- air raid
- An attack by planes dropping bombs.
- air raid drill
- Practice for what to do in air raid, such as going to the shelter.
- air raid shelter
- A building to protect people from bombs.
- Allies
- Countries (including Britain, France, the Soviet Union and the USA) who joined forces to fight the Axis Powers.
- allotment
- Small plot of land for growing vegetables.
- atomic bomb
- Weapon first used in 1945 when two bombs were dropped on Japan, killing more than 100,000 people.
- Axis Powers
- Germany, Japan, Italy and other countries that were allies in World War 2.
- blackout
- Wartime ban on street lights and other lights at night.
- Blitz
- German air raids, from a German word 'blitzkrieg' which means 'lightning war'.
- British Empire
- Countries ruled by Britain.
- censorship
- Controlling what people say or write.
- civilians
- People not in the armed forces.
- Civil Defence
- A network of civilian volunteers who assisted in the war effort by helping in air raids and rescuing people from bombed buildings.
- Commonwealth
- Group of friendly countries almost all of which were once part of the British Empire.
- concentration camp
- Prison where Jews and other prisoners were kept by the Nazis.
- coupons
- Slip of paper marked or torn out of a ration book.
- D-Day
- 6 June 1944, the date Allied forces landed in Normandy, France.
- department store
- Large shop selling different things in different departments.
- evacuee
- Someone who was evacuated, moved from a danger area to a safer place.
- factories
- Places where things are made.
- Forces
- The Army, Royal Air Force, Royal Navy and other services.
- Frank,Anne (1929-1945)
- A German Jewish girl who spent two years hiding from the Nazis in a house in Holland. Her wartime diary was published after the war.
- gas mask
- Face mask to protect people against poison gas.
- general election
- Vote to choose Members of Parliament, and a new government.
- gramophone
- Machine for playing music records.
- Hitler,Adolf (1929-1945)
- Leader of Nazi Germany.
- Holocaust
- Mass murder of Jews and other people by the Nazis.
- host family
- People who took in evacuees to live with them.
- invaded
- Attacked and taken over by an enemy.
- Jews
- People who follow the religion of Judaism.
- liberate
- To free from an enemy's control.
- military uniform
- Clothing worn by soldiers, sailors and airmen.
- naval
- To do with the navy or warships.
- naval battle
- A fight between ships at sea.
- Nazi
- Short for National Socialist Party (in Germany), a follower of Hitler was also called a Nazi.
- occupied
- Taken over by enemy forces.
- prime minister
- Leader of the government of Britain.
- prisoners of war
- Soldiers captured by the other side.
- propoganda
- Controlling news media (such as radio) to show your side in the best way.
- rationing
- Controlling the supply of food, clothes, petrol and other things.
- refugee
- A person forced to leave their home, often by war.
- register
- A list of names. In WW2 people had to register with shops before they could use their ration books there.
- Resistance
- Fighting back in an occupied country, for example by refusing to help the enemy.
- scrap metal
- Waste metal such as old cooking pans.
- siren
- Machine that made a wailing noise as a warning when enemy planes were seen.
- slogan
- A catchy phrase or saying.
- Soviet Union
- Country made up of Russia and other states that are now independent.
- steam train
- A train pulled by a locomotive burning coal.
- stirrup pump
- Small hand pump for squirting water to put out fires.
- telegram
- A short message sent by phone, then printed out and delivered.
- Underground
- London's Tube rail system.
- United Nations
- Organization set up in 1945 by the Allies to work for world peace.
- Vegetarians
- People who don't eat meat.
- war crime
- Mass murder or cruel treatment of people during a war.
- washboard
- Wooden board with ridges, for scrubbing dirty clothes on.
