A-Z of the Second World War

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Pearl Harbor. On 7th December 1941 The Japanese air-force made a surprise attack on the main US Naval base in Hawaii. It almost destroyed the American force there and on the following day the Americans declared war on Japan. On the 11th December 1941, because Germany was in an alliance with Japan it declared war on the USA.

Phoney War. When the war began people imagined that within hours or days the Germans would use gas and start to bomb the major cities of Britain. When this didn't happen the preparations of evacuations, black outs and the issuing of gas masks was questioned. It was not for another 9 months that many people would really experience what war was like.

Poland. It was the 3rd September 1939 when German troops invaded Poland that Britain were drawn into the Second World War. Hitler had done a deal with Russia to divide Poland so that if war was to brake out it would not be on two fronts.

German soldiers advance as they invade Poland in September 1939. Any hope of stopping another war was now over.

Potsdam. The venue for the second major peace conference of 1945 between the Big Three (USA, Britain and Russia) By this time Harry Truman was US President and a much colder atmosphere between the Soviets and the other two existed. It could be seen as the first moment of the cold war.

Propaganda. The distorted views and news given in time of war by governments. To keep morale high bad news and defeats in battle have to be kept to a minimum. Good and positive information is similarly exaggerated to make everyone feel better. It was used in many areas of life and is still used today.