Deck 17: The Second World War

Question 1

The Second World War began with the German invasion of Poland on:

A)December,1941.
B)September,1938.
C)September,1939.
D)June,1944.
E)July,1940.

Answer 1

September,1939.

Question 2

How did Neville Chamberlain presume that the Munich agreement would satisfy Hitler's ambitions?

A)By securing an informal agreement with Mussolini to resist Soviet expansion,which he hoped would moderate Hitler's stance.
B)By demonstrating that the Western democracies were prepared to go to war to prevent further German aggression.
C)By constructing a new system of financial and industrial agreements with Germany to produce economic recovery without rearmament.
D)By allowing Hitler to unify all ethnic Germans in one state.
E)By allying all of western Europe against the Soviet Union.

Answer 2

By allowing Hitler to unify all ethnic Germans in one state.

Question 3

How did France ultimately respond to Germany's stunning early successes in May 1940?

A)The hasty fortification of Paris,followed by a German siege and the ultimate defeat of France.
B)Withdrawal of French forces alongside the British at Dunkirk,followed by the creation of a government in exile in London.
C)The evacuation of French political leaders,reforming the government in the French provinces of colonial Algeria.
D)A rapid surrender after six weeks of fighting,followed by the creation of a neutral,right-wing government in the south of France.
E)Immediate surrender and joining the Axis powers with Italy and Japan.

Answer 3

A rapid surrender after six weeks of fighting,followed by the creation of a neutral,right-wing government in the south of France.

Question 4

To what does the term Blitzkrieg refer?

A)The meticulous planning of the Germans prior to their withdrawal from the League of Nations and their declaration of war on the Soviet Union.
B)The sweeping,meticulous use of German armored vehicles and air power to cut apart slower enemy armies.
C)The German methods of strategic bombing,used on Britain in particular,in an effort to bring victory with few German casualties.
D)The German plan for "cleansing" eastern Europe of ethnically and politically undesirable populations.
E)The new methods of unrestricted submarine warfare,including "wolf packs," designed to starve out Great Britain and the other remaining Allies in 1940.

Question 5

To support the Spanish republican government and to protest the German bombing of a Basque town in April 1937,Pablo Picasso painted:

A)Valencia.
B)Andalusia.
C)Stuka.
D)Barcelona.
E)Guernica.

Question 6

After a policy of appeasement failed to curb Hitler's actions on the Continent,the ruling British government was replaced by a coalition under the leadership of:

A)Neville Chamberlain.
B)Winston Churchill.
C)Clement Atlee.
D)George Orwell.
E)Eric Blair.

Question 7

The Soviet Union and Britain invaded a neutral country,_________,in 1941 to prevent Germany from seizing a valuable war resource.

A)Sweden.
B)Finland.
C)Saudi Arabia.
D)Iran.
E)Thailand.

Question 8

Although France had been defeated by the Germans,it was allowed to establish a subject government in the south of France under the leadership of First World War hero:

A)General Charles de Gaulle.
B)Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain.
C)Marshal Dail Eireann.
D)General Louis Franchet d'Esperey.
E)Captain Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

Question 9

Early in the war,the British in North Africa,though outnumbered,not only resisted the Italian move against Egypt,but very nearly captured the Italian colony of Libya before being thrown back by the Germans,commanded by:

A)Field Marshall Erwin Rommel.
B)Reichführer Heinrich Himmler.
C)Field Marshall Franz von Papen.
D)Field Marshall Hermann Göring.
E)Field Marshall Friedrich Paulus.

Question 10

When the war in the West finally did begin in 1940,the Germans nearly destroyed the combined British and French armies,but a great number of the British and French soldiers escaped in a massive evacuation from:

A)Normandy.
B)Dunkirk.
C)Amsterdam.
D)Calais.
E)Dieppe.

Question 11

How did Stalin respond to the settlement at Munich?

A)By walking out on a secret Soviet defense pact with France.
B)By orchestrating an international organization of communist movements to resist further fascist aggression.
C)By moving troops into Poland to guard against a German attack.
D)By joining an informal alliance to prevent any further German actions against Czechoslovakia.
E)By signing a nonaggression pact with Nazi Germany.

