Challenge Your Inner Historian With Our Quiz On The History of World War II

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World War II went down in history for its pivotal moments during the 1930s and 1940s. It was one of the deadliest conflicts in human history, ending with around 80 million people dead. The allied forces eventually emerged as victors after 6 years of bloodshed and many casualties on both sides.

How well do you know about this dark time in world history? Take our World War II history quiz to find out! We'll cover topics such as significant battles, some of the key figures on both sides, and munitions used during this harrowing conflict. So dust off your favorite history book and put your military knowledge to the test.


Vasilii Kulev is a digital marketing specialist during business hours and a trivia writer in his spare time. His areas of interest range from cars and music to science, history, and food. Whenever he's not busy writing quizzes, you can catch him at the local used records store or the newest craft beer bar. He also wrote this entire bio himself in third person.

History of World War II Quiz Questions

35 Questions · 1.3K Plays · No comments

Question 1

In December, 1941, which Axis power attacked the U.S. Naval base in Hawaii known as Pearl Harbor?

  • A
    Japan
  • B
    Germany
  • C
    Italy
  • D
    Soviet Union

Question 2

Which commander addressed his nation with the following line: "We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be"?

  • A
    Joseph Stalin
  • B
    Benito Mussolini
  • C
    Winston Churchill
  • D
    Adolf Hitler

Question 3

What European dictator founded the Italian Fascist movement after World War I to combat socialism and communism?

  • A
    Oswald Mosley
  • B
    Giovanni Gentile
  • C
    Engelbert Dollfuss
  • D
    Benito Mussolini

Question 4

What thirteen-year-old girl who lived in Amsterdam during World War II wrote a famed diary about the war, a book still studied to this day?

  • A
    Edith Frank
  • B
    Miep Gies
  • C
    Margot Frank
  • D
    Anne Frank

Question 5

Name the World War II conference between the leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union during which the post-war reorganization of Europe was discussed.

  • A
    Postdam Conference
  • B
    The Yalta Conference
  • C
    Tehran Conference
  • D
    Bretton Woods Conference

Question 6

What general formed the Free French Forces, which fought to liberate France from German occupation?

  • A
    Alfonse Juin
  • B
    Maxime Weygand
  • C
    Maurice Gamelin
  • D
    Charles de Gaulle

Question 7

What series of military tribunals took place between November 1945 and October 1946, in which numerous top-ranking Nazis were accused and convicted?

  • A
    Hamburg Trials
  • B
    Berlin Trials
  • C
    Nuremberg Trials
  • D
    Bavaria Trials

Question 8

What U.S President delivered the "Day of Infamy" speech in 1941 after the attack on Pearl Harbor?

  • A
    Henry A. Wallace
  • B
    Franklin D. Roosevelt
  • C
    Harry S. Truman
  • D
    Dwight D. Eisenhower

Question 9

From what port were the British forces and other Allied troops evacuated to England in 1940 as German forces closed in on them?

  • A
    Calais
  • B
    Pearl Harbour
  • C
    Arras
  • D
    Dunkirk

Question 10

Name the very first concentration camp started by the Nazis, which opened in 1933 near Munich, Germany.

  • A
    Hinzert
  • B
    Gross-Rosen
  • C
    Buchenwald
  • D
    Dachau

Question 11

One of the most important figures of World War II, Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1940. Which PM did he replace?

  • A
    Ramsay MacDonald
  • B
    Anthony Eden
  • C
    Stanley Baldwin
  • D
    Neville Chamberlain

Question 12

What was the name of this World War II icon who became a cultural symbol for women who worked in factories throughout the war?

  • A
    Willie Girls
  • B
    Betty Boop
  • C
    Rosie the Riveter
  • D
    Aunt Jemima

Question 13

What was the name of the largest Nazi concentration and death camp, which opened in 1940?

  • A
    Gross-Rosen
  • B
    Dachau
  • C
    Mauthausen
  • D
    Auschwitz

Question 14

On December 16, 1944, Hitler ordered a surprise attack against Allied forces in order to recapture Antwerp before they could withdraw across the Rhine River. What was this battle called?

  • A
    Battle of Midway
  • B
    Battle of the Bulge
  • C
    Battle of Stalingrad
  • D
    Operation Overlord

Question 15

What was the name of the last major battle of World War II between Japan and the United States?

  • A
    Battle of Iwo Jima
  • B
    Battle of Okinawa
  • C
    Battle of Le Gulf
  • D
    Battle of Saipan

Question 16

Fought from August 1942 to February 1943, the Battle of Guadalcanal was a struggle for the control of what islands in the South Pacific?

