Deck 32: New Conflagrations: World War II

Question 1

By December 1941,the Soviets gained two new allies in their struggle to defeat the German invasion of their country: a severe winter and

A)China.
B)India.
C)the United States.
D)Finland.
E)Romania.

Answer 1

the United States.

Question 2

In the wake of the Munich Conference,what leader proposed that the meeting had ensured "peace for our time"?

A)Winston Churchill
B)Adolf Hitler
C)Benito Mussolini
D)Joseph Stalin
E)Neville Chamberlain

Answer 2

Neville Chamberlain

Question 3

The Tripartite Pact brought together

A)England,France,and the Soviet Union.
B)China,England,and the United States.
C)Germany,Italy,and Japan.
D)England,the Soviet Union,and the United States.
E)Germany,Italy,and Austria.

Answer 3

Germany,Italy,and Japan.

Question 4

In 1938,Germany sent troops into what country and forced its leaders to accept the Anschluss?

A)the Rhineland
B)Poland
C)France
D)Austria
E)Czechoslovakia

Question 5

The European part of World War II began with the

A)Soviet invasion of Romania.
B)Polish invasion of Germany.
C)German invasion of Poland.
D)German takeover of Austria.
E)Munich Conference.

Question 6

While the Russian-German Treaty of Nonaggression was,on the surface,a nonaggression pact,it had secret stipulations that spelled out

A)the division of eastern Europe.
B)a plan for the eventual invasion of the United States.
C)the plans for the "final solution."
D)the division of China into spheres of influence.
E)the expansion of the treaty to include the British.

Question 7

After the fall of France in 1940,the only country standing in opposition to Germany was

A)Britain.
B)the United States.
C)the Soviet Union.
D)Italy.
E)Norway.

Question 8

Hitler's air force was able to intervene in and use which war to gain valuable military experience?

A)Russian civil war
B)Ethiopian civil war
C)Czechoslovakian civil war
D)Algerian civil war
E)Spanish civil war

Question 9

Hitler's comment "You only have to kick in the door,and the whole rotten structure will come down" was a reference to the planned act of invading which of the following powers?

A)Great Britain
B)France
C)Italy
D)Poland
E)the Soviet Union

Question 10

The weakness of the League of Nations was revealed in its inability to take any substantial action in response to the Italian invasion of

A)Czechoslovakia.
B)Ethiopia.
C)Austria.
D)Egypt.
E)Switzerland.

Question 11

The high point of appeasement was

A)the Munich Conference.
B)the signing of the Nazi-Soviet Pact.
C)the German invasion of Poland.
D)Germany sending troops into the demilitarized Rhineland.
E)the Washington Conference.

Question 12

Operation Barbarossa was the

A)British plan for a counter invasion of Germany.
B)German plan for an invasion of France through Belgium.
C)Polish operation designed to steal the secret German code machine.
D)German plan for an invasion of the Soviet Union.
E)American plan for a landing at Normandy in northern France.

Question 13

Adolf Hitler often spoke of the "November crime," which was the

A)election of Franklin Roosevelt.
B)Bolshevik takeover in Russia.
C)signing of an alliance between England and the Soviet Union.
D)Japanese takeover of China.
E)signing of the 1918 armistice.

Question 14

"Asia for Asians" was the slogan of the

A)Japanese.
B)Chinese.
C)Indians.
D)Vietnamese.
E)Koreans.

Question 15

By September 1937 nationalists and communists in China had

A)largely lost the capability to fight.
B)begun to fight against each other as fiercely as they fought against the Japanese.
C)agreed on a "united front" policy against the Japanese.
D)reached out to Japanese occupiers with peace offerings.
E)begun to work with the Germans to fight Japan.

Question 16

The German Blitzkrieg referred to

A)an elaborate series of concrete bunkers built on the experiences of World War II.
B)the Nazi plan for a "final solution" to the "Jewish question."
C)the living space in the east that was necessary for an expanding Germany.
D)a lightning war.
E)the German representative assembly that voted Hitler into power.

Question 17

The Japanese goal in the bombing of Pearl Harbor was to

A)take the first step in a planned invasion of the United States.
B)draw the Americans away from fighting the Germans in Europe.
C)permanently add Hawai`i to the Japanese empire.
D)destroy the United States' naval capacity.
E)implement the "final solution."

Question 18

World War II began with

A)the assassination of Franz Ferdinand.
B)Japanese attacks on China.
C)a Russian invasion of Poland.
D)the Nazi invasion of Poland.
E)the German takeover of Czechoslovakia.

Question 19

The height of Japanese atrocity in China was reached at the Rape of

A)Beijing.
B)Shanghai.
C)Hong Kong.
D)Nanjing.
E)Manchukuo.

