_Morgan Munoz__ _1__

Name Period

UNIT 7 STUDY GUIDE

America and World War II

Section 1 – The Rise of Dictatorships

1. Give FOUR things the Germans had to do as part of the Versailles Treaty:
a) _ dismantle its most of its military _
b) _ pay for most of the damages done during the war _
c) _ agree not to have its military in the border region between France and Germany known as the Rhineland _
d) _) give up big chunks of territory that was used to create new countries such as Poland and Czechoslovakia _

2. What caused countries like Germany and Italy to abandon their democratic forms of government? _ the Great
Depression hit and economic hardships led to difficult times _

3. A government which attempts to control every aspect of the lives of people under its control is known as a
_totalitarian state_.

4. Give THREE characteristics of a totalitarian state:

a) _ attempts to control every aspect of the lives of people under its control – politically, economically, socially, and
culturally _
b) _ wanted more than obedience, they wanted total control of the hearts and minds of the people _
c) _ wanted total loyalty _

5. Name THREE European dictators of the 1930s and the country they ruled:
a) _Adolf Hitler_ _Germany_
b) _Benito Mussolini_ _Italy_
c) _Josef Stalin_ _Russia_

6. The Italian dictator who founded Italy’s Fascist Party in the 1920s and used the anger over the Treaty of
Versailles to gain power was _Mussolini_.

7. The leader of the 1917 Russian Revolution who set up Communists governments throughout the Russian
empire after taking over was _Vladimir Lenin_.

8. The Soviet dictator who had 8 to 10 million people put to death for opposing Communist policies and would led
the Soviet Union through World War II and into the Cold War was _Josef Stalin_.

9. The dictator of Nazi Germany who would lead Europe into war and would also be primarily responsible for the
Holocaust was _Adolf Hitler_.
10. Why did Japan want control of Manchuria? _ They believed the only way for Japan to get the resources it
needed was to conquer other territories _

11. After the Prime Minister of Japan was assassinated, what group took control of the Japanese government?
_Japan’s Military_

12. ** What THREE countries made up the “Axis Powers”?

a) _Germany_ b) _Italy_ c) _Japan_

13. Following World War I, many Americans supported _isolationalism_ and wanted to stay out of foreign affairs.

14. What was the Neutrality Act of 1935? _ made it illegal for American businesses to sell arms to any country at
war

15. What was the policy of “cash-and-carry” established by the Neutrality Act of 1937? _ foreign countries buying
from the U.S. had to send their own ships to pick up their purchase and pay for it with cash, not on credit _

Section 2 – World War II Begins

16. Prior to 1939, why didn’t European leaders stand up to Adolf Hitler? _ They thought if they gave in to Hitler’s
demands, they could avoid another war _

17. Give FOUR of Hitler’s territorial demands before invading Poland to start World War II:
a) _ Hitler moved his army into a region of Germany that bordered France known as the Rhineland _
b) _ Hitler moved troops into Austria and annexed the country without a shot being fired
c) _ Hitler took over all of Czechoslovakia _
d) _ the Germans prepared for an invasion of Poland _

18. In March of 1938, Hitler annexed _Austria _ without a shot being completing the Anschluss, or unification of the
two German speaking countries.

19. Hitler wanted a region of Czechoslovakia known as the _ Sudetenland _, a region belonged to Germany before
World War I and most of the population spoke German.

20. What was the result of the Munich Conference? _ France and Great Britain agreed to Hitler’s demands and
surrendered the Sudetenland to the Germans _

21. The policy of giving in to someone’s demands in order to keep peace is called _appeasement_.
22. Hitler wanted a part of Poland that was taken from Germany at the Treaty of Versailles that became known as
the _ Polish Corridor _ because it split German East Prussia from the rest of Germany.

23. In 1939, Hitler shocked the world when he signed a peace treaty with _communist Russia_ – the arch-enemy of
the Nazis.

