The National WWII Museum s High School WWII Quiz Bowl Qualifier* (*Fair warning: actual Quiz Bowl questions will be even more challenging) Name: Directions: circle the correct answers below. Round One: The War in Europe 1. What date is considered by most historians to be the beginning of WWII? a. September 1, 1939 b. September 1, 1940 c. September 1, 1941 d. December 7, 1941 2. On the correct date above, Germany invaded which country? a. France b. Hungary c. The Soviet Union d. Poland 3. Who led Fascist Italy? a. King Victor Emmanuel III b. Pope Pius XII c. Giuseppe Garibaldi d. Benito Mussolini 4. Germany, Italy, and Japan were known as: a. The Allies b. The Axis c. The Central Powers d. The Nazis 5. The Allies made amphibious invasions of all of the following except: a. North Africa b. Crete c. Sicily d. Italy 6. On June 6, 1944, the Allies began the liberation of Europe in: a. France b. Belgium c. Holland d. Germany The National WWII Museum s High School WWII Quiz Bowl Qualifier, page 1
7. Who led Great Britain throughout most of WWII? a. Neville Chamberlain b. Queen Elizabeth II c. Queen Victoria d. Winston Churchill 8. Dachau was: a. Hitler s underground bunker in Berlin b. The code name for D-Day c. A concentration camp in Germany d. Leader of the Yugoslav resistance movement 9. U.S. ships were threatened in the Atlantic Ocean by: a. Kamikazes b. The SS c. Enigmas d. Wolf packs 10. The commander of all Allied forces in Europe was: a. Bernard Montgomery b. George Patton c. Dwight Eisenhower d. Omar Bradley Round Two: The War in the Pacific 1. The U.S. entered WWII when the Japanese attacked: a. Midway Island b. Nanking, China c. The USS Panay gunboat d. Oahu, Hawaii 2. Japan invaded all of the following except: a. China b. New Guinea c. Fiji d. Burma 3. The U.S. strategy for winning the war against Japan was known as: a. Island hopping b. Code talking c. The Death March d. Fire bombing 4. U.S. troops invaded all of the following places except: a. Ceylon b. Guadalcanal c. Guam d. Okinawa The National WWII Museum s High School WWII Quiz Bowl Qualifier, page 2
5. The famous photograph of U.S. Marines raising the American flag was taken on: a. Saipan b. Oahu c. Alcatraz d. Iwo Jima 6. Who led American forces back to the Philippines: a. General Curtis LeMay b. Admiral William Halsey c. General Douglas MacArthur d. Admiral Chester Nimitz 7. During WWII, the U.S. confined approximately how many Japanese and Japanese Americans in internment camps away from the West Coast: a. None b. 12,000 c. 120,000 d. All of them 8. What was the U.S. code name for the development of the atomic bomb: a. Operation Overlord b. The Manhattan Project c. The Einstein Plan d. Mushroom 9. The U.S. did not invade Japan because: a. It was typhoon season b. Japan was too mountainous c. Japan was too far away from Hawaii d. Japan surrendered before the planned invasion 10. The war in the Pacific ended: a. The day after an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima b. Before the war in Europe ended c. Four months after President Roosevelt died d. On August 15, 1944 Round Three: The Home Front 1. All of the following happened on the Home Front during WWII except: a. A Japanese balloon bomb killed a family in Oregon b. German submarines torpedoed ships near Grand Isle, LA c. Higgins Industries in New Orleans produced 20,000 landing craft d. Louisiana governor Huey Long opposed FDR s call for war against Japan 2. People helped pay for the war by buying: a. Aluminum cans b. Uniforms and guns for soldiers c. War bonds d. Less food The National WWII Museum s High School WWII Quiz Bowl Qualifier, page 3
3. During the war people put these in their windows at night: a. Blackout curtains b. Prayer candles c. American flags d. Propaganda posters 4. Scrapping is the same as: a. Trash burning b. Recycling c. Growing your own food d. Making your own sausage 5. People got a majority of their news about the war from: a. Television b. LIFE Magazine c. Radio d. Letters from soldiers 6. The following movies are about WWII except: a. All Quiet on the Western Front b. The Sands of Iwo Jima c. Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo d. Guadalcanal Diary 7. The following foods were rationed in the U.S. during WWII except: a. Meat b. Sugar c. Bread d. Coffee 8. The following items were rationed in the U.S. during WWII except: a. Tires b. Gasoline c. Shoes d. Books 9. During the war women and African Americans: a. Were not allowed to work in defense industries b. Were encouraged to work in defense industries c. Were forced to work in defense industries d. Were not allowed in the military 10. During the war people supplemented their rationed foods by: a. Planting Victory Gardens b. Eating less c. Eating at newly created fast food restaurants d. Using ground acorns instead of coffee The National WWII Museum s High School WWII Quiz Bowl Qualifier, page 4
Tie-Breaker Questions (Closer in difficulty to actual Quiz Bowl questions) 1. What was the name of the group of American pilots who flew for the Chinese during WWII? 2. Where did the last major Allied amphibious operation of WWII take place? 3. Who was Commander-in-Chief of the United States throughout most of WWII? 4. Which three countries signed the Tripartite Pact? 5. In which country did the Bataan Death March occur? 6. What happened on May 8, 1945? 7. What happened on August 9, 1945? 8. Who made the final decision to drop the atomic bomb? 9. Identify one of the two types of RAF planes credited with winning the Battle of Britain. 10. What has Germany s last major counter-attack come to be called? 11. What was Operation Torch? 12. Who was Lord Haw Haw? The National WWII Museum s High School WWII Quiz Bowl Qualifier, page 5
Answers: Round One: The War in Europe 1. A 2. D 3. D 4. B 5. B 6. A 7. D 8. C 9. D 10. C Round Two: The War in the Pacific 1. D 2. C 3. A 4. A 5. D 6. C 7. C 8. B 9. D 10. C Round Three: The Home Front 1. D 2. C 3. A 4. B 5. C 6. A 7. C 8. D 9. B 10. A Tie-Breaker Answers: 1. The Flying Tigers 2. Okinawa 3. President Franklin D. Roosevelt 4. Germany, Italy, Japan 5. Philippines 6. V-E Day; Germany surrendered 7. Atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki 8. President Harry Truman 9. The Spitfire or the Hurricane 10. The Battle of the Bulge 11. The Allied invasion of North Africa 12. British national who broadcast propaganda for the Germans The National WWII Museum s High School WWII Quiz Bowl Qualifier, page 6