Democracy and Dictatorship- The impact of war and defeat on Germany: 1939–1949

Question 1

WW2 Turning points

Answer 1

Psychological - when people saw for the first time that the mighty German Army could be beaten
Military - When G. Army stopped being strong enough to do the attacking and started to be pushed back
Industrial - When G became unable to make enough machines to replace those lost on battlefield
Political - when H was up against too powerful of an alliance to win

Question 2

Resistance - Communists; why, successes, failures

Answer 2

> Opposed political views of Nazis. Angry due to unjust arrests
+ Work of Rote Kapelle (a spy network) successfully infiltrated the government and military. Cell transmitted vital information back to Moscow and produced pamphlets. Uhrig
- Period of cooperation between Nazi Gov and USSR ‘39-41 meant Stalin gave names of conspirators to H.
*Communists isolated

Question 3

Resistance - The Church

Answer 3

> Morally disagreed with Hitler and murderous actions. Opposed belief that H was God-like
+ Individuals- Dietrich Bonhoeffer-> helped Jews to emigrate;
+ Bishop von Galen-> Sermons condemning Nazi euthanasia policy;
+ Alfred Delp-> Member of Kreisau Circle and part of Stauffenberg plot
- DB- picked up by Gestapo ‘43; AD- executed ‘45
*Church was no real threat

Question 4

Resistance - White Rose Group

Answer 4

> Opposed Hitler as they disagreed with the Nazis’ brutal war crimes and encouraged passive resistance
+ Able to distribute many pamphlets across Munich uni and central Germany. Sophie Scholl- member
- Failed as Gestapo caught them, Feb ‘43 and had them executed
+ Pamphlet smuggled out to Allies. Millions of copies made and dropped over G.

Question 5

Resistance - Conservative Elites

Answer 5

> Outraged by massacres and destruction on Eastern Front
+ Kreisau Group-> plans for a new Germany after H. Members- Aristocrats, officers, academics, churchmen
- Stauffenberg Plot- Bomb plot 1944, Plan to assassinate Hitler ‘Operation Valkyrie’. H only sustained minor injuries as bomb moved just before exploding.

Question 6

WW2 Economy

Answer 6

1939-41

1942-45

Question 7

Why did Germany Lose the war?

Answer 7

COURSEWORK

Question 8

Conferences - Tehran

Answer 8

1943 - Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt

• Aims- determine military strategy for the final phrase of the war. Plan by Henry Morgenthau in 1944 that Germany divided into smaller states to eliminate threat
• Disagreement- over territorial changes in Europe after Hitler’s defeat. Agree- Germany unconditional surrender
• Issue of borders

Question 9

New Currency - Deutsche Mark

Answer 9

DM- introduced 20th June 1948 to all 3 Western zones and to Western sectors of Berlin.
Financing of war had created inflation, too much money in circulation for goods available. -> Loss of value of Reichmark led to thriving black market

Question 10

Events of Blockade

Answer 10

1948 - ‘Operation Vittles’: The Berlin Airlift
Jan 1949 - 170,000 tonnes of supplies being sent in
April 1949 - NATO
9th May 1949 - Soviets lift blockade
23rd May - Trizonia comes together as state- FRG

Question 11

Democratisation

Answer 11

Allies wanted Nazism to be replaced with genuine democratic political parties
- Essence of party politics reestablished through creation of 4 major parties- SPD, CDU, LDPD, KPD
- SPD easy to reestablish itself-> it viewed positively the possibility of a neutral socialist Germany
- CDU founders recognised the need for a unified party
-

Question 12

Denazification

Answer 12

• Erase Nazism and reeducate the German population towards democracy
• Successes: thousands of Germans forced to visit the camps-> face guilt; questionnaire- people in top 3 had to appear in court. Many Germans downplayed their involvement
• Failures: too many small fry punished. Big fish got away zones not in agreement. Hard to know who were Nazis -> 1945, throwaway membership cards

Question 13

Demilitarisation

Answer 13

No armed forces were permitted and manufacture of all arms were banned.

Question 14

Decentralisation

Answer 14

Localise power. Aim to achieve by restructuring the German regions, reflect old historic territories.
USSR- created 5 Länder states by ‘45. But Soviets distrusted federal structure- so established centralised authorities responsible for transport, housing etc
US-
BRITISH- Doubted ability. Financial costs pushed B towards decentralisation and started to pass responsibility back to G. May 1947 elections held
FRENCH- Tight rule. Economically cut off. March 1947 Länder elections permitted in zone
Clear contrast between USSR zone

Question 15

Marshall Plan

Answer 15

• Recovery plan aimed to provide enough money (in the form of grants) to stabilise and strengthen Europe
• 1951, G given $1.5 billion out of $12.7 bil of Marshall Plan

Question 16

Reasons for Stalin cutting off Berlin/Berlin Blockade

Answer 16

• Stalin hope that Western powers would give up control of their zones and allow the whole capital to be Soviet-controlled
• Stalin’s paranoia as West threatening:
• US, British and French zones combined to make Trizonia
• New Currency gave economic unity in Western Zone

Question 17

Consequence of Blockade

Answer 17

• Creation of NATO, April 1949 -> Warsaw pack 1955
• Stalin humiliated
• Shows Allies can defeat with no casualties, and without aggression