Key People
1. Charles De Gaulle- was a former French general for London, and made the Free French military in 1944. This military fought against the Nazis for emancipation of France.
2. Winston Churchill- was a former British Prime Minister who did not want to surrender to Germany, and fought with his country against Hitler's plan to invade Great Britain.
3. Douglas MacArthur- was a commander for the Allied Powers during the fight against Japan. He came up with the plan of "island hopping" in order to capture islands in the Pacific that were closer to Japan and cut off food supply for the Japanese troops.
4. Hirohito- was the 124th Emperor of Japan from 1926 to 1989 and during his time of reign he was regarded as a divine figure by many Japanese. Although, he favored peace and cooperation with the Allied Powers. Hirohito had no choice but to approve the attack on Pearl Harbor which led to war between Japan and America.
5. Erwin Rommel- was a devoted commander to Adolf Hitler's escort headquarters in the Invasion of Poland. On July 20, 1944 involved in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Rommel who was considered a war hero was forced to commit suicide secretly by Hitler.
6. Dwight D. Eisenhower- was an American general and the 34th President of the United States from 1953 to 1961. Eisenhower, held responsibility as a five-star general and Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during World War 2. Also, Eisenhower is known for organizing and supervising Operation Torch which was the invasion of North Africa in 1942-1943 and the invasion of France and Germany in 1944-1945.
7. FDR- Franklin D. Roosevelt was the 37th president of the United States.He served from March 1933 until his death in April 1945, he was commonly known as a leading figure during the economic depression and total war.
8. Joseph Stalin- Stalin was the Soviet Union leader from the mid-twenties until his death in 1953. He sought power after the death of Vladimir Lenin in 1923.
9. Benito Mussolini- Mussolini, known as one of the creators of fascism, was the leader of the National Fascist Party in Italy. He ruled the country as Prime Minister from 1922 until 1943. Up until 1923 did Mussolini ruled constitutionally as a democracy and then set up a dictatorship.
10. Adolf Hitler- Born on April 20th, 1889, and grew up to rule Germany as a dictator from 1933 to 1945. Hitlers National Socialist German Workers party was formatted off the idea that the Germans are superior to all races and all racial impurities must be eliminated. He committed mass genocide by murdering over 6 million Jews and tutoring other races as well.
11. Chiang Kai-Shek- Chiang KAi-Shek was born on the 31st of October on 1887. Chiang Kai-shek was a Chinese military and political leader who led the Chinese Nationalist Party for 50 years. After Sun Yat-sens death, Chiang became the leader of the Kuomintang army and seized control of the Chinese Nationalist government between 1928 and 1949. While ruling the Chinese government, he focused his concerns on battling communism in China and confrontation with Japanese aggression.
12. Harry S. Truman- Born on May 8th, 1884, Truman grew up to become the 33rd president of the United States after the death of Theodore Roosevelt. Truman had big shoes to fill, and was not as liked, being one of the least favorite presidents in United States history. Besides occupying the role of commander and chief during of the United State military during the last couple of years of the war- he also made the choice to drop two bombs on Japan. These were called Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ultimately resulting in Japan surrendering to the United States, and causing a great deal of damage to Japan.
2. Winston Churchill- was a former British Prime Minister who did not want to surrender to Germany, and fought with his country against Hitler's plan to invade Great Britain.
3. Douglas MacArthur- was a commander for the Allied Powers during the fight against Japan. He came up with the plan of "island hopping" in order to capture islands in the Pacific that were closer to Japan and cut off food supply for the Japanese troops.
4. Hirohito- was the 124th Emperor of Japan from 1926 to 1989 and during his time of reign he was regarded as a divine figure by many Japanese. Although, he favored peace and cooperation with the Allied Powers. Hirohito had no choice but to approve the attack on Pearl Harbor which led to war between Japan and America.
5. Erwin Rommel- was a devoted commander to Adolf Hitler's escort headquarters in the Invasion of Poland. On July 20, 1944 involved in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Rommel who was considered a war hero was forced to commit suicide secretly by Hitler.
6. Dwight D. Eisenhower- was an American general and the 34th President of the United States from 1953 to 1961. Eisenhower, held responsibility as a five-star general and Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during World War 2. Also, Eisenhower is known for organizing and supervising Operation Torch which was the invasion of North Africa in 1942-1943 and the invasion of France and Germany in 1944-1945.
7. FDR- Franklin D. Roosevelt was the 37th president of the United States.He served from March 1933 until his death in April 1945, he was commonly known as a leading figure during the economic depression and total war.
8. Joseph Stalin- Stalin was the Soviet Union leader from the mid-twenties until his death in 1953. He sought power after the death of Vladimir Lenin in 1923.
9. Benito Mussolini- Mussolini, known as one of the creators of fascism, was the leader of the National Fascist Party in Italy. He ruled the country as Prime Minister from 1922 until 1943. Up until 1923 did Mussolini ruled constitutionally as a democracy and then set up a dictatorship.
