Deck 7: The Era of the Second World War, 1939-1949

Question 1

Using the remarks of Brigadier General Thomas Farrell, as well as material from the text, discuss the development of the atomic bomb for its time, during the Cold War, and at the present time.

Answer 1

Essays should include the following points: Fearing that Germany might develop the bomb before the Allies, America rushed its development in the Manhattan Project.Even after the experimental detonation in New Mexico, there was no real idea of what using it would produce.General Farrell compared it to something only God should have and use.Why did Truman use it? The damage and carnage, and especially the long-term effects for years after, astounded the world.In a way, using the bomb might have been a deterrent to never using it again.It became a horror during the Cold War when the Russians detonated their weapon.Positive effects of the experiment today are that it is used for medical and energy purposes.Present use by rogue nations and as a terrorist weapon is a major concern in today's world.

Question 2

What was Operation Barbarossa?

A)The German plans to invade the Soviet Union.
B)Contingency plans if the US declared war on Germany.
C)A secret British plan to invade western Germany.
D)The Italian effort to attack Greece.
E)The German push for more land in Eastern Europe.

Answer 2

The German plans to invade the Soviet Union.

Question 3

Analyze the differences between the Western powers and the Soviet Union over the postwar administration of Germany.What dramatic confrontation occurred? What had happened to Germany by 1949?

Answer 3

The points made in the chapter should be clearly summarized: conflicting aims, the Soviet blockade of Berlin, the airlift, and the lifting of the blockade, as well as the creation of two states by 1949.

Question 4

Summarize the part played by the Soviet Union in turning the tide of the war in Europe.

Question 5

What are some of the reasons for German military successes?

A)Innovations in tank warfare
B)Lightning-fast troop movements called Blitzkrieg
C)Effective use of air power
D)Coordination of different types of weaponry
E)All of the above

Question 6

In September 1939

A)Germany invaded Poland unprovoked.
B)France and Britain declared war but failed to effectively aid Poland.
C)in agreement with Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east.
D)the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania and Finland fell to Germany and the Soviet Union.
E)All of the above.

Question 7

Summarize the decisions taken at Yalta and Potsdam for postwar Europe, including Germany.What divisions as to means and ends were already apparent among the Allies?

Question 8

Describe the Holocaust and its consequences.

Question 9

Describe communist consolidation in east-central Europe and the Balkans, as well as the response of Britain and the United States to the threat of a communist takeover in Greece.

Question 10

What was the "Phony War"?

A)The failure of the European powers to support Czechoslovakia
B)The inability of France and England to invade western Germany
C)The winter of 1939-40 when there was little military development
D)The invasion of France by Italy
E)Italian war efforts in Africa

Question 11

Summarize the consequences of World War II and compare them with those of World War I.

Question 12

German invasion of the Soviet Union in mid-1941

A)was delayed by German invasions of North Africa and the Balkans.
B)was initially a spectacular success.
C)stalled on the outskirts of Moscow as winter descended and Soviet resistance stiffened.
D)met with strong resistance from a surprisingly strong Soviet military.
E)All of the above.

Question 13

Explain Japanese war aims and strategy, first in Asia and then in the Pacific.Which battles were turning points for the United States in the war against Japan?

Question 14

How did Churchill rise to power?

A)When everyone recognized his prescient warnings about Germany in the 1930s.
B)In a free election in 1940.
C)As head of a unity government after the fall of Chamberlain.
D)Because of his massive popularity among the British elite.
E)As a result of a coup d'état.

Question 15

After conquering Denmark and Norway in April 1940, Germany

A)invaded and swiftly conquered France.
B)consolidated its gains before a fall campaign in France.
C)attacked France but was repulsed at Dunkirk.
D)invaded France, thus initiating a renewal of trench warfare.
E)attacked the Soviet Union.

Question 16

What were some of the results of the war for the countries engaged in it? Consider the various forms of destruction and dislocation discussed in the chapter.

Question 17

Analyze the main features of the Nazi regime in occupied Europe, and describe the resistance movements.What patterns emerge?

Question 18

How did the American failure to follow Churchill's advice about where to open a second front affect the future of east-central Europe?

Question 19

The Battle of Britain was

A)a massive German invasion from occupied France.
B)a two-month German aerial bombardment of Britain.
C)submarine attacks on all British ports.
D)a German and Italian naval campaign against Britain.
E)a British naval attack on German controlled French areas.

Question 20

The government of Marshal Pétain was the result of

A)an overwhelming majority vote of the French parlement.
B)a fascist coup d'état.
C)German threats.
D)the actions of Charles de Gaulle.
E)the failure of any French resistance.

