Think You Know World War Two?
Written by Regina Munch History Expert
Last updated · 6 min play time
World War Two is remembered today by the generation that lived it but has been immortalized in television, movies, and popular memory.
World War Two is remembered today by the generation that lived it but has been immortalized in television, movies, and popular memory. One of the deadliest conflicts in history, it displayed the destructiveness of global war, introduced catastrophically deadly weapons, and propelled the United States to international preeminence. Show us how much you know about World War Two history!
This quiz was expert written by Regina Munch. Regina has a master's degree in European history and the history of American foreign policy from Boston College. She loves learning and writing about history because it's never dead – things from the past always have relevance to today, and we're discovering things about the past all the time.
Quiz written by
Regina MunchWWII Quiz Questions
20 Questions · 19.7K Plays · 3 Comments
Question 1
The Axis powers conquered much of Western Europe, but Britain had the advantage of being an island and a strong air force. What is the name of Britain's air force?
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AMI-6
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BHer Majesty's Air Command
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CRoyal Air Force
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DRegal Air Fighters
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force conducted bombing campaigns throughout World War Two.
Question 2
The Japanese invaded many parts of east Asia to create the Japanese Co-Prosperity Sphere. Which of these is NOT a country that was invaded during WWII?
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AChina
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BCambodia
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CVietnam
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DAustralia
Australia
Australia fought in the Pacific War, and was attacked, but never invaded.
Question 3
Although some fighting began earlier, the beginning of the war is generally considered September 1, 1939, when the Nazis invaded what country?
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APoland
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BAustria
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CRussia
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DRomania
Poland
Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939.
Question 4
What international body was created at the end of World War Two to try to prevent something like world war from happening again?
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ANorth Atlantic Free Trade Organization
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BUnited Nations
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CEuropean Union
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DWarsaw Pact
United Nations
The United Nations was founded on October 24, 1945, with 51 member states. It now has 195. The intention of the United Nations was to establish an international forum where grievances could be addressed without resorting to military conflict.
Question 5
The Pacific Theater of the war took a turn when American forces defeated the Japanese in this battle.
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AGuadalcanal
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BWake Island
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CMidway
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DCoral Sea
Midway
The Battle of Midway, which occurred on the Midway Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, was a decisive victory for American forces. American cryptographers intercepted the date of the attack, and were prepared.
Question 6
The United States and the Soviet Union, formerly allies in World War Two, faced conflict in the next several decades. What was the name of this conflict?
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ACuban Missile Crisis
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BThirty Years' War
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CCold War
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DRussian Revolution
Cold War
The Cold War was "fought" between the two global superpowers after World War Two, the United States and the Soviet Union. It pitted American capitalist democracy and Soviet Communism against each other. Although the two powers did not directly fight, they engaged in a number of proxy wars until the Soviet Union's dissolution in 1991.
Question 7
The Pacific war ended when the Japanese refused to surrender, and President Truman dropped the newly-developed atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. What was the name of the plane that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima?
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ALady Southern Cross
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BSpirit of St. Louis
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CDouble Eagle II
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DEnola Gay
Enola Gay
The Enola Gay flew the atomic bomb over Japan and dropped it onto Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.
Question 8
The First World War ended with victory for the United States, Britain, France, and their allies. What was the name of the treaty that ended the war, and imposed enormous burdens on the losers?
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ATreaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
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BTreaty of London
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CTreaty of Brest-Litovsk
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DVersailles Treaty
Versailles Treaty
The Treaty of Versailles stripped the losers of their colonies, put heavy reparations payments on Germany, and stalled its industrial buildup.
Question 9
The United States did not declare war until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. What date did this occur in 1941?
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A6-Jun
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B7-Dec
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C11-Dec
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D7-Nov
7-Dec
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked the American base on Pearl Harbor. About 2400 Americans were killed.
Question 10
The Molotov Ribbentrop Pact was an agreement of nonaggression between which two countries? It was violated by one of them shortly thereafter.