Question 12

Which of the following was NOT a cause of the Second World War's expansion from a European war to a genuinely global conflict?

A)The eruption of conflict between Axis and Allied forces in French and German colonies in Africa.
B)Germany's submarine campaign to starve out Great Britain.
C)Japan's surprise attack on the Allies in the Pacific and its stunning early success.
D)The fighting in North Africa,which threatened the Suez Canal and Allied access to Middle Eastern oil.
E)The establishment of an alliance between Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan.

Question 13

Several consequences of the Great Depression of the 1930s led to the Second World War.Among these was:

A)an increase in military spending by the United States.
B)a decrease in involvement in the League of Nations by the United States.
C)the decrease in aggressive tendencies by the fascist governments of Europe.
D)an intensification of economic nationalism.
E)the admission of Germany and the Soviet Union to the League of Nations.

Question 14

How did Nazi efforts to end the Great Depression in Germany contribute to the militarization of Europe?

A)Through French fears of German rearmament,which produced a massive French response in kind.
B)Through fears of a potential conflict between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
C)Through a massive program of rearmament,also intended to reduce unemployment.
D)Through a financial crisis triggered by German refusal to continue reparation payments.
E)Through the employment of thousands in building a series of defensive forts,the Siegfried Line,along the eastern border of Germany.

Question 15

The Second World War differed from the First World War in many ways that did NOT include:

A)an increase in firepower and mobility.
B)a change of targets to include civilian populations.
C)the improvement of trench warfare.
D)the development of Blitzkrieg warfare.
E)the use of the atomic bomb.

Question 16

Hitler's stated objective in the 1930s was to reunite all ethnic Germans inside his "Third German Reich," and the first move to accomplish this objective was the:

A)reoccupation of the Rhineland.
B)occupation of the "Polish Corridor."
C)annexation of Austria.
D)annexation of the Czechoslovakian Sudetenland.
E)annexation of Alsace-Lorraine.

Question 17

The strategy employed by the Allies in the Pacific campaign consisted of attacking strategic Japanese bases was referred to as:

A)"island hopping."
B)"cherry picking."
C)"a turkey shoot."
D)"staying on the beam."
E)"strategic targeting."

Question 18

The mandate territories were created after World War I:

A)to act as a buffer between Germany and France.
B)to allow the people of eastern Europe to achieve self-determination.
C)to add to both the French and the British empires.
D)to provide a homeland for the Jewish people in accordance with the Balfour Declaration.
E)to serve as a buffer zone between Germany and Poland.

Question 19

Two naval battles of 1942 fought by aircraft operating from each side's carriers,marking the extent of Japanese expansion and the turning point of the war in the Pacific,were:

A)Guadalcanal and Leyte Gulf.
B)Iwo Jima and Saipan.
C)Leyte Gulf and Pearl Harbor.
D)Guam and Manchukuo.
E)Coral Sea and Midway.

Question 20

Japan's actions in the Pacific,which led to conflict with the Allies in the Second World War,began with its efforts to establish what Japan referred to as a(n):

A)Japanese Economic Development Area.
B)Greater Japanese Empire.
C)Greater Pacific Co-Prosperity Sphere.
D)East Asian Sphere of Prosperity.
E)East Asian Development Sphere.

Question 21

During the German occupation of Eastern Europe and the campaign of extermination they carried out,only in the _________ did the Jewish inhabitants attempt significant resistance.

A)Prague Ghetto
B)Budapest Ghetto
C)Warsaw Ghetto
D)Leipzig Ghetto
E)Venice Ghetto

Question 22

In 1942,the German invasion of the Soviet Union ground to a halt and was reversed at the battle of:

A)Moscow.
B)Leningrad.
C)Stalingrad.
D)Yekaterinburg.
E)Minsk.

