5.3 The Home Front Flashcards
From what year did mass evacuations begin?
1942
How many German children were evacuated as part of the Kinderlandverschickung (KLV) programme
2.5 million
Where did the Kinderlandverschickung (KLV) stay while they were evacuated?
In one of 9,000 camps supervised by the Hitler Youth leaders and teachers
When did the first rationing begin?
1939
Bread, meat, dairy products, and soap
From November 1939, what was rationed?
Clothing
Theft of food stamps resulted in what?
It was a criminal offence.
It typically resulted in forced labour
What ‘unfamiliar’ foods were Germans encouraged to eat?
Aubergine, fennel and artichokes
What was so rare it could be used like currency?
Tobacco
In May 1942, the government cut rations to what?
Bread was restricted to about half a loaf per person a day
Meat to 40 grams a day
The black market expanded rapidly
What was common in the last months of the war?
Starvation
What did Hitler launch in June 1941?
Operation Barbarossa (the invasion of the USSR)
Why did Operation Barbarossa put Germany under great strain?
Over 2m soldiers are thought to have died
The Soviets destroyed everything as they retreated so the Germans could not use it
Temperatures dropped sharply in November leading to freezing conditions that the Germans were not used to
When did Goebbels tell the German population that they were now involved in a ‘total war’?
February 1943 - people had to use everything they had to win the war
In October 1941, which group of people would be transported to Germany for slave labour
Russian prisoners of war
By 1944, how many prisoners were working for German industry?
Over 7 million
From January 1943, who had to register as available for work?
Men aged 16-65
Women aged 17-45
What happened to small businesses during the war?
If they were not essential, they were closed and employees taken for war work
There were still exemptions for married women
In August 1944, what was banned?
Holidays for workers
In August 1944, what was the working week increased to?
60 hours
What was shut down to aid the ‘total war’?
Professional sports teams and places of entertainment
Cinemas stayed open as propaganda tools
What was formed to protect Germany from invasion?
The Volkssturm (Home Guard) was formed to protect Germany from invasion. Boys as young as 12 were being forced to join by 1945.
From August 140, what targets were bombed?
Industrial targets
From 1942, what targets began to be bombed?
Civilian targets
What were the results of the raids on Hamburg in the summer of 1943?
42,600 German civilians died and 1 million fled the city.
What impact did the bombing have on morale?
It had a hugely negative impact on morale despite what propaganda said
From 1944, what did the Allies begin to bomb?
Strategic targets like railway lines
Allied raids on the Ruhr Valley in 1944 are thought to have reduced metal production by what?
40%
The number of women working in industry actually dropped between 1939 and 1941. Why?
Hitler’s opposition to the idea
From June 1941, what did Goering order women to do?
If they had no children and had been in employment, they should register for woek
What did Hitler turn down in November 1943?
A request to raise the working age limit to 50 for women.
He agreed to this in 1945
What percentage of Germany’s work force did women make up by the end of the war?
60%
What were the psychological effects of being a woman in Germany?
Many women lived in constant fear that their husbands or son had been killed
Many were killed in air raids, made homeless and forced to leave their homes for safer areas
As the war came to an end, women also had to cope with the fear of the Soviet army.
Soviet soldiers raped millions of German women in East Prussia and Berlin
Tens of thousands died from these attacks or committed suicide to avoid the attacks
