WWII Study Guide
1. List the dates of WWII
2. How did the following led to WWII
a. Aggression of Totalitarian Powers- Germany, Italy, Japan began to invade countries
b. Nationalism- quest to get back land taken by the Treaty of Versailles especially
Germany
c. Treaty of Versailles- extremely harsh on Germany led to Hitler’s desire to get back at
the Allies
d. League of Nations- unable to use any authority to stop aggression by the totalitarian
leaders
e. Appeasements- allowing Hitler to do as he pleases with no retaliation by the Allies in
order to avoid war
f. Isolation policy of US- US did not want to get involved in another European war
3. What was life like for civilians under Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin?
4. What is Anti-Semitism?- hatred toward Jews
5. What was the non-aggression pact? An agreement between German and the Soviet Union
not to attack each other
6. What event sparked the war? Invasion of Poland by Germany
7. Describe Blitzkrieg- a surprise attack which involves air attacks followed by tanks then
ground troops
8. How was Hitler able to defeat France? Using blitzkrieg
9. Which country entered the war to “help” defeat France? Italy
10. Who made up the Axis powers? Germany, Japan, Italy
11. Who made up the Allies? Great Britain, France, Russia, later US
12. What area did Hitler and Mussolini focus on after Britain? Soviet Union
13. What operation did Hitler implement to conquer Russia? Barbarossa
14. What did the Battle of Stalingrad stop the Germans from doing? Completely taking over
the Soviet Union
15. When did Pearl Harbor occur? December 7, 1941
16. Why was the Battles of Midway important for the Allies? Stopped the Japanese
advancement in the Pacific
17. Who was the Allies’ general in the Pacific? McArthur
18. Who was the British Prime Minister during WWII? Winston Churchill
Where and when did D-Day take place? Normandy, France June 6, 1944
19. What US general led the Allies during D-day? Eisenhower
20. Why was D-day significant? It liberated France and allowed the Allies to completely
surround Germany
21. When did Germany surrender? May 7, 1945
22. Which cities were the Atomic bombs dropped on? Hiroshima and Nagasaki
23. Who was the US president during most of WWII? Franklin Roosevelt
24. Who was the president that dropped the bombs? Harry S Truman
25. Who was the Emperor of Japan and his premier military general that attacked Pearl
Harbor? Emperor Hirohito and Hideki Tojo
26. Which wartime conference called for the unconditional surrender of Germany and Japan?
Casablanca
27. Which wartime conference called for a two-front war in Europe? Tehran
28. Which wartime conference discussed the fate of Poland? Yalta
29. Which wartime conference demanded that Japan would lose all of its possessions? Cairo
30. Which wartime conference was the first that Truman attended?
Potsdam
31. What strategy was used to defeat Japan? Island hopping
32. What was the symbol of working women during World War II? Rosie the Riveter
33. Which country conquered Berlin? The Soviet Union
34. How did the US raise money for the war? War bonds
35. What were the four freedoms of FDR? Speech, worship, from want, from fear
36. What was the Atlantic Charter? A document by Great Britain and US outline the goals of
the war and also pot war goals
37. Who were the Big Three? Roosevelt, US; Churchill, Great Britain; Stalin, Soviet Union
38. Who replaced FDR as president? Truman
39. What was the Lend Lease Act? The US promise to become the Arsenal of Democracy by
supply war needs to Great Britain
40. What was the significance of each of the following battles?
a. D-Day- The liberation of France and Allies completely surrounding Germany
b. Bulge- last German offensive
c. Stalingrad- the turning point for the Soviet Union, stopped the German advance in the
Soviet Union
d. France- defeated an Allied Power and one step closer to avoiding a two front war
e. Moscow- Germany retreated, big loss in men
f. Britain- RAF was able to use radar to know when the German Luftwaffe were attacking
able to withstand the German attack