History-Germany War And Its Impact On Life In Germany 1939-1947 Flashcards
What was life like during the later years of the War 1942- 1945
During the 1942-1943 Germany suffered several key defeats such as the battle of Stalingrad which mean that the wag was no longer going in their favour
In a speech in February 1934 Gorbbels announced the policy of Total War which meant ensuring all sectors of the economy and social played a part in the war effort
To keep up moral Gorbbels launcher and intensive propaganda campaign, posters played on the fear of communism, offering the stark choice of ‘victory or Bolshevism’
In September 1943 Albert Speer was appointed Reich Minister for armaments and production, he too control of the war economy, cutting the production of consumer goods and concentrating in war products, productivity was increased and foreign workers were brought in to covet labour shortages, by 1944 29% of industry workers were foreign
In 1943 the Nazi tried to mobilise women and 3 million aged 17- 47 were called to work, 1 million took up jobs
As defeats mounted, food shortage increased and in 1942 good rations were reduced, parks and gardens in the cities dug up and used as vegetable patches, the short supply of goods led to illegal trade and flourishing black market
In May 1934 Britain and the USA began a heavy bombing programme against German cities, it’s aim was to disrupt its production and destroy civilian moral, Berlin, Hamburg and several more were bomed, millions of people made homeless, many left the cities and became refugees, raids in Dresden in February 1945 destroy 45% off all buildings in the city, more than 150,000 civilians were killed in two nights, around 800,000 civilians were killed during allied bombings
In September 1944 the Vokssturm was formed, used to defend German cities against allied invasion, it’s make up was of men too old to serve in the army and boys from the Hitler youth who were expected to to provide their own uniforms and weapons, however they did play an active part in defending Berlin against Russian invasion on April 1945
What was life like in the early years of the war 1939-41
The success of the blitzkrieg tactics used by the Germans Amy in Poland and Western Europe brought quick victories, they secured new supplies and raw materials as well as food and luxury good which were sent back to Germany
Germany followed a policy of autarky by attempting to become self sufficient, meaning that rationing food, cloths and fuel which was important in 1939, food rationing cards had the unexpected result of imposing a healthier lifestyle and more balanced diet upon the German population
Fearing blaming raids children were evacuated from Berlin on September 1940 but soon returned, it was not unit 1943 that the mass evacuation of children took place, with Austria and Bavaria being the main destination
All sections of society were encouraged to play a part in the war effort, the Hitler Youth became active in collecting metal, clothing and books to recycle
Although the Nazi believe a woman’s place was at home, more and more women were recruited into industry after 1937, they were needed to fill the place left by conscripted men, however this did not become official policy until much later in the war
Goebbels made effective us of propaganda using the German victories of 1939-41 to boost moral at home ensuring support of the war effort
What was the Nazi treatment of the Jews during the war
Emigration
The initial solution was forced emigration at one point Madagascar was considered as an area for the resettlement of Jews
Ghettos
Tapia German success in the early war caused the adoption of more radical polices, the invasion of Poland brought 3 million Jews under Nazi control and Jews were forced into Ghettos such as Warsaw, surrounded by large walls, conditions within the Ghetto was extremely harsh, overcrowding, merger rations, unsanitary, disease ridden, and the cold weather, around 55,000 Jews died in Warsaw
Einsatzgruppen
Following the German invasion of the USSR on July 1941 another 5 million Jews under Nazi control, special killing Einsatzgruppen moved into the USSR behind the advancing Germany armed to round up and shoot Jews, burning them in mass graves, by 1943 such squads had murdered more than more than 2 million Jews
Wannsee Conference
On 20 January 1942 leading Nazis met at Wannsee in Berlin to work a ‘final solution’ to the Jewish population, it was decided that death camps would be built in Poland ANC Jews from all Nazi occupied Europe would be transported there
The final solution
Gas chambers and crematoria were built in caps such as Aushwitz in Poland, on arrival Jews were slept into two groups, the fit were sent to work and the weak sent to gas chambers, inmates were given little food, had filthy conditions, disease ridden, by the time they were liberated in 1945 up to 6 million Jew and 500,000 gypsies had been worked to death, gassed of shot in the Holocaust
How much opposition was there to the nazi rule from young people
Edelweiss Pirates:
Objected to the way the Nazi attempted to controls the lives of young people
They checked shirts and dark trousers and there emblem was the edelweiss flower
They beat up members of the Hitler youth
Pushed propaganda leaflets dropped by Allied planes through letter boxes and shattered deserters by armed forced
Barthel Schink the 16 year old leader of the Cologne Pirates and his 12 year old members we’re hung by the Gestapo in November 1944
swing Youth: middle class members, rejected the ideas of the Hitler Youth and developed a rival culture. These clubs were established in clubs in bars, nightclubs and houses in cities such as Hamburge, Berlin, Frankfurt. They listen to British and America music, especially jazz.