Question 23

Once Hitler had pieced together an empire that stretched across Europe,he declared:

A)"We have forged the foundation for a new Greater German Empire which shall last until the end of time!"
B)"Germans were created to rule the world;we have finally begun to realize our birthright and destiny."
C)"We come as the vanguard of a new Germany which shall rule with fairness and justice."
D)"The world shall learn of the consequences of stabbing Germany in the back."
E)"We come as the heralds of a New Order and a new justice."

Question 24

The German forces in Europe began to retreat toward Germany in the summer of 1944,but in December 1944 they launched a counterattack,known as the battle of _________,which very nearly broke through Allied lines.

A)Waterloo
B)the Bulge
C)Stalingrad
D)the Meuse-Argonne
E)the Somme

Question 25

Although German scientists were the first to create a nuclear chain reaction,the first nuclear reactor,which was needed to build an atomic bomb,was constructed at the:

A)University of Chicago.
B)University of Moscow.
C)London Polytechnic Institute.
D)Max Planck Institute.
E)Sorbonne.

Question 26

In 1943,the Americans helped relieve pressure on the Soviets by leading an attack on the Axis Powers by invading:

A)Sicily.
B)Mallorca.
C)Crete.
D)the Balkan Peninsula.
E)southern France.

Question 27

Although all of Western Europe had fallen to German arms by the summer of 1941,Hitler's ultimate goal lay to the east where he next attacked under the code name "Operation:

A)Nibelungenlied."
B)Nevsky."
C)Teuton."
D)Barbarossa."
E)Kasserine."

Question 28

Having defeated the French the previous year,in 1941,Hitler turned his attention to:

A)Britain.
B)Poland.
C)the Balkans.
D)Spain.
E)Scandinavia.

Question 29

In the summer of 1943,the largest battle of the Second World War,and perhaps of all history,was fought at:

A)Kasserine.
B)Kursk.
C)Kapek.
D)Dunkirk.
E)Moscow.

Question 30

The nations below were created by the Versailles Treaty of 1919-1920 except:

A)Rumania.
B)Austria.
C)Czechoslovakia.
D)Hungary.
E)Yugoslavia.

Question 31

Long-term failure of post-World War I pacts included all except:

A)the punishing term of the Versailles peace treaty.
B)failure to create international guarantees for peace and security after 1918.
C)a systematic plan of recovery for nations devastated by the war years.
D)successive economic crises during the interwar years.
E)violent forms of nationalism that emerged in Europe during the 1930s.

Question 32

Which of the following actions by the Allies caused the highest casualty rates among Japanese civilians?

A)The "Doolittle Raid" on Tokyo of 1942 in reprisal for the attack on Pearl Harbor.
B)The shelling of Japanese ports by the United States Navy.
C)The dropping of the two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
D)The mass firebombing of Japanese cities during the summer of 1945.
E)The naval blockade of the Japanese home island that led to widespread starvation.

Question 33

To what does the term Untermenschen refer?

A)It is a derogatory term for French soldiers developed after France's rapid defeat in 1940.
B)It is the nickname given by German sailors to those who served on submarines during the war.
C)It refers to the leaders of Nazi Einsatzgruppen assigned to murder or deport Jewish communities or other targeted groups in Eastern Europe.
D)It is the formal title for German governors of occupied territories created in the conquered regions of Europe.
E)It refers to the "subhuman" racial categories of Jews,Gypsies,and Slavs marked for murder by Nazi officials in occupied Europe.

Question 34

Which of the following nations saw the spread of popular acts of passive resistance and the covert evacuation of its Jewish population after Nazi occupation?

A)Sweden.
B)France.
C)Yugoslavia.
D)Denmark.
E)Switzerland.

Question 35

Industrially,the Allies had several advantages over the Axis powers,not the least of which was:

A)a superior work force,which was able to maintain production utilizing eight-hour days throughout the war.
B)not pursuing perfection,but developing working,standard designs and producing them in overwhelming numbers.
C)the altruism shown by industrialists who forswore all profits for the duration of the war.
D)the use of all segments of the population in war work;schools were canceled so that children could work in factories.
E)more modern equipment and factories,since the Germans and Japanese had not been able to rebuild their industry after World War I.