Question 20

In the Battle of Britain,the Germans hoped to defeat the English

A)through a massive naval invasion of Scotland.
B)through their secret alliance with the Irish.
C)almost solely through air attacks led by the Luftwaffe.
D)through simultaneous attacks launched from Norway and France.
E)using their vast advantage in submarine warfare.

Question 21

The majority of the "comfort women" in World War II were from China and

A)Japan.
B)Russia.
C)the United States.
D)the Philippines.
E)Korea.

Question 22

On 7 December 1941,Japanese pilots attacked Pearl Harbor,Hawai`i,with the hope of destroying American naval capacity in the Pacific,which would clear the way for the conquest of southeast Asia for Japan.

Question 23

In March 1938,Hitler forced Anschluss with Austria,justifying the annexation as an attempt to reintegrate all Germans into a single homeland.

Question 24

Benito Mussolini promised to bring glory to Italy through acquisition of territories;Ethiopia and Albania were acquired through conquest and annexation.

Question 25

"Comfort women" were

A)members of the WAVES (Women Appointed for Volunteer Emergency Service).
B)American women who took over men's work during the course of World War II.
C)women forced into prostitution by the Japanese.
D)German spies sent to infiltrate Allied nations.
E)wealthy women who received the title as an insult because of their refusal to assist in the war effort.

Question 26

The Warsaw Pact

A)was under the leadership of Lech Walesa.
B)was formed in response to NATO.
C)was designed to contain the spread of communism.
D)was a free trade organization designed to foster greater economic expansion in western Europe.
E)monitored the treaty that ended World War II.

Question 27

The Normandy invasion

A)failed,and Hitler was not able to conquer Britain.
B)allowed Hitler to surprise the French and enter Paris with relative ease.
C)failed because of stiffening Russian resistance and the onset of winter.
D)freed Italy.
E)overwhelmed the Germans and led to the collapse of the German western front.

Question 28

On 1 September 1939,the German military invaded Poland;the world was stunned by the German Blitzkrieg and sudden victory.

Question 29

Japan,Germany,and Italy-known as the Axis powers-squared off against the Allied powers of France,Great Britain,the Soviet Union,China,and the United States.

Question 30

During the battle of Okinawa,

A)the people of Okinawa took the opportunity to rebel against their Japanese oppressors.
B)the United States suffered a devastating defeat that almost cost them the entire war.
C)the United States introduced its own variety of the V-1 rocket.
D)the United States was able to seize 90 percent of Vietnam.
E)roughly 110,000 Okinawan civilians died,refusing to surrender.

Question 31

The key to the Allied victories in Europe and Asia was

A)industrial capacity and personnel reserves.
B)the creation of the atomic bomb.
C)a better group of generals.
D)the complete agreement on all issues among the British,Soviets,and Americans.
E)convincing Japan to change sides.

Question 32

The U.S.secret weapon in the Pacific campaign was

A)an almost three-to-one advantage in aircraft carriers.
B)its alliance with the Soviets.
C)its possession of the atomic bomb from 1941 on.
D)massive military aid from Korea and Vietnam.
E)a code-breaking operation known as Magic.

Question 33

The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere was envisioned by

A)the United States.
B)Germany.
C)China.
D)England.
E)Japan.

Question 34

In the Battle of Okinawa,the Japanese introduced

A)their own unsuccessful atomic weapon.
B)the V-1 rocket.
C)a new and particularly lethal poison gas.
D)kamikaze pilots.
E)a new,more devastating model of submarine that effectively ended the U.S.policy of island-hopping.

Question 35

The Japanese finally surrendered in August 1945

A)in response to the surrender of Germany.
B)after the emperor resigned and a republic was established.
C)after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
D)after the American landing at Kyushu.
E)after the Soviet landing at Okinawa.

Question 36

The largest of the Nazi death camps was

A)Treblinka.
B)Kulmhof.
C)Belzec.
D)Majdanek.
E)Auschwitz.

Question 37

At the Wannsee Conference,

A)the British agreed to hand over the Sudetenland to Hitler.
B)Germany officially surrendered and signed the peace treaty.
C)the United Nations was founded.
D)the Nazis decided to implement the "final solution."
E)differences among the former Allies helped lead to the cold war.

Question 38

The economic adjunct to the Truman Doctrine in which the U.S.government sought to shore up the infrastructure of western Europe was known as the

A)Roosevelt Corollary.
B)Council for Mutual Economic Assistance.
C)Marshall Plan.
D)North American Treaty Organization.
E)United Nations.

Question 39

In 1933,Japan withdrew from the League of Nations after it condemned China for its conquest of Manchuria.

Question 40

The U.S.victory in the Pacific that turned the tide against the Japanese was

A)Pearl Harbor.
B)Guam.
C)Midway.
D)Iwo Jima.
E)Okinawa.

