Life during the Secong World War Flashcards
what does Homefront refer to
the impact of a war on civilians of the country rather than militiary
what was Germany’s foreign policy like in the following years: 1936, 1938, 1938, 1939, 1939
- 1936 - remilitarised Rhineland (no opposition given)
- 1938 - united with Austria (in defiance of ToV but no opposition)
- 1938 autumn - took over Sudetenland (an area taken from G in treaty + given to Czechoslovakia
- 1939 spring - took over rest of Czechoslovakia
- 1939 august - G agreed to Nazi Soviet pact with USSR which allowed them to divide Poland between the two
what happened in 1940 during WW2
- Nazi Germany captured : Denmark, Norway, France, Belgium, Netherland
> only Britain remained at war - they did this capturing with their new military tactic of Blitzkrieg which combined air and tank attack
when + why + by whom was war declared on Germany
-1939
- Britain + France
- they declared war because Nazi troops failed to withdraw from poland
what happened in 1941 of WW2 which was a turning point
- Germany invaded USSR but despite initial success in the summer, they found it difficult to fight through hard cold winters
what happened in 1942 of WW2
- serious setbacks + defeats in North Africa
what happened in 1943 of WW2
- Germany surrendered at Stalingard in Soviet Union
- G pushed out of N Africa
when did Germany officially surrender
7th May 1945
how far did lives of German people change from 1939 - 45
- at first the changes were gradual until 1942 when it deteriorated dramatically
give some examples of changed conditions on German homefront
- rationing
> from 1939 = 500g meat a weak
> halved by 1945 - German diet was boring + bland:
> mainly rye bread , potatoes, veggies - fresh food + fish were difficult to get hold of
- rationing became severe from 1942 onwards
> severe food shortages
describe the differences in morale on German homefront in 1939 and 1945
- 1939 = morale is high
> high hopes in winning war, safe, children evacuated + returned (1940), USSR invasion - Germans hopeful - 1945 = low morale
> extreme air raid, Dresden bombing, homelessness, not safe, hunger, defeat
give some reasons as to why conditions on German homefront changed 1939-45
- things deteriorated on fighting front
- failure in invasion of USSR - now shortages of resources + food for Homefront
- surrender at Stalingrad lowered morale on Homefront
- attack on Normandy proved the propaganda German people had been told was wrong
- failure of Luftwaffe + US and Britain control of skies above Germany allowed for day + night bombing
- demands for war production + need for more soldiers caused conditions for workers on Homefront to change - total war, Albert speer
during WW2 what countries were known as Allied Powers and the Axis Powers
- Allied = Britain, France, USA, USSR
- Axis = Germany, Italy, Japan
reasons of success in ww2 1939-42 for germany
- Blitzkrieg tactics
- lack of co-ordination between Britain + France
- poor preparation by USSR
what were all the victories 1939-42 for germany
- 1939 invasion of Poland
- 1940 invasion of France
- 1941 invasion of USSR
What were all the defeats 1942-45 for Germany
- 1942 defeat al EL Alamein
- 1943 defeat at Stalingrad
- 1944 defeat in Normandy
- 1945 surrender to Allies at Rheims
What were the reasons of defeat for Germany 1942-45
- strong resistance from soviet union
- Germany became too overstretched, fighting too many battles on too many fronts
- better military tactics and build-up of weapons by Allies
what were the impact of Allied bombing on Germany (stats)
- 800,000 civilians killed
- 3.6 million homes destroyed
- 7.5 million homeless
- 2.5 million children evacuated
who was the minister for propaganda
Joseph Goebbels