Question 21

What was a Ghetto?

A)A unit of Nazi government in Eastern Europe
B)Confined and closed areas of cities which saw forced resettlement of Jews
C)An urban concentration camp
D)A system for dealing with political prisoners
E)The Nazi name for Jews

Question 22

.The Japanese invasion of French Indochina resulted in

A)no foreign action against Japan.
B)the British declaration of war on Japan.
C)Japanese control of rich oil fields.
D)total export embargoes by the Americans, British, and Dutch.
E)the eventual defeat of France and Britain, leaving Americans without important allies in the region.

Question 23

Hitler's plan for his new eastern European territory was to

A)create a wilderness zone around Germany.
B)divide it into a large number of small autonomous states.
C)resettle millions of Germans on land from which Poles and other Slavs had been removed by murder or expulsion.
D)create a Jewish colony in the most remote area.
E)create youth camps for interrogation and military training.

Question 24

Hitler's "final solution to the Jewish problem" seemed originally to involve

A)the gassing of all Jews.
B)forced emigration of Jews.
C)forced assimilation; death for those who refused.
D)confiscation of all property not necessary for survival.
E)no evidence of a master plan or why this radical plan was adopted.

Question 25

What Asian country was allied with the United States before war broke out in 1941?

A)Korea
B)China
C)The Soviet Union
D)India
E)Thailand

Question 26

Who was the architect of the "Final Solution" to kill the Jews?

A)Erwin Rommel
B)Heinrich Himmler
C)Reinhard Heydrich
D)Benito Mussolini
E)None of the above

Question 27

After Pearl Harbor and the U.S.declaration of war on Japan

A)the Japanese developed plans to carry out their long-standing aim of conquering the American Pacific coast.
B)the Japanese offered to negotiate peace with the United States.
C)Germany declared war on the United States.
D)the Soviet Union immediately attacked Japan.
E)Roosevelt ordered the atomic bomb attack on Japan.

Question 28

Which of the following statements is not true in describing Vichy France?

A)At first, Marshal Petain enjoyed widespread support.
B)The Vichy government had a goal to carry out a "national revolution."
C)Jews were protected and given full rights by the Vichy government.
D)After the war, Petain and other Vichy officials were tried on treason charges
E)The Vichy regime rounded up workers for forced shipment to German factories, hunted down members of the anti-German resistance, and picked up Jews to be sent to the Nazi extermination camps.

Question 29

What was the "Lend-Lease Act"?

A)The American declaration of war on Germany.
B)A presidential decree to support Britain.
C)The order to use American escorts for Atlantic convoy duty.
D)The congressional authorization for the president to provide armaments to combatants.
E)None of the above.

Question 30

Collaboration in Nazi Europe in regard to the Jews involved which of the following?

A)The Nazis excused nations from the Jewish roundup if rebellions might result.
B)Croatia sent their Jews to France rather than to German camps.
C)Nations collaborated with the Germans to achieve their own national interests.
D)The Scandinavian nations, feeling a strong kinship to Germany, rounded up their Jews.
E)As fascist nations, both Italy and Bulgaria were strongly in favor of the final solution.

Question 31

What stopped the Nazi advance in Russia at the end of 1941?

A)Superior Russian tactics
B)Reinforcement of the Soviet army by French and British
C)A failure of German military technology
D)Winter
E)The failure of the delivery of war materials

Question 32

How did concentration camps differ from death camps?

A)Death camps were only found inside Germany.
B)Concentration camps were focused on large-scale extermination.
C)Death camps were temporary.
D)Death camps were for extermination, whereas concentration camps were more like mass prisons.
E)There was no difference.

Question 33

What was the turning point on the eastern front?

A)The repulse of the Germans at Moscow in 1941
B)The Battle of Leningrad
C)The Battle of Stalingrad
D)The battle of Kursk
E)Hitler's decision to retreat from Russia

Question 34

The main cause of Japanese expansionism seems to have been

A)economic; Japan did not have the natural resources to sustain its industrialization and modernization.
B)ideological; the Japanese believed they were racially superior.
C)political; the Japanese needed foreign success to avert a revolution.
D)personal; the emperor was solely responsible.
E)the ultimate defeat of both China and the Soviet Union.

Question 35

Which area was not occupied by Germany by 1942?

A)Greece
B)Poland
C)Norway
D)Ukraine
E)Egypt

Question 36

According to the chapter feature, "The Global Record: Japan's 'Pan-Asian Mission,'" how did its author, Nagayo Yoshio not describe Japan's claim that it only wished to free Asians from Western powers?

