History of World War II
Written by Regina Munch History Expert
Last updated · 10 min play time
The best way to prevent history from repeating itself is to study it. See how much you know about the global conflict, World War II.
Quiz written by
Regina MunchWorld War II Quiz Questions
33 Questions · 670.8K Plays · 25 Comments
Question 1
During Operation Neptune, informally known as D-Day, Allied troops invaded:
-
AThe Sudetenland
-
BThe Rhineland
-
CNormandy
-
DThe Potomac
Normandy
On June 6, 1944, Allied forced landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy.
Question 2
The RAF prevented a German invasion of Britain. What does “RAF” mean?
-
ARoyal Air Force
-
BRegular Army Faction
-
CRestricted Artillery Force
-
DReadily-Accessible Fortifications
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the military air power for the United Kingdom.
Question 3
Which Holocaust camp had the highest death toll?
-
AAuschwitz
-
BSobibor
-
CJasenovac
-
DBuchenwald
Auschwitz
A death camp rather than a labor camp, Auschwitz was the site of the deaths of over a million people.
Question 4
How did Adolf Hitler die?
-
AExecution
-
BAssassination
-
CTuberculosis
-
DSuicide
Suicide
Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945, as Soviet troops surrounded his compound.
Question 5
Which country fell under Soviet influence after the war?
-
ADenmark
-
BPoland
-
CSweden
-
DItaly
Poland
Poland was one of the members of the Warsaw Pact, which formally joined many countries to the USSR (even though most had been under its influence for decades).
Question 6
What was the name of the secret American effort to create the atom bomb?
-
AArea 51
-
BThe Manhattan Project
-
COperation Downfall
-
DGallipoli
The Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was the effort to develop a nuclear weapon. Major scientists working on it were Robert Oppenheimer and Enrico Fermi.
Question 7
Which United States president did not serve in the Second World War?
-
ARichard Nixon
-
BBill Clinton
-
CDwight D. Eisenhower
-
DJohn F. Kennedy
Bill Clinton
Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Nixon all served in WWII.
Question 8
Which country did the United States defeat in the Battle of Midway?
-
AJapan
-
BItaly
-
CGermany
-
DCroatia
Japan
The Battle of Midway was fought July 4-7, 1942, with a decisive Allied victory over Japan. It was a turning point in the Pacific war, allowing easier access to other Japanese-occupied islands.
Question 9
Who ruled the Soviet Union during the war?
-
AVladimir Lenin
-
BVladimir Putin
-
CNikita Khrushchev
-
DJosef Stalin
Josef Stalin
Josef Stalin was the premier of the Soviet Union. Over 10 million people died from starvation, overwork, or violence under his regime.
Question 10
Nazi officials who survived the war stood trial at:
-
AVersailles
-
BBerlin
-
CNuremberg
-
DMunich
Nuremberg
The Nuremburg trials were conducted November 20, 1945 to October 1, 1946.
Question 11
Which general led the Free French military after his country fell to the Germans?
-
ACharles de Gaulle
-
BJacques Chirac
-
CAlfred Dreyfus
-
DPierre Trudeau
Charles de Gaulle
De Gaulle was the leader of the resistance movement against the Vichy regime, and was elected president of France after WWII.
Question 12
During World War II, black and white American soldiers fought in:
-
AIntegrated units
-
BSegregated units
-
CSeparate campaigns
-
DSeparate military branches
Segregated units
Segregation during WWII was a major motivator for the civil rights movement.
Question 13
The Doolittle Raid was one of the first successful American attacks against:
-
AJapan
-
BGermany
-
CItaly
-
DAustria
Japan
The Doolittle Raid was a bombing of Tokyo on April 18, 1942, led by Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle.
Question 14
Which country did not gain influence over a piece of Germany after the war?
-
AUSSR
-
BCanada
-
CBritain
-
DFrance
Canada
At the end of WWII, Germany was divided among the United States, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union.
Question 15
What did the Chinese Nationalists do in 1938 to delay the advance of the Japanese army?
-
AFlooded the Yellow River
-
BUsed human shields
-
CUnleashed a plague
-
DPoured oil on the land
Flooded the Yellow River
Chinese nationalists destroyed the dikes on June 9, 1938.
Question 16
Who was President of the United States at the end of the war?
-
ADwight Eisenhower
-
BFranklin Roosevelt
-
CHarry Truman
-
DJohn Nance Garner
Harry Truman
Truman became president on April 15, 1945, after the death of Franklin Roosevelt.
Question 17
Which holiday celebrates the end of the Pacific part of WWII?
-
ANagasaki Day
-
BV-J Day
-
CHirohito Day
-
DArmistice Day
V-J Day
Japan surrendered to the Allies on September 2, 1945.
Question 18
Despite fighting the Japanese for it, the United States granted independence to this overseas territory shortly after the war:
-
AThe Philippines
-
BGuam
-
CAmerican Samoa
-
DPuerto Rico
The Philippines
Over a million Filipinos died fighting with the Allies in WWII. The US granted the Philippines independence on July 4, 1946.
Question 19
Which group was not targeted for extermination during the Holocaust?
-
ARoma
-
BLGBTQ people
-
CNordics
-
DJehovah’s Witnesses
Nordics
Nordics were not targeted during the Holocaust because they were considered of similar racial stock to Germans.
Question 20
The Catholic Church’s role in the Second World War is heavily disputed. Who was Pope during the conflict?
-
AInnocent III
-
BPope Pius XII
-
CJohn Paul II
-
DBenedict XV
Pope Pius XII
It is debated whether Pius XII should have spoken out more directly to oppose the Nazi regime, or if this would have prevented him from working against them covertly.
