A military officer who serves as an assistant to a superior military officer.
Allied Control Commissions
Groups comprised of Allied representatives who were responsible for regulating and controlling the implementation of armistice terms in defeated Axis countries. One Allied Control Commission was confirmed at the Allied conference in Yalta, Crimea, in February 1945 to oversee Germany’s postwar division between the Allies.
Allies, Allied
During World War II, those countries that forged an alliance to fight against the Axis powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan). The major Allied countries were Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States.
Anti-Comintern Pact
Treaties signed between Germany and Japan on November 25, 1936, and between Germany, Italy, and Japan on November 6, 1937, affirming their opposition to and pledge for mutual defense against the Communist International (or Comintern), an association of international communist parties founded in 1919. In reality, the pact was directed against the Soviet Union.
Appeasement
A foreign policy of negotiation, conciliation, and concession. The policy was adopted by British prime minister Neville Chamberlain toward Germany as that nation became increasingly aggressive. Instead of interfering as Hitler violated the post-World War I Treaty of Versailles, rearmed Germany, annexed Austria in 1938, and invaded Czechoslovakia in early 1939, some countries used appeasement to try to avoid another world war.
Aryan
The word used by the Nazis to describe Caucasians of non-Jewish descent.
Atlantic Charter
A joint declaration issued by British prime minister Winston Churchill and U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt on August 14, 1941, after a conference held in Placentia Bay, off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. Although the U.S. had not yet entered World War II, the leaders pledged in this statement to work towards a postwar world that upheld the principles of self-governance and freedom for every country.
Atomic bomb
A weapon of potent destructive force that derives its power from nuclear fission. Atomic bombs were first developed in the United States and used by the U.S. against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945. More than 100,000 people died in these cities when the bombs were detonated.
Attlee, Clement
The prime minister of Great Britain from 1945–1951. He succeeded Winston Churchill after Churchill’s party was defeated in the July 1945 general election.
Austro-Hungarian Empire
The European state created by a February 8, 1867, agreement between representatives of Austria and Hungary. The empire was dissolved into several separate countries (including Poland) in 1918 as a result of Austria-Hungary’s military defeat during World War I.
Axis
In World War II, the name given to the alliance forged between the major belligerent powers Germany, Italy, and Japan. Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, and Vichy France also allied with the Axis powers.
Battle of the Atlantic
The military engagements that took place in the Atlantic Ocean from 1939 through 1945 as Axis ships, submarines, and aircraft, primarily German, tried to prevent supplies and support, primarily American, from reaching Europe.
Battle of Britain
The deadly air encounters between Great Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) and the German Luftwaffe (air force) between July 1940 and June 1941. In this battle, the Germans tried to cripple the RAF and demoralize British citizens with nightly bombing raids. Hitler called off the air raids after sustaining heavy losses.
Beer Hall Putsch
The name given to the attempt by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party to start an armed revolution against the German government in Munich, Germany, on November 8–9, 1923, which led to Hitler’s arrest and imprisonment.
Belligerent
A nation at war.
Berlin Wall
A physical barrier constructed out of concrete, topped with barbed wire, and supplemented with land mines and armed guards that visibly divided Berlin into eastern and western sectors. Construction began in 1961, and the wall eventually completely surrounded the enclave of West Berlin. Intended to stop citizens in Soviet-controlled East Berlin and other parts of Germany from defecting to West Berlin, it was finally torn down in 1989.
Big Three
The nickname given to the leaders of the three major Allied countries during World War II: Winston Churchill, of Great Britain; Franklin D. Roosevelt, of the United States; and Joseph Stalin, of the Soviet Union.
Blockade
The isolation of an area, such as a city, caused by the deployment of military troops that prevent people, transport, and goods from entering or exiting the city.
Bolshevik(s)
The larger of the two political factions that developed from the Russian Social-Democratic Workers’ Party in 1903 (the opposing faction was known as the Mensheviks). The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, seized political power in the Russian Revolution of 1917. The Bolshevik party subsequently became the country’s ruling Communist Party.
Bourgeois
A person who is a member of the bourgeoisie, or middle social class, and who is characterized by owning property and having an interest in obtaining material possessions.
British Empire
A term used to describe the territories that were under the control of the British government, based in London, England. At the beginning of World War II, these territories made up one-quarter of the world’s land surface, the largest area ever under one political control.
