Depth Study Germany Flashcards
What was the situation in Germany at the end of World War One?
Kaiser fled Germany when it was clear they lost war, country asked for armistice (it was bankrupt, chaotic, many starving). Allies offered peace on strict terms, and they demanded it become a democracy and imposed harsh peace terms
Why did Germany request an Armistice, in more detail?
- British navy blockading German ports, preventing supplies getting in
- shortage of weapons for troops
- shortage of food for German people
- public unrest, strikes
- German navy mutinied (refused to follow orders)
- Kaiser abdicated
Terms of Treaty of Versailles
- war guilt clause
- 6.6 billion pounds in reparations
- lost all overseas territories
- lost 13% of European land, including Alsace-Lorraine (given to France)
- demilitarisation of Rhineland (bordered France)
- 100 000 soldiers only, no aircraft/tanks/submarines
- only 6 battleships, 6 cruisers, 12 destroyers, 12 torpedoboats
- banned from uniting with Austria
What does dolchstoss mean?
a stab in the back, germans thought their politicians were betraying them for signing the Treaty
Who were the November Criminals?
German politicians which signed the armistice
Why was the treaty a diktat?
Germans had no choice but to sign it or face the war again
How did the new Weimar government work, hierarchically?
- The President
- Chancellor (Prime Minister)
- Cabinet Ministers
- Houses of Parliament (Reichstag and Reichsrat)
The President in Weimar Germany
Head of state,
elected every 7 years,
could rule without consulting the Reichstag,
appointed and dismissed the Chancellor
Reichstag - detail
- members elected every 4 years by all men and women over 20
- proportional representation: each party gained seats in Reichstag depending on proportion of votes
What was article 48?
President could use it to pass laws by himself if Reichstag couldn’t agree and take control of army
Weaknesses of Weimar Constitution
- proportional representation: difficult for one party to get majority, formed weak coalitions which didn’t last long (1919-1932 Germany had 21 different gvts.)
What was the Ruhr crisis?
- Germans refused to pay reparations, French and Belgium troops invaded Ruhr and confiscated goods/machinery/raw materials
- German workers in Ruhr encouraged by gvt. went on strike
- French arrested them and brought in their own workers
- caused debts, unemployment and shortage of goods
What were the consequences of the Ruhr crisis leading to hyperinflation?
- shortages meant prices rose
- govt was receiving less money from taxes (unemployment, closed factories) (income from taxes only 1/4 of required)
- govt printed more money, flooding market with valueless currency
- prices rose, more money printed, prices rose again (vicious circle)
Statistics regarding 1923 hyperinflation
- in 1923: 300 paper mills and 2000 print shops used solely to print money
- in 1923: a loaf of bread cost 100 000 million marks
- money even lost value within the same hour
Effects of hyperinflation
- everyone suffered from shortages, no foreign companies would trade with Germany
- hard to buy things, money to be carried around in wheel-barrows
- values of savings, investments and pensions wiped out
What did those on the extreme right wing want?
- stable society, strong gvt., capitalism and private ownership, hate communism, traditional values
- th3y hated the Weimar Republic, felt it had been abandoned by the army in 1918, hated communism and feared a communist revolution, wanted to tear up TofV
What did those on the extreme left wing want?
- rapid change, treat all as equals, political power to workers, against capitalism, abolish private wonership
- wanted a communist revolution like in 1917 russia
Spartacists
- left wing threat
- 6th Jan 1919, 100 000 communists took control of key buildings in Berlin
- led by Rosa Luxembourg and Karl Liebknecht
- Ebert’s gvt used Freikorps to put down revolt, several thousand Spartacists arrested/killed, both leaders killed
- right wing used to crush left wing
kapp putch - Freikorps
- right wing threat (Kapp Putsch)
- led by Wolfgang Kapp
- 5000 Freikorps (ex soldiers who hate Weimar and are still armed) and right wing supporters march on Berlin in 1920 to overthrow gvt.
- gvt had to flee and for a time rebels controlled the ciry
- Ebert encouraged worker’s strike, and they did since they didn’t want a right-wing victory, Kapp fled when he realised he didn’t have enough support
Standard themes of the Nazi Party
- dolchstoss (Germans stabbed in the back by new gvt.)
