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WJEC Eduqas GCSE History - THE DEVELOPMENT OF GERMANY 1919-1991 > Life during the Secong World War > Flashcards

Life during the Secong World War Flashcards

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1
Q

what does Homefront refer to

A

the impact of a war on civilians of the country rather than militiary

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2
Q

what was Germany’s foreign policy like in the following years: 1936, 1938, 1938, 1939, 1939

A
  • 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
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3
Q

what happened in 1940 during WW2

A
  • 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
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4
Q

when + why + by whom was war declared on Germany

A

-1939
- Britain + France
- they declared war because Nazi troops failed to withdraw from poland

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5
Q

what happened in 1941 of WW2 which was a turning point

A
  • Germany invaded USSR but despite initial success in the summer, they found it difficult to fight through hard cold winters
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6
Q

what happened in 1942 of WW2

A
  • serious setbacks + defeats in North Africa
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7
Q

what happened in 1943 of WW2

A
  • Germany surrendered at Stalingard in Soviet Union
  • G pushed out of N Africa
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8
Q

when did Germany officially surrender

A

7th May 1945

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9
Q

how far did lives of German people change from 1939 - 45

A
  • at first the changes were gradual until 1942 when it deteriorated dramatically
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10
Q

give some examples of changed conditions on German homefront

A
  • 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
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11
Q

describe the differences in morale on German homefront in 1939 and 1945

A
  • 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
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12
Q

give some reasons as to why conditions on German homefront changed 1939-45

A
  • 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
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13
Q

during WW2 what countries were known as Allied Powers and the Axis Powers

A
  • Allied = Britain, France, USA, USSR
  • Axis = Germany, Italy, Japan
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14
Q

reasons of success in ww2 1939-42 for germany

A
  • Blitzkrieg tactics
  • lack of co-ordination between Britain + France
  • poor preparation by USSR
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15
Q

what were all the victories 1939-42 for germany

A
  • 1939 invasion of Poland
  • 1940 invasion of France
  • 1941 invasion of USSR
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16
Q

What were all the defeats 1942-45 for Germany

A
  • 1942 defeat al EL Alamein
  • 1943 defeat at Stalingrad
  • 1944 defeat in Normandy
  • 1945 surrender to Allies at Rheims
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17
Q

What were the reasons of defeat for Germany 1942-45

A
  • 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
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18
Q

what were the impact of Allied bombing on Germany (stats)

A
  • 800,000 civilians killed
  • 3.6 million homes destroyed
  • 7.5 million homeless
  • 2.5 million children evacuated
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19
Q

who was the minister for propaganda

A

Joseph Goebbels

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20
Q

what was the idea of Total war + who encouraged it

A
  • total war was the idea that all Germans had to devote everything they had to achieve victory
  • Joseph Goebbels encouraged this idea to try and boost morale
21
Q

what was the most violent raid on Germany in WW2

A
  • Feb 1945 Dresden bombing
  • death toll of one night bombing exceeded 25,000
22
Q

how many German civilians + soldiers dead at end of WW2

A
  • civilians = 3.6 million
  • soldiers = 3.25
23
Q

name some of oppositions towards Nazis + Hitler

A
  • religious ppl / groups
  • youth
  • social democrats communists
  • jews
  • military
23
Q

what was the huge turning point in Germany’s national story known as

A

’ Stunde Nall’ = zero hour
> everything that had been before came to an end

24
Q

describe the opposition from political parties towards Nazis

A
  • communists + socialists: banned from 1933 but worked underground in secret, keeping organisation together + publishing newsletters
  • SPD (Social Democratic Party) - smuggled reports out of Germany
  • KPD (German Communist Party) set up secret organisation (Red Orchestra) which aimed to weaken Nazis + was never completely eliminated
    > KPD controlled from Moscow + discredited by Nazi-Soviet Pact until June 1941
  • most working men didn’t take either organisation seriously because of the economic benefits of National Socialism
25
Q

Describe the opposition from Youth towards Nazis

A
  • become more widespread among young who opposed activities of Hitler Youth
  • most important = Edelweiss Pirates ; helped deserters hide in war + escaped prisoners of war ; attacked military institutions + murdered head of Cologne Gestapo ; anti-Nazi pamphlets
  • White Rose Group - set up 1941 - Hans + Sophie Scholl
    > gave out anti-Nazi leaflets in Uni 1942-3
    > leaders Hans + Sophie arrested, tortured, executed
  • swing groups - middle class, rebelled against Nazi ideas, met together + listened to jazz
25
Q

describe the opposition from Religious groups / individuals towards Nazis

A
  • mostly by individuals
  • Bishop Von Galen , Catholic Bishop of Munster ‘Lion of Munster’ , opposed Nazis racial policies , 1941 preached against Gestapo, concentration camps and euthanasia - imprisoned for final yr ww2
  • Martin Niemoller - leader of confessional church, opposed Nazi Reich Church
    > after no compromise, Nazi declared church illegal + arrested ministers (800 in 1937) + sent to concentration camps
    > Niemoller spent 7yrs in prison + died
  • Dietrich Bonhoeffer, part of confessional church, set up ‘operation 7’ - helped small number of jews escape to Switzerland
    > arrested for plotting to kill Hitler + executed 1945
26
Q

describe the opposition from military towards Nazis

A
  • opposition groups planned attempts on Hitler’s life in 1943 but all failed
    > one involved bomb on a plane carrying Hitler which failed to explode
  • Operation Valkyrie
    > 20 July 1944 - July Bomb plot
    > organised by Colonel von Stauffenberg
    > placed bomb under large oak tree table at a meeting with Hitler
    > bomb went off but Hitler saved by leg of table but only injured not killed
    > 200 member of plot killed afterwards
27
Q

between 1939 and 1941 by how much did the number of women working in factories increase + why