24. World War II began when Germany invaded _Poland_ on _ September 1, 1939_.

25. The type of lightening quick warfare Germany used to take over Europe was called _ blitzkrieg _.

26. What TWO countries declared war on Germany two days after Germany’s invasion of Poland?
a) _France_ b) _Great Britain_

27. After conquering Poland, in early 1940, Hitler turned to the west and conquered what country? _France_

28. The air battle between Germany and Britain which took place from late 1940 until early 1941 when the British
RAF defeated Hitler’s vaunted air force – known as the Luftwaffe – was the _ the Battle of Britain _.

29. The British war hero and British Prime Minister during World War II whose leadership led the British through the
tough times of the war was _Winston Churchill_.

30. What did losing the air battle over Great Britain prevent Hitler from doing? _invading Britain_

Section 3 – America Enters the War

31. What did the revised Neutrality Act provide for in 1939? _ revised law did allow warring countries to buy
weapons as long as they continued with the cash-and-carry policy _

32. What was the destroyers-for-bases idea FDR offered Churchill? _ he agreed to sell Great Britain old American
destroyers in exchange for the right to build American bases in British-controlled areas of the world _

33. What was the America First Committee? _ a group that staunchly believed in isolationism and firmly opposed
any American intervention or aid to the Allies _

34. Why did President Roosevelt decide to run for a third term as president? _ He believed that the crisis of war
existing, a change of leadership would not be in the nation’s best interest _

35. The law that allowed the U.S. to send weapons to Great Britain if Britain promised to return or pay rent for them
after the war was the _ Lend-Lease Act _.
36. In June of 1941, Hitler violated the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact and started a massive invasion of
_Russia_.

37. Why did Japan want control of Manchuria and Indochina? _ they were rich in oil reserves _

38. What was the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere? _ an appeal to all Asians to rid themselves of
European rule and become part of an Asian Empire _
39. What did the United States do when Japan refused to pull out of East Asia? _ the U.S. placed an oil embargo
on Japan and froze all its American assets _

40. ** What led Congress to declare war on Japan? _the attack on Pearl Harbor_

41. ** On what date did the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor? _ December 7, 1941_

42. ** What did FDR call the date America was attacked? _ a date which will live in infamy _

Key U.S. leaders of World War II

43. The President of the United States for much of World War II who said called December 7, 1941 (the date of the
attack on Pearl Harbor) “a date which will live in infamy was _FDR_.

44. The Commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II who was also the person who oversaw the
Allied invasion of Europe in 1944 (Operation Overlord/D-Day) was _ Eisenhower _.

45. The U.S. President who took over following the death of FDR in 1945 who made the decision to drop the
atomic bomb on Japan in August of 1945 was _Truman_.

46. The Outspoken American general who played a large part in the U.S. victories in Italy and North Africa during
World War II who was nicknamed “Old Blood and Guts” was _George Patton_.

47. The American general during World War II who played a key part as a commander of the American forces in
North Africa, Italy, and France was _Omar Bradley _.

48. The American general who played a prominent role in the Pacific Theater during World War II who vowed “I
shall return” after the Japanese captured the Philippines was _Douglas Macarthur_.

Section 4 – Mobilizing for War

49. What was the “cost-plus system”? _ the more a company produced and the faster it did the work, the more the
company would make _

50. The government agency that made loans to companies to help them cover the cost of converting to war
production was the _ Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) _.

51. During the war, Henry Ford converted his automobile factories into factories that made _ B-24 bombers _.

52. What were “liberty ships”? _ basic cargo ships used during the war _

53. What did the War Production Board do? _ had the authority to set priorities and production goals. It also had
the authority to control the distribution of raw materials and supplies _

54. What was the Selective Service and Training Act? _ a plan for the first peacetime draft in American history _

55. During World War II, American soldiers were given the nickname _GIs_.

56. Give THREE ways that the military was segregated during World War II:
a) _ African Americans had separate barracks, mess halls, and recreational facilities _
b) _ They were organized into their own military units _
c) _ white recruits did not train alongside African Americans _

57. Give a reason why many African Americans did not support the war effort: _ segregation and lynching
continued in the United States and that African Americans were being disfranchised _

58. Give TWO things President Roosevelt did to try to end racism in the military:
a) _ ordered the military to begin recruiting African Americans and to put them in combat _
b) _ appointed Colonel Benjamin O. Davis, the highest –ranking African American officer in the U.S. Army, to the
rank of brigadier general _

59. The African American fighter pilots known as the _ Tuskegee Airmen _ played an important role in the fighting
in Europe and overcame racial prejudices to become heroes.