- hated TofV
- hated Weimar Republic
- Communists and Jews were trying to destroy Germany
What were some points of the 25 point programme?
- union of all Germans to form a greater Germany
- scrapping of TofV
- citizenship only to those of German blood, no Jews allowed
- only German citizens allowed to vote
- any land needed for communal purposes seized, no compensation
- all non-Germans who entered after 1914 to leave
When did Hitler become the leader of the Nazi Party?
1921
What were some things Hitler did when he became Nazi leader?
- introduced Swastika emblem
- introduced raised arm salute
- formed private Nazi army (SA/brownshirts/stormtroopers)
Goal of the SA
disrupt and undermine other parties especially communists, often with physical intimidation and violence
Who had first set up the German Workers Party?
Anton Drexler
Who was Anton Drexler?
the guy who first set up the German Workers Party
What was one reason the Nazis were becoming successful?
Hitler’s speaking skills, he played on the anger felt by Germans
How many brownshirts were there by 1923? What were they asking Hitler to do?
35 000 pressing Hitler to seize power
What was Hitler’s idea behind the Munich Putsch?
It was Hitler’s attempt to remove the Weimar Republic by seizing control of Bavaria and Munich then marching on Berlin and removing the government.
What year did the Munich Putsch take place?
1923
What was the reality of the Munich Putsch? What happened?
- Hitler + 600 Nazis stormed Beer Hall in Munich, where a meeting was taking place, captured the leader of the Bavarian Government and other authorities.
- He made these people promise support to them at gunpoint.
- Next day: authorities resisted, organising troops against Nazis, 16 Nazi supporters and 3 policemen died
- Hitler arrested, but got publicity at his trial when he said he was trying to restore German pride + resist the weak Weimar government.
- sentenced to 5 years for treason but only served 9 months, taking this time to write Mein Kampf.
What were the consequences of the Munich Putsch for Hitler and the Nazis?
- Hitler was arrested and able to write Mein Kampf
- His light sentence suggested there was support/sympathy from the judge towards Nazi views
- Hitler’s trial gained a lot of publicity
- Hitler decided to focus on more democratic ways to gain power, instead of by force
What were Hitler’s views on authoritarianism?
he thought that for success, his party needed one all-powerful leader (fuhrer)
How did Stresemann help improve hyperinflation?
abolished currency and issued a new one (Rentenmark)
What was the Dawes Plan? + year
1924
Plan between Germany and USA, where annual repayments would be reduced and American banks would invest in German industry.
This reassured their allies they would get their reparations, so the French left the Ruhr.
What were some positive economic consequences of the Dawes Plan?
- doubling of industrial output
- imports and exports increased
- unemployment reduced
- government got more taxes
What was the Young Plan? + year
1929
Plan that reduced reparations debt from 6.6 billion pounds to 2 billion pounds, and Germany was given an extra 59 years to repay it all.
What were some positive consequences of the Young Plan?
- lower taxes
- increase people’s spending power - boosted economy
What was the Locarno Pact? + year
1925
- pact between Germany, Britain, France, Italy, and Belgium
- Germany agreed to keep to the 1919 border with France and Belgium (decided in TofV)
- In return, France promised peace with Germany
- other nations agreed to discuss Germany’s entry to LoN
When was Germany accepted into the LoN? What did this show?
Stresemann persuaded other nations to accept it as a member in 1926, showing Germany was being accepted again by other European nations.
What was the Kellogg-Briand pact?
- pact between 65 countries (including Germany) promising not to use war against each other in the future (memories of WW1 main reason for this pact)
- showed Germany was starting to be seen as a respectable country again by others
- nothing said about consequences of breaking this pact
Cultural recovery in Weimar Germany?
- painting, architecture and design flourished
- Berlin became a centre for theatre and plays, a very hip and happening place, rivalling Paris as cultural capital of Europe
- however, some disapproved of new shows and nightclubs, thought it was leading to Germany’s decadence
What was Stresemann’s success, summarised?
