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Key Figures of WWII: Leaders, Generals, and Innovators

Explore the influential individuals of World War II, from political leaders like Hitler and Churchill to military commanders like Eisenhower and MacArthur, and innovators like Oppenheimer and Einstein.

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Key Figures of WWII: Leaders, Generals, and Innovators

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  1. Key People in World War II

  2. Benito Mussolini • Fascist dictator of Italy; allied with Hitler’s Germany

  3. Adolf Hitler • Fascist leader of Nazi Germany, architect of genocide

  4. Francisco Franco • Fascist leader of Spain, refused to join the Axis powers; Spain’s neutrality helped the Allies

  5. Joseph Stalin • Communist leader of the Soviet Union • Totalitarian Dictator; sided with the Allies against Germany

  6. Haile Selassie • Emperor of Ethiopia, 1930-74 • Forced into exile when Italy invaded in 1935 • Received British assistance in 1941 to recapture Ethiopia • Regarded as Messiah of Africans by Rastafarians 1936 Time Man of the Year

  7. Neville Chamberlain • Conservative Prime Minister of England at the beginning of WWII (1937-40); tried to avoid the war by appeasing Hitler

  8. Winston Churchill • Prime Minister of Great Britain after Chamberlain (1940-45), became a hero for leading the Allies to victory • Brilliant orator; able toinspire British people • Made famous Iron Curtainspeech in Fulton, MO 1946 • Soldier, journalist, author,painter & politician 1940 Time Man of the Year

  9. Charles de Gaulle • General that led the Free French Forces during WWII; became President of France after the war 1959 Time Man of the Year

  10. Hideki Tojo • Prime minister of Japan in World War II; sided with Germany to expand Japanese control in the Pacific Ocean; tried and executed for war crimes

  11. J. Robert Oppenheimer • Physicist that directed the Manhattan Project to develop nuclear weapons • “the father of the atomic bomb” • What is a scientist’s responsibility to humanity? (debate question…)

  12. What about the engineers of the gas chambers at the concentration camps? Are they responsible for the hundreds of thousands that die in the chambers?(all, partially, or not at all) What is a builder’s responsibility to humanity? (debate question…) Gas chamber at Malthausen camp

  13. A. Philip Randolph • Civil rights leader, President of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, socialist • proposed a march on Washington in 1941 to protest segregation in war industries and the military; cancelled it after Roosevelt created the Fair Employment Act to enforce equality in defense industries (a compromise); • Should your goals every be compromised? (debate question…) • Randolph continued to lead the civil rights movement including coordinating the 1963 March on Washington with MLK and Bayard Rustin Time magazine photo Oct. 1943

  14. Erwin Rommel • Nazi General; commanded the troops in Africa • known as the Desert Fox for his skill and victories • Most popular General in Germany

  15. Dwight D. Eisenhower • Five Star General of U.S. Army • Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe • planned D-Day invasion • became a war hero and later President (1953-1961) Time Man of the Year 1944

  16. Omar Bradley • General in the U.S. Army • commander in North Africa and then Europe during and after the D-Day invasion • Helped ensure Allied victory

  17. George S. Patton • U.S. Army General during WWII; commanded troops in North Africa, Sicily, and Europe • Strict discipline with troops, tough, controversial, helped trick Germans into thinking the Allied attack would be in a different place than Normandy

  18. Douglas MacArthur • U.S. General • commander in the southwest Pacific against Japan • When Allies were forced out of the Philippines he famously said, “I shall return.”

  19. Chester Nimitz • Five-star Admiral in the U.S. Navy • his troops decoded important warning about Japanese invasion of Midway to save the battle • led historic victories in the Pacific

  20. Albert Einstein • German born theoretical physicist • Winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics and the most famous scientist of the 20th century • Warned FDR that Germans might be developing an atomic weapon

  21. Emperor Hirohito • Japanese Emperor during World War II-1989 • Never tried for war crimes • Allowed to remain Emperor after the war (for stability)

  22. Franklin Roosevelt • Led U.S. through the Great Depression and World War II Time Man of the Year 1941

  23. George C. Marshall • American military General during WWII • Chief military adviser to FDR • Skilled organizer • Later Secretary of State • Policies supported post-war reconstruction of Europe which became known as the Marshall Plan (1948) Time Man of the Year 1943

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