| A | B |
|---|
| totalitarianism | a form of government in which every aspect of citizen's lives are controlled by the government |
| Benito Mussolini | Fascist leader of Italy during World War II. |
| fascism | a political system in which the state or government is seen as more important than the individual |
| Adolf Hitler | Leader of Nazi Germany during World War II, he rose to power on a platform of intolerance and nationalism. |
| Nazis | the National Socialist Party of Germany, headed by Adolf Hitler |
| Joseph Stalin | Communist dictator of the Soviet Union, led that nation through World War II and greatly affected the postwar decisions made about Europe at the Yalta and Potsdam conferences. |
| Axis Powers | the coalition of nations in World War II that included Germany, Italy, and Japan |
| appeasement | the policy of giving into the demads of a nation in order to avoid war |
| Winston Churchill | The prime minister of Britain during much of World War II, he is well-remembered for many speeches made in support of the Allies. |
| Allied Powers | a group of nations that allied to fight the Central Powers in World War I, and those countries in opposition to the Axis Powers in World War II |
| Land-Lease Act | a law giving Franklin Roosevelt the power to sell, transfer, exchange, or lease military equipment to any country to help it defend itself against the Axis powers |
| Pearl Harbor | a harbor in Hawaii that serves as the base of the U.S. Pacific fleet and was bombed in 1941 by Japan |
| War Production Board | a government agency set up to oversee production of war materials during World War II |
| A. Philip Randolph | African American labor leader who proposed a March on Washington during Franklin Roosevelt's presidency. It was called off when Roosevelt barred discrimination in defense industries. |
| Tuskegee Airmen | a group of African American pilots who flew missions in World War II; they were the first African American military pilots |
| Benjamin O. Davis | The first African American general in the United States military, he led the Tuskegee Airmen through World War II. |
| zoot-suit riots | a series of riots during which Mexican Americans were attacked by whites |
| internment | the imprisonment of Japanese Americans in special camps during World War II |
| Battle of El Alamein | a turning point in World War II, in which Allied forces defeated the Afrika Korps of Germany |
| Dwight D. Eisenhower | The 34th president of the United States, he use his popularity as a war hero of World War II to become president, in which position he led the nation through the Korean War. |
| Battle of Stalingrad | a major turning point in World War II; Soviet forces defeated Nazi forces after which the Nazis never recovered |
| D-Day | an invasion of Nazi-occupied France by Allied forces |
| Douglas MacArthur | A U.S. general who achieved fame for his actions in the Pacific during World War II and the Korean War. |
| Bataan Death March | a forced march of American and Filipino soldiers captured by the Japanese along the Bataan Penninsula |
| Chester Nimitz | Commander of the U.S. fleet in the Pacific during World War II, his strategy helped defeat Japan. |
| Battle of the Coral Sea | the first strategic defeat of the Japanese Imperial Navy by American forces during World War II |
| Battle of Midway | battle of World War II that ended the Japanese advance in the Pacific |
| island hopping | the strategy used by U.s. forces in the Pacific during World War II that involved taking only strategically important islands |
| Battle of Leyte Gulf | the largest naval battle in history, during which the American fleet destroyed most of the Japanese fleet |
| kamikaze | Japanese pilots who flew suicide missions during World War II |
| Battle of the Bulge | the last German advance of World War II, which was stopped by Allied forces |
| Harry S. Truman | The 33rd president of the United States, he became president after the death of Franklin Roosevelt. Truman ended World War II after dropping atomic bombs on Japan. |
| Holocaust | a program of mass murder in which the Nazis tried to kill all Jews |
| genocide | the complete destruction of a racial or ethnic minority |
| Manhattan Project | the U.S. effort to build an atomic bomb |
| atomic bomb | a weapon that receives its explosive power from the splitting of atoms |
