World War II
Axis versus Allies
World War II was the global military conflict of 1939–1945, pitting the Allied powers (primarily Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States) against the Axis powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan).
The deadliest war in human history, it ended with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Often abbreviated WWII or WW2: My grandfather served in World War II.
Also called the Second World War.
1944 Normandy invasion
- NormandyNorthern French coastal region
- StalingradRenamed Soviet industrial city
- MidwayFair's entertainment corridor
- KurskRussian city and submarine
Iwo Jima · Okinawa · Dunkirk · Britain · Guadalcanal · Leningrad · Berlin · Pearl Harbor
Systematic annihilation of a people
- concentration campsFacilities for mass detention
- AuschwitzNazi extermination camp
- exterminationComplete destruction of a group
- gas chambersSealed execution spaces using poison
anti-Semitism · persecution · deportation · ghettos · Nuremberg Laws · Kristallnacht · Anne Frank · survivors
Ground combat troops
- artilleryLarge-caliber battlefield weapons
- tanksStorage vessels for liquids
- bombersAircraft designed for airstrikes
- fightersThose who engage physically
aircraft carriers · submarines · paratroopers · amphibious · radar · convoy · dogfight · air raid
Central European nation
- JapanEast Asian archipelago nation
- ItalyBoot-shaped European nation
- NaziGerman fascist party member
- HitlerNazi Germany's totalitarian leader
Mussolini · Hirohito · Tojo · Third Reich · Rising Sun · Wehrmacht · Luftwaffe · Panzer
Limiting distribution during scarcity
- blackoutsComplete loss of electricity
- evacuationRemoval from danger
- propagandaBiased information for influence
- civil defenseGovernment emergency civilian protection
Rosie the Riveter · victory gardens · women workers · factories · shortages · air raid shelters · Blitz · internment
Clandestine atomic weapons program
- HiroshimaFirst nuclear-struck city
- NagasakiSecond city bombed atomically
- nuclearOf atomic energy
- atomic bombFission-triggered mass destruction device
Fat Man · Little Boy · Oppenheimer · Los Alamos · Enola Gay · mushroom cloud · radiation · surrender
Cease resistance, yield
- V-E DayMay 1945 armistice commemoration
- V-J DayImperial capitulation commemoration
- occupationOne's regular paid work
- reconstructionRebuilding after destruction
Marshall Plan · United Nations · Iron Curtain · displaced persons · refugees · veterans · memorials · commemoration
North American federal republic
- United KingdomAtlantic archipelago nation
- Soviet UnionFormer communist superstate
- FranceWestern European republic
- ChinaEast Asian superpower
Canada · Australia · New Zealand · India · South Africa · Poland · Belgium · Netherlands
D-Day
1944 Normandy invasion
- NormandyNorthern French coastal region
- StalingradRenamed Soviet industrial city
- MidwayFair's entertainment corridor
Kursk · Iwo Jima · Okinawa · Dunkirk · Britain · Guadalcanal · Leningrad · Berlin · Pearl Harbor · Tobruk
genocide
Systematic annihilation of a people
- concentration campsFacilities for mass detention
- AuschwitzNazi extermination camp
- exterminationComplete destruction of a group
gas chambers · anti-Semitism · persecution · deportation · ghettos · Nuremberg Laws · Kristallnacht · Anne Frank · survivors · liberation
infantry
Ground combat troops
- artilleryLarge-caliber battlefield weapons
- tanksStorage vessels for liquids
- bombersAircraft designed for airstrikes
fighters · aircraft carriers · submarines · paratroopers · amphibious · radar · convoy · dogfight · air raid · bombardment
Germany
Central European nation
Hitler · Mussolini · Hirohito · Tojo · Third Reich · Rising Sun · Wehrmacht · Luftwaffe · Panzer · U-boat
rationing
Limiting distribution during scarcity
- blackoutsComplete loss of electricity
- evacuationRemoval from danger
- propagandaBiased information for influence
Rosie the Riveter · civil defense · victory gardens · women workers · factories · shortages · air raid shelters · Blitz · internment · censorship
Manhattan Project
Clandestine atomic weapons program
atomic bomb · Fat Man · Little Boy · Oppenheimer · Los Alamos · Enola Gay · mushroom cloud · radiation · surrender · Trinity test
surrender
Cease resistance, yield
- V-E DayMay 1945 armistice commemoration
- V-J DayImperial capitulation commemoration
- occupationOne's regular paid work
reconstruction · Marshall Plan · United Nations · Iron Curtain · displaced persons · refugees · veterans · memorials · commemoration · reparations
United States
North American federal republic
- United KingdomAtlantic archipelago nation
- Soviet UnionFormer communist superstate
- FranceWestern European republic
China · Canada · Australia · New Zealand · India · South Africa · Poland · Belgium · Netherlands · Greece
- American WarsWWI, WWII, Desert Storm, Indian Wars
- history topicsancient Rome, ancient Greece, medieval history, Renaissance, French Revolution
- temporal settingspast, present, future, ancient times, Renaissance
- Cultural IconsMona Lisa, Star Wars, Shakespeare, Elvis, Marilyn Monroe
- LouvreMona Lisa, Venus de Milo, glass pyramid, Winged Victory, I. M. Pei
- British LiteratureShakespeare, Dickens, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Austen
World War IIWorld War I
First global military conflict
First World War · WWI · World War III · Cold War · Korean War
World War IIpeace
Freedom from disturbance
peacetime · armistice · détente · Pax Americana · world peace