- more in Germany gained confidence in Weimar Republic
- economic stability
- Germany’s international position improved
- Stresemann had support of moderate parties, laws could be passed
- new industries set up (cars, telephones, radios, airships, ocean liners etc. built)
- Arts flourished
- Berlin became known as a good time place, entertaining with lots of freedom
- Parties that fed on desperate conditions declined
In 1924 and 1928, how many seats did Nazis have in the Reichstag?
1924: 5%
1928: only 2%, even the Communists had 4x more
What was the status of the Nazi party from 1924-1928? Why?
- Nazi support fell drastically (only 2% of seats in Reichstag in 1928)
- economic recovery brought peace, wealth and prosperity to Germany, so people were not prepared to turn to extremist ideas
- Hitler was offering desperate remedies to problems the Germans didn’t have anymore (during Stresemann years)
What did Hitler do when he was released from prison?
- started reorganising Nazi party
- set up local Nazi party branches
- Hitler Youth created
- SS set up in 1925 (personally loyal to Hitler)
- Hitler put Goebbels in charge of propaganda
Was the recovery before 1929 all it seemed?
Germany had become very dependent on American money and loans, and the Wall Street Crash and the recalling of the loans proved this
Impacts of the Wall Street Crash on Germany?
- banks lost money, people rushed to get their money back - some banks ran out of cash
- USA recalled loans, Germany was dependent on these (led to many companies closing/ drastically cutting staffing)
- unemployment
- middle class lost homes, businesses, savings
- Bruning rose taxes, upsetting workers. He reduced unemployment benefit, upsetting unemployed
- parties couldn’t agree on solutions
- private armies of political parties grew
- violence became commonplace
- Bruning (chancellor) resigned in 1932, leaving a dangerous power vacuum
What was the main factor leading to the rise of the Nazis?
the Wall St Crash, causing the Depression. It made many Germans ready to listen to extremist ideas and gave Hitler his platform.
Statistic about unemployment in Depression
by 1932, 6 million Germans were unemployed
How did Nazis gain support during the Depression?
- SA grew, continued to be violent, increasing idea that Weimar gvt. couldn’t keep law and order + people scared of communism pleased to see Nazi hostility towards Communists (supported and funded Nazi campaigns)
- Nazi uniforms and processions - idea of discipline, order and purpose
- Nazis created scapegoats: Jews and Weimar politicians
- Nazis offered strong leadership, promised to make Germany great again and rip up TofV
- propaganda - modern, impressive, purposeful, included huge rallies, films, concerts etc
- Hitler’s speaking skills convinced people he was the only one to be Germany’s hero
Why were there several elections across 1932-1933?
due to the inability of coalition governments to rule effectively and make decisions
What happened in 1932-1933 in the Weimar government?
May 1932: President Hindenburg appoints Von Papen as chancellor.
July 1932: Von Papen didn’t have enough support to rule well, election called hoping to increase support- didn’t work
Nov 1932:tried another election to increase support for Von Papen, he end up with less seats, so he resigned. Von Schleicher replaces him, but he can’t get a majority either. Creates pressure for Hindenburg to appoint Hitler (leader of biggest party)
January 1933:Hitler becomes Chancellor, Hindenburg tries to limit his power by making Von Papen vice-chancellor
March 1933:more elections called. Police now largely under SA control, massive Nazi violence.
A week before elections: Reichstag Fire, communists banned, Nazis win 288 seats
Enabling Act: gave Hitler power to pass any law without needing to consult Reichstag, voted by using intimidation. He used this to ban Trade Unions and all other political parties.
June 1934: Night of the Long Knives
August 1932: Hindenburg died, Hitler took up title Fuhrer, combined jobs of President and Chancellor
Army swore a personal oath to Hitler
What was the Reichstag Fire?
- one week before elections
- communist (van da Lubbe) found inside building. Hitler persuaded Hindenburg to declare state of emergency, using as an excuse the beginning of a communist revolution. Gave Hitler opportunity to go after Communists.
- Hitler gained power to suspend civil rights of citizens and arrest anyone suspected of opposing govt.
- 4000 communists arrested and communists banned
- In the March 1933 elections, Nazis won 288 seats in Reichstag
In the March 1933 elections, how many seats did the Nazis win?