Cairo Declaration
A document issued by the leaders of China, Great Britain, and the United States on December 1, 1943, after the Allied conference in Cairo, Egypt. In the statement, the allies resolved to force Japan to surrender and to liberate territories held by Japan.
Caucasus Mountains
A mountain range stretching between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea, located in Russia and the former Soviet republics of Georgia and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus area, which also included the former Soviet republic of Armenia, was home to vital oil fields coveted by combatants on both sides during the war.
Central Committee
The governing body of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union. During the 1930s, members of the Committee were among those persecuted by Joseph Stalin as he conducted purges of suspected critics and rivals.
Chamberlain, Neville
British prime minister from 1937–1940 who followed a policy of appeasement towards Germany until at last declaring war on that nation after Hitler invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. After Chamberlain’s resignation on May 10, 1940, Winston Churchill succeeded him as prime minister.
Chancellor of the exchequer
The title held by the senior finance minister in Great Britain. A member of the British cabinet, this position is similar to the U.S. secretary of the treasury.
Charles de Gaulle
French general recognized as the leader of the Free French forces by Winston Churchill soon after France's defeat. Although the Americans wanted de Gaulle's rival, Henri Giraud, to lead a liberated France, the politically astute general organized and led French units against the Axis. By October 1944, both Britain and the United States recognized him as head of France's provisional government.
Chechens
An ethnic group living in Eastern Europe, whose members were accused by the Soviets of collaborating with the Nazis during World War II. In 1944, the Soviets deported the group to Central Asia. Like other deported peoples, such as the Crimean Tatars, high numbers perished in the harsh conditions.
Chief of staff
In the U.S. Army, the most senior officer of that military force. The chief of staff is also a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and reports to the U.S. president.
Cold War
A state of political rivalry and tension existing between the Western Allies (favoring democratically elected governments and independent European states) and the Soviet Union (striving for a Soviet-influenced bloc of communist countries). Characterized by mutual distrust, espionage, the stockpiling of weapons, and a race to develop technologies, this struggle for global supremacy lasted for more than forty years.
Collectivization
A Soviet policy enacted under Joseph Stalin that disallowed private ownership in agriculture and formed large collective (or group) farms. Collectivization was part of a grand scheme to quickly industrialize the Soviet Union.
Committee on Economic Security
A temporary agency created in 1934 as part of U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” to help alleviate the country’s economic hardships during the Great Depression. This agency was to make policy recommendations regarding American economic welfare, and its suggestions laid the groundwork for the Social Security Act passed by the U.S. Congress the following year.
Communism
A style of government characterized by state control over the economy, communal property ownerships, and the equal distribution of goods, wealth, and human labor. The version of communism practiced in the Soviet Union was influenced by the socioeconomic and political philosophy called Marxism, theorized by the German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the 1800s.
Communists
Communists are people who actively adhere to and promote the system of communism.
Communist Bloc
Countries in Eastern Europe that came under the influence of the Soviet Union in the aftermath of World War II (also called the Eastern Bloc or Soviet Bloc). These countries became communist states and, with the Warsaw Pact (signed in 1955), formed a coalition that was ideologically opposed to many western nations during the Cold War.
Communist sympathizers
People who agree with communist ideologies.
Combined Chiefs of Staff
A joint committee of American and British military authorities (the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff and the British Chiefs of Staff) that advised U.S. presidents and British prime ministers on military and operational strategy during World War II.
Concentration camps
Detention centers used, at first, to house people without trial who opposed Germany’s Nazi regime. In the late 1930s, the camp system expanded to hold people the Nazis considered “anti-social”: gypsies, homosexuals, Communists, and especially Jews. These prisoners became slave laborers for the Nazi regime and armaments industry. During World War II, hundreds of camps were set up to house forced laborers, prisoners-of-war or inmates. Extermination camps were created and operated by the SS (Nazi state police force) as vehicles for mass genocide. Million of Jews and Soviet prisoners-of-war, as well as political opponents, ethnic minorities, and the mentally ill were murdered.
Council of Foreign Ministers
A group established at the Allied conference in Potsdam, Germany, in the summer of 1945 to resolve European border issues and negotiate peace treaties in the postwar world. The group’s members were the foreign ministers from China, France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States.