Question 21
Which city did not host a key end-of-war conference?
-
AYalta
-
BTehran
-
CToronto
-
DPotsdam
Toronto
The important end-of-war conferences were held in Tehran, Yalta, and Potsdam to decide among the Allies what the postwar world order would look like.
Question 22
Who was the Chinese Nationalist leader during the war?
-
AMao Zedong
-
BChiang Kai-Shek
-
CSun Tzu
-
DSun Yat-Sen
Chiang Kai-Shek
Chiang Kai-Shek was the nationalist leader of the Kuomintang. He was allied with the United States government and fought to repel Japanese incursion into the country.
Question 23
Which of the following cities did Allies destroy through firebombing?
-
AHiroshima
-
BTokyo
-
CNagasaki
-
DPetrograd
Tokyo
The Allied firebombed Tokyo on March 9, 1945. Between 80,000 and 130,000 civilians were killed.
Question 24
Before the end of the war, Winston Churchill was replaced as British Prime Minister by:
-
AClement Attlee
-
BMargaret Thatcher
-
CTony Blair
-
DTony Abbott
Clement Attlee
Tory Wintston Churchill was replaced by Labourite Clement Attlee on July 25, 1945.
Question 25
Where did Japanese war criminals stand trial?
-
ATokyo
-
BMidway
-
CHonolulu
-
DHiroshima
Tokyo
The tribunal in Tokyo took place 1945 to 1952.
Question 26
Which German Army general tried to assassinate Hitler?
-
AClaus von Stauffenberg
-
BOtto von Bismark
-
CHans von Seeckt
-
DAlfred von Waldersee
Claus von Stauffenberg
Rommel was connected to the July 20 plot to assassinate Hitler, and was offered the opportunity to commit suicide to spare himself execution and his family persecution.
Question 27
Which country occupied Ethiopia for much of the war?
-
AFrance
-
BGermany
-
CItaly
-
DBritain
Italy
Known as the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, Italy invaded Ethiopia in December 1934 and remained there through 1941.
Question 28
Including both civilians and combatants, how many Soviet citizens died during the war?
-
A3 Million
-
B500,000
-
C50 Million
-
D27 Million
27 Million
10.6 million people died in combat, and others died due to crimes against humanity, famine, and disease.
Question 29
Which date is usually cited as the start of the war, though fighting began earlier in many countries?
-
A1941
-
B1939
-
C1937
-
D1931
1939
September 1, 1939 is generally regarded as the beginning of WWII when Hitler invaded Poland.
Question 30
The US gave the Allies military supplies through a program called:
-
ALend-Lease
-
BThe Marshall Plan
-
COperation Barbarossa
-
DThe New Deal
Lend-Lease
The Lend-Lease Act provided Great Britain, France, China, the Soviet Union, and other Allied nations food and weapons in excahnge for access to military bases.
Question 31
What country was controlled by the Ustaše regime, a government sympathetic to Nazi Germany?
-
ADenmark
-
BEthiopia
-
CAustria
-
DCroatia
Croatia
The Ustase regime in Croatia exterminated Serbs, with the help of Axis forces.
Question 32
In 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union, violating a treaty the two countries had signed. What was that treaty?
-
AThe Berlin Treaty
-
BThe Versailles Agreement
-
CThe Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
-
DThe Non-Belligerence Accord
The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
The Molotov-Ribbentrop pact was named for the Soviet and German foreign ministers who brokered the agreement.
Question 33
Who was the Emperor of Japan throughout World War II?
-
AMeiji
-
BTaishō
-
CAkhito
-
DShōwa
Shōwa
The Emperor of Japan was also known as Emperor Hirohito.
Comments (25)
We want to hear your feedback! Share your scores and discuss the quiz, but keep it civil.
Very interesting as it brought back the memories
Its a good way to review History.
I think I have completely passed all your quizzes and this one due to my very photographic memory and my Aspergers. But, it was very lovely after all.
I KNEW THE ASSASINATION FROM SIMPLE HISTROY
the quiz was quite easy, but some of the questions confused me, such as the hirohito question, and the assasination question
In the beginning, I thought the quiz was going to be too easy, but as the quiz went on it was much more difficut and by the end, I barely scored with a passing score.
I thought it was worthwhile but, ultimately, too easy.
Your answer to Q 28 is wrong. Italy surrendered in Ethiopia in 1941 Britain, another proposed answer, occupied parts of Ethiopia from 1940 until 1945 (and after).
I got loads of confusion when Rommel popped up but the answer was Staufenberg. And also I was confused in the Hirohito question.
Stats : your score is better then 96% of others who take quiz me : ??
@amirpro i dont think so.
@Thebattle1 the U.S may have not done much fighting, but they where the primary source in the pacific, and they supplied many weapons to the U.K, and Canada. they also took part in D-Day, and a U.S general planned D-Day.
it is fun and challenging! i like it. especially because i'm a history buff
eyy 100% im really a nerd :P
@ErnstLindemann Emperor Hirohito is also known as Emperor Showa
The question about who the Japanese Emperor is incorrect. The correct answer is Hirohito, yet that's not an answer.
@winstonchurchill are you really? U.S. entered the war then germans were running from Soviet Union. U.S. almost didn't play any role
@winstonchurchill lol, Soviets won the war
This quiz is U.S. propaganda. Where is battle of Stalingrad? Battle of Kursk? Battle of Moscow? Very important battles of Smolensk and Yelnya? Battle of Leningrad?Battle of Dnieper river,The battle of Kuban,battle of Rzhev
I'm the most genius World War 2 historian