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KI3 > End of WW2 and impact on Germany > Flashcards

End of WW2 and impact on Germany Flashcards

1
Q

What term was used in German society to describe Germany’s collapse in the months after 1945?

A

Stunde Null ‘Zero hour’

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2
Q

Why is the term Stunde Null misleading for 1945?

A

Because there were still major continuities in Germany eg an efficient civil service, local gov, the banking system & industrial base
the fundamentals of the social fabric were not completely destroyed
the Allies restored law + order quite quickly

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3
Q

What was the impact of the war on Germany?

A

far reaching

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4
Q

When did the second world war end?

A

8th May 1945

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5
Q

How many Germans died in the aftermath of the war?

A

a further 2.5 million Germans died of hunger, cold & violence

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6
Q

What were the consequences of WW2 on Germany? (headings)

A

Destruction
Refugees
Stunde Null
Forced Labour
The Camps
The Nuremberg Trials

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7
Q

What happened in the last 2 weeks of war?

A

40,000 tonnes of Soviet artillery shells fell on Berlin reducing much of the city to ruins

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8
Q

How many people were made homeless across Germany?

A

20 million

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9
Q

How many adult men born in 1918 were dead by the end of 1945?

A

2/3
resulted in a long term imbalance between numbers of men and women in Germany

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10
Q

What was another consequence of WW2 on Germany in terms of food?

A

Germany was struggling to feed herself

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11
Q

Why was Germany struggling to feed herself?

A

by May 1945, millions of livestock had been killed & men capable of farming conscripted
entire rural populations abandoned their farms

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12
Q

Why did entire rural populations abandon their farms?

A

Soviets were advancing
Roads & rail networks connecting food producers with their markets were destroyed by allied bombing

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13
Q

Why were farmers reluctant to sell their food and instead held onto it?

A

inflation in Germany had rendered the 4 Reichsmark worthless

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14
Q

What problems did the allies face when they entered Germany?

A

20% of housing had been destroyed, another 30% had been damaged
huge number of refugees created major housing crisis
food shortages
economy badly damaged
social problems

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15
Q

How had the economy been badly damaged?

A

much of the infrastructure had broken down at end of war
state was in massive debt
inflation was rising
led to growth of the wartime black market

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16
Q

Although those economic problems should not be dismissed, what elements of continuity would allow Germany to rebuild?

A

Government authorities & civil service still existed
there was a well established banking system-even if it faced problem of inflation
most importantly, Germany had an industrial base + therefore the potential for productivity

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17
Q

How many women in Berlin had been raped by the Red Army?

A

one in three women

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17
Q

What social problems were there?

A

many men had been killed & injured
prisoners of war in the USSR remained captive until 1950s
this put increasing pressure on women who were badly mistreated by Soviet troops in the east

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18
Q

What happened following Hitler’s government in terms of government?

A

A new government was briefly formed under Admiral Karl Dönitz, but having signed an unconditional surrender, it was dissolved by the Allies who now took over Germany

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19
Q

When was the unconditional surrender signed?

A

8th May 1945

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20
Q

What was agreed at the Yalta Conference?

A

the Poles and Czechs would be able to remove Germans from their territory

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21
Q

How many ethnic Germans were killed by forced deportations?

A

half a million

22
Q

At the end of the war, how many Germans were on the move?

A

one in two Germans were on the move
roughly 12 million refugees from the east, 10 million from labour or Nazi camps, families torn apart from war and German soldiers who had been taken as POWs

23
Q

What did Stalin propose as early as 1943 about German civilians?
(to do with forced labour)

A

that millions of German civilians should be transported from a defeated Reich to the USSR to work as forced labourers rebuilding the country

24
Q

Before the war ended, how many ethnic Germans were transported from the Balkans to Russia to work in slave labour conditions?

A

111,000 ethnic Germans, along with any captured Nazi officials

25
Q

How many German civilians & Nazi officials were sent to the USSR to work when the Soviets invaded Germany & occupied the eastern part of the country?

A

150,000 were sent to work in awful conditions
1/4 died

26
Q

In total, how many Germans were sent to Russia and how many returned by 1950?

A

271,000 were sent to Russia, 200,000 retuned by 1950

27
Q

How many German prisoners of war were captured by the Red Army?

