Government in wartime, 1939-45 - Losing control Flashcards
When did Germany turn on her ally and invade the USSR?
22 June 1941
(Operation Barbarossa)
Why was Operation Barbarossa a huge mistake?
Soviet Red Army did not collapse as Nazis assumed = G had to fight a war on 2 fronts
Who joined WW2 in December 1941?
USA - as well as 2 fronts made it even harder for the Gs
What was the consequences of having to fight on 2 fronts?
- G forces badly overstretched
- boys as young as 16 conscripted
- by 1944 some soldiers as young as 12
- rationing became tighter
How did the policy of ‘total war’ crush G ppls spirit?
- shops that didn’t contrivute to the war effort = banned
e.g. cake + sweet shops
+ also sporting events = banned - children evacuated from cities
How did lack of G spirit = gov lost support?
became harder to convince ppl that the G army was invincible bc G families lost their men + living conditions worsened
= gov lost support + resistance grew
Situation of the war in June 1944?
Allies had landed in Normandy + moving towards Berlin from the East & West
H moved to a safe bunker w trusted staff, Goebbels + his family, Eva Braun (who he married before they both committed suicide)
When did Hitler + Eva Braun commit suicide?
30 April 1945