288, the biggest party
What was the Enabling Act?
- act that gave Hitler power to pass laws without needing to consult Reichstag
- passed by 444 votes to 94
- Reichstag members intimidated into voting for, other members stayed away/had been beaten up
- Hitler used this to ban Trade Unions + all other political parties
happened after Reichstag Fire and March 1933 elections
What was the Night of the Long Knives?
- Hitler eliminates opposition: Rohm (leader of SA) + SA were threats (SA becoming very large + poorly disciplined)
- June 1934: Rohm + over 400 SA members executed by SS
- clearly illegal
- pleased army who saw SA as threat
- SS became organisatio of Nazi regime, SA never regained influence
- Hitler took this opportunity to eliminate old political opponents, eg von Schleicher
- many grateful that brutal thugs of SA had been restrained
- carefully reported in Nazi controlled newspapers
June 1934
What were 4 different ways Nazis controlled Germany by fear?
- The SS
- The Gestapo
- The Police and the Courts
- Concentration Camps
What was the SS?
- members fanatically loyal to Hitler
- grew into a huge organisation, destroying opposition to Nazism + carrying out racial policies of the Nazis
- later were responsible for carrying out the Final Solution
- Led by Heinrich Himmler
- SS men were highly trained Aryans
What was the Gestapo?
- secret state police, most feared by ordinary German citizens
- could arrest citizens and send them to concentration camps w/o trial/explanation
How were the Police and the Courts in Nazi Germany?
- helped support Nazi dictatorship
- top police jobs given to high ranking Nazis
- crimes committed by Nazis ignored
- Nazis controlled judges, magistrates + courts: opponents of Nazism rarely received fair trial
What were concentration camps?
- prisoners forced to do hard labour
- limited food, harsh discipline, beatings and random executions
- late 1930s: common, few people came out alive
- included Jews, Socialists/Communists, trade unionists, churchmen + anyone who didn’t fit in with/criticized Nazis
- once the Final Solution had been decided on, came the Death camps
Why was there so little opposition to the Nazis between 1933-1945?
- Terror (Gestapo, SS, concentration camps)
- ‘It’s for the good of Germany’ - Nazis were seen as strong govt.: economic recovery, discipline, restored German pride… to many more important than terror and loss of rights/freedom
- Economic fears- bosses who didn’t contribute to Nazi Party funds risked losing business/going bankrupt
- Propaganda - bad things concealed, ‘glories’ promoted by rallies/newspapers/radio/ cinema etc. Newspapers not allowed to print anything without Nazi permission.
Who was Josef Goebbels?
Hitler’s minister of propaganda
Who was Hitler’s minister of propaganda?
Josef Goebbels
How did the Nazis control the media?
- radio under Nazi control
- all broadcasts had to go through Goebbels’ dpt.
- public places + workplaces - speakers erectes so all could hear govt. announcements + speeches
- radios deliberately cheap
- Nazi controlled newspapers
- all other newspapers including foreign press banned
How did the Nazis control films?
films at cinema vetted and checked to ensure they fitted with Nazi ideas
How did the Nazis control books?
- books not Nazi-approved were burnt in mass burnings
- over 2,500 writes were banned
How did the Nazis control education?
- education controlled and university courses only permitted if suited Nazi ideas
- Nazis generally not fans of Higher Education, many courses were banned
How did the Nazis control theatre, art and music (entertainment)?
- similarly controlled to other things
- traditional music encourages
- jazz and blues (Black music) banned
How was the Berlin Olympics of 1936 used as propaganda?
- everything carefully stage managed
- largest stadium in the world built
- news carefully controlled
- Anti-Jewish slogans/posters removed during games so people got a positive impression of this ‘new’ Germany
What was the Nazi ideal woman?
- no make up
- blonde
- not too skinny (for having childdren)
- non-smoker
- no interest in politics
- did not work
- flat shoes and full skirt
- interested in her family + household duties
What were the three Ks?
Kinder (children), Kirche (church) and Kuche (cooking) - summed up Nazi view of ideal woman
For Nazis, what was a woman’s main role?
produce the Master Race - women at home producing children also helped reduce unemployment among men
What did the Nazis do to encourage people to have children and increase the birth rate (since it had dropped)?
