Unit 7 Flashcards
(42 cards)
Define: Schutzstaffel
“Protection squad.” The SS. Loyal only to Hitler. Arrested hundreds of Hitler’s enemies in 1934.
Define: Gestapo
Nazi secret police. Brutal. Terror. Shocked people into total obedience.
Define: Hitler Youth
School boys had to join.
When did Hitler come to power?
Named Chancellor in 1933 by President Paul Von Hindenburg, so “legal.”
In what way did he come to power “legally”?
Conservatives asked President Paul Von Hindenburg to name Hitler Chancellor in 1933, so came to power “legally.”
Define: appeasement
Giving into an aggressor to keep peace. Urged by British after German troops entered into the Rhineland a buffer zone btwn Germany and France that was forbidden to them under the Treaty of Versailles. Empowered Hitler.
Define: isolationism
U.S. belief that political ties to other countries should be avoided; felt entry into WWI was a mistake. Three Neutrality Acts passed by Congress in 1935.
Define: Third Reich
Hitler plan to absorb Austria and Czechoslovakia into a German Empire called the Third Reich. Invaded and annexed Austria in March 1938, then took Czechoslavakia in early 1939.
Define: Munich Conference
Meeting of Germany, France, GB and Italy on Sept. 29, 1938, after Germany annexed Austria. Britain & France chose appeasement and permit Hitler to take Sudentenland (Czecholslovakia lands bordering Germany).
What 3 countries made up the Axis powers?
- Italy
- Germany
- Japan
What 2 countries signed a nonaggression pact prior to the war?
USSR and Germany in August 1939
Define: blitzkrieg
“lightning war”
Define: Charles de Gaulle
Led Free France – government in exile
Define: Winston Churchill
British Prime Minister during WWII. Great orator. Vowed never to give in.
Define: Atlantic Charter
A joint declaration made by Roosevelt and Churchill after they’d met secretly. It upheld free trade among nations and the right of people to choose their own govt, and later served as the Allies’ peace plan at the end of WWII.
When did WWII officially start?
France and Great Britain declared war on September 3, 1939 after Hitler invaded Poland.
What event started WWII?
Hitler’s invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939
When did France officially fall?
June 22, 1940, after Germans took Paris
How did France get split up?
Germans in Northern France; Vichy France (puppet government in Southern France); Free France (govmt in exile led by Charles de Gaulle)
Why was the outcome of the Battle of Britain important for the Allies?
It showed that Hitler’s attacks could be blocked.
What was “Operation Barbarossa”? When did it start?
Code name for Nazi invasion of Soviet Union, begun on June 22, 1941.
Define: Pearl Harbor
U.S. base in Hawaii that was attacked by Japanese. Led U.S. to officially enter WWII.
Define: Battle of Midway
Admiral Yamamoto planned to attack a key American airfield on the island of Midway. Admiral Nimitz anticipated the attack because of code breakers and crafted a successful strategy. His massive victory turned the tide of war in the Pacific.
What date is “a date that will live in infamy”?
December 7, 1941 – attack on Pearl Harbor