Council of People’s Commissars
The highest governing body in the Soviet Union following the 1917 Bolshevik revolution. Established on October 26, 1917, it existed under this name until 1946, when it became the Council of Ministers. Vladimir Lenin was the first chairman. Many of the original members were executed during Joseph Stalin’s purges in the 1930s.
Coup d’état
A sudden overthrow of a nation’s government, usually brought about by military force.
Crimean Tatars
An ethnic group living in an area of the Ukraine, whose members were accused by the Soviets of collaborating with the Nazis during World War II. In May 1944, the Soviets deported the group to Central Asia. Like other deported peoples, such as the Chechens, high numbers perished in the harsh conditions.
Cross-Channel invasion
Another term for the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied northern France from England across the English Channel. The invasion occurred when Allied troops landed in Normandy, France on June 6, 1944. Also known as the D-Day invasion.
Czar Nicholas II
Russia’s last emperor, who ruled from 1894 to 1917.
Czarist/Tsarist
A government, such as the one existing in Russia prior to the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, headed by a monarch, known as a czar/tsar.
D-Day
June 6, 1944, the day Allied forces landed on the beaches in Normandy, France, to begin their invasion of Nazi-occupied western Europe. The invasion (codenamed Operation Overlord) opened a second European front that eased the pressure on the Soviets in the east.
Dardanelles Campaign
One name given to the 1915 Allied landing on the Gallipoli peninsula during World War I, and the subsequent disastrous and failed attempt to capture the capital of the Ottoman Empire and open a route to Russia. As Great Britain’s first lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill supported an attack through the strategic strait of Dardanelles that resulted in heavy casualties and the loss of ships.
Declaration of the Three Powers
A joint announcement made on December 1, 1943, by Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin following their conference held in Teheran, Iran, that expressed their intent to work closely together to defeat Germany.
Declaration of the United Nations
A document signed on January 1, 1942, in Washington, D.C., by representatives of 26 countries who agreed to establish an alliance called the United Nations to fight the Axis powers.
Declaration on Liberated Europe
A document signed by the leaders of Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States at the conference held in Yalta, Crimea, in February 1945. U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed the document, in which Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, and Roosevelt expressed a commitment to aid the recovery of a liberated but war-torn Europe and pledged to hold free elections in all countries under Allied influence.
Deindustrialization
The reduction of a country’s industrial, or manufacturing, power.
Demarcation line
The boundary of a certain territorial area. During World War II, this term refers to the agreed-upon border within Poland between the areas of that country to be occupied by forces from Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. The line was the river Vistula, which had been decided in the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact of August 1939.
Denouement
The final outcome or resolution in an intricate plot or set of circumstances.
Disarmament
The reduction, limitation, or abolishment of a nation’s military forces.
Distinguished Service Medal
One of the highest honors and decorations that can be bestowed upon a civilian in the United States and awarded only for the most exceptional service to the country in a position of great importance.
Eastern Bloc
Countries in Eastern Europe that came under the influence of the Soviet Union in the aftermath of World War II (also called the Communist Bloc or Soviet Bloc). These countries became communist states and, with the Warsaw Pact (signed in 1955), formed a coalition that was ideologically opposed to many western nations during the Cold War.
Eisenhower, Dwight D.
During World War II, Eisenhower became a five-star general in the United States Army and was appointed the supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in western Europe. He led the invasion of Normandy (D-Day) in June 1944 and, after the war, he became the 34th U.S. president and served two terms (1953–1961).
Engels, Friedrich
A German philosopher who collaborated with another German philosopher, Karl Marx, during the 1800s to produce works that laid out the socioeconomic and political theories known as Marxism, the driving ideology behind the Soviet Union’s brand of communism.
European Recovery Program
A plan first proposed by U.S. Secretary of State George C. Marshall on June 5, 1947, in an address at Harvard University. The plan offered American economic aid to stabilize war-torn European countries and was intended, in part, to encourage democratic—as opposed to communist—ideals and government. Officially, its name was the European Recovery Program, but it became widely known as the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan was successful, with the U.S. furnishing about $13 billion in funds for European recovery and boosting the economic health of participating countries.