How much opposition was there to the Nazi rule from students
White Rose Group:
set up by Han and Sophie Scholl and Professor Kurt Huber at Munich University in 1941.
they group called for a for a campaign of passive resistance against Nazi regime and distributed pamphlets to make people aware Nazi atrocities.
the painted anit-Nazi slogans on walls
18 FebRuary 1943 the leaders was arrested by the Gestapo for distributing anti-Nazi leaflets,
they were tortured and hanged
How much opposition was there to that Nazi rule by religious groups
Martin Niemoller:
set up the Confessional Church in 1934 as an alternative to the National Reich Church.
frequently spoke out against Nazi regime
arrested and spent 7 years in concentration camps
Dietrich Bonhoeffer:
a Protestant Pastor and a member of the Confessional Church
spoke out against Nazi racist politics and helped Jews escape to Switzerland
arrested in 1942 and was executed in April 1945
Von Galen, the Catholic Archbishop of Munster:
spoke about Nazi policies and concentration camps,
arrested following the july bomb plot in1944
How much opposition was there to the Nazi rule from the military
General Ludwig Beck and his circle:
Beck resigned from his post in the army because he disagreed with Hitlers plans to challenge the Versailles settlement
together with Karl Goerdeler, a Nazi official they gathered together a circle which organised two failed assassination attempts on Hitler in March and November 1943
they also played a leading role in the Bomb Plot
Developments on the Eastern Front 1943-45
1942-43
turning point in the war on the Eastern Front, when Germany failed to take the city of Stalingard and surrendered their forces
July 1943
Germand were defeated at the battle of Kursk, losing 2000 tanks, the Soviet Union now began to advance westwards at rapid speed
End of 1944
all German troops had been pushed out of the Soviet Union
Soviet forces liberated the Warsaw in Poland on 17 January 1945, Budapest in Hungary on 11 February and Vienna in Austria on 13 April
By min April 19465 Soviet Forces were threatening Berlin
Development on the western Front 1943-43
By 1943 the Germans were losing the battle of the Atlantic and their U-boats were no longer a major threat
On 6 June 1944, D-Day, allied forces landed on the Normandy beaches, opening up a second front in the attack on german forces
After capturing the beachheads allied forces advanced though France, liberating Paris on 25 August and pushed on to Belgium
In December 1944 German forces launched a counter- attack through the Ardennes ( the battle of the Bulge) and to begin with they broke through the American lines, however they were eventually pushed back
Heavy bombing raids by the RAF and the USAAF during 1943-45 destroyed industrial sites, roads, bridges, rail networks across Germany, causing disruption to the war effort
On 9 March 1945 Allied forces crossed the River Rhine at Remagen and entered Germany, hoping to get Berlin before the soviets did
The fall of Berlin, April 1945
On 16 April the Soviet attack on Berlin started, it involved 1.5 million men, 6300 tanks and 8500 aircrafts
By 24 April Berlin was surrounded and fierce house-to house fighting took place, about 100,000 members of the Volkssturm attempted to defend the city
On 2 Many General Weidling, the defence commander of Berlin, ordered the surrender of German forces defending the city
Over 300, 000 Soviet troops had been killed or wounded in the battle of Berlin
The death of Hitler and the German surrender
Hitler spent is last day in underground bunker in the Reich Chancellery
At midnight on 28 April married Eva Braun
In his political testament he left the leadership of Germany spilt between Admiral Dönitz and Goebbels
On 30 April Hitler and Braun committed suicide, afterwards their bodies were wrapped in a blanket, taken outside the bunker, soaked in petrol and burnt
On 1 May Goebbles committed suicide
On 4 May Hitlers remains were found by Soviet troops and taken away for examination
On 8 May Dönitz agreed to the allies terms and conditional surrender which ended the war and the Third Reich
What was the condition of Germany at the end of the war
3.25 million soldiers and 3.6 million civilians had been killed
the country was swarming with refugees
more than 25% of all homes had been destroyed
all major towns and cities lay in ruins
the economy was in ruins- money as worthless and had been replaced by bartering
The punishment:
to prevent Germany from ever being able to threaten Europe, decisions about Germany were made at two important conferences
The Yalta conference, February 1945
in February 1945, the three allied leaders Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin met at Yalta in Crimea to decide on what to do with Germany upon Nazi defeat.
It was decided Germany wold be split into 4 zones (British, French, American, Soviet)
It was decided the hunt down Nazi war criminals
To allow countries liberated from Nazi rule to have free elections to decide their future government
The Potsdam Conference, July 1945
a second conference at Potsdam in Berlin.
tensions between allies ad Soviet’s showed no sign of withdrawing Eastern Europe.
the devision of Germany was confirmed and
it was agreed to demilitarise the country
ban the Nazi party
begin the process of denazification and put Nazi leaders on trial
The Nuremberg Trials
On 21 November 1945, 22 senior ranking Nazi and 200 other Nazis were put on trial at Nuremberg.
They were changed with waging war, committing crimes against humanity and war crimes.
the trials lasted until the 1 October 1945, with 142 people being found guilty
24 receiving death sentences
Goering cheated the hangman by committing suicide the night before his execution