10. Adolf Hitler- Born on April 20th, 1889, and grew up to rule Germany as a dictator from 1933 to 1945. Hitlers National Socialist German Workers party was formatted off the idea that the Germans are superior to all races and all racial impurities must be eliminated. He committed mass genocide by murdering over 6 million Jews and tutoring other races as well.
11. Chiang Kai-Shek- Chiang KAi-Shek was born on the 31st of October on 1887. Chiang Kai-shek was a Chinese military and political leader who led the Chinese Nationalist Party for 50 years. After Sun Yat-sens death, Chiang became the leader of the Kuomintang army and seized control of the Chinese Nationalist government between 1928 and 1949. While ruling the Chinese government, he focused his concerns on battling communism in China and confrontation with Japanese aggression.
12. Harry S. Truman- Born on May 8th, 1884, Truman grew up to become the 33rd president of the United States after the death of Theodore Roosevelt. Truman had big shoes to fill, and was not as liked, being one of the least favorite presidents in United States history. Besides occupying the role of commander and chief during of the United State military during the last couple of years of the war- he also made the choice to drop two bombs on Japan. These were called Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ultimately resulting in Japan surrendering to the United States, and causing a great deal of damage to Japan.
Key terms
1. Anschluss- Was the political union of Austria with Germany, that involved the annexation of Austria to Germany On March 12th, Germany invaded and gave Hitler the right to Annex Austria.
2.Axis Powers- The axis powers consisted of Italy, Japan and Germany. During the time of their control, they manipulated large amounts of land and resources until 1945. They also pressured other countries to join under there powers.
3.Battle of Britain- The summer and fall of 1940 was when German and British air forces collided over the United Kingdom. It was a benchmark in the war because it ended when Germany’s Luftwaffe failed gain superiority in the Royal air force. After consistently attacking Britain's air bases, military and population of citizens, Britains victory halted Hitler's invasion
4.V-E DAY- On May 7,1945 was the day of victory for Europe and the end of war in Europe. This was when Nazi Germany surrender and the official signing of the surrender occurred in Berlin.
5. V-J DAY- On September 2,1945 was the day of victory over Japan. On this day Japan surrender to the U.S. and this occurred in a U.S. battleship,Missouri, in Tokyo. Therefore, this meant that the war was ended.
6. WANNSEE CONFERENCE- This conference occurred 1942, and it was a conference about Hitler's Final Solution Plan. This conference was formed by the SS committee and involved several leaders to inform and agree to the plan which was to send the Jews to Poland/Death Camps and have them executed depending on their physical condition.
7.Battle of Iwo Jima- took place from February 19, 1945 – March 26, 1945 the battle which the United States Forced took over the island of Iwo Jima from the Japanese Empire. The Battle of Iwo Jima was the only battle which the casualties of Americans were far exceeding those of the Japanese. However, the American Force won the war because of their control over air power and their advantage over weaponry.
8. Battle of Midway- showed that the Americans had taken revenge for the bombing of Pearl Harbor against the Japanese by outnumbering the Japanese force of planes and ships. The initial plan was for the Japanese to target Midway Island, the home to American airfields which was west of Hawaii. However, by June 1942 the Americans were able to decode a Japanese message allowing the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Admiral Chester Nimitz to know that the Japanese were sending a force of over 150 ships and was able to respond to it with more ships and planes.
9.Battle of Stalingrad- began on August 23, 1942 and ended on February 2, 1943 which Adolf Hitler sent his Sixth Army to seize the rich over fields located in the Caucasus Mountains. The Sixth Army was able to seize the city of Stalingrad which is now Volgograd. The Battle of Stalingrad was considered one of the bloodiest battles of warfare and killing off about half a million Red Army soldiers. Civilians who stayed in the city perished due to the nightly bombing raids that set the city in flames.
10. D-Day- is the invasion of Normandy in northwestern France and was both a land and sea attack. D-Day began on June 6, 1944 at 6:30 am, which the British, Americans, French, and Canadian troops fought to invade 60 miles of beach land in Normandy. However, the Germans knew that an invasion was to occur. So the Allied powers set up a huge dummy army with their own headquarter and equipment which would be ordered to attack at the French seaport of Calais.
11. Lebensraum- German for “living space”. It is an important Nazi ideology that consists of how the inferior must be make room for the superior race, therefore justifying the fact of territorial expansion and displacement of people.
12. Manhattan project- A research and development project that developed the first atomic bombs from 1942 to 1946. The project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Grove of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineering. “Manhattan”, was the substitute code name for “Development of Substitute Materials”.
13. S.S.- Also known as the Schutzstaffel, German for protection squadron or defense corps, was a parliamentary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party. Started in 1920 as security for Nazi party meetings in Munich, and then later,under the leadership of Heinrich Himmler, grew to be one of the most powerful organizations in the Third Reich. In 1945, the organization was declared a criminal organization for the many crimes against humanity.
14. Gestapo- the secret police of Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe. Beginning in April 1920 under the leadership of Heinrich Himmler, the SS leader.In 1936, Himmler was appointed the chief of German police.