Extermination camps
Execution centers operated by the Nazis as a vehicle for genocide during World War II. The camps were used to kill several million people of Jewish descent, as well as others the Nazis deemed undesirable, including prisoners of war, political opponents, ethnic minorities, and the mentally ill. The six main extermination camps where people were killed en masse in gas chambers and crematoriums, including Auschwitz-Birkenau, were located in Poland. In all, the Nazis killed an estimated 6,000,000 Jews, 3,300,000 Soviet prisoners-of-war, 3,000,000 Poles, 3,000,000 Ukrainians, more than 1,000,000 Serbs and Belorussians, and hundreds of thousands from other groups.
Fascism
A political system that emphasizes extreme nationalism (and often, racism), as well as conformity of opinion. A fascist country is usually governed by a totalitarian dictatorship, and terror tactics are used to silence dissenters. During World War II, both Germany, under Adolf Hitler, and Italy, under Benito Mussolini, had fascist governments.
Federal Emergency Relief Administration
A U.S. agency established in May 1933 as part of president Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” program. Intended to aid the unemployed during the Great Depression, it dispersed relief funds to states so that jobs could be created for those out of work. The program was headed by Roosevelt’s close adviser, Harry Hopkins.
Final Solution
The term used by the Nazis to describe their systematic murder of Jews during World War II. Their “final solution to the Jewish question” evolved over time as the Nazis developed more effective and efficient methods of murder. Eventually the six extermination camps set up in former Polish territory became the epicenter of the mass killings. Six million Jews were killed by the Nazis in what is called the Holocaust.
Firebombing
The deployment of incendiary bombs against cities as part of a strategic air offensive. These bombs create huge fires with hurricane force winds that destroy large parts of the cities targeted. Used by the Germans against the British town of Coventry in 1940 and later by the British against German cities like Dresden and Hamburg, these raids were designed to destroy public morale and the ability of the enemy to wage war. In March 1945, the U.S. firebombed Tokyo, the Japanese capital. On one night alone, the fires destroyed buildings and took the lives of around 100,000 people.
First Lord of the Admiralty
The civilian head of a board overseeing Great Britain’s Royal Navy and a member of the British cabinet.
Five-star general
The highest possible rank in the United States Army; the rank was created in 1944 during World War II.
Free France
The French military movement, commanded by General Charles de Gaulle, who continued to fight against the Axis powers after France had surrendered and was occupied by Germany.
French resistance
A movement in France comprised of citizens that opposed the Nazis and the Nazi-supported Vichy government, which had gained political control over France in July 1940. Members of the French resistance published underground newspapers, provided the Allies with intelligence and support, and conducted acts of sabotage and guerrilla warfare.
Führer
Literally means “leader” in German. This title was used to refer to Adolf Hitler, head of the Nazi German state from 1934–1945 and was one of his official titles until his death in 1945.
Gallipoli
A port city in Turkey; also the name for the peninsular region in northwestern Turkey that juts into the Aegean Sea and is also bordered by the Dardanelles strait. During World War I, Allied troops landed on the Gallipoli peninsula (1915) in what is sometimes called the Dardanelles campaign, a disastrous and failed attempt to capture the capital of the Ottoman Empire and open a route to Russia.
Gestapo
A shortened version of the phrase Geheime Staatspolizei (State Secret Police), the Gestapo was a special Nazi police force that began operating in 1933. It used brutality and terror tactics to control the populace and ensure the stability of the Nazi regime.
Government-in-exile
A political system that moved from a country that had been invaded and occupied to another nation where it could continue to operate safely. During World War II, many such governments operated from London once their countries fell to the Axis powers. Leaders governing from abroad planned resistance movements at home, coordinated operations with other Allied nations, and continued to organize forces to retake their homelands.
Grand Alliance
The name used to refer to the partnership between the leaders of Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States (Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, and Franklin D. Roosevelt), who joined together in an attempt to defeat the Axis powers of Germany, Italy, and Japan.
Great Depression
The name given to an economic crisis that struck much of the world mostly during the 1930s, characterized by a sharp drop in currencies and mass unemployment. For the United States, the beginning of the depression was signaled by the stock market crash in late October 1929.
Great Purge, Great Terror
Stalin’s persecution of suspected political enemies in the late 1930s. The purge targeted members of political parties and the Soviet military, as well as entire ethnic groups.
