World War II Vocabulary
ADOLF HITLER
• Chancellor of Germany. Came to power in
1933 after feeding off of the fears and anger
of German citizens.
APPEASEMENT
• Name given to the strategy of giving Hitler
what he wanted so as to not escalate to a
violent conflict
NEUTRALITY ACTS
• Laws passed by Congress preventing any
American from travelling on ships of nations at
war, or selling weapons to countries at war.
FLYING TIGERS
• American pilots that helped deliver goods to
China after Japan invaded China.
PEARL HARBOR
• Naval base in Hawaii that housed all of the
American Pacific fleet. Came under surprise
attach on December 7, 1941.
RATIONING
• Limiting the amount of goods that people can
by to support the war effort
VICTORY GARDENS
• Gardens grown by American citizens to help
with the war effort by supplementing foods
limited by rationing.
OFFICE OF WAR INFORMATION
• American propaganda machine that made
posters, radio broadcasts and films to try to
promote unrest in Italy, Germany and Japan
TUSKEEGEE AIRMEN
• African American pilots that helped integrate
the American Air Corps
EXECUTIVE ORDER 9066
• Presidential order that allowed for the
internment of Japanese Americans here in the
US
KOREMATSU vs. U.S.
• Supreme court decision that upheld Executive
Order 9066. Said the need to protect the
country versus Japanese spies outweighed the
rights of citizens
GEORGE PATTON
• One of the most successful American
Generals. Helped lead troops in Africa and
southern Europe.
*Once pistol whipped a subordinate soldier
DWIGHT EISENHOWER
• Supreme Allied Commander of the fighting in
Europe. Led ALL TROOPS.
GEORGE MARSHALL
• American Chief of Staff of the Army during
WWII. Helped plan the invasion of Europe.
Created the “Marshall Plan” which set up a
plan to rebuild Europe after the war.
VERNON BAKER
• African American soldier that was awarded
the Medal of Honor 52 years after serving in
WW2.
OMAR BRADLEY
• 5 Star general that was the commander of the
ground forces invading Germany from the
West.
HOLOCAUST
• Hitler’s “Final Solution” was the attempted
extermination of all peoples deemed to be of
impure blood. (Jews, gypsies, invalids,
homosexuals)
BATAAN DEATH MARCH
• THE 60 Mile forced march of 50-60 thousand
Filipino and American POWs by the Japanese
in the Philippines.
NAVAJO CODE TALKERS
• Native American soldiers who were used to
communicate with each other by speaking
Navajo to each other.
BATTLE OF MIDWAY
• The turning point of the war in the Pacific
when the American Navy defeated the
Japanese
NUREMBURG TRIALS
• The trials of the Nazi leadership for war crimes
and crimes against humanity after the
discovery of the atrocities at concentration
camps.
DOUGLAS MacARTHUR
• Commander of American forces in the Pacific,
lead the “Island Hopping” campaign
HARRY TRUMAN
• President at the end of the United States at
the end of WW2 after FDR died in office.
Made the decision to drop the atomic bomb
on Japan.
Hiroshima/Nagasaki
• Two Japanese cities that were destroyed by
atomic bombs. After the bomb on Nagasaki,
Japan accepted unconditional surrender
terms.