WWII Vocabulary Terms
Causes & Ideology
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Fascism – Authoritarian, nationalist ideology that fueled Axis aggression.
Totalitarianism – System in which the state controls all aspects of life.
Appeasement – Policy of conceding to aggression to avoid conflict.
Axis Powers – The alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan during WWII.
U.S. Policy & Entry into the War
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Isolationism – U.S. belief in avoiding foreign conflicts before WWII.
Neutrality Acts – Laws aimed at keeping the U.S. out of war.
Lend-Lease Act – U.S. program supplying Allies before formal entry.
Pearl Harbor – Attack that led to U.S. entry into WWII.
Military Strategy & Turning Points
9. Blitzkrieg – Germany’s rapid, surprise warfare strategy.
10. Battle of Midway – Turning point in the Pacific War.
11. D-Day – Allied invasion of Normandy; turning point in Europe.
12. Island Hopping – U.S. strategy to advance toward Japan.
Home Front & Civil Liberties
13. Mobilization – Organizing the economy and society for war.
14. Internment Camps – Forced relocation of Japanese Americans.
15. Executive Order 9066 – Authorized Japanese American internment.
The Holocaust
16. Holocaust – Nazi genocide of Jews and other targeted groups.
17. Genocide – Systematic killing of a group based on identity.
Ending the War & Consequences
18. Manhattan Project – Secret U.S. program to develop the atomic bomb.
19. Atomic Bomb – Weapon that forced Japan’s surrender.
20. United Nations – International organization created after WWII.