Gulag
A system of forced labor camps in the Soviet Union, often located in a remote areas, which were overseen by the Soviet secret police. The camps were first established in 1919 to house criminals and political and religious dissenters and were later expanded under Joseph Stalin in the 1930s. The death rates in the camps were extremely high as prisoners died from disease, exhaustion, malnutrition, and exposure to the harsh weather.
Hapsburg Empire
A territorial area in Europe ruled by a noble German family with the surname Hapsburg. The Hapsburg family ruled several European dynasties, including the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867–1918).
Himmler, Heinrich
A powerful Nazi in Germany, Himmler headed the German Schutzstaffeln (SS), an elite Nazi police force, from 1929 to 1945. He was also the chief of the German Gestapo (1934–1945) and Germany’s minister of the interior (1943–1945). As minister of the interior, he was responsible for the administration of forced labor and the Nazi’s “final solution,” the murder of millions of Jews. Several weeks after Germany’s defeat, he committed suicide by swallowing potassium cyanide.
Hirohito
Emperor of Japan from 1926 until his death in 1989. As the Japanese emperor during World War II, he announced Japan’s surrender on August 15, 1945.
Home Secretary
A cabinet-level position in the government of Great Britain, the home secretary is the minister who serves as secretary of state for the country’s Home Office, the government department that handles immigration, counterterrorism, and the police.
House of Commons
One of the two legislative bodies in Great Britain’s parliament, to which members are elected; the other is the House of Lords.
International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg
A special court held at Nuremberg, Germany, beginning in November 1945, comprised of members of four Allied nations (France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States) who heard and decided verdicts in the cases of Nazi defendants tried for war crimes.
Iron Cross
A German military decoration. Hitler restored its use in 1939 and decreed that it be awarded for bravery or outstanding service in wartime. The Iron Cross has had several designs since its first use in 1813, but during World War II, the Iron Cross was emblazoned with a swastika, the symbol used by the Nazis.
Iron Curtain Speech
A talk delivered by Winston Churchill, the former prime minister of Great Britain, at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, on March 6, 1946. Churchill used the phrase “iron curtain” to describe the ideological divide growing between the Soviet Union and the Western powers. This gap was becoming more obvious through differences in the European areas occupied or influenced by both parties. Churchill presaged the “Cold War” when he stated in his speech that, “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent.”
Joint Chiefs of Staff
A group of military advisors comprised of members of each of the United States’ armed forces, including the Army, the Air Force, the Navy, and the Marine Corps, that is responsible for advising the president on military affairs and for coordinating military operations and strategy. The Joint Chiefs of Staff was officially formed in February 1942.
Kalmucks
An ethnic group, of Mongolian origin, persecuted under the Soviet regime of Joseph Stalin.
Kamikaze
A term literally meaning “divine wind” that most often refers to pilots in Japan’s air force who flew aircraft into enemy targets, particularly naval vessels, during World War II.
Khrushchev, Nikita
Political leader of the Soviet Union after Joseph Stalin’s death. Khrushchev assumed political power in 1953 and was the country’s premier from 1958 to 1964.
Kremlin
A fortified area of Moscow and the seat of political power in the Soviet Union. Also used to refer to the Soviet government.
Labor camps (Soviet)
Detainment areas in the Soviet Union that were overseen by the Soviet secret police, often located in remote areas. Called the Gulag, these camps were first established in 1919 to house criminals and political and religious dissenters and were later expanded under Joseph Stalin in the 1930s. The death rates in the camps were extremely high as prisoners died from disease, exhaustion, malnutrition, and exposure to the harsh weather.
Labour Party
A left-of-center political party in Great Britain, formed in 1900, that emphasizes labor and union interests and is in opposition to the nation’s Conservative party. During World War II, the Labour Party was part of a government of national unity.
Lend-Lease
A program enacted into law by the U.S. Congress on March 11, 1941, which allowed the nominally neutral United States to supply at-war countries with war matériel and other goods and services necessary for national defense, without requiring the countries to immediately pay for these supplies. Instead, the U.S. would be compensated for the aid at a later date and by means to be determined later.
Left wing
In a political sense, left of the center, or tending toward liberal, progressive, or socialist ideas, as opposed to conservative ones.
Lenin, Vladimir
A Russian revolutionary and leader of the communist Bolsheviks. During the 1917 Russian Revolution, Lenin took political control of the country and remained in power until his death in 1924. He was a founder and the head of the new Soviet state, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or USSR.
Luftwaffe
The German air force.
