Road to War
This treaty punished Germany following World War I, contributing to resentment and political instability.
What is the Treaty of Versailles?
This Italian dictator promoted extreme nationalism, militarism, and the creation of a new Roman Empire.
Who is Benito Mussolini?
This German military approach used speed, surprise, and coordinated attacks to overwhelm opponents.
What is Blitzkrieg?
This surprise attack on December 7, 1941, led the United States to enter WWII.
What is Pearl Harbor?
This international organization was created in 1945 to promote cooperation and maintain international peace.
What is the United Nations?
This worldwide economic crisis weakened confidence in democratic governments and increased support for extremist parties.
What is the Great Depression?
This Soviet leader used collectivization, a command economy, propaganda, and political repression to consolidate power.
Who is Joseph Stalin?
This process involves organizing a nation's industries, population, and resources to support its military during wartime.
What is mobilization?
This form of communication used posters, media, and emotional appeals to influence public opinion and support for the war.
What is propaganda?
These two countries emerged from WWII as the dominant global superpowers.
What are the United States and Soviet Union?
This international organization failed to consistently enforce collective security during the 1930s.
What is the League of Nations?
This German ideology combined extreme nationalism, authoritarianism, expansionism, and racial antisemitism.
What is Nazism?
This type of warfare requires a nation to redirect its economy, industry, and civilian population toward victory.
What is total war?
This government policy limited civilian access to scarce goods so more resources could support the war effort.
What is rationing?
This U.S. economic aid program helped rebuild European economies while limiting the appeal of communism.
What is the Marshall Plan?
This policy of making concessions to an aggressive power was intended to preserve peace but failed to prevent WWII.
What is appeasement?
This Japanese emperor served as the symbolic center of nationalism while military leaders gained increasing political influence.
Who is Hirohito?
This 1942 Pacific battle, aided by American codebreaking, helped shift the strategic initiative away from Japan.
What is the Battle of Midway?
This 1942 executive order authorized military exclusion zones that led to the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans.
What is Executive Order 9066?
This 1944 international monetary framework helped establish the U.S. dollar as the center of the postwar financial system
What is the Bretton Woods system?
This 1938 agreement allowed Germany to acquire the Sudetenland in an attempt to avoid another European war.
What is the Munich Agreement?
This term describes the glorification of a political leader through propaganda, public imagery, and displays of personal loyalty.
What is a cult of personality?
This 1942–1943 battle stopped a major German advance and helped shift momentum toward the Soviet Union.
What is the Battle of Stalingrad?
This African American wartime campaign called for victory against fascism abroad and racial discrimination at home.
What is the Double V Campaign?
This process accelerated after WWII as weakened European empires faced growing independence movements across Asia and Africa.
What is decolonization?