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World War II Vocabulary
Word
Dictator
Definition
A leader who rules with total authority,
often in a cruel or brutal manner
Fascism
A political system, headed by a dictator, that
calls for extreme nationalism and racism and
no tolerance of opposition
Anti-Semitism
Hostility toward or discrimination against
Jews
Blitzkrieg
Name given to the sudden, violent offensive
attack the Germans used during World War
II; “lightning war”
Lend-Lease
The act passed during World War II allowing
the United States to sell, lend, or lease arms
or other war supplies to any nation
considered “vital to the defense of the
United States”
Picture
Internment camp
The detention centers where Japanese
Americans were moved to and confined
during World War II
D-day
The day on which the Allied forces invaded
France during World War II; June 6, 1944
Genocide
The deliberate destruction of a racial,
political, or cultural group
Holocaust
The name given to the mass slaughter of
Jews and other groups by the Nazis during
World War II
Island Hopping
A strategy used during World War II that
called for attacking and capturing certain
key islands and using these islands as bases
to leapfrog to others
Kamikaze
During World War II, a Japanese suicide pilot
whose mission was to crash into his target