Lwów
During World War II, this city was the principal cultural center of eastern Poland. Lwów is now located in western Ukraine.
Marshall Plan (European Recovery Program)
A plan first proposed by U.S. Secretary of State George C. Marshall on June 5, 1947, in an address at Harvard University. The plan offered American economic aid to stabilize war-torn European countries and was intended, in part, to encourage democratic—as opposed to communist—ideals and government. Officially, its name was the European Recovery Program, but it became widely known as the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan was successful, with the U.S. furnishing about $13 billion in funds for European recovery and boosting the economic health of participating countries.
Marxism
A socioeconomic and political philosophy theorized by the German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the 1800s, stating that capitalism will eventually be replaced by a socialist system and, through these struggles by the proletariat, classes will disappear. Marxism was the driving ideology behind the Soviet Union’s version of communism.
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
The German-Soviet nonaggression pact negotiated in Moscow by Joachim von Ribbentrop, the foreign minister of Nazi Germany, and Vyacheslav Molotov, the Soviet Union’s commissar of foreign affairs. The pact was dated August 23, 1939, and stipulated a ten-year period of nonaggression between the two countries, as well as increased trade.
Morgenthau Plan
A plan to strip Germany of its industrial power after World War II, proposed by U.S. secretary of the treasury Henry Morgenthau and presented at the Quebec conference in September 1944. The plan, with its harsh, punitive terms, was initially approved, but later abandoned.
Munich Agreement
After meeting in Munich, Germany, representatives from the governments of France, Germany, Great Britain, and Italy signed a document on September 30, 1938, allowing Germany to annex the Sudetenland, an area of western Czechoslovakia. The Czechs had no say in the matter and were forced to comply.
Nazi
An abbreviation of the Nationalsozialistische deutsche Arbeiterpartei (National Socialist German Workers Party), a right-wing and nationalistic political party in Germany originally formed in 1919. Beginning in 1921, the party was led by Adolf Hitler, the man who would become Germany’s dictator by 1934. Hitler continued to lead the party until his death on April 30, 1945; the party was banned after the war and ceased to exist in 1945.
New Deal
The progressive domestic program from the administration of U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt, intended to provide relief to the nation’s citizens suffering from the economic crisis known as the Great Depression.
NKVD
The Soviet security agency (People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs) and secret police force. Officially established in 1934, the NKVD was the forerunner to the KGB. The NKVD oversaw all aspects of internal and state security and controlled the police, criminal investigation departments, fire brigades, internal troops, and prison guards. During World War II, it oversaw convoy troops, soldiers guarding industry and state facilities, railroad and engineering corps, operational forces, and penal colonies. Its agents also apprehended army deserters, enforced discipline in the military, and “recruited” new troops.
Nobel Prize
A prestigious award established by Alfred Nobel, a Swedish inventor. The first prizes were granted in 1901, honoring intellectual achievement in the fields of physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace.
Normandy
A region of northwestern France. In World War II, this is the area where the Allies opened a “second front” against the Germans with the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944.
Nuclear arms race
The competition, particularly between the Soviet Union and the United States, to build up the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons during the years of the Cold War.
Nuremberg
The city in Germany where Nazi defendants were tried for war crimes before an international military tribunal beginning in November 1945.
Occupation zone
A territorial area, ranging in size from a city to an entire country, held by foreign military troops and controlled by a foreign nation.
Occupying powers
Those nations that deploy military troops to hold and control territorial areas outside their borders. After the end of World War II, four of the Allies became occupying powers in Germany: France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States.
Operation Overlord
The codename for the invasion of Nazi-occupied northwest France by Allied forces on June 6, 1944, in Normandy, France. The invasion was led by Supreme Allied Commander and U.S. general Dwight Eisenhower.
Paranoid
A mental disorder characterized by being excessively worried, suspicious, or delusional.
Parliament
Great Britain’s legislative body.
Plenipotentiary for Matters of Disarmament
This diplomatic position, which had full power in the matters concerning disarmament in Germany, was the first official diplomatic appointment for Germany’s Joachim von Ribbentrop. He received the appointment in April 1934.
Polio
Short for poliomyelitis, a viral disease characterized by its crippling effect on the human body, often causing loss of mobility and, at times, paralysis in the limbs.
