World War II

Vocabulary: People, Events, and ConceptsBy Patrick O’Conner

Dictator

A ruler with complete power over a country. These leaders often take control by force. Many dictators were popular with their people because they offered easy answers and seemed to be able to get things done.

Dictator

Unlike leaders in democracies, dictators didn’t have to deal with all of the problems and confusion of the political process to get things done. This appealed to many people who had lost faith in the ability of democratic governments to deal with all of the political and economic problems.

Dictator

Josef Stalin ruled the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1953

Dictator

Adolph Hitler ruled Germany from 1933 to 1945

Dictator

Benito Mussolini ruled Italy from 1922 until 1945

Totalitarianism

A system of government in which there is one political party, few political rights, and many aspects of a person’s life are controlled by the government.

In a totalitarian government, the government usually controls employment, health care, education, the media, and many other things

Fascism

Fascism was the name for the totalitarian system of government in Germany, Italy, and Japan during World War II

Nazis

The ruling party in Germany was known as the Nazis, which was an abbreviation of “National Socialism”

They believed in racial superiority of the German people and persecuted the Jews and other groups of people they deemed inferior.

Democracy: a system of government controlled by the people, usually through their elected representatives

Democracy

Because people can’t always agree on the best laws or policies, it can take a long time to get things done in a democracy. This is why some people liked dictatorships.

Democracy

Even though the democratic countries did not become dictatorships, the government and its leaders were given much more power to solve economic and political problems than they had been given in the past.

Franklin Roosevelt was elected 4 times and his New Deal programs gave government a lot of authority to solve problems.

The Allies

The Allies included Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States.

Axis Powers

Germany, Italy, and Japan fought together during World War II. They were known as the Axis Powers.

Treaty of Versailles

This treaty ended World War I. By blaming Germany for starting the war and forcing the German government to pay damages to the winning countries, this treaty humiliated the German people and ruined the German economy. This in turn caused the Germans to find the ideas of Adolph Hitler more appealing.

Treaty of Versailles

The treaty prohibited the Germans from rebuilding their military and took land away from the Germans.

Adolf Hitler used the anger over this treaty as a means of building popularity.

Nationalism

Most people love their own country. However, when this feeling is taken to an extreme, it is often referred to as nationalism. Nationalism is the belief that one’s own country is superior to all others.

Pacifism

Pacifism is the belief that disputes between countries should never be settled by war.

Isolationism

Isolationism is the belief that a nation should not get involved in the political affairs of other nations.

Prior to World War II, most Americans believed that World War I was a mistake and that we should not get involved in European wars.

Appeasement

When Hitler started building up his military and demanding that land be given back to Germany, most Europeans did not wish to fight another war, so they gave in to Hitler’s demands as he took over a lot of land in Europe.

Appeasement is the policy of giving in to an aggressor’s demands in hopes of avoiding conflict.

Appeasement

As the Allies gave in to Hitler’s demands, he kept taking more land. Hitler knew the European leaders had no appetite to go to war again, so he continued to take land. Only after he invaded Poland in 1939 and France in 1940 did the Allies decide to fight against him.

Blitzkrieg

Literally “lightning war”. Blitzkrieg was a style of warfare perfected by the Germans. It was sudden and intense invasion designed to bring about quick victory.

Lend Lease Act

The Lend Lease Act allowed the United States to loan war equipment to the Allies on credit.

Once the Allies decided to fight Hitler, they needed supplies.

The United States didn’t want to get directly involved in the war, but wanted to help the Allies.

Pearl Harbor

The American people didn’t want to get involved in the war. Most thought World War I had been a mistake and didn’t want to sacrifice American lives in another European War.

That changed when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7th 1941 in a surprise attack

Americans now clamored for war.