Effects Of WW2 On Different Parts Of Society Flashcards
Were the elites consistent in their views of the Nazi regime and reasons for opposing it during WW2?
No, they had diverse views on it
- some felt a moral conviction that the Nazi regime was evil
- some were patriotic about their country but felt Hitler was leading Germany to destruction
Generally elites agreed on the Nazis not being the ideal government at this point
Why did many elites oppose Nazism during the war?
They believed in personal freedom and individual responsibility
- seeing the Nazis fail to take responsibility for some of their actions and seeing the dismal treatments of others when they were living comfortably deeply disturbed many elites e.g Helmut von Moltke
How can the different sections of the elite be split up during WW2?
. Democrats, who wanted a return to democracy
. Traditional, aristocratic conservatives who wanted to return to an authoritarian, non-Nazi style government
Overall, all elites felt as though the Nazi regime wasn’t the play by WW2
How did Hitler use legislation to make the living standards of workers even worse than they’d been getting?
3rd September 1939 - Decree on the conversion of the whole German economy onto a war footing: imposed wage reductions and a ban on the payment of bonuses for overtime, Sunday work and night-shift working.
How did workers respond to the decree of the conversion of the whole German economy onto a war footing?
Widespread discontent among the labour force, seen through increased levels of absenteeism
How did the Nazis respond to the resentment of workers from the harsh conditions placed on them during the war?
Took a step back in harsh attitudes for a bit in October 1939: wage levels restored to pre-war levels and payment of bonuses reintroduced, but the wage rates were frozen at a rate that couldn’t be increased
Clearly the fact that the Nazis took back extremely harsh laws on workers meant that they were aware of the possibility of the workers joining together in an uprising, still fearful of revolution, maybe the Nazis knew their image was becoming doubted by some Germans
When did total war measures really start to impact workers and what is the evidence?
1943 and 1944
August 1944: total ban on holidays imposed, working week increased to 60 hours, extra payments for working overtime abolished again
How did workers react to the reintroduction of harsh measures on workers as total war measures were brought in?
Some rises in absenteeism, but the Nazis now had employers with disciplinary measures at the ready:
. Workers could have their reserved status removed for not working, which would result in conscription to the armed forces and possibly being sent to the eastern front
. Employers could allocate extra food rations to employees who had good attendance records
. Imposed fines for absenteeism and bad timekeeping
The importance of workers was so important in the manufacturing of arms during the war and so these incentives to stay in work were crucial
How did the Nazis ensure that workers were coming into work and being as productive as possible during total war?
. DAF factory cell system had workers divided into groups under a loyal Nazi party member who was responsible for attendance of workers in his cell
. Incentives to encourage workers to raise productivity, such as many plants switching from an hourly paid system to a system of piecework under which workers could earn more if they produced more
How did the increased intensity of work affect the output of the workers during total war?
The increase pressure had an impact on workers’ physical and mental health and welfare, as increased workloads are associated with stress which in turn led to more absenteeism. However, as absenteeism was more controlled and restricted, many workers’ deteriorated and accidents at works increased, with worse productivity as a result
Which group of society had to endure the worst hardships during WW2 on the home front (at home)?
Women
How was the role of women in the war different for housewives, mothers and working women?
Housewives: married women obliged to spend time queuing for supplies of vital foodstuffs when shortages occurred
Mothers: had to shoulder the task of childcare when their husbands were aware fighting even more
Workers: women played an increasingly vital role in the German war economy
How did the proportion of women in the total German workforce change just before WW2 to around total war?
May 1939 - 37.4%
May 1944 - 51%
The proportion of women in it gradually increased
What was the NS-F and what did it do?
National Socialist Women organisation - organised classes to teach women how to cope with wartime conditions
What were some of the activities of the NS-F and what was the point of the activities?
Cookery classes for housewives - making economical use of available food supplies
Sewing classes - to repair worn clothing
Mobilised to help with the harvest, prepare parcels of food and clothing for the soldiers at the front
Community evenings to sustain morale and for indoctrination
Why had the number of women in paid employment increased by May 1939?
As a result of the four year plan
How many married women were in employment by May 1939?
6.4 million
Why did pressure for more women to be employed in industry (labour force) increase during WW2?
Due to need to increase armaments production at a time when many male workers were conscripted into armed forced
How did tension between Nazi ideology and the needs of the war economy restrict the success of armament production and affect women at the beginning of WW2?
In the summer of 1940, Hitler was advised that industry needed more women workers
- Hitler refused on the grounds that women should be devoted to child bearing and rearing
. Nazis had been using power to conscript workers into essential war work, but sparingly employed this on women
How was it clear that women weren’t used effectively for the war effort at the start of WW2?
By June 1940, only 250k women had been conscripted and even those conscripted were merely transferred from production of consumer goods to war work
How did harsh measures on workers by the Nazis during WW2 actually hinder the part that women could have played in ww2?
As pressure for wartime production increased and working hours were forced to increase, the number of women workers in industry actually declined between 1939-41 as married women felt pressured to give up their employment as they needed time to look after their children
As the number of women in industry was declining at start of WW2 (bad for arms production), where did many work?
In agriculture
What was the first step during WW2 for the conscription of female labour?
June 1941 - Goering issues decree that all female workers who had family allowance (financial benefit for families based on how many children to encourage them to have kids) and had given up paid employment but failed to produce children should be forced to register to work or lose their family allowance
Although this was progress to making the workforce more productive for the war, it had limited effect as it only applied to previously employed women instead of trying to mobilise all the women who hadn’t previously been employed into the labour force
- didn’t apply to women who never worked outside home
When did the total mobilisation of labour (including women) become essential?
After defeat of Stalingrad in January 1943
What decree made it seem to appear that Hitler abandoned his ideological block against having women in the labour force?
Decree in same month of defeat at Stalingrad forced all women aged 17-45 to register for work
- however, it wasn’t really that Hitler had just changed his mind on his views, he had to really be persuaded to make these modifications, meaning they were never forcefully put in place
- he still insisted on older women being exempted from labour registration and other exemptions such as for pregnant women or mothers with two or more children
How did working class women feel about the measures that were forcing them into the labour force during WW2?
The fact that the decrees trying getting women to register for work only really targeted the working class and not the middle-class where they got loads of exemptions created class resentments which made matters worse. The inconsistencies in implementing the decrees also frustrated working class women where some were being forced to register and some seemed to be getting let off the hook
From the start of WW2 to the end of 1943, were the Nazis successful in getting women to register for work and introduce female labour conscription?
No, the policies were too inconsistent and the Nazis let their ideologies get in the way, creating class resentments which made productivity even worse as female workers who registered resented the work they did
As a result of June 1941 decree, only 130k extra women were sent to armament factories (flop)
By Jan 1943: less than half a million extra women had joined industrial labour force
November 1943: Hitler refused the advice to raise the upper age limit of women who could register for work to 50 years
It seems like people are trying to make changes and get women in the labour force but Hitler primarily on his own is stopping this from happening
