Europe and WWII — Allied victory and its impact
Practice Flashcards
Flip to reveal answersWhat was Lend-Lease (1941)?
Track your progress — Sign up free to save your progress and get smart review reminders based on spaced repetition.
All 12 Flashcards — Europe and WWII — Allied victory and its impact
Sign up free to track progress and get spaced-repetition review schedules.
Question
What was Lend-Lease (1941)?
Answer
A US programme supplying Britain and, from late 1941, the USSR with weapons, food and equipment without requiring immediate payment, keeping them in the fight before the US formally joined.
Question
What was agreed at the Tehran Conference (1943)?
Answer
Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin agreed the Western Allies would open a second front in France, relieving pressure on the Red Army — this became D-Day in June 1944.
Question
Why was Allied industrial production a decisive economic factor?
Answer
By 1943–44 combined Allied output (led by the US 'Arsenal of Democracy') vastly exceeded Axis production, while Germany suffered chronic fuel shortages after losing Romanian oil fields.
Question
What happened at Stalingrad (1942–43)?
Answer
Hitler refused to allow a German retreat; the 6th Army was encircled and destroyed (~300,000 losses), and the USSR gained the strategic initiative on the Eastern Front for the rest of the war.
Question
How did Operation Barbarossa (1941) weaken Germany strategically?
Answer
By invading the USSR while still fighting Britain, Hitler created the two-front war Germany had always tried to avoid, overstretching its resources.
Question
Compare Axis and Allied strategic coordination.
Answer
The Allies coordinated through summit conferences (Tehran, Yalta) and combined complementary strengths (US industry, Soviet manpower, British intelligence). The Axis powers barely coordinated strategy with each other.
Question
What was the Beveridge Report (1942)?
Answer
A British government report proposing a state welfare system 'from cradle to grave', which became the blueprint for the postwar welfare state, including the NHS (1948).
Question
What was the political outcome of the July 1945 UK general election?
Answer
Clement Attlee's Labour Party won a landslide victory over Churchill's Conservatives, reflecting a public demand for social reform after wartime hardship.
Question
How did women's employment change in wartime Britain, and how much of that change lasted?
Answer
By 1943 around 90% of single women worked in essential war roles, but most left factory jobs after 1945 as men returned — the lasting shift was in expectations, not permanent employment.
Question
How were 'enemy aliens' treated in Britain during WWII?
Answer
Tens of thousands of German, Austrian and Italian residents — many Jewish refugees from Nazism — were interned in 1940 as suspected security risks, despite most posing no threat.
Question
What was the economic cost of WWII to Britain?
Answer
Britain spent roughly a quarter of its national wealth, relied on the 1946 Anglo-American Loan, and kept rationing in place until 1954, marking its decline from global superpower status.
Question
What is the strongest way to answer a Paper 3 'To what extent do you agree' essay on causes of Allied victory?
Answer
Weigh multiple factors (economic, strategic, political) against each other using evidence, rather than crediting one cause alone, and end with a clear, substantiated judgement.
Read the notes
Full study notes for Europe and WWII — Allied victory and its impact
Topic 13.9 hub
Europe and the Second World War (1918–1949)
More from Topic 13.9
All flashcards in this topic
History (2028+) exam skills
Paper structures & tips
Track your progress with spaced repetition
Sign up free — Aimnova tells you exactly which cards to review and when, so you remember everything before your IB exam.
Start Free