60. What role did women have in the military during World War II? _ Many women in the army set up the Women’s
Army Corps (WAC) in 1943. thousands of women served as nurses in the army and navy _

Section 5 – The Early Battles

61. Because of the damage at Pearl Harbor, in early 1942 the Japanese were able to take _the Phillipines_, the
island group that the United States gained control of during the Spanish-American War.

62. The American commander in the Philippines was _ General Douglass Macarthur _.

63. What was Douglas Macarthur’s famous quote after the U.S. was forced to surrender the Philippines? _ “I shall
return.”_

64. The daring bombing attack on Tokyo by the Americans in April of 1942 was called the _ Doolittle Raid _.

65. Give TWO important effects of the Doolittle Raid:

a) _ it gave a massive boost to the American morale _
b) _ it showed the Japanese that even though they were thousands of miles away, the U.S. could still attack their
mainland _

66. The Japanese changed their strategy when they decided to attack the island of _Midway_ in an attempt to
destroy the remainder of the _Pacific fleet_.

67. ** The battle that occurred in June of 1942 that turned the tide of the war in the Pacific was the _ The Battle of
Midway _.

68. ** Give THREE ways that the Battle of Midway changed the course of the War in the Pacific:
a) _ For the remainder of the war, the Japanese were on the defensive _
b) _ The devastating defeat of the Japanese critically crippled its navy and ended Japan’s naval superiority in the
Pacific.
c) _ sinking four of Japan’s front-line aircraft carriers in a resounding victory for the Americans _

69. The commander of the American fleet in the Pacific was _ Admiral Chester A. Nimitz _, who set a trap at
Midway after learning the Japanese were going to attack the island.

70. Because Germans were sinking so many cargo ships, the U.S. Navy decided to set up a _ convoy system _ in
which cargo ships traveled in groups instead of by themselves and were escorted by navy warships.

71. Hitler’s biggest mistake was Operation Barbarossa, which was the invasion of _Russia_.

72. What was the significance of the Battle of Stalingrad? _ Following this battle the Germans went from being on
the offensive to being on the defensive and retreating _

Section 6 – Life on the Home Front

73. World War II had a positive effect on American society because the war finally put an end to the _great
depression_.
74. Name TWO groups who got opportunities to work in factories after the war began that had been denied before:
a) _women_ b) _minorities_

75. ** The great symbol in the campaign to hire women was _ Rosie the Riveter _, whose images of appeared on
posters and in newspaper ads.

76. ** What was the impact of women in the workplace during World War II? _ their work permanently changed
American attitudes about women in the workplace._

77. The civil rights agency set up by the federal government that enforced the order to prevent discrimination in the
workplace (Executive Order 8802) was the _ Fair Employment Practices Commission _.

78. The federal program that helped farmers in the Southwest overcome the labor shortage by arranging for
Mexican farm workers to help in the harvest was the _ Bracero Program _.

79. Southern California and cities in the Deep South made up a new industrial region which came to be known as
the _sunbelt_.

80. The movement of African Americans out of the South – known as the _ Great Migration _ -- resumed after the
Great Depression ended.

81. ** Give THREE ways that Japanese Americans were treated unfairly/discriminated against following Pearl
Harbor:
a) _ Some attacked Japanese American businesses and homes _
b) _ Some newspapers printed rumors about Japanese spies in the Japanese American community._
c) _ many people – including some members of the U.S. Congress – demanded that people of Japanese ancestry
be removed from the West Coast. _

82. ** Following Pearl Harbor, the military placed around 77,000 Americans of Japanese descent in _internment
camps_.