Polish Home Army
An underground resistance army in Poland first authorized by General Sikorski, the head of the Polish government-in-exile, in January 1940, under the name Union for Armed Struggle (ZWZ). In 1942, the name was changed to the Home Army. This organization resisted enemy forces in Poland, including both Germany and the Soviet Union.
Polish-Soviet Agreement
A document signed on July 30, 1941 by representatives from Poland and the Soviet Union, in which the USSR recognized the Polish government-in-exile and agreed that Polish prisoners-of-war taken by the Soviets during the 1939 invasion of Poland would be released.
Polish-Soviet War (1920)
The fight after the end of World War I between Poland and Bolshevik forces in the Soviet Union for disputed land that lie between the two nations. The Soviets eventually sued for peace and the subsequent treaty, the Peace of Riga, signed on March 18, 1921, divided the disputed territories between the two countries, establishing Polish borders that would hold until September 1939.
Politburo
The executive committee of the Soviet Union’s Communist Party, this organization made decisions regarding the USSR’s political, economic, and military affairs.
Potsdam Declaration
A document issued on July 26, 1945, during the Allied conference at Potsdam, Germany, that laid out the Allies’ demands regarding surrender terms for the Japanese. The document, signed by Great Britain, the United States, and China, limited Japan’s sovereignty to four islands, called for Japanese disarmament, insisted on the prosecution of Japanese war criminals, mandated that the country promote democratic principles, and required the nation to be occupied until these terms were met. Calling for Japan’s “unconditional surrender,” the Allies warned that the alternative was Japan’s “prompt and utter destruction.”
Progressive reforms
In a political sense, efforts to institute change and make improvements to existing systems by improving conditions for workers, the elderly, children, and the mentally ill, among other groups.
Provisional government
A temporary government that is established to serve a country until elections can be held and a permanent government takes over.
Prussia
A kingdom in north and central Europe that comprised parts of modern-day Germany and Poland. Once a great European power, Prussia was officially abolished in 1947, following World War II.
Puppet government
Nominally sovereign systems ruling a country that are, in actuality, under the influence of another nation.
Purge
To get rid of, clean out, or eliminate.
Quebec Agreement
A secret agreement signed on August 19, 1943, by Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Great Britain and the U.S. agreed to coordinate on developing the atomic bomb, and pledged never to use it against one another. They also affirmed they would not deploy the bomb against another country or disclose information about the weapon to other nations without mutual consent.
Red Army
The army organized in Russia by the Bolsheviks in 1918. This name was used for the Soviet Union’s army until 1946.
Reparations
Payments required as compensation for war damages, paid by a defeated country to another country or countries. In the aftermath of World War I, high reparations levied against Germany by the Treaty of Versailles were a source of resentment for German citizens.
Resistance
The act of opposing a force, person, or group; for example, a resistance organization could be a group of citizens in a conquered nation that take actions to oppose the military forces of the occupying country.
Royal Air Force (RAF)
The aviation force of Great Britain.
Russian Civil War
A conflict that occurred in Russia after the Bolsheviks seized control of the country in 1917, lasting until 1920. Many factions were involved, but the two most notable groups were the Bolshevik Red Army and the anticommunist (called White) forces.
Russian Revolution
The 1917 overthrow of Russia’s czarist autocracy, led by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks. As a result, the Czar was deposed, a provisional government was overturned, and the Communist Bolshevik party seized power, paving the way for the establishment of the Soviet Union.
Salient
In military terms, a protrusion of forces into enemy territory, so that a group bulges out from the main line and is surrounded by opposing forces on three sides. A salient is vulnerable to being pinched, or fully surrounded, by the enemy.
Satellite government
A group responsible for the political administration of a country that is under the influence of another nation’s government.
Second front
The engagement of an enemy in an additional combat zone distinct from the first, intended to stress the opponent’s resources and manpower. In World War II, this term refers to the Allied attack on the Nazis in northwest France, which began with D-Day on June 6, 1944. The attack created a second front for the Germans, who were already engaged in fighting the Soviets in eastern Europe.
Sector of influence
An area of partitioned Germany occupied and administered by one of the Allied powers (France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, or the United States) directly after the Nazi surrender in May 1945.
Self-determination
To act or decide without the influence of others, as for citizens to decide the nature of their government without being directed to a course of action by another nation.
