Impact of War Flashcards
when do Hitler and Mussolini (Italy) form the axis powers?
1936
in what year does Hitler organise for Germany to invade and annex Austria?
1938
what are the axis powers?
countries that fought against the allies in WW2- Germany, Italy, Japan etc
in what year does Hitler invade Poland?
1939
what is the Nazi Soviet Pact of 1939?
German and Russian pact to divide up Poland after invasion
what was the ‘pact of steel’?
pact between Italy and Germany that stated they would defend and support one another if either of them got involved in war. This cemented their friendship
what happens at Stalingrad in 1943?
German army surrenders and this is the turning point of the war in Russia, as Germany were very unprepared and underestimated the power of the USSR
why may Germany be considered as successful in war during 1933-1941?
France and Britain failed to tale initiative and despite promises they did not support Poland, who was left to fight alone, making them weaker which aided Germany’s cause
Germany had a Blitzkrieg strategy of rapid advances at the start of war and this overwhelmed their enemies within the first two years
French relied on the Maginot line which was also overwhelmed
Lebansraum expansion from 1938 onwards allowed Germany better access to labour and resources
The USSR were not expecting the German attack in June 1941 due to the non-aggression pact of 1939- meaning they were not prepared which aided Germany
But- by December 1941 the German advance had stalled
when does Hitler invade Russia and break the non-aggression pact of 1939?
June 1941
In what year is Mussolini killed?
1945
In what year does Hitler commit suicide?
1945
Who is Ludwig Erhard?
Director of the economic council of the Bizone and oversaw currency reform
Who is Hans Frank?
Governor General of Poland between the years 1939-1945
who is Albert Speer?
he was appointed minister of armaments and oversaw rise in production
who is Fritz Todt?
he was appointed the first minister of armaments in 1940
Who is Walter Ulbricht?
he supported the foundation fo the SED and became the partys leader
what does Blitzkrieg mean? (German tactics during war)
lighting war
essentially rapid advances
What was the bizone?
merged zones of Britain and the USA
what does the term black market mean?
an illegal trade in scarce goods
what was the Allied Control Council?
military occupying body of the four allied zones
what was the Cold war and how did it impact upon the division of Germany?
this was a period of tension between the USA and the USSR between 1945-1990
what does collectivisation mean?
this is where small independent farms are combined into a larger farm which is under the control of the state
what does DDR mean?
German Democratic Republic (East Germany)
what is meant by the term democratic centralism?
this is when decisions taken are passed down to the people and the views of the people are passed up to the centre
what are ersatz?
substitute products- autarky.
‘Buna’ for example
what is the FRG?
Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany)
how does Churchill describe the divide between east and west Germany?
an Iron Curtain
what may be argued as a reason that the White Rose Group were able to operate for a while without being caught?
the distraction of war
despite the fact Hitler removed Communists as a threat in 1933, how did they cause opposition again in the 1940’s?
Some members of the 1919 Spartacist uprising that were imprisoned were able to establish an underground political organisation- the Spartacus League. They published their views in Spartacus Briefe- a newspaper
After June 1941, a handful of soviet agents which were mostly exiled German Communists entered Germany to help underground KPD cells take action
In 1942, two groups emerged lumped under the term ‘Red Orchestra’
Focus on war gave Communists another opportunity to flourish
what term is used to describe German churches during the period 1933-1945?
Kirchenkampf - ‘church struggle’
despite no collective and open opposition to the Nazis by the church, what could they be described as?
the earliest form of opposition- Pope denounces Nazi practices in the late 1930’s
and Anti-church policies of the Nazis would have provoked resistors
who led the Kreisau Circle?
Helmuth James Graf Von Moltke
what sort of background did Kreisau Circle members come from?
a mix/wide range of social and political backgrounds
what did the Kreisau Circle do?
they met to discuss their views upon how Germany could be improved but did not have any consensus on what it should be like
their ultimate and shared belief was that it needed to be changed and this change should be based upon Christian values
what did the Kreisau Circle establish in 1943?
their ‘Basic Principles for New Order’ which outlined their beliefs
what did the Kreisau Circle want to do that they could not agree on how to do?
overthrow Hitler with a foreign government
when are the Kreisau Circle brought to an end?
1944
leader arrested Janurary 1944
some went on to be a part of the July Bomb Plot
how did war effect workers?
unemployment strategies- DAF, public work schemes etc
drag Germany out of recession, increase GNP and autarky provided more jobs (regulate trade- more exports than imports etc)
However… war impacted workers by:
1942- morale falls due to Germany’s stall in Russia. Therefore, standard of living fell, food shortages in May 1942 on meat and bread (work longer hours- possibly triggered workers)
Hitler began employing foreigners so German men could be put to use directly at war
12% of bombs fell on industrial parts and factories and so more German men joined the war out of anger- effected their work, therefore their ability to eat and provide for family
what percentage of bombs fell on residential areas?
50%- clearly had huge effect on German population
how did war impact women?
with men away at war, women had to fill these jobs which reversed their traditional roles ( Nazis were forced to sacrifice their ideology and principals they held based on practicality)
Nazi aim of promoting population rise stalled- men away and nobody getting pregnant- drop in birth rate
women had to work the ‘double shift’ -housewife/mother and full time employed work
from 1943, how many women did the Nazis try to force into work aged 17-24? what actually happened?
tried to force 4 million
only 1 million went
(wanted to stay at home, traditional role)
how did the war effect youth?
Nazified education methods were effected as children had be evacuated
had to take on parental role/older sibling role as they were evacuated away which again disrupted education
they had to endure power cuts, malnutrition as a result of rationing (effected them more than adults as they were growing), wear gas masks. live with complete strangers
forced to work towards the end of the war