20th Century History Trivia Word Search

Polish trade union leader Lech '_ _ _ _ _ _' helped end communist rule in Poland.

This Soviet leader ruled the USSR throughout WWII and into the early Cold War.

The secret US program that developed the atomic bomb was called the '_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _' Project.

The 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz '_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _' in Sarajevo triggered World War I.

This US president and former WWII general was widely known by the nickname '_ _ _.'

The most notorious Nazi concentration and extermination camp, in occupied Poland, was this.

The US military network that became a precursor to the modern internet was called this.

This US president faced down the Soviet Union during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

This "unsinkable" ocean liner struck an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage in 1912.

The 1991 US-led conflict to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait is known as the Gulf '_ _ _.'

American hostages were held for 444 days after the 1979 seizure of this US diplomatic building in Tehran.

South Africa's system of institutionalized racial segregation, ended in the early 1990s, was called this.

Roosevelt's program of relief and reform to combat the Depression was called the New '_ _ _ _.'

President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 in this Texas city.

This US president is closely associated with the final years of the Cold War alongside Gorbachev.

Germany's fast-moving invasion tactic, combining tanks and air power, was called Blitz'_ _ _ _ _' (German for "war").

This prominent feminist activist co-founded Ms. magazine in the 1970s.

The Cold War-era fear that one nation's fall to communism would trigger neighboring collapses was the '_ _ _ _ _ _' theory.

The US program to rebuild Western Europe's economy after WWII was called the Marshall '_ _ _ _.'

This landmark 1964 US law banning discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin is known as the Civil Rights '_ _ _.'

This Italian fascist dictator ruled alongside Hitler as an Axis leader.

This 1968 Los Angeles assassination claimed a presidential candidate and younger brother of a slain former president; he shared his brother's surname but is often distinguished by this first name.

This 1965 US law banned discriminatory voting practices used to disenfranchise Black voters.

This East African country experienced a horrific genocide against the Tutsi minority in 1994.

This British Prime Minister, a contemporary of Reagan, was known as the "Iron Lady."

The 1929 stock market '_ _ _ _ _' triggered the Great Depression.

The June 6, 1944 Allied invasion of Normandy is known simply as '_-_ _ _.'

NASA's program that landed astronauts on the Moon between 1969 and 1972 was called this.

This German dictator led the Nazi Party and started WWII in Europe.

The devastating 1918 global pandemic is commonly (if inaccurately) called the Spanish '_ _ _.'

The 1944 Allied invasion of France began on the beaches of this French region.

This British Prime Minister led the UK through WWII, famous for his wartime speeches.

WWI's Western Front became infamous for miles of dug-in '_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _' warfare.

The concrete barrier dividing East and West Berlin from 1961 to 1989 was called the Berlin '_ _ _ _.'

This Indian independence leader championed nonviolent resistance against British rule.

This civil rights leader delivered the "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963.

Egypt's 1956 nationalization of a key canal triggered the Suez '_ _ _ _ _ _.'

This Soviet cosmonaut became the first human in space in 1961.

This Western military alliance, formed in 1949, opposed Soviet expansion during the Cold War.

A second major 1945 Allied conference, dividing occupied Germany, was held in this German city.

This 1979 revolution overthrew the Shah of Iran and established an Islamic republic.

Allied leaders met at this Crimean resort in February 1945 to plan postwar Europe.

This US president was in office when the 1929 stock market crash struck, and his name became synonymous with the economic crisis that followed.

Soviet missiles discovered on this Caribbean island in 1962 nearly triggered nuclear war.

The early-20th-century movement fighting for women's right to vote is known as this.

Churchill described the Cold War divide between East and West as an Iron '_ _ _ _ _ _ _.'

Nine Black students integrated a high school in this Arkansas city in 1957, becoming a landmark desegregation crisis: Little '_ _ _ _.'

Soviet leader Mikhail '_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _' introduced glasnost and perestroika in the 1980s.

The 1919 treaty ending WWI was signed in a famous Hall of '_ _ _ _ _ _ _' at a French palace.

This US president resigned in 1974 over the Watergate scandal.

The failed precursor to the United Nations, formed after WWI, was called the '_ _ _ _ _ _' of Nations.

This Japanese city was the target of the first atomic bomb used in warfare, in August 1945.

The German cipher machine famously cracked by Allied codebreakers during WWII was called this.

This US president, elected to four terms, led America through the Depression and most of WWII.

This South Vietnamese capital fell to North Vietnamese forces in 1975, ending the Vietnam War.

This British ocean liner, sunk by a German U-boat in 1915, helped draw the US toward WWI.

The 1947 division of British India into two independent nations is known as the '_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.'

This Balkan region saw brutal ethnic conflict and a notorious genocide during the 1990s.

This British mathematician led the team that cracked Germany's wartime codes.

The post-WWII trials of Nazi war criminals were held in this German city.

Britain, France, and Russia (later joined by the US) formed this WWI coalition, opposing the Central Powers.

Gorbachev's policy of political openness in the 1980s was called this Russian term.

The 1968 '_ _ _' Offensive by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces was a turning point in the Vietnam War.

This Tennessee city on the Mississippi River was where Dr. King was assassinated in 1968, sparking riots nationwide.

Germany's WWI emperor held this title, German for "emperor."

Iraq's 1990 invasion of this small, oil-rich neighbor triggered the Gulf War.

This four-letter abbreviation for the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991.

This man was accused of assassinating President Kennedy in 1963.

The systematic killing of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire beginning in 1915 is referred to as this.

This Cuban revolutionary leader overthrew the Batista government in 1959.

The systematic genocide of six million Jews by Nazi Germany is known as this.

This US president ordered the atomic bombings of Japan and later issued a Cold War doctrine bearing his name.

This South Asian country gained independence from Britain in 1947.

In 1948–49 the US and allies supplied West Berlin entirely by air during the Berlin '_ _ _ _ _ _ _.'

Germany, Italy, and Japan formed this WWII alliance, opposing the Allies.

This Argentine-born revolutionary fought alongside Castro before spreading revolution elsewhere.

This 1986 nuclear disaster in Soviet Ukraine remains the worst in history.

The 1941 Japanese attack that drew the US into WWII targeted this naval base: Pearl '_ _ _ _ _ _.'

The '_ _ _ _ _ _' brothers achieved the first sustained powered flight in 1903.

This South African leader, imprisoned for 27 years, became the country's first Black president in 1994.

The Soviet-led military alliance that countered NATO was called the Warsaw '_ _ _ _.'

The Bosnian city where a 1914 assassination triggered World War I was this.

This massive 1969 music festival in upstate New York became a symbol of 1960s counterculture.

This 1970s political scandal, involving a break-in and cover-up, led to a US president's resignation.

This Chinese Communist leader founded the People's Republic of China in 1949.

This American astronaut became the first person to walk on the Moon in 1969.

Three days after the first atomic bombing, this second Japanese city was struck.

The November 11, 1918 agreement that halted fighting in WWI is called the '_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.'

Britain handed this territory back to China in 1997 after over 150 years of colonial rule.

This Beijing square was the site of major pro-democracy protests violently suppressed in 1989.

Cambodia's brutal 1970s regime, responsible for a genocide, was called the Khmer '_ _ _ _ _.'

The USSR's 1957 launch of this satellite, the first in space, shocked the United States.

This Cambodian dictator led the Khmer Rouge regime during its genocidal rule.

Illegally trafficked alcohol during the 1920s US ban on liquor was known as '_ _ _ _ _ _ _' booze.

This international peace organization, established in San Francisco in 1945, succeeded the failed League of Nations.