A)The Sino-Japanese War really did not arouse the Japanese yamato damashi.
B)Asians should not see the Japanese in the same spirit as Western powers.
C)The Japanese culture requires it to be constantly in some kind of military challenge.
D)Orientals have built a sense of awe for the West, and Japan has a duty to reverse this feeling.
E)Japan promises not to impose hakko ichiu on its Eastern neighbors.

Question 37

Which of the following best describes the German occupation of Europe?

A)Germany showed a greater ruthlessness in exploiting the more industrialized region of Western Europe.
B)Germany worked quickly to restore prosperity and harmony throughout the continent.
C)Germany sought collaborators in the west but waged a brutal campaign of exploitation and ethnic cleansing in the east.
D)Germany was exclusively concerned with eliminating the Jews.
E)Germany was more concerned with America's Lend Lease aid to the Soviet Union and Britain.

Question 38

Which of the following is not true in regard to the death camps?

A)Himmler was personally in charge of the camps.
B)Germans involved in this were sworn to keep all information secret.
C)Extermination was to be done as quickly as possible.
D)Only very young children were spared as they would not have a memory of the camps.
E)The process took resources needed for the war effort.

Question 39

Factors that contributed to the Soviet victory over the Axis included all of the following except

A)German miscalculation.
B)an industrial base east of the Ural Mountains and the effective evacuation of significant industry before the German advance.
C)American aid that accounted for 45 to 50 percent of all Soviet supplies.
D)popular support for the "Great Patriotic War."
E)Hitler's refusal to order a strategic retreat.

Question 40

Information about the Holocaust caused all of the following reactions except

A)disbelief, in part due to the false stories of German atrocities in the First World War.
B)bombing of the rail line into Auschwitz and other death camps.
C)skepticism, because it was known that in some Jewish camps, the inmates were not killed.
D)appeals for concerted action that never came.
E)Roosevelt refused pleas from Jewish leaders, wishing to concentrate on victory instead.

Question 41

The Dumbarton Oaks conference paved the way for what?

A)The Lend-Lease Act
B)The Atomic Bomb
C)The Marshall Plan
D)The United Nations
E)The Potsdam declaration

Question 42

Like Wilson in Paris, FDR made concessions at Yalta in order to

A)keep American troops in Europe for five years.
B)avoid territorial concessions to the Soviet Union in Asia.
C)obtain British and Soviet commitment to an international organization.
D)win the goodwill of France.
E)recreate the League of Nations to be housed in the United States.

Question 43

What was the Manhattan Project?

A)The plan to redevelop Europe after the war
B)The effort to reduce German cities to rubble
C)The name for American war material destined for Britain
D)The American project to build and atomic weapon
E)The effort to rebuild European industry after American models

Question 44

Which of the following is not true of the resistance movements in occupied Europe?

A)The largest, best organized resistance was in Poland, Yugoslavia, and the Soviet Union.
B)Communists played important roles in Italy and France.
C)The most effective resistance movement was the Free French.
D)The resistance movements in Western Europe had a major influence on postwar politics.
E)Resistance movements were involved in guerrilla war against the Germans and their collaborators.

Question 45

The war in Europe concluded

A)With an armistice, like World War I
B)With the dropping of the atomic bomb
C)With the occupation of the whole of Germany by the Soviets
D)With the meeting of the Allied and Soviet forces at the Elbe, and the suicide of Hitler
E)With the allied and Soviet armies returning immediately to their home countries

Question 46

Under Soviet occupation, the states of east-central Europe

A)established communist governments in free elections.
B)restored their prewar governments.
C)were forced to accept communist governments supported by the Soviet Union.
D)were defended against Soviet domination by the West.
E)Yugoslavia and Albania were attacked by the Soviet Union for refusing to become part of the Soviet bloc of nations.

Question 47

The controversy over the Yalta Conference lay in the issue of

A)whether it betrayed east-central Europe by ensuring Soviet domination.
B)its location in the Soviet Union.
C)establishing the United Nations.
D)economic reconstruction of postwar Europe.
E)military resistance to the Soviet Union's claim to all of Germany.

Question 48

All of the following are true of the Nuremberg trials and the question of their legitimacy except that

A)"crimes against humanity" was a vague concept.
B)the accused were judged by laws made after the fact.
C)the Allies could not agree that Nazi leaders should be treated differently than other former adversaries.
D)international law was generally binding only on states.
E)several high German officials found guilty were executed.

