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Nazi Germany > Final > Flashcards

Final Flashcards

1
Q

How does the start of WW2 affect outsider persecution?

A

Increase in number of persecuted minorities and allows outing of more groups
- ideological enemies, biological enemies, asocials (homosexuals)

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2
Q

How does eugenics help regime?

A

Lends credence to biological exclusion

  • Galton advocates for better breeding, Hoche + Binding advocate elimination of bad traits
  • German scientists incentivized to rig tests in favor of eugenics as rest of the world discarding idea
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3
Q

Different types of asocials

A

Homosexuals (can’t breed), gypsies (despite some Aryan heritage, justified as moved around too much and didn’t have fixed jobs), vagrants, prostitutes, work-shy (lazy and didn’t contribute)

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4
Q

1933 sterilization law

A

Enacted July 14, 1933

  • Continuation of sterilization laws in Weimar and other countries
  • Compulsory sterilization for variety of defects (up to 350k ppl)
  • Eventually justifies killing as sterilized no longer contributing to state (esp those in state institutions)
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5
Q

T4 euthanasia overview

A

Enacted 1939

  • Prompted by the Knauer baby (father who writes to Hitler asking for permission to kill deformed baby)
  • First child euthanasia program (overdose / starved to look natural, 5k deaths) then adult (gassed, 200k)
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6
Q

T4 process

A

Meldebogen evaluation (forms filled out by doctors, most of the time don’t see the patients), patients taken to institutions and examined by doctor who gives source of death, gassed, letters sent to families saying died of disease

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7
Q

End of T4 program

A

Mistakes in remains sent to families (example: ring in ashes for unmarried person)
August 1941 Bishop von Galen accuses regime of killing Germans and gets lower priests to read sermon too

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8
Q

Significance of T4

A

Lets regime know not to operate death camps in German heartland, not to leave paper trail
Shows that even at height of power in 1941 German people still had influence over regime actions

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9
Q

1933 Civil Service Law

A

Enacted April 7, 1933 and removes them from public jobs and other professions (continually expanding)
Accelerates impoverishment of Jewish pops

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10
Q

1935 Nuremburg Laws

A

Enacted September 1935, defined Jew (2 gen removed from Jewish ancestors), prevents mixed marriage with Germans, took their German citizenship and rights
Created crime called Rassenschande (race defilement), easy accusation and humiliating punishment

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11
Q

1938 Kristallnacht

A

November 9-10, 1938

  • Justification was Jewish assassination of German diplomat in Paris, so afterward Jews had to pay atonement fine
  • Carried out by SA, trashing of Jewish stores and torching of synagogues. First state-sponsored physical violence against Jews
  • International alarm but no real action taking
  • Regime did not get public support that it wanted but it realized that most people would be indifferent so empowered further violence
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12
Q

Aryanization

A

Ridding of Jews in economy
- Tried 1933 with boycott against Jews but failed as Germans continued to go to services that they always used. Also early fears about economic collapse if no Jews

Completed November 12, 1938 where Decree for Exclusion of Jews forced them to sell businesses to Aryans at fraction of value, etc.

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13
Q

Hitler’s 3 points in Mein Kampf for domination

A

Internal consolidation (alliance with Italy, destroy Versailles, dictatorship)

War with France (try to ally UK, war of revision to regain A-L)

War with USSR (war of conquest to get lebensraum + resources to conquer world)

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14
Q

When does Hitler want to go to war by?

A

1943-44 to avoid other countries catching up to war machine

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15
Q

Economic prep for war

A

Overarching goal of guns and butter (Schact says impossible) to keep morale up at home

Public works job creation, army rebuilding to equip soldiers

Goering Office of 4 year plan to get war ready, advocates for synthetics development but not enough quantity or quality produced

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16
Q

Diplomatic prep for war

A

1933 withdraws from League of Nations (using pretense that UK + France would not equally disarm)
1935 rearmament and conscription announced
1936 Rhineland re-militarized against advisor advice (UK + France don’t contest, empowers Hitler’s ego later)
1937 anti-Comintern pact with Italy
1938 Anschluss (gamble again), Sudetenland annexation (Munich conference)
1939 annexes Czechoslovakia, Pact of Steel, Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, Poland invasion late August

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17
Q

Difference between Eastern and Western front

A

Racial affinity in West prevents worst atrocities, there is mutual respect

Sub-human view of Slavs, geographic isolation in East and USSR non-signatory of Geneva prompts lax rules of war and common atrocities vs POWs and civs

18
Q

Blitzkrieg

A

Lightning war tactic

  • First strike by planes for confusion, then tanks –> motorized –> infantry
  • Objective to encircle and destroy army, can take objectives later
  • Cheaper warfare and force concentration allows for partial modernization to still be successful
  • Younger German officer corps implements unlike other countries
19
Q

Polish war + occupation

A

Lasted Sept 1-27, 1939. USSR invades Sept 17
- 200k vs 45k casualties, but Germans lost 80% ammo

Directly annexed old German provinces, rest made protectorate under Hans Frank

  • Attempted German resettlement and reproduction in former Polish homes
  • Expanded police power and creation of Einsatzgruppen
20
Q

Evolution of western front

A

Spring 1940 invasion of Denmark, Norway, Benelux after being allowed to regroup in phony war
- Some local cooperation before war turns (Quisling in Norway, Denmark helps with food)
June 22, 1940 Fall of France (6 week war)
- May 27 - June 4 Dunkirk evac of over 300k troops
- Vichy under Petain created to paint Hitler as more benevolent and prompt British surrender (occupied Nov 1942)

Operation Sea Lion planned

  • August 8 Battle of Britain, less UK planes but radar + cipher evens battle
  • August 24-25 Blitz shifts from targeting of airfields to London, boosts British morale and US sympathies
  • Sea Lion postponed Sept 17
21
Q

