With her stoic expression and flexed bicep, Rosie the Riveter really can do it. And for the women of the World War II generation, that meant anything from riveting to welding. But even Rosie's pert, polka-dotted headscarf scraped the glass ceiling. See more »

Blitzkrieg, the German word for "lightning war." There was some mention of the word at the time of the Spanish Civil War (1937-39), but it did not come into common use in English until the German conquest of Poland in 1939, the beginning of World War II. See more »

Concentration Camp, a place where a large number of political prisoners or a certain population group is held. See more »

Decorations and Medals, awards granted for heroism, self-sacrifice, outstanding achievement, or other forms of service. See more »

Gestapo the secret police of Nazi Germany. The word is an abbreviation of Geheime Staatspolizei (secret state police). See more »

National Socialist German Workers' Party, the political party, led by Adolf Hitler, that ruled Germany from 1933 to 1945. See more »

Nuremberg Trials, the war-crimes trials of 22 German Nazi leaders and several organizations at the end of World War II. See more »

Afrika Korps (Africa Corps), a World War II German army organization that fought in North Africa, 1941-42. See more »

Frank, Anne (1929-1945), a German-Jewish girl who died in a concentration camp in World War II. See more »

Appeasement, in international relations, the act of yielding to a foreign government's demands in an effort to eliminate grievances that might lead to war. See more »