Siberia
The vast region in central and eastern Russia where millions of people were exiled to labor camps under Joseph Stalin’s regime.
Slavic
Characterizing people in eastern and southeastern Europe, including those in Russia and Poland.
Socialist League
A political party to the extreme left that formed in England in 1932, largely under the direction of Stafford Cripps, and functioned until 1937.
Social Security System
A part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” program that was mandated by legislation passed in 1935 in which employers and employees pay a tax that is used to provide economic support for the elderly.
Soviet spies
People engaged in espionage work for the Soviet Union.
Sphere of influence
A territorial area that is under the political, military, and/or economic influence of a different nation.
Stock Market Crash of 1929
After reaching a peak of 381 points in September 1929, the U.S. stock exchange lost value and crashed to 198 points by October 29. This was the event that, in the United States, signaled the beginning of the economic crisis known as the Great Depression.
Subsequent proceedings
Additional war crimes trials decided by United States military tribunals at Nuremberg, Germany, between November 1946 and April 1949. These trials were held after the main Nuremberg trials, heard by an international military tribunal, were completed in October 1946.
Supreme Commander
The person who coordinated multinational military forces. In World War II, Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force general Dwight Eisenhower commanded the Allies.
State Defense Committee (GKO)
A group created in the Soviet Union in the days after the German invasion of the country in June 1941, which oversaw both government and military organizations. The committee was headed by Stalin.
Tbilisi
The largest city in, and oftentimes capital of, the country of Georgia.
Theater of war
An area of the world involved in warfare. During World War II, the United States was involved in two theaters of war, facing German and Italian adversaries in the European Theater and the Japanese in the Pacific Theater.
Third Reich
The regime in Germany headed by Adolf Hitler, lasting from 1933 to 1945.
Totalitarianism
The practice, in government, of exercising absolute authority over a country by one political group, or by a dictator.
Treaty of Versailles
A treaty signed on June 28, 1919, at the end of World War I, between the Allied powers and Germany. The treaty laid out punitive terms for Germany, including steep reparations to be paid to the Allies.
Tripartite Pact
The agreement signed in Berlin on September 27, 1940 by representatives of Germany, Italy, and Japan, that established an alliance between the three powers, which pledged economic and military assistance to one another for ten years.
Truman Doctrine
The phrase used to describe the American foreign policy of aiding those countries resisting the influences of communism, in an attempt to stop the spread of communism. The term stems from President Harry S. Truman’s plea to the U.S. Congress on March 12, 1947, for economic and military aid to be given to Greece and Turkey.
U-boats
Short for the German “unterseeboot” (undersea boat) and another name for Germany’s submarines.
Unconditional surrender
In World War II, the demand that the Axis powers yield to the Allies without concessions or negotiations. This policy was first articulated by U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt after the Casablanca Conference in January 1943.
Underground groups
Resistance groups that fought for their nation’s independence. From within the country, they fought against those nations that occupied their nations.
United Nations
An international organization established in 1945, intended to promote global cooperation, protect human rights, and arbitrate disputes.
Uprising (1944 Polish)
The attack that began August 1, 1944, by forty thousand members of the underground Polish Home Army against the Nazi forces occupying Warsaw, the former capital of Poland. The uprising lasted 63 long, bloody days as the fighters clashed with the Nazis while hundreds of thousands of other Poles were brutalized or murdered. When the fighting ended, the Germans began systematically destroying the city.
Western Allies
Countries allied, but not necessarily ideologically aligned, with the Soviet Union for the purpose of fighting the Axis powers. The Western Allies included Great Britain and the United States.
Western sectors
The three western areas of partitioned Berlin, which were occupied and administered by France, Great Britain, and the United States, as opposed to the area of the capital city that was occupied and administered by the Soviet Union. Germany as a whole was also partitioned and had three “western sectors,” as well as another that was occupied and administered by the Soviet Union.
Works Progress Administration
Part of president Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” program in the United States, this agency provided jobs for those who were unemployed during the Great Depression. The WPA put millions to work between 1935 and 1943.
Zones of responsibility
Territorial areas that are under the political, military, and/or economic influence of different nations.
Zones of occupation
The four areas of partitioned Germany occupied and administered by the Allied powers (France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States) immediately after the Nazi surrender in May 1945. Germany’s capital, Berlin, was also divided into four zones of occupation.
