Impact of War 1939 - 45 Flashcards
Hitlers foreign policy ambitions
Destruction of Treaty of Versailles / restoration of pre 1914 Geman boundaries
Union of all German speaking countries
Lebensraum
1935-38 German key gains
Treaty of Versailles challenged with air force created and 555,000 army
Rhineland remilitarised
Anschluss with Austria
Gained Sudetenland
Initial Victories for Germany through Blitzkrieg
Poland crushed in weeks Phoney War Low countries and France Battle of Britainn Operation Babarossa Reason for success - Blitzkrieg overwhelmed enemies Poland left to fight alone French tactic Maginot Line defenceless against Blitzkrieg German Expansion USSR unprepared for attack
Turn of the Tide
1941 Dec, Pearl Harbor ‘globalising the conflict’ Hitler aligning with Japan declaring war on US not apparent of the turning point failure of Stalingrad (300000 troops surrendered) and El Alamein and from 1943 they were on the defensive
Defeat from 1943
On the defensive, but final solution no postponement, becoming clearer Gemrnay could not win and faced total devastation unless unconditional surrender with assassination attempts on Hitler but failure meant the war would go to its bitter end
Nazi War Economy
Hitler wanted a thoroughly prepared economy for war
German military expenditure doubled 1939 - 41 but Britains trebled
Rationing was introduced from the start, German Labour force rapidly mobilised 1941 55% of workforce involved in war effort by 1944 was 61%
Limitations of economic Mobilisation
Resulted were disappointingly low, marked increase in submarines but air force only went from 8290 1939 to 10780 1941 while Britain’s trebled to 20100, and when going to invade USSR they had only 3500 tanks, there was inefficiency and poor co-ordination due to premature war outbreak
Total War 1942-45
Albert Speer’s introduction as minister of armaments was a turning point Feb 1942 he was a technocrat coordinated and rationalised, with employing more women, more effective use of forced labour, preventing skilled workers leaving for war
Speer success and limitations
After his first 6 months ammo production increased by 97%, tank production by 25%, total arms production 59%
By second half of 1944 was the peak of economy more than three-fold increase since 1942
Despite success Germany had an even greater capicity close to USSR and USA
Effects of allied bombing
1940-2 bombing effects limited, but blanket bombing was condemned but stopped German economy from further increase, with some communication breakdown and used many resources on defences economy incapable of rising to the demands of total war
Final Solution / Wannsee Conference
20 Jan 1942, Heydrich and Eichmann organisers and chairman, lasting 90 minutes outlining details of the plan to gas and exterminate European Jews
Effects of Bombing
Anglo-American Bombing caused a direct impact to Germany day and night
With 400,000 Germans 60,000 foreign workers / prisoners of war killed
500,000 people disabled and severely injured
3.6 million homes (20% of all housing destroyed)
Hamburg July 1943 created a firestorm killing 40,000 civilians
Dresden Feb 1945 killing 35,000 Germans destroying 25 Square kilometres of the city
Seen as no morale decline, rather creating unity but it was affected
Opposition
Individuals - Binhoeffer, Bishop Von Galen, Alfred Delp
White Rose - student resistance led by Jan’s and Sophie Scholl printing leaflets across Germany being highly political and condemning the Nazi regime, defiance and self sacrifice but they were arrested 1943 tortured and executed
Stauffenberg Plot
Jul 1944 to assassinate Hitler in operation Valkyrie, placing the bomb in hsi briefing room but the briefcase was moved only slightly injuring Hitler and there were arrests and 5000 deaths of supporters
Germany’s defeat
Misjudgement of Hitler to be able to fight in all fronts l, lack of effectiveness of the four year plan, allied Bombing, power of US resources
