WWII Trivia Quiz
What was the event that is recognized as the first act of the Second World War?
- Historians generally recognize the first belligerent act of WWII to be the invasion of Poland by Germany in 1939.
What event was President Franklin D. Roosevelt referring to when he said that December 7, 1941, would be "a date which will live in infamy"?
- FDR's speech regarding the attack on Pearl Harbor remains famous, recalling an event that propelled the US into WWII.
What was the longest battle during WWII?
- Lasting from September 3, 1939, to May 8, 1945, this was the longest campaign in the Second World War.
What was the name of the code breaker in the UK who helped build the decrypting machine that finally broke the German Enigma code?
- A brilliant mathematician and cryptanalyst, Turing was portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch in the 2014 historical drama "The Imitation Game"
Which pair of countries were actually already in the middle of a military conflict at the start of World War 2?
- The Second Sino-Japanese War started in 1937 and lasted throughout WWII, ending in 1945.
In 1945, the first nuclear weapons were dropped on Japan by the US. What was the Boeing B-29 bomber's name that carried both missiles?
- Many airplanes in WWII were given nicknames, including the Boeing Superfortress bomber that carried both bombs across the Pacific.
What were the names of the two atomic bombs that were dropped on Japan on August 6 and August 9, 1945?
- Fat Man was dropped on the city of Nagasaki, while Little Boy was detonated over Hiroshima.
What was the code name used for the Allied invasion of Normandy?
- To keep the planned invasion of Nazi-held Europe safe, it was dubbed Operation Overlord.
What is the translation of Kristallnacht, when Nazi groups carried out a pogrom and program of harassment against Jewish communities?
- Though officials in Nazi Germany characterized the attacks as retribution for the assassination of one of their own, the Night of Broken Glass was truly another event in the Nazi program of eradicating Jewish people.
Three Allied powers, America, the UK, and Russia, met in February 1945 to discuss the end of the war and the reorganization of European powers. What was this meeting called?
- This meeting was codenamed Argonaut and was also known as the Crimea Conference, with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Premier Joseph Stalin in attendance.