Question 41

Examine the origins of the cold war.What were the essential problems? What events and leaders were crucial in this movement?

Question 42

Examine the early German successes in World War II.Why was Hitler so successful? What was Germany's high point? How close was Hitler to total victory? What were the turning points in World War II? What mistakes did Hitler make? How quickly did the tide turn against Germany? Discuss the end of the war.

Question 43

When defending the "final solution," Heinrich Himmler said,"We had the moral right,we had the duty towards our people,to destroy this people that wanted to destroy us." What did Himmler mean? Relate this passage to German nationalism.Why did the Germans decide on the "final solution" to the "Jewish question"?

Question 44

Examine the role of women in World War II.In what ways did women on the Allied side contribute to the war effort? Discuss the fate of "comfort women."

Question 45

Yamaoka Michiko reported that right after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima,a friend told her "Miss Yamaoka,you look like a monster!" How devastating was the atomic bomb? Why did the United States drop the bomb? Did the U.S.have a choice?

Question 46

At the Wannsee Conference,Nazi bureaucrats decided to evacuate all Jews in Europe to work and extermination camps.

Question 47

German and Japanese war production matched that of the Allied powers during World War II.

Question 48

What were the east Asian roots of World War II? What were Japan's goals? How successful would Japan be in achieving these goals? What were the roots of the antagonism between Japan and the United States?

Question 49

What role did the Soviet Union play in the course of World War II and the origins of the cold war? Why did the Soviet-American partnership collapse so quickly? What were the main Soviet goals at the end of World War II?

Question 50

Discuss the Pacific theater of World War II.What led to the bombing of Pearl Harbor? What were the Japanese goals? What was the height of Japan's power? What were the turning points?

Question 51

Compare and contrast the origins of World War I and World War II.Were there any similarities? Discuss the nature and size of the conflict.Why has World War II been called the "good war"?

Question 52

What were the consequences of World War II? How destructive was the war? How was the postwar world shaped by the war?

Question 53

Discuss the Rape of Nanjing.What were the wartime goals of the Japanese? Why are these atrocities less well known than those perpetrated by the Germans in Europe?

Question 54

Despite their differences,the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to the creation of a supranational organization dedicated to keeping world peace.

Question 55

Although many tried,women were not allowed to join the military services or work on factory assembly lines during World War II.

Question 56

The combination of the Soviet Union declaring war on Japan in August 1945 and the devastation caused by nuclear bombs persuaded Emperor Hirohito to surrender unconditionally on 15 September 1945.

Question 57

With the Soviets attacking from the east and with U.S.and British forces attacking Germany from the west,the Allies forced a conditional surrender of Germany on 8 May 1945.

Question 58

Sometime during 1941,the Nazi leadership committed to the "final solution" of the Jewish question,a solution that entailed the attempted murder of every Jew living in Europe.

Question 59

Following World War II,the cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union began.

Question 60

The Marshall Plan crystallized the notion of a world divided between free and enslaved people.

Question 61

What factors led to the defeat of the Axis powers in Europe?

Question 62

What was the Japanese purpose in attacking the United States? What was their long-range plan?

Question 63

Read the section from Yamaoka Michiko's account of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima .What were the reasons behind the decision to drop the bomb? Were there other options? What role would the existence of the atomic bomb play in the cold war?

Question 64

What were some of the forms of resistance to occupying forces? How effective were these efforts? Why was resistance so difficult?

Question 65

Note the specific steps taken by Italy and Germany in the 1930s that were in direct violation of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.

Question 66

Why didn't Britain and France object when Hitler and Mussolini violated the peace treaty? What were the consequences of their policy of appeasement?

Question 67

Compare the occupation policies of Germany and Japan during the war.

Question 68

What was the "final solution"? How did it represent Hitler's philosophy?

Question 69

How did the war affect civilian populations,families,and women on the home front?

Question 70

Discuss the origins of the cold war.What were the fundamental differences between the Soviet Union and the United States? What role did ideology play in the cold war? Examine the contrasting ideologies of the superpowers.

Question 71

Examine Map 32.1,High tide of Axis expansion in Europe and north Africa,1942-1943.How had the Germans reached this point? How close was Hitler to complete victory at this point? What mistakes would he make?

Question 72

One of the old complaints about the origins of World War II is that if only the British and French hadn't "appeased" Hitler,then the whole conflict could have been avoided.Is this theory justified? Could the war have been avoided?

Question 73

Examine Map 32.2,World War II in Asia and the Pacific.When did Japan have its greatest advantage? Why was it necessary to attack the United States? What battles were most important in the Pacific theater of the war?

Question 74

Describe the strategy of the Blitzkrieg.How were the Germans able to overwhelm continental Europe so quickly?

Question 75

What steps did the United States take to support the Allies,both in Asia and in Europe,before Pearl Harbor?