- 1933- the Law for the Encouragement of Marriage, loans were given out to married couples + for every child had, you could keep 25% of the loan
- Medals given out on Hitler’s mother’s birthday to women with large families
- 1938- new law allowed men/women to divorce if their spouse couldn’t have children
- Lebensborn programme (life springs) - specially chosen unmarried women could ‘donate a baby to the Fuhrer’ by getting pregnant by racially pure SS men
What did Germany change relating women in 1937 due to more men joining the army?
- women needed to take men’s places, so Nazis had to reverse policies
- marriage loan abolished
- ‘duty year’- women working on a farm etc in return for bed and board but no pay
- change of policy unsuccessful and confusing. Women were being asked to have four children. But, also in 1943 all women aged 17-45 were called to work as well. Wtf?
How did Hitler convert German youth, the future of the Nazi regime according to him, to Nazi ideas and beliefs?
- control of schools
- control of education
- organisations such as Hitler Youth
- school curriculum redeveloped to ensure loyalty to Nazis + teaching of their policies/beliefs
How were teachers under the Nazi regime?
- they had to swear an oath of loyalty to Hitler
- had to promote Nazi ideals in classroom else face being sacked and arrested
How was the curriculum under the Nazi regime?
- lots of PE to ensure strong, fit and healthy future adults
- boys: emphasis on preparing for military
- girls: emphasis on preparing for motherhood and homemaking
- race studies became a subject
- pupils taught that Aryans were superior and Jews were inferior
How were textbooks under the Nazi regime?
- rewritten to emphasize past German glories + promote idea of Jews as the enemy of Europe throughout history
- Mein Kampf became a standard text
How did lessons begin under the Nazi regime?
lessons began with an allegiance pledged to Hitler
What are examples of how the Nazis incorporated Nazi themes into every subject?
maths exam questions and illustrations in books
How did Hitler control the youth outside of school?
- various groups for boys and girls part of the Hitler Youth Movement
- membership became compulsory in 1936
- all other youth groups banned
- boys took part in sport, hiking, map reading, military skills
- girls were similar, but a lot less military training and a lot more on domestic skills
Was Hitler’s attempt to control the youth successful?
very - often young people were more loyal to Hitler than they were to their own parents, with many children reporting their parents to the Gestapo
What was happening to the Nazi Youth by late 1930s?
- appeal was reducing a little
- rebel groups appeared, listened to banned music, wore hair in unnaproved of styles and refused to idolise Hitler
Who were the Edeilweiss Pirates?
- rebel group of young people, some members hanged when a plot was discovered to attack the Gestapo in Cologne
- at other times Nazis seemed unsure what to do with rebel groups of young people
How did Hitler want to create a pure Aryan racial state?
- selective breeding
- destroying the Jews
What were measures taken against the Jews?
essa é uma long flashcard
- 1933, April: SA organised boycott of Jewish shops/businesses
- 1934: local councils banned Jews from public places (eg parks, playing fields, swimming pools)
- 1935, May: Jews banned from army
- 1935, June: restaurants closed to Jews
- 1935, September: Nuremberg Laws passes (including: excluding Jews from being German citizens, lost voting right, sexual relations/marriage between Jews and German citizens banned)
- 1936, April: Jews banned from professional jobs
- 1936, July-August: lull in anti-Jewish campaign during Berlin Olympics
- 1937, September: Hitler makes a speech publicly attacking Jews, more and more Jewish businesses seized
- 1938: Jews to carry identity cards, have yellow stars sewn on their clothes + red letter J stamped in passports: to make them extremely visible + conspicuous
What was the ‘Night of the Broken Glass’? (Kristallnacht)
- 8th Nov, young Polish Jew shot a German official (in Paris), protesting about his parent’s treatment in Germany
- Goebbels used this to organise anti-Jewish demonstrations - included attacks on Jewish property, shops, homes, synagogues
- Over 100 Jews killed and 20 000 sent to concentration camps
What were the repercussions of Kristallnacht?