  • A
    Hawaii
  • B
    Solomon Islands
  • C
    Samoa
  • D
    Maldives

Question 17

What Japanese city became the first ever to be attacked with a deployed atomic bomb on August 6, 1945?

  • A
    Tokyo
  • B
    Osaka
  • C
    Nagasaki
  • D
    Hiroshima

Question 18

What major battle between Commonwealth and Axis forces took place in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia?

  • A
    Battle of the Coral Sea
  • B
    Second Battle of El Alamein
  • C
    Second Battle of Kharkov
  • D
    Battle of Okinawa

Question 19

Which U.S. President created the Japanese internment camps during World War II through Executive Order 9066?

  • A
    Franklin D. Roosevelt
  • B
    Harry S. Truman
  • C
    Dwight D. Eisenhower
  • D
    J. Edgar Hoover

Question 20

What country undertook Operation Drumbeat as a response to a campaign of German U-Boat attacks in 1942?

  • A
    United Kingdom
  • B
    United States
  • C
    Italy
  • D
    France

Question 21

What country built the so-called Maginot Line, a network of concrete fortifications and barriers to prevent German invasion?

  • A
    The Netherlands
  • B
    Belgium
  • C
    France
  • D
    England

Question 22

What group of African-American military aviators served in World War II, and became the first all-black flying formation in the United States Armed Forces?

  • A
    The Flying Tigers
  • B
    The Tuskegee Airmen
  • C
    The Red Tails
  • D
    761st Tank Battalion Airmen

Question 23

Which of these battles is to this day one of the bloodiest in history, with over 2 million casualties?

  • A
    Battle of Midway
  • B
    Battle of the Bulge
  • C
    Attack on Pearl Harbor
  • D
    Battle of Stalingrad

Question 24

Name the U.S. economic plan designed to help Europe recover from World War II, initiated by President Truman in 1948.

  • A
    Marshall Plan
  • B
    Dulles Plan
  • C
    Truman Doctrine
  • D
    Lend-Lease Act

Question 25

What term is most often used with reference to World War II — specifically to the uneventful early months, in which no substantial military gains were made by either side?

  • A
    Proxy War
  • B
    Phoney War
  • C
    Spurious War
  • D
    Fraudulent War

Question 26

Forever a watershed moment, in what year did Hitler's reign as chancellor of Germany begin?

  • A
    1930
  • B
    1939
  • C
    1933
  • D
    1941

Question 27

What was the code name for the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany?

  • A
    Operation Moscow
  • B
    Operation Uranus
  • C
    Operation Blitzkrieg
  • D
    Operation Barbarossa

Question 28

During what post-WWII conflict did white and African American troops operate in integrated units for the first time?

  • A
    Spanish-American War
  • B
    Vietnam War
  • C
    Afghanistan War
  • D
    Korean War

Question 29

The Tripartite Pact was a mutual defense agreement signed in 1940 by what three countries?

  • A
    Spain, Portugal and France
  • B
    Germany, Japan and Italy
  • C
    Soviet Union, China and Yugoslavia
  • D
    France, United Kingdom and the Soviet Union

Question 30

V-J Day, also known as Victory over Japan Day marked the conclusive end of World War II. On what date did Japan surrender?

  • A
    September 25th
  • B
    August 14th
  • C
    July 21st
  • D
    September 9th

Question 31

At what conference did the leaders of the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union meet to define the post-1945 balance of power?

  • A
    Yalta Conference
  • B
    Casablanca Conference
  • C
    Potsdam Conference
  • D
    Wannsee Conference

Question 32

What plot was devised by top German military officials to assassinate Adolf Hitler and subsequently seize control of his government?

  • A
    July Plot
  • B
    November Plot
  • C
    March Plot
  • D
    Beer Hall Putsch

Question 33

What was the code name of the allied invasion of Sicily that took place in 1943?

  • A
    Operation Husky
  • B
    Operation Alphabet
  • C
    Operation Jupiter
  • D
    Operation Musketoon

Question 34

The American Women's War effort during WW II certainly played an instrumental role in helping our nation succeed. Approximately how many women joined the military?

  • A
    100,000
  • B
    1 million
  • C
    350,000
  • D
    750,000

Question 35

What Nazi forced labor concentration camp located in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany was liberated by the U.S. Army on April 25, 1945?

  • A
    Gross-Rosen
  • B
    Dachau
  • C
    Bergen-Belsen
  • D
    Arbeitsdorf

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