A
  • 1/3
  • because there was more demand for workers in factories producing armaments and all the men were fighting on the front line
28
Q

who was Albert Speer

A
  • the Reich Minister for Armaments and production
    > heavy emphasis on war production
    > slave labour
    > forced prisoners of war + people from Nazi-occupied territories to work
  • by end of 1944 war production had improved tremendously but it was too late and Nazi Germany couldn’t compete against massive combined war productions of Britain, USA, and USSR
29
Q

give some examples of the Allied bombings 1942-45

A
  • ‘thousand bomber’ attacks on cities of Cologne, Essen and Bremen (May + June) - widespread destruction
  • 1943 - RAF + US air force severe bombing on Ruhr industrial area - disastrous effect on G war production
  • July 1943 - RAF switched focus to Hamburg - firestorm - killed 45,000 civilians + more than 900,000 civilians fled city in panic
30
Q

what is the Luftwaffe + how did they respond to bombing of Ruhr in 1943

A
  • Luftwaffe = air force
    > Herman Goering = chief in Commander or Luftwaffe
  • deployed 70% of its fighter strength at a crucial stage in the war to meet this threat
30
Q

who were the Einsatgruppen

A
  • special action squad made up of SS + police units
    > they were to follow the German army + maintain security in newly captured areas
  • they were created once Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939
30
Q

how did the outbreak of war change Nazi attitudes towards Jews

A
  • harder for jews to leave - Nazis had more jews to ‘deal’ with
  • actions could be more extreme towards jews as they didn’t need to worry about other countries opinions
  • as G occupied more territory, the number of Jews under Nazi control increased
  • previous solutions to ‘Jewish Problem’ seemed increasingly inadequate
31
Q

when were all Jews forced to wear star of David

A

1941

32
Q

when did all Jewish rations have ‘J’ stamped on + why

A
  • 1939
    > so they could receive less ration
33
Q

when + why were jews forced out of their homes

A
  • 1940
  • forced out of homes to go live in Jewish areas or ‘ghettos’ where they were forbidden to ear wage
    > many starved to death
34
Q

during invasion of Poland, how many jews were under Nazi control + where were they sent to live + living conditions

A
  • 3 million jews under Nazi control
  • forced to live in ghettos, surrounded by walls
    > worked as slave labourers
    > inadequate food supplies
    > famine + disease
  • this was a deliberate Nazi policy to ensure that as many Jews would die in the ghetto
35
Q

what was the largest ghetto + how many jews died there

A
  • Warsaw ghetto
    > 55,000 Jewish ppl died
36
Q

when was the Wannsee Conference

A

January 1942

37
Q
A
38
Q

what happened in the Wannsee Conference

A
  • high-level conference of Nazi leaders where the decision was taken for a ‘Final Solution to the Jewish Problem’ to remove all the Jewish people in Europe
38
Q

how many European jews were estimated to have been killed by Nazis during WW2

A
  • 6 million European
    > this genocide is known as the Holocaust
38
Q

explain what was done to achieve the ‘Final Solution to the Jewish Problem’

A
  • camps built in places such as Auschwitz
  • Jewish people rounded up and sent there to be gasses
  • fit + healthy jews were made to do extensive labour work until they died
  • non fit jews were immediately sent to gas chambers to be gassed
38
Q

what were the ‘death marches’ + when did it happen

A
  • winter 1944-45
    > as Russians advanced, SS guards marched Jewish people to concentration camps in west
    > many jews dies on the marches
    > many killed as they couldn’t keep up
    > when they reached camps e.g. Bergen-Belsen, they were crammed in such numbers that they died of starvation or disease
39
Q

how many Germans were homeless at end of WW2

A

around 10 million

40
Q

what were the Nuremberg trials + when

A
  • 1946
  • the most senior Nazis were put on trial in Nuremberg 1946
    > 12 sentenced to death
    > 7 given long prison sentences
  • trials of other Nazi prison camp guards + army officers continued for many years
    > in British zones between 1945-49, 24,000 trials were held
41
Q

what was the impact of defeat of WW2 on Germany

A
  • many civilians + soldiers dead
  • many homeless
  • bombed cities in appalling conditions
  • millions living in temporary + sub-standard housing
  • poor diet, starvation common, food supplies dependent on Allied armies
42
Q

what was denazification

A
  • the process of removing Nazis from positions of power + re-educating the German population

WJEC Eduqas GCSE History - THE DEVELOPMENT OF GERMANY 1919-1991 (7 decks)

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