Many Germans became disgusted. Hitler and Goebbels became worried and thought it shouldn’t be seen as Nazi work. They portrayed it as a spontaneous act of vengeance by Germans, and Hitler blamed Jews for having provoked the attack + fined them 1 billion Reich marks as compensation
Besides Jews, which other groups were persecuted?
- everyone who wasn’t ‘socially useful’ (had a job and contributed to the state).
- included mentally disabled, those with hereditary disease, and homeless
- others seen as undesirable and not contributing to the Master race were homosexuals, juvenile delinquents and alcoholics
What measures were taken to persecute other minority groups (besides Jews)?
- 1933 Sterilisation Law: allowed Nazis to sterilise people with certain illnesses (described as ‘simple mindedness), nearly 70 000 people compulsorily sterilised
- Many ‘undesirables’ (eg homosexuals, juvenile deliquents, prostitues, gypsies and homeless) sent to concentration camps
- 1939: Nazis secretly exterminating mentally ill, around 6 000 disabled babies/children/teens murdered by starvation/lethal injection
What was the Einsatzgruppen?
- During WW2, as Germany invaded other countries like Poland and the USSR, 6 million Jews came under their control.
- Special SS squads rounded them up in each area, took them to the country, ordered them to dig trenches and then shot them.
What were the ghettos?
separated section of cities, surrounded by walls, armed guards, barbed wire and dogs, where Jews were forced to relocate to
How were the conditions in the ghettos?
- overcrowded, unsanitary
- shortages of food, clothes, medicine etc
- water and power deliberately cut off often
- hundreds died daily
- anyone who tried to leave was shot
- SS squads randomly killed people
Were there any attempts to fight what was happening in the ghettos?
yes - for example, the Warsaw ghetto uprising in 1943 lasted 43 days against the German army
What was the Final Solution and what did it entail?
At the Wannsee Conference in January 1942, the Nazis decided on more ‘efficient’ way to kill Jews than shootings and ghettos. They designed six death camps, which had gas chambers that could kill 2000 people at once.
What happened in death camps?
- On arrival, a Nazi doctor would tell the person if they should go left or right:
- left to work, right to the gas chambers.
- 80% were killed at once.
- Those put to work usually only lasted a few months before dying of malnutrition, disease, and overwork.
What were the 2 main concentration camps and how many people were killed in them?
Auschwitz - 1.1 million killed
Treblinka - 850 000 killed
What issue did the Nazis face with the Church?
- Nazi ideals opposed Christian church’s
- Hitler could not attack Christianity - Germany was essentially Christian (2/3 Protestant and 1/3 Catholic)
- Hitler saw the Church as a threat as the loyalty of the Catholics may lay with the Pope rather than him
What was the Concordat?
and date
An agreement made between Hitler and the Pope in July 1933 that Hitler wouldn’t interfere with the Catholic church if they agreed to stay out of politics.
What was the name of the agreement between Hitler and the Pope?
The Concordat
Did Hitler keep his end of the Concordat?
No- within a few months of the agreement:
* monasteries + Catholic Youth Groups had been shut down
* several Catholic bishops were imprisoned, as were hundreds of priests + nuns
What did Catholic Bishop Galen do?
- criticized the Nazis throughout the 1930s
- 1941: led protest against Nazi policy of killing mentally ill/physically disabled ppl, forced Nazis to temporarily stop
- had very strong popular support, Nazis decided it was too risky to try silencing him
What was the Reich Church?
- a Church Hitler tried to set up of Protestant Nazi supporters.
- Many Protestants couldn’t agree to this, leaving the Reich Church.
- Many were arrested/put in concentration camps, including their leader Martin Niemoeller
What were measures taken to reduce unemployment in Nazi Germany?
give a list, no explanations
- The National Labour Front (DAF)
- Trade unions banned, strikes etc illegal
- Re-Armament
- Job creation schemes
- Making Germany more self-sufficient
- ‘4 year plan’
What was the National Labour Front (DAF)?
- unemployed men to do public works
- included building schools, housing, especially motorways (autobahns)
- Hitler had 7,000 km of these roads built
- From 1935, all 18-25 year olds had to spend 6 months, only paid pocket money
- Took millions off unemployment
How did Hitler use rearmament to reduce unemployment?
