Vocabulary – Chapter #26
dictator – ruler who has complete power
totalitarianism – political system in which a single party controls the government and
every aspect of the lives of the people
fascism – political system in which the government is seen as more important than the
individual
Nazis – nickname for the political party and the followers of Adolf Hitler
Axis Powers – name for the alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan (and their allies) during
World War II
annex – to add on
appeasement – practice of giving in to an aggressor nation’s demands in order to keep
peace
Allied Powers – name for the alliance of Britain, France, the USSR, and the USA (and their
allies) during World War II
blitzkrieg – German word meaning lightning war; the swift attacks launched by Germany in
World War II
Lend-Lease Act – a March 1941 law which allowed the president to aid any nation whose
survival is believed vital to the United States
Pearl Harbor – United States navy base in Hawaii that was attacked by the Japanese on
December 7, 1941
ration – to limit the amount of goods people can buy
War Production Board – a government agency set up to oversee the production of war
material during World War II
Tuskegee Airman – The first African American military pilots, they were trained at Tuskegee
Air Field in Alabama
zoot-suit riots – a series of 1943 race riots in which Mexican Americans were attacked by
white Americans
internment – the imprisonment of Japanese Americans in special camps during World War II
Battle of El Alamein – Allied victory in North Africa over German forces known as the Afrika
Korps – this battle was a turning point in the war against Germany
Battle of Stalingrad – Russian victory over the Nazis, this battle was the second turning point
in the war against Germany
D-Day – the invasion of Nazi-occupied France at Normandy by Allied forces on June 6, 1944
Battle of the Bulge – the last major German attack of World War II, it was defeated by the
Allied forces in December 1944
Bataan Death March –the forced march of American and Filipino prisoners captured by the
Japanese on the Bataan Peninsula during which thousands of
prisoners were killed
Battle of the Coral Sea – May 1942 air naval battle between U.S. and Japanese forces which
was militarily a draw, but the Japanese were prevented from
capturing their objective, Port Moresby
Battle of Midway – battle that ended the Japanese advances in the Pacific, it was the turning
point in the war against Japan
Battle of Leyte Gulf – the largest naval battle in history, during which the U.S. fleet
destroyed most of the Japanese fleet
island hopping – strategy of Allies in World War II of capturing some Japanese-held islands
and ignoring others
kamikaze – in World War II, a Japanese pilot who carried out a suicidal attack on a target
home front – during a war, the place, “back home,” where non-fighting people help with
the war effort
Holocaust – a program of mass murdered carried out by the Nazis in an attempt to killed all
Jews and other ‘undesirables’ – at least 12 million were murdered
genocide – the complete destruction of a racial or ethnic minority
Manhattan Project – the top secret program to build the atomic bomb
atomic bomb – powerful nuclear weapon that could destroy an entire city with one bomb