Name Teacher Guide
Date________________
WWII Study Guide
By the end of our unit on the WWII, you should be able to do the following
things:
 Define each vocabulary word listed below.
 Use each vocabulary word in a sentence that describes the time period.
 Answer the questions below.
Vocabulary:
Concentration Camp:
Definition:
Camps where people were detained or confined. They are similar to prisons. These were
located in Germany in the 1930’s-1940’s. They were organized by the Nazi group in
Germany.
Sentence
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Dictator:
Definition:
Absolute ruler; for example: Hirohito (Japan) and Adolf Hitler (Germany).
Sentence
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Name Teacher Guide
Date________________
Espionage:
Definition
To spy against one’s country.
Sentence
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Ghetto:
Definition
Overcrowded slums where many people live in small areas.
Sentence
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Name Teacher Guide
Date________________
Internment Camps
Definition
Locations where prisoners were kept during wars. In WWII, the American government
put innocent Japanese-Americans in internment camps for fear that they might be spies
for Japan.
Sentence
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Nazi:
Definition
Political party that controlled Germany before and during WWII (1933 through 1945).
This group was led by Adolf Hitler during WWII.
Sentence
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Name Teacher Guide
Date________________
Pacifism:
Definition
A belief that any violence, including war, is unjustifiable (not a good choice). All disputes
should be settled using peaceful ways.
People who want to stay out of wars (pacifist).
Sentence
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Surrender:
Definition
To stop fighting, to submit to the opponent and admit defeat.
Sentence
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Name Teacher Guide
Date________________
Questions
What events in Europe lead to the start of WWII?
After WWI, Hitler and many Germans were angry. They believed they should take
back land that was once theirs.
Hitler took over Austria and Czechoslovakia.
Hitler took over Poland which caused the British and French to declare war on
Germany.
What circumstances lead to the United States joining WWII?
Japan invaded China which angered Americans.
America stopped trading oil & steel with Japan.
Pearl Harbor is bombed by Japan on December 7th, 1941.
--US declares war on Japan
What events lead to the shift in control from Axis powers (Japan,
Germany, Italy) to Allies (Great Britain, France, United States)?
Invasion of Normandy.
- Most battles before this resulted in a win for the Axis Powers.
- Germans thought they could win but the Allies kept sending in
reinforcements.
United States joining the war gave the Allies more money, supplies and troops
which allowed the Allies to take control.
Name Teacher Guide
Date________________
What events lead to the end of WWII?
In Europe:
After the Allies won the Invasion of Normandy, France, the Nazi’s fled back to
Germany. The Allies sent bomber planes and troops into Germany. They found
Hitler’s concentration camps. The Allies overpowered the Germans to put an end
to the concentration camps. Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945.
In Japan:
After the War ended in Europe, it was still continuing in Japan (often referred to as
“the Pacific” because Japan is in the Pacific Ocean). Hirohito was in control of
Japan. (He had given the ok for the Japanese to bomb Pearl Harbor and allied
with Germany and Italy.) The Allies (United States, France, and Great Britain)
wanted Japan to surrender so the war would be over.
In order to attack Japan’s mainland, the United States needed to take over Iwo
Jima (an island near Japan) so planes could refuel on the way to Japan. United
States President, Harry S. Truman gave the ok for the United States to drop the
first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945. The United States
warned that they would drop the bomb, but with no response, they dropped it
anyway.
After 3 days, there was still no surrender, so the United States dropped a second
atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 1945. Japan finally surrendered on
August 15, 1945.