Question 49

Which of the following is not true concerning the effects of World War II?

A)World War II caused 60 million deaths and made another 60 million homeless or refugees.
B)Britain, France, and Italy suffered fewer casualties in 1939-1945 than they did in the First World War.
C)the highest casualty figures were in the Soviet Union, Poland, and Germany.
D)Japanese military casualties were roughly equal to those suffered by the United States.
E)A wave of anti-German feelings developed.

Question 50

World War II resulted in all of the following except

A)decolonization.
B)long-term disarmament.
C)a division of Europe.
D)the cold war.
E)the creation of Israel.

Question 51

Which country was the first to initiate an atomic weapons program?

A)Great Britain
B)The United States
C)Japan
D)Germany
E)The Soviet Union

Question 52

At Potsdam, the Allies agreed to all of the following except

A)Polish control of German territory east of the Oder-Neisse Line as compensation for Soviet annexation of eastern Poland.
B)zones of occupation in Germany.
C)"pastoralization" of Germany.
D)de-Nazification.
E)demilitarization.

Question 53

What ended the war in the Pacific?

A)The invasion of Japan
B)The fall of China
C)The defeat of the Imperial Japanese navy
D)The dropping of the atomic bomb
E)The fall of the Japanese military government

Question 54

Churchill wanted to open a second front

A)with a direct seaborne invasion of Germany.
B)in France.
C)in the Balkans.
D)in the western Mediterranean through Africa.
E)in Norway.

Question 55

The Truman Doctrine was a policy aimed at

A)checking the spread of communism throughout the world, beginning with Greece.
B)economic reconstruction of Europe.
C)broadening the powers of the United Nations.
D)dismantling communism in east-central Europe.
E)the destruction of all atomic weapons.

Question 56

In the final years of the war, Germany suffered

A)shortages of oil and military personnel but not armaments.
B)the same widespread shortages it did during World War I.
C)mutiny of important high German military officers.
D)from widespread disease, which undermined the military effort.
E)rebellions by German citizenry.

Question 57

Truman's strategy of containment maintained that

A)it was possible to contain the expansion of communism.
B)successful direct dealings with the Soviet Union required calm and restraint.
C)successful containment of the Soviet Union would lead to a collapse of communism from within.
D)a vigilant application of counter force against the Soviet Union had to be maintained.
E)All of the above

Question 58

Anticolonialism in Asia was aided by all of the following except

A)the sudden ending of the war in the Pacific.
B)Japanese encouragement during the war.
C)the Japanese helped local nationalists create patriotic militias.
D)Dutch influence on the Indonesian nationalist movement.
E)successful reassertion of European control.

Question 59

What happened to Churchill at the end of the war?

A)His party won a resounding electoral victory.
B)He resigned his post.
C)He immigrated to the United States.
D)He died of medical complications.
E)He lost a general election to Clement Attlee.

Question 60

Because of disputes with the Western powers on the issue of German economic recovery versus reparations, the Soviet Union

A)blockaded Berlin in 1948.
B)withdrew from Germany.
C)invaded the Western zones.
D)agreed to stop plundering Germany.
E)created the Federal Republic of Germany in their zone.

Question 61

The Battle of Stalingrad was a decisive victory for the Soviets in 1940.

Question 62

The successful bombing attacks on German cities by the British begun in 1942 helped to undermine morale and slow German war production.

Question 63

Prior to the declaration of war, the U.S had begun imposing embargos on certain exports to Japan because of its aggression against China.

Question 64

During the German occupation of Europe, Germany moved quickly to restore prosperity in the regions they conquered.

Question 65

Prior to his election as prime minister, Winston Churchill had been a highly successful and noteworthy politician in Britain.

Question 66

The loss of France to Germany in WWII was not due to lack of manpower but rather a defect in strategy.

Question 67

Blitzkrieg was the place where Poland signed their surrender to Germany.

Question 68

The state of Israel was created in Palestine under all of the following circumstances except

A)a general conviction that the Jews deserved a homeland after the Holocaust.
B)the blowing up of British headquarters in Jerusalem by Jewish terrorists.
C)consent of the Arab population.
D)withdrawal of the British from Palestine.
E)many European Jews had no place to live and refused to live as a minority in Europe.

Question 69

The landing of the Allied troops across the Channel at Dunkirk on June 6, 1944, is known as D-Day.

Question 70

The 'cold war' refers to the hostile standoff between the Soviet Union and the United States that began after World War II.

Question 71

The most horrifying of the German death camps was that of Auschwitz-Birkenau.