A

3 million
approximately 350,000 died of hunger, violence, disease & exhaustion

28
Q

What crimes were the Nazis accused of?
(Not major to know right now)

A

Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of a crime against peace
Planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression and other crimes against peace
War crimes
Crimes against humanity

29
Q

Why were the Nuremberg Trials so significant?

A

the trials were the first ever use of an international body to prosecute war crimes

much of the international law that developed throughout the post war era was based on the judges’ rulings at Nuremberg

30
Q

What did the Nuremberg Trials lead to?

A

the development of the permanent international court at the Hague in Belgium and the United Nations international convention of genocide

31
Q

Why were the Nuremberg Trials criticised by some ordinary Germans?

A

because it didn’t prosecute the allied bombing of civilians in Germany or Soviet war crimes against German civilians
enabled many Germans to dismiss the tribunals as ‘victor’s justice’

32
Q

What were the four Ds of German occupation?

A

Denazification
Demilitarisation
Decentralisation
Democratisation

33
Q

What was the aim of the policy of Denazification?

A

to cleanse individuals of the taint of Nazism

34
Q

In the western zones by spring of 1946, how did they deal with denazification?

A

on a case-by-case basis, through use of a detailed questionnaire or Fragebogen

35
Q

Why was it in people’s interests to downplay their Nazi pasts and what did they present?

A

the penalties could be severe
presented ‘persil certificates’, assuring the authorities of their clean consciences
this was hardly the way to achieve genuine confrontation with the past

36
Q

What happened once task of denazification was handed over to the German authorities?

A

many former Nazis managed to escape entirely without penalty or needing to account for their acts

37
Q

How did they deal with denazification in the soviet zone?

A

at first there were mass internments, many deaths caused by appalling conditions
political enemies subject to sudden arrest
soon there was a distinction made between ‘active’ and purely ‘nominal’ Nazis

38
Q

What was the distinction made between ‘active’ and purely ‘nominal’ Nazis?

A

Purely ‘nominal’ Nazis were welcomed back into political life from 1947 as they were willing to commit themselves to the new Communist system

39
Q

What does the Marxist view of history suggest?
(about denazification)

A

Nazis had arisen as a form of fascism which was allegedly the last gasp of monopoly capitalism in crisis
therefore, to deal with the roots of Nazism, it meant abolishing capitalsim

40
Q

What was denazification in the Soviet zone closely related to?

A

economic restructuring
as the Marxist view of history suggested that not only a change in personnel, but also major structural changes were required to ensure Nazism could never arise again

41
Q

How was demilitarisation implemented?

A

German forces immediately disbanded following their total surrender in May 1945
Not possible for Germany under Allied occupation to have any kind of independent military force
even after the foundation of 2 new states in 1949, neither side was initially allowed an army

42
Q

When were new armies founded in the in the 2 new German states?

A

1955-56
under strict control of the retrospective occupying powers

43
Q

What was the aim of decentralisation?
(agreed at Potsdam)

A

that more power should be taken away from central gov and spread through out Germany, both at a local level + in private hands

44
Q

Why did the kind of decentralisation of the economy, urged at Potsdam, not go very far?

A

economic problems caused by WW2 forced the allied govs to take greater control of affairs in their zones to ensure the German people would recover in the long term

45
Q

How was democratisation followed?

A

The Nazi party was immediately disbanded

46
Q

What could the Allies not agree on?

A

What would replace the Nazi system

47
Q

In the soviet zone, who tried to take political control on the ground?
(democratisation)

A

a small group of German Communists under the leadership of Walter Ulbricht
they flew into the ruins of Berlin seeking to make contacts

48
Q

In the Western zones, how did the formation if political parties + organisations differ?

A

took place very much more ‘from the ground up’
people who wanted to form a political party had to be based at a local or regional level, & apply to be granted a license
only parties committed to democracy were allowed

49
Q

How was Germany built on democratisation?

A

they allowed the development of a wide range of democratic political parties in their zones

50
Q

How was Germany built on decentralisation?

A

the western zones of the new divided Germany would see gov + bureaucracy decentralised & power returned to the regions

51
Q

How was Germany built on demilitarisation?

A

the German army was disbanded

52
Q

How was Germany built on denazification?

A

this proved to be a difficult task + one that all powers gradually abandoned; millions of ordinary Germans had been Nazi party members and without whom Germany could not function

KI3 (9 decks)

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