- Hitler ordered building of aircraft, tanks, battelships, submarines (against TofV)
- provided work in ship yards, factories, mines, steelworks etc
- by 1939, 26 billion marks spent on rearmament
- Hitler also increased army size from 100,000 in 1933 to 1.4 million by 1939
What were some other job creation schemes used by the Nazis?
- forestry work
- new schools
- hospitals
- stadiums etc
How did Hitler try to make Germany more self-sufficient? Did this work?
- he tried to make the country less vulnerable to any future blockades
- increased production of oil, coal, rubber etc in Germany
- not entirely successful - he needed **more raw materials and food. **
- His idea of lebensraum and invading other countries was partly to achieve this (as well as tO get land for his ‘superior race’)
What was the Hidden or Invisible Unemployment in Nazi Germany?
- Nazis had used dubious methos to keep unemployment down
- Official figures didn’t include Jews dismissed from their jobs, unmarried men under 25 pushed into National Labour and women dismissed from their jobs to fulfill Nazi ideals
What did Hitler’s ‘4 year plan’ show? When was it revealed?
- revealed in 1936
- showed that Hitler wanted Germany ready for war by 1940
What are things that suggest German workers were better off under the Nazis?
- Strength through Joy - improving people’s free time by sponsoring many events eg concerts, theatre visits, museum tours, sporting events (even cruises and low-cost holidays)
- Beauty of Larbou - improving working conditions by building canteens, swimming pools, sports facilites, better lighting etc
- Volkswagen scheme- set up to enable workers to save for acar by saving 5 marks a week into a fund
What are things that suggest German workers were worse off under the Nazis?
- many things offered by Strength through Joy org. were still too expensive for most workers
- improvements under Beauty of Work scheme had to be done by workers in their own time without pay - resentment
- Volkswagen scheme was a swindle - 1939, factory converted to war production, no one had received their car + none of the money refunded
- cost of living during period rose, price of nearly all basic groceries cost more in 1939 than in 1933
- working hours increased from 42.9 h/week in 1933 to 47 in 1939
What were ways in which war changed life in Germany?
list, no explanation
- invasion of USSR
- hardship at home
- bombing
- labour shortages
- defeat
Give details on the invasion of the USSR.
- seen as Hitler’s biggest mistake
- instead of a quick victory elsewhere, he ruined his army in a 4 yr conflict in Russia
- despite propaganda, German people began to realise all was not well by the vast numbers of killed and wounded
Give details on the hardships faced at home during the war.
- Germany was not self-sufficientt in food + other vital supplies
- rationing began
- after 1943 food was in seriously short suply alonng with other vital materials
Give details on how bombing affected wartime Germany.
- from 1942 allies were intensively bombing German cities
- thousands became homeless
- enormous raids (eg Dresden) caused fire storms sucking all surrounding oxygen, causing suffocation
- eg. fife storm in Hamburg, 45 000 died (more than total number killed in Britain across the whole war by German bombing campaign)
Give details about labour shortages in wartime Germany.
- doctors in short supply partly because Jews and women banned from practicing
- severe labour shortage - most men in army
- some Nazis wanted to conscript women, opposed by others against women working
- slave labour used, Russians and Poles worked to death
When did Germany start to be defeated?
from 1943 German forces were being driven back
What did it mean the ‘total war’ that Goebbels was in charge of?
- nothing matter except the war effort. no theatre, concert, magazine, non military clothing or furniture made, sport, sweets, some foods totally unavailable
- only form of entertainment kept was cinemas because of propaganda
- (also just good to know women under 50 were called to work in factories)
How many people did the Dresden bombing kill?
150 000 people - more than the Atomic bomb in Japan
What happened in the final time before WW2 ended?
- Nazi leaders decided to go down fighting, causing suffering for Germans
- this suffering includes Dresden bombing
- a kind of Home Guard set up - every teenage boy and retired man had to join
When and how did WW2 end?
May 1945: Hitler, Goebbels and other Nazi leaders committed suicide. Nazism and war in Europe was over.
