Speeches of World War II Trivia Quiz

On January 30, 1939, Hitler gave his speech, however, no document has been discovered with his signature on it stating a planned Jewish annihilation. In his speech, Hitler referred to himself as a prophet and called for the annihilation of the Jewish race if the Jewish financiers brought about a World War. Adolph Hitler liked the phrase so much that he used the phrase five more times in other speeches.

On April 28, 1939, Adolph Hitler made this two hour speech in response to FDR asking for Adolph's foreign policy. Hitler made the speech from the Berlin Kroll Opera House two weeks after FDR's request. Adolph Hitler wanted FDR to know that not only had he found jobs for seven million unemployed German people, but he also had rearmed them.

In Hitler's speech, he told FDR that Germany's 1935 aggression act with Poland was being cancelled. Also cancelled was the 1935 treaty with Britain, which assured them that Germany put limitations on warship construction.

After Hitler's speech, Poland rejected the cancellation act. Britain and France couldn't establish an alliance with Moscow, and the United States stayed in isolation.

On June 18, 1940, Prime Minister Winston Churchill wanted to bolster French citizens after France fell to Germany. In his speech, Churchill wanted all citizens to know if the British empire and its Commonwealth stayed for a thousand years, people would still say that June 18, 1940, was their finest hour. Churchill's speech garnered mixed reviews until people began to see that Britain was in a battle and it was conducted mostly in the air. Churchill referred to "their finest hour" speech as his magnum opus.

He delivered his speech on the 125th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.

Charles de Gaulle was the Undersecretary of State for France. De Gaulle wanted to give a speech that would bolster the people who would hear it. Churchill agreed to De Gaulle's speech because Churchill was also giving a speech on the same night. De Gaulle gave his speech on June 18, 1940.

He wanted the citizens of France to know that he was speaking for them and they were not alone. Neither France, Britain, nor the United States made any recognition of Charles de Gaulle. However, De Gaulle would become the self-grandized leader of France.

The speech he made on June 18, 1940, was not recorded for posterity because Winston Churchill was giving a speech on the same day.

President Roosevelt's speech was considered his last fireside chat held on December 29, 1940. FDR didn't want to send troops into World War II, so he told the American people that he would be sending weapons to the people of Europe. In doing this, FDR said the United States would be the arsenal of democracy.

His speech was met with resounding approval. However, people in London had trouble hearing his speech because a Luftwaffe air raid was happening at the moment his speech was being broadcast.

When Germany invaded the Soviet Union, a frightened Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov was the man who informed Germany - not Joseph Stalin. On July 3, 1941, two weeks after Germany invaded the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin finally spoke to the people of Germany.

In his speech, Stalin called for a ruthless fight against anyone who was against the Soviet Union. Stalin wanted cowards to be brought before a military tribune and all supplies be taken so that the enemy couldn't get their hands on them.

On December 8, 1941, FDR began his speech with the opening line "A date which will live in infamy". The date he was speaking of was December 7, 1941, when Japanese forces bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. FDR wrote the majority of the speech on his own. He reminded American citizens that the United States had no qualms with Japan until December seventh. FDR was asking Congress to declare war on Japan.

The declaration of war passed with an unanimous vote from the Senate. At the House of Representatives, the vote was 388-1. Senator Jeannette Rankin of Montana was a pacifist and was the only "nay" vote in the House of Representatives.

The Nazi Ministry for Propaganda and Information tried to keep the war out of the ears of German citizens, but with the fall of Stalingrad, Joseph Goebbels wasn't sure if that was possible anymore. He was ready to bring the tragedies of the dead and dying German soldiers to light. Adolph Hitler, who was in hiding, agreed with Goebbels.

In January 1943, Goebbels made the decision to keep letters from German prisoners out of the hands of family members to make families believe their loved ones had died in the war. He had mourning music played on German radios for three days.

Finally, on February 18, 1943, Joseph Goebbels stood in the Berlin Sports Palace, and made a speech. His opening line was "Total war is the demand of the hour". Goebbels told the German people that it was time for the gloves to come off and everyone must fight for Germany. Applause went up for twenty minutes. Production increased in German factories, and the German death toll rose.

Japan was in trouble. Leaders thought they could hide the amount of trouble the country was in, but when Saipan fell, trouble couldn't be hidden any longer. The people of Japan wanted change and they were about to get it. Prime Minister and General Hideki Tojo, was retiring. On July 19, 1943, Tojo made his resignation speech. Upon hearing his words, Japan was ready for whatever came. Kamikaze style fighting was put into effect.

It didn't matter to Japan how many Japanese lives were lost as long as more American lives were lost in the bargain.

In August 1945, Emperor Hirohito decided that it was time to surrender and the announcement had to be made in public so on August 15, 1945, Emperor Hirohito formally announced Japan's surrender. The emperor's announcement was the first time the people of Japan had heard his voice.

In his announcement, Hirohito told Japan the war was not going the way he wanted and Japan's enemies were using things that would kill innocent people. He went on to explain that if Japan didn't surrender, everyone would die. It wasn't until after Emperor Hirohito's speech that the Japanese people found out Hirohito was speaking of the atomic bomb.

Reactions to the speech were powerful as several Japanese people in high positions committed suicide. For those who did not get radio frequencies, a balloon was sent up with a banner displaying a sign that announced Hirohito was ready for peace.