Planning for eastern front war

A

March 1941 Hunger Plan (living off land)

13 May 1941 Barbarossa decree (execute Soviet civilian resistance)

19 May 1941 Issuance of guidelines for troop conduct

6 June 1941 Commissar Order (captured troops won’t be treated as POWs)

22
Q

Evolution of eastern front

A

3.2 million Germans vs 2.7 million Soviets but many more USSR troops in reserve

Soviets hindered by officer purge but Germans hindered by length of front and scorched earth supply

Soviet tanks easier to maintain and produce

23
Q

Operation Valkyrie

A

July 20th 1944 plot by von Stauffenberg and Beck to assassinate Hitler via briefcase bombs in meeting

One bomb doesn’t go off, other moved so Hitler just injured

Not all rebels go through with planned government takeover so 5k executed

Influenced by Nazi incompetency not war crimes

24
Q

Other German resistance groups

A

Kreisau Circle (1940-43, group of intellectual talking about what will happen post-Nazi state)

White Rose (1942-43 by Hans and Sophie Scholl, distributed flyers about Jewish persecution and only movement to do so. Discovered and executed ‘43)

25
Q

Moscow Offensive

A

30 Sept 1941, Hitler decides to go for multiple objectives instead of just Moscow

100 miles away by mid-October but Dec 6 winter leads to halt and Soviet counter offensive

26
Q

Battle of Stalingrad

A

Offensive started in summer 1942 but November, von Paulus army encircled (front line too long) and surrenders by Feb 1943 with 150k out of 300k dead already

27
Q

Battle of Kursk

A

July-Aug 1943, last attempt by Germans to regain initiative

Largest tank battle in history, Soviets lose 5x more tanks but fine

28
Q

Siege of Leningrad

A

900 day siege from 8 Sept 1941 - 27 Jan 1944

Up to 800k dead / 2 million pop

Road of Life in last 2 years established that brings some supplies but disease and starvation widespread

29
Q

Total mobilization

A

Only happens 1943 due to morale concerns starting with Goebbels’ Sportpalast speech

Speer brought in to oversee war production and tripled it

Some measures taken in 1942 such as slave labor in camps and worker movement into German heartland

30
Q

3 phases of Holocaust

A

1933-39 Encouraged Jews to leave and impoverished them

1939-41 inherited Jews from Austria and Poland prompts forced emigration and collective confinement

1941-45 inherited Jews from USSR prompts killing

31
Q

Voyage of St. Louis

A

Ship carrying Jews w/ visas to Cuba but the government revokes them upon arrival

Appeal to Canada and US but denied, return to Antwerp and ~254 die in Holocaust

32
Q

Madagascar plan

A

Plan to resettle 3 million Jews to Madagascar via French occupation

Didn’t work because no UK capitulation meant no waterway control –> incentivizes killing

33
Q

Ghettoization

A

Jewish holding pens, at start of war intended to be temporary before shipped off to Siberia but long war makes them permanent and last stop before concentration camp

Structured with NS overseer who determines all policy (attritionists vs productionists), Judenrat (Jewish council that oversees ghetto operations like deportations, taking valuables), Jewish police who enforce rules

34
Q

Development of murder policy

A

Air of lawlessness created by Barbarossa empowers policy escalation and war turning requires faster solution to ethnic problems

31 July 1941 Heydrich given control of “final solution”

Prompted by insufficiency of holocaust by bullet

September 1941 German Jews marked with Star and deported to Poland

October 23 borders closed, 163k Jews left in Germany

Once policy change made happens very fast as 2/3 Jewish pop deported from west to east

35
Q

Einsatzgruppen

A

Mobile killing units (3k men) sent into Eastern Europe

Started killing Jews on own initiative despite mandate of only killing resistance leaders -> policy retroactively applied

Very effective in first sweep but less so as secrecy element ends, est 2.5 million killed at war end

36
Q

Auxiliaries

A

Indigenous pops and Wehrmacht soldiers brought in to expand killing policy

Initially thought that Wehrmacht was uninvolved in Holocaust but now know that were involved in executions (transport, guards, etc.)

Lots of regular people complied despite lack of consequences if declined

37
Q

Wannsee conference

A

Heydrich calls it 20 Jan 1942 to decide which country’s Jews to kill first, involved many officials

38
Q

Development of death camps

A

Operation Reinhard Camps first at Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka to kill Polish Jews with carbon monoxide via modified engines
- Closed end of 1943 with 95% of Polish Jews dead

Majdanek and Auschwitz used zyklon-b (modified pesticide), latter was self-contained camp at geographical crossroads. Whole killing apparatus within one building, also had labor camp and holding camp

Plunder of Jewish possessions and all body parts used as requisition

39
Q

Sonderkommandos

A

Jewish people force to kill, removed bodies and other things except for actual release of gas (done by medical staff for legitimacy)

Few survive as one of few types of people to directly witness killings

40
Q

Death marches

A

Start as Red Army advances across Poland in 1944, Auschwitz abandoned December and 350k/700k overall Jews marching die

41
Q

Last days of war

A

Werwolf units fail and Germans do not put up huge fight against advancing Allies

Hitler does last testament 29 April 1945 kills himself day later. Appoints Donitz and blames defeat on Germans. Surrender in May

Lots of displaced people wandering Europe, very disorganized camps for them that last for years

42
Q

Post-war justice

A

In Nuremberg trials and creation of crimes against humanity

  • NS leadership, SS, Gestapo officials implicated
  • Attempt at denazification but abandoned as too many (12 million) identified
  • Restitution and compensation for afflicted pops post-war

Nazi Germany (1 decks)

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