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AFrance and Germany
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BGermany and Soviet Union
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CSoviet Union and United States
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DFrance and Britain
Germany and Soviet Union
The Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, named for the foreign ministers of the USSR and Germany, was a nonagression agreement. The Germans broke it when they invaded Soviet holdings in Poland in 1941.
Question 11
When American men went abroad to fight in the war, American women worked on the home front. Not only did they keep up businesses and raise families; now they worked as nurses or in munitions factories and shipyards to support the war effort. What was the cultural icon that inspired and encouraged such work?
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AEleanor Roosevelt
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BMarilyn Monroe
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CRosie the Riveter
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DWonder Woman
Rosie the Riveter
Rosie the Riveter depicts a woman in masculine clothes looking strong. She became a feminist icon in later decades.
Question 12
The European war ended with the surrounding of Hitler's bunker in Berlin in May 1945. What military achieved this?
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ABritain
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BFrance
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CSoviet Union
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DUnited States
Soviet Union
The Soviet army invaded Berlin and surrounded German forces, leading to the surrender of the Nazis in spring 1945. The other Allied powers did not intervene in this capture, and allowed the Soviet Union to do the fighting.
Question 13
World War Two is remembered in movies and television. Which of these is NOT about World War Two?
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ASaving Private Ryan
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BM*A*S*H
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CSchindler's List
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DBand of Brothers
M*A*S*H
World War Two remains vivid in popular memory, and movies and television about the war usually draw an audience. M*A*S*H on the other hand is about the Korean War.
Question 14
World War Two was truly a global war, dividing the globe into two blocs. What were the names of these two sides?
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AReds and Whites
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BNorth and South
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CTriple Entente and Central Powers
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DAxis and Allies
Axis and Allies
The Axis was made up of Germany, Japan, and Italy, and their smaller allies; the Allies were Britain, France, the United States, the Soviet Union, and their smaller allies.
Question 15
One of the victors in World War One was sidelined during the treaty discussions, and ended up opposing its former allies in World War Two. Which country was this?
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AJapan
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BUnited States
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CBritain
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DAustria
Japan
Japan was not given much of the spoils of victory, and the other victors showed little enthusiasm in permitting the Japanese to join their world order.
Question 16
The Nazis waged a successful propaganda campaign to convince Germans that Jews were their enemy. They did this through schools, public demonstrations, passing anti-Semitic laws, and rounding up and killing Jews. Who was the Nazi Minister of Propaganda who oversaw this?
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AJoseph Goebbels
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BFriedrich Nietzsche
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COtto von Bismarck
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DOskar Schindler
Joseph Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels was the Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 1945. He became Chancellor of Germany for one day after Hitler's suicide, but he killed himself the day after.
Question 17
One of the most horrific events of World War Two was the Holocaust, orchestrated by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Which of these is NOT the name of a concentration camp or extermination camp?
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AAuschwitz
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BMunchen
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CDachau
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DBergen-Belsen
Munchen
Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, and Dachau were three of the deadliest camps. Bergen-Belsen and Dachau were concentration camps, but Auschwitz was a labor and death camp.
Question 18
Who was the US president when the US entered the war?
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AFranklin Delano Roosevelt
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BDwight Eisenhower
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CHarry Truman
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DTheodore Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the president when the war broke out, and when it joined the hostilities.
Question 19
World War Two is the deadliest conflict in human history. How many soldiers and civilians were killed in the war?
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A12 million
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B49 million
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C83 million
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D27 million
83 million
About 83 million people were killed in World War Two, or 3% of the global population.
Question 20
The biggest belligerents in World War Two enlisted their colonies to fight the war as well. Which of these was NOT a colony that fought in World War Two?
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ALibya
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BMalaya
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CRhodesia
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DAustralia
Australia
Malaya and Rhodesia, which were British colonies/settlements, and Libya, an Italian colony, fought in World War Two alongside their colonizing powers. Australia fought in the war, but was independent by this time.
Comments (3)
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Obscure tidbits in that quiz. Still got 16/20. I refuse to take them over. What would be the use honestly?
Some good question in regards to a terrible war, that took so many lives.
The quiz had good question in regards to a terrible time in history.