Impact Of War And Defeat, 1939-1949 Flashcards
Who was armaments minister between 1939-42:
Fritz Todt
Successes of economic policy under Todt:
Military expenditure x2 (but GB x3)
55% of the workforce in war-related projects
Failures of economic policy under Todt:
Aircraft production trebled in GB but rose by less than 25% in Germany
War started prematurely, before many projects from 4 year plan were due to be complete (many were not expected to be complete until 1942-3 when GER was already at war with USA and USSR.
Armed forces determined to have very best specifications possible so drive for quality was pursued at the expense of quantity
Autarky failed: attempts to produce oil and rubber artificially failed
Who was armaments minister between 1942-1945:
Albert Speer
Successes of economic policy under Speer:
‘Production miracle’ - Overy
Central planning board established for greater oversight - armed forces had to submit requests to him
Concentration camp labour extended and female labour encouraged
Streamlined production to avoid anything not essential for the war effort
Failures of Speer’s economic policy:
Germany did not start to mobilise her full potential for war production until after Stalingrad (1943) when it was already to late
Allied bombing had a significant impact but as Overy suggests, it placed a ceiling on production: without it GER may well have been able to out produce GB
Successes of the German Economy’s mobilisation for war:
Food rationing was introduced from the very start of the war
By 1941, 55% of the workforce was involved in war related projects
Arms production trebled 1941-44 despite increasingly heavy bombing
German aircraft production overtook British in 1944
Failures of how the German Economy mobilised for war:
Quantity was sacrificed to quality as army, navy and Luftwaffe insisted on best weapons
Germany lacked own supplies of vital raw materials like oil and rubber and efforts to produce them artificially had only limited success
In 1944, Germany produced 1/3 fewer tanks than would have done if there had been no bombing
Racial policy before the war:
1933 Boycott of Jewish shops
1935 Nuremberg laws
1938 Kristallnacht
1938-39 Forced emigration
Racial policy after the outbreak of war:
Outbreak of WW2 1939: invasion of Poland meant 2 million more Jews
Victory over France 1940: focus on emigration through Madagascar plan, blocked by Royal Navy
Operation Barbarossa June 1941: Another 3 million Jews
Wannsee Conference 1942: planned murder of European Jews
Intentionalism:
Holocaust happened because Hitler wanted it to (it was intended from the start)
Structuralism:
Happened because of changing circumstances, radicalisation as a result of Nazi structures, and Hitler left most of the details to others e.g. Himmler
Opposition groups:
Communist cells
Red Orchestra survived into the war years but they were small and isolated and the red orchestra was crushed in 1942
Opposition groups:
Individual Christian opponents
Spoke out more during the war e.g. Bonhoeffer and Galen but churches as institutions remained silent
Opposition groups:
White Rose Group
Motivated by genuine outrage at Nazi atrocities, but were isolated and their protest short lived
Opposition groups:
Kreisau Circle
Influential and planned to assassinate Hitler but were divided about aims and tactics and lacked popular support
Opposition groups:
Stauffenberg
Had support from the army officers but was crushed
Why did Germany lose the war?
Hitlers strategic bungling
Germany was not fully prepared for war
Failure to defeat the USSR by the winter of 1941 and the entry of the USA into the war tipped the balance
Four Year Plan of 1936
Us economy was simply to powerful
Soviet economy had undergone a ruthless industrialised programme
Why was Germany divided by 1949:
Economic reasons - West wanted to revive German economy but East wanted to take reparations + build a communist economy
Role of the USSR - USSR ended cooperation in Germany be giving control to the SED party, creating a puppet state. West feared trying to spread communism
Political developments - western and soviet zones went down different political routes - west had a multi-party democracy, Soviets had communist governments under the SED
Role of the West - USA became aggressive towards the USSR encouraging division for example Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan
Berlin Blockade -
Decisions made at wartime conferences
Western aims of the wartime conferences:
We’re keen to avoid crippling Germany’s economy as they wanted a strong trading partner
Wanted to ensure Germany was democratic
Prevent conflict - avoid over harsh treatment
Denazification - prevent Nazi ideology from continuing
Demilitarisation - prevent Germany from having weapons in order to reduce threat of another war
Wanted Germany to act like a “bulwark” a barrier to the spread of communism
Soviet aims of the wartime conferences:
Wanted to cripple the German economy in order to ensure they would not have enough money for another attack
Wanted to take territory from Germany in order to give themselves a buffer zone against further attacks
We’re keen to spread communism
Wanted severe reparations
Keen to gain security
Tehran Conference:
December 1943
Main aim was to determine military strategy for the final phase of the war
Yalta conference:
February 1945
Agreed by USSR, USA and GB, 3 months before Germany surrendered, that the Oder-Neisse Line along the rivers Oder Neisse should become Germany’s eastern frontier -
meant that Pomerania and Silesia were given to Poland and East Prussia was divided so that the Northern part was given to USSR + southern part to Poland
Germany lost 25% of her territory, twice as much as in the TOV, and 8 million Germans living in Eastern provinces were forcibly expelled
Potsdam conference:
July 1945
American, British and Soviet heads of government met to discuss Germany’s fate
USA = Harry Truman Britain = Winston Churchill then Atlee USSR = Stalin
What was agreed at Potsdam:
All of Germany east of the Oder Neisse line would be given to Poland or USSR
Rest of Germany would be divided into 4 zones of occupation: Soviet, US, British and French
Berlin would be divided in the same way despite being completely surrounded by Soviet zone
Division intended to be temporary
4Ds: denazified, democratised, demilitarised, and de cartelised
Economy should be administered as one unit but each occupying authority should take reparations from their own zone of occupation
Key facts about the division:
4 occupation zones 1945-49
Berlin in soviet zone but divided into 4 sectors
Emerging differences in political and economic structures in Soviet zone compared to West b/c of attitude towards Germany and differing ideology
Truman Doctrine 1946 and Marshall Plan 1947
Introduction of DM 1948
Berlin Blockade, 1948-49
FRG Formed May 1949, GDR formed October 1949
