Unit 2 Vocabulary terms
Anschluss lebensraum
Munich
Pact
appeasement
Unit 2 Vocabulary terms
blitzkrieg
genocide
Nazi-Soviet
Pact
Final
Solution
Unit 2 Vocabulary terms
ghettos
Iron
Curtain
Theatre of
war
Allies
Unit 2 Vocabulary terms
Axis
Powers
New Order
kamikaze occupation
Unit 2 Vocabulary terms
Home front
Islandhopping
sanctions
radar
Unit 2 Vocabulary terms
neutrality
Luftwaffe
& RAF
Afrika
Korps
Enigma
Unit 2 Vocabulary terms
espionage
Turning point
operation
engagement
resistance
collaborators
Unit 2 Vocabulary definitions
Anschluss--
Unification of Germany &
Austria. Strictly prohibited by
Treaty of Versailles. One of
Hitler’s first violations of the
treaty on his road to WWII.
Lebensraum-
German word meaning “living
space.” One of Hitler’s guiding
principles behind German
expansion and occupation of
other territories.
Munich Pact (or agreement)--
appeasement
agreement between
Britain, France & Germany
that the occupation of the
Sudentenland would be
Hitler’s last territorial
advance.
To give in to certain
demands in order to calm,
or pacify, a worsening
situation.
Unit 2 Vocabulary definitions
blitzkrieg
Nazi-Soviet Pact
German for “lightning
war.” Hitler’s military strategy
of combining surprise with
overwhelming force to quickly
defeat an enemy.
Also called “non-aggression pact,”
agreement between Hitler & Stalin
to not attack one another; secretly
agreed to divide Poland between
themselves.
genocide
Final Solution
an attempt wipe out an entire
people, or race, from the planet.
Mass murder based on racist
ideas.
Hitler’s ultimate plan to
“exterminate” all Jewish people’s
from existence.
Unit 2 Vocabulary definitions
ghettos
sectioned off neighborhoods that
were set aside for Jewish
resettlement. Overcrowded and
meager living conditions; this was
an early step in Hitler’s move
towards genocide
Iron Curtain
symbolic term introduced by
Winston Churchill to describe the
divide between Western Europe
and the Eastern portion of Europe
that was controlled by the Soviet
Union. (1947-ish)
Theatre of War
Allies
General area of conflict.
European, North African &
Asian (or Pacific) were 3
major theatres of war
during WWII.
alliance of U.S, Britain,
France, Soviet Union and
other nations who fought the
Germans, Italians &
Japanese.
Unit 2 Vocabulary definitions
Axis Powers
New Order
Alliance of Germany, Italy & later
Japan’s vision of a new system
Japan during WWII.
of control over Asia, replacing
European powers with itself, China
& Manchuria. The ultimate goal
was Japanese prosperity &
industrial growth.
kamikaze
Japanese suicide pilot. Used
plane as a bomb when
ammunition was gone.
Translated, it means “divine wind.”
occupation
forced control over a territory
that was taken over by an
aggressor; set-up of military &
industrial operation zones within
these areas.
Unit 2 Vocabulary definitions
Home front
term used to describe the
domestic perspective of war (back
home, civilians, work, etc.)
Island-hopping
MacArthur’s military strategy of
capturing Japanese-held islands
that were least heavily defended
while “hopping” towards the
Japanese homeland.
sanctions
restrictions used as a penalty or
punishment by one government
over another; usually economic in
nature (i.e. refusal to trade)
radar
technology, advanced for its
time, developed by the British that
tracked enemy movement using
radio waves (like sonar or
echolocation)
Unit 2 Vocabulary definitions
neutrality
state of being nonaligned or
impartial in a conflict; refusal to
take sides.
Luftwaffe & RAF
luftwaffe—Germany’s air force
Afrika Korps
Germany’s tank division
stationed in North Africa; led by
General Erwin Rommel (aka the
“Desert Fox”)
Enigma
German machine that encoded
all military messages so that they
could not be decoded by the
enemy. Very sophisticated,
required a second machine to
decode; captured by the British
and led to German defeats.
RAF—Royal Air Force (Britain’s
air force
Unit 2 Vocabulary definitions
espionage
Turning Point (battle)
practice of spying on the
enemy to gather strategic
information
a defining moment in warfare
that reverses the direction of
the war.
operation
engagement
a military campaign, or
plan.
battle or military encounter
Resistance
collaborators
illegal secret organization that fought
for freedom against an occupying
power, especially in France,
Netherlands, Denmark and Italy.
people who worked with the
enemy, betraying others for
self-preservation or personal
beliefs.