This glossary contains terms that are related to World War II. In this section, you can learn the meaning to some of the most important terms that are associated with the Second World War.
World War II Memorial, National, a memorial on the grounds of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. See more »
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.
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It was the time of what some people call the "greatest generation." Those who lived through it understand all too well how the war changed and shaped their lives. Find out how much you really know about World War II in our quiz.
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 »El Alamein, Battle of, October 23 to November 3, 1942, a decisive battle in the North African campaign of World War II.
See more »Stalingrad, Battle of, a decisive battle of World War II between Germany and the Soviet Union.
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 »Bretton Woods Conference, the name commonly given to the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference held in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in 1944.
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 »European Recovery Program, or Marshall Plan (1947–51), the project of economic reconstruction of Europe promoted by the United States after World War II.
See more »Four Freedoms, the name given to the general world aims of the United States, as described by President Franklin D.
See more »Gestapo the secret police of Nazi Germany. The word is an abbreviation of Geheime Staatspolizei (secret state police).
See more »Graf Spee,Admiral, one of three German pocket battleships, built to evade treaty provisions intended to prevent Germany from having big-gun ships.
See more »Holocaust, The, the systematic slaughter of European Jews by the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler in Germany during World War II.
See more »Italo-Ethiopian War, 1935–36, a war in which Italy conquered Ethiopia and annexed it to its colonial empire.
See more »Kamikaze a Japanese suicide pilot or plane in World War II. The plane was filled with explosives and carried only enough fuel for a short, one-way trip.
See more »Lend-Lease Act, an act of Congress passed during World War II authorizing the President to “sell, transfer title to, exchange, lease, lend, or otherwise dispose of .
See more »Lidice (Czech:), a former village in what is now the Czech Republic, 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Prague.
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