Key Terms and Figures of World War II
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The Phoney War
It was an eight-month period at the start of World War II (1939), during which there were almost no military operations. It was nicknamed “Phoney War” as it was compared to the gruesome early battles of WWI.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
He was the 32nd president of the United States at the time of World War Two.
Benito Mussolini
He was Duce (dictator) of the Italian Republic until his execution due to his alliance with Nazi Germany.
Vichy France
Political regime established by Marshal Philippe Pétain that ruled over those areas of France not occupied by Nazi Germany. It was created after the signing of the armistice with Nazi Germany and it lasted until August 1944.
Battle of El Alamein
It was an important battle that took place in Egypt during WWII. The German forces led by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel were defeated by the Allied forces. The British won the battle. Axis troops had penetrated into Egypt to control the Suez Canal and the oil fields of the Middle East.
Battle of Kursk
It was a series of battles between the German and Soviet troops that ended with the Soviet victory. After this defeat, Germany started a defensive posture until the end of WWII.
Yalta Conference
It was a meeting held before the end of World War II in which Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt met to talk about the end of WWII. They agreed on Germany's division into four occupation zones, and the creation of an international organization to replace the League of Nations was agreed upon.
Heinrich Himmler
He was a high-ranking Nazi official. He was the leader of the SS (a military, political, and security organization at the service of Adolf Hitler. It went from being a small paramilitary organization to one of the most powerful organizations in Nazi Germany).
Atlantic Charter
It was a pivotal policy statement issued during World War II on 14 August 1941 which defined the Allied goals for the post-war world.
The Marshall Plan
It was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to aid Western Europe, in which the United States gave over $12 billion in economic assistance to help rebuild Western European economies after the end of World War II.