83. ** What were internment camps? _ guarded like prisons and residents were placed behind barbed wire and
were constantly guarded. Their rights as U.S. citizens were taken away _

84. Why did the Supreme Court rule against Korematsu in his case against the federal government? _ relocation
was constitutional because it was based on military urgency, not race _

85. Give THREE home-front problems that existed during World War II?
a) _rationing_ b) _scrap drives_ c) _war bonds_
86. What was the purpose of the Office of Price Administration (OPA)? _ rationing _

87. In response to a high demand for certain goods, the government began to _ration_ certain things such as meat
and sugar to make sure there were enough supplies for the military.

88. Americans also volunteered to plant _victory gardens_ to produce more food for the war effort. People grew
much of their own food so the troops would have more.

89. Name THREE items that people contributed to scrap drives:

a) _rubber_ b) _tin_ c) _aluminum_

90. To help the war effort financially, the government asked citizens to buy _war bonds_, which was like citizens
loaning money to the government.

Section 7 – The Allies Invade Europe

91. The leader of the Allied forces in Europe was _ General Dwight D. Eisenhower _.

92. The code name for the invasion of Europe was Operation _ Operation Overlord _. The commander in charge of
the Allied invasion was _ Dwight D. Eisenhower _.

93. ** The region of France where the Allies planned to land to begin the invasion was _Normandy_.

94. ** What was D-Day? _ The Allied Invasion of Europe _

95. ** When was D-Day? _ June 6, 1944_

96. ** Name the code name for the FIVE beaches the Allies hit when they landed at Normandy:
a. _Omaha_ b. _Sword_ c. _Utah_ d. _Gold_ e. _Juno_

97. ** With the Allied invasion of Europe, Germany now had a _ two-front _ war, facing Russia in the East and the
Allies in the West.

98. This last German offensive was known as the _ Battle of the Bulge _ when they used all of their best forces for
one last major offensive to strike at the Allies in an effort to reach a stalemate and sue for peace.

99. On what date did the Germans surrender? _ May 7, 1945_.

Section 8 – The War Ends

100. What was the strategy of “island hopping”? __

101. Following Franklin Roosevelt’s death in April of 1945, __ became president and faced some difficult decisions
over the next six months as he tried to end the war.

102. In an effort to get Japan to surrender without an American invasion, the United States used a new weapon
called __, which is a jellied gasoline that sets fires when it explodes.

103. ** The American program to build an atomic bomb was code-named the __.

104. ** What was President Truman’s main reason for deciding to use the atomic bomb on Japan? __

105. ** On __, the world’s first atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of __.

106. The international peace keeping organization that was the idea of Franklin Roosevelt and was created in San
Francisco in 1945 was the __.

107. Give the FIVE steps leading to the completion of the Manhattan Project:
a) __
b) __
c) __
d) __
e) __

Section 9 – The Holocaust

108. The deliberate, carefully planned killing or extermination of an entire race of people on the basis of race,
religion or culture is known as __.

109. The catastrophe that occurred during World War II when Adolf Hitler put six million Jews and millions of others
to death attempting the genocide of an entire race of people is known as the __.

110. The Germans laws that enforced discrimination were known as the __.

111. The night of November 9, 1938, when thousands of Jewish homes and business where destroyed or set on fire,
came to be called __, or “night of broken glass”.
112. Among those Jews who got out of Germany was scientist ___________________________. Among those who
did not was a girl in the Netherlands named ________________________, whose diary was published and gave
the world an account of what is was like to be on the run from the Nazi Gestapo.

113. On January 20, 1942, Nazi leaders met at the _______________________________ to determine the
“___________________________” to the Jewish problem.

114. The most infamous of all the German death (extermination) camps was __________________________, which
sometimes gassed 12,000 people in a day and was the site of around 1.6 million deaths during World War II.

115. Give FIVE factors of how the Holocaust was allowed to happen:
a) ______________________________________________________________________________________
b) ______________________________________________________________________________________
c) ______________________________________________________________________________________
d) ______________________________________________________________________________________
e) ______________________________________________________________________________________