Question 36

The first troops to enter and occupy Berlin at the end of the war were:

A)Soviet.
B)British.
C)French.
D)American.
E)Belgian.

Question 37

The most important "second front" opened by the Allies in Europe occurred in June 1944 with the:

A)Allied invasion of Italy.
B)Allied invasion of Norway.
C)U.S.invasion of Algeria.
D)Allied landings in Normandy.
E)start of a massive bombing campaign against German cities.

Question 38

Soon after coming to power,the Nazis adopted a policy of Rassenkampf,which dealt with:

A)Racial policies to keep German blood pure.
B)Labor relations within Germany.
C)Educational policies to ensure all Germans received a primary education.
D)Providing for universal military service.
E)Policies to guarantee that all Germans were physically fit.

Question 39

Which of the following was NOT a major contributing factor to the eventual Soviet victory against Germany?

A)Russian skill at studying the systematic Blitzkrieg,then using its flaws to trap and destroy large German army groups.
B)Relentless propaganda campaigns designed to convince Germany's allies of the Nazis' unreliability and the hopelessness of their cause.
C)The personal determination of Soviet soldiers and civilians,who endured massive casualties,starvation,and disease to achieve victory.
D)The hard blows of the Russian winter against the lives,supplies,and morale of Axis forces unprepared for the bitter weather.
E)The willingness of Russian military leaders to sacrifice large numbers of their own soldiers to ultimately defeat the Germans.

Question 40

What description best characterizes the Vichy government's treatment of France's Jewish population?

A)Passive resistance to German efforts at criminalization and deportation.
B)Active resistance to deportation but enforcement of anti-Semitic laws.
C)A conflict of interest between the revival of French patriotism and anti-Semitic laments in the regime.
D)Selective enforcement of racial laws based on political affiliation.
E)Selective support of deportation and the passage of sweeping anti-Semitic legislation.

Question 41

The League of Nations included all the participants of the First World War,including France,Britain,the United States,Germany,and the Soviet Union.

Question 42

The "Rape of Nanjing" Japanese deliberately targeted Chinese civilians to break their will to fight.

Question 43

The Allies launched a successful attack on the Germans in December 1944 that broke the German lines and nearly ended the war,an attack known as the Battle of the Bulge.

Question 44

Which of the following was the correct advancement of Japanese naval power in the Pacific?

A)Pearl Harbor,Dutch East Indies,Singapore,Philippines,Corregidor
B)Dutch East Indies,Pearl Harbor,Singapore,Philippines,Corregidor
C)Pearl Harbor,Philippines,Singapore,Corregidor,Dutch East Indies
D)Pearl Harbor,Singapore,Philippines,Corregidor,Dutch East Indies
E)Dutch Indies,Pearl Harbor,Philippines,Singapore,Corregidor

Question 45

"Island hopping" was a removed,yet brutal,form of warfare in which the American navy destroyed Japan's network of island bases throughout the Pacific by aerial bombings.

Question 46

The presence of a British army's near capture of Tunisia forced Germany to intervene by creating an elite armed force called the Afrika Korps led by Germany's most daring tank commander,Erwin Rommel.

Question 47

The siege of Leningrad was important not only for its display of Russian tenacity in their ability to hold out for 844 days of battle,but also for turning many of Germany's former allies in the Ukraine against the Nazis in reaction to this effort of "pacification."

Question 48

The formation of the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo Axis resulted in the blend of post 1930's violent nationalism and Socialist ideologies that glorified the nation and national destiny.

Question 49

General Franco's Nationalist Movement:

A)led to a brutal Civil War in Spain resulting in over 500,000 deaths.
B)used Spanish bombers to practice destroying civilian targets from the air.
C)was viewed by Germany and Italy as war lessons for future conflicts.
D)witnesses few attacks on Catholic priests and monasteries.
E)caused many Spanish Republicans to seek safety in Britain and France.

