urakami valley, so the effects were more contained, even though this was more powerful than the first atomic bomb
Nazi
Member of the National Socialist Workers’ Party led by Adolf Hitler
Largely formed for WWI veterans
Fed off growing German anger to gain party votes
Propaganda
information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.
Antisemitism
One of the reasons why the Jews were targeted
This had been going on for thousands of years
Prejudice and hatred against the Jews
Manhattan Project
Research program designed to produce the first nuclear weapons in WW2
Led by the US in collaboration with Canada and the UK
Directed by General Leslie Groves from 1942 to 1946
Designed the first atomic bomb
Internment Camps
Government initiated camps designed for citizens from enemy nations
Japanese Internment Camps were caused by the Bombing of Pearl Harbour
Jews were captured and thrown into Internment Camps where they would be given a number as their new identity and then killed by the thousands, according to the numbers being called
Aryan
Nazi’s idea of the “perfect race”, and they were considered superior to the rest of the world
Blue eyes, blond hair, athletic, German, and white
Blitzkrieg
Part of the Battle of France (May 10 - June 25, 1940)
Aka the “lightning war”
Strategy was to concentrate offensive weapons down a narrow front to drive a breach in enemy defenses
Turning point in WW2 as it demonstrated the effectiveness of German military strategies and the weakness of the Allied forces at the time
BlueBirds
Nursing sisters
Often went into line of fire to save soldiers
Trained on military law, security, and training in large scale military maneuvers
Reichstag Fire
German parliament was burned down (February 27, 1933), Jews and communists were blamed for this event
Genocide
The deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group (systematic killing)
Operation Dynamo
Evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force and other Allied troops from the French seaport of Dunkirk to England, saving many British, French, and Belgian troops (May 26 - June 4, 1940)
Operation Overlord
Code name for the Allies’ strategy for their border invasion on D-day
Goal: weaken German forces, liberate France, and start to defeat the Nazi forces
