Diplomacy & Politics Glossary

A major World War II battle between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union that marked a turning point with the Soviet victory halting German advances into the USSR.

A military tactic meaning "lightning war" involving fast, surprise attacks combining air and ground forces to quickly overwhelm enemies.

Winston Churchill’s use of stirring speeches and language to unify and motivate Britain during World War II.

The June 6, 1944 Allied invasion of Normandy, France, marking a turning point in World War II in Western Europe.

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s articulation of fundamental freedoms—speech, worship, want, and fear—as goals for global security and democracy.

The U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, causing massive destruction and prompting Japan's eventual surrender in World War II.

The systematic genocide of six million Jews and millions of others by Nazi Germany during World War II.

A U.S. program providing over $12 billion in economic aid to rebuild Western European economies after World War II.

A 1939 non-aggression treaty between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union that secretly divided Eastern Europe into spheres of influence.

Post-World War II military tribunals prosecuting prominent Nazi leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Nazi Germany's 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union, marking a major turning point in World War II on the Eastern Front.

A failed Allied military operation in 1944 aiming to capture bridges in the Netherlands to advance into Germany quickly. It resulted in heavy casualties and delayed the end of World War II in Europe.

The codename for the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, marking the start of the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi control during World War II.

A failed 1944 German military plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler and overthrow the Nazi government during World War II.

Vichy France was the regime governing the unoccupied part of France and its colonies from 1940 to 1944, collaborating with Nazi Germany during World War II.

A 1945 meeting between Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin to discuss Europe's postwar reorganization and the division of Germany.