Question 50

Appeasement seamed a viable option to Fascist and nationalist governments in the 1930s.Arguments included all except:

A)belief France,Britain and the United States held that a "limited war" was acceptable.
B)a majority of western nations in the aftermath of World War I favored policies of pacifism.
C)belief aggressive resistance to Hitler might result in diminished support from their own governments.
D)many appeasers were staunch anticommunists.
E)many western powers were supporters of strong national policies.

Question 51

Hitler turned his attention to Russia in large part because fighting England's R.A.F.proved to be too costly and resulted not in quick victory,but a stalemate.

Question 52

Use of the atomic bomb was considered necessary by both senior military and naval commanders who realized Japan would never surrender.

Question 53

The Battle of Britain:

A)Hitler successful blitzkrieg destroyed Yorkshire.
B)the British royal air force (RAF)was spared due to a German miscalculation.
C)British resistance was strengthened by the appointment of Conservative Prime Minister,Winston Churchill.
D)British Labour politicians were not allowed to take positions of power in Parliament.
E)the lend lease did not meet the British expectations of needed war supplies.

Question 54

The War in North Africa involved the below actions except:

A)Britain sent a small army to Egypt to protect the Suez Canal.
B)the Soviets and British invaded Iran to protect their oil interests.
C)a conference was held at Casablanca to determine the fate of French held African territories.
D)the United States landed in Algeria and Morocco to support the Allied war effort.
E)Rommel was successful in invading Egypt with a victory near the town of El Alamein.

Question 55

Use of the bomb established a new relationship between science and political power.

Question 56

After the war,many former colonies found themselves worse off than before,having lost troops and supplies in the support of their colonial powers,and were more dependent than ever on their colonial overlords.

Question 57

The German panzers,enormous repeat-firing guns,were part of the wave of new technologies Germany brought
to war.

Question 58

World War II is referred to as a "Total War" because:

A)military deployment took place in all European nations.
B)battles often included combined air,infantry and sea engagements.
C)civilians as well as military troops often were engaged in military action.
D)the war efforts changed the standards of living around the world.
E)new war technologies were introduced throughout the war effort.

Question 59

Early German advances 1936 to 1939 in correct sequence included which of the following?

A)Rhineland,Austria,Sudetenland,Czechoslovakia,Poland
B)Rhineland,Austria,Czechoslovakia,Sudetenland,Poland
C)Czechoslovakia,Poland Rhineland Sudetenland Austria
D)Austria,Rhineland,Sudetenland,Czechoslovakia,Poland
E)Sudetenland Rhineland,Austria,Czechoslovakia,Poland

Question 60

Germany's occupation of Europe included all except:

A)taking Yugoslavia in 1941.
B)taking Greece after a successful capture of the island of Rhodes.
C)the invasion of Soviet Union In June of 1941.
D)plunder form victories enhanced the German economy.
E)Romania,Hungry and Bulgaria joined the Nazis' cause as allies.

Question 61

In what ways was the war between Germany and Russia a war of racial hatred?

Question 62

The effect of the Nazi concentration camps was to render their inmates numb and incapacitated,making them acquiesce to a slow death.Proof of this is found in the complete lack of rebellions in any camp.

Question 63

What was the effect of Hitler's attack on civilians in the early stages of the war?

Question 64

How was the policy of appeasement to blame for many of Hitler's early successes?

Question 65

What was the "Second Front," and what was its effect on the war?

Question 66

How did the United States acquire the atomic bomb before the Germans?

Question 67

In what ways did the Spanish Civil War foreshadow World War II?

Question 68

What role did other European countries play in the persecution of the Jews?

Question 69

Hitler had always seen the nonaggression pact with the Soviet Union as an act of convenience,to last only until Germany was ready for the final conflict.On June 22,1941,Hitler began Operation Barbarossa,the invasion of the Soviet Union.

Question 70

In 1942,the United States won crucial victories in the Coral Sea and at Midway,a battle fought at sea and in the air by aircraft flown form carriers.

Question 71

How did the war affect women?

Question 72

What factors combined to save Britain from the same fate as the rest of Europe in 1941?

Question 73

What factors combined to change Russian fortunes in the war after 1941?