Life in wartime Germany 1939-1945 Flashcards
What did the role as Fuhrer combine?
head of army; president; chancellor
What was Germany aiming at becoming if they took Russia?
An Autarky (meaning self-sufficient as they could use Russia’s natural resources)
Who attempted to assassinate Hitler in 1939?
Georg Elser
What was Hitler’s aggressive foreign policy aimed at?
Attaining Lebensraum
Why did war break out in 1939?
Britain and France felt they could not allow Germany to become excessively dominant- - it had already annexed Czechoslovakia and Austria
When did Germany invade Poland?
September 1939
Which countries did Germany overwhelm at the start of war (by 1940)? What did this suggest about Hitler?
France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Norway and Luxemburg
He was fulfilling his promises on gaining Germany’s pride and prestige back and destroying the Versailles Treaty
What was the Hitler Myth?
Hitler was associated with all the positives of the regime and the victories of the war - showing him as an infallible leader
How did Britain resist German invasion?
They won the Battle of Britain with their RAF and they had the channel for protection
What kind of war tactics did Germany use at the start of the war?
Blitzkrieg (lightening war)
Why is the term ‘phoney war’ used for the period from 1939-1940?
because it is not seen as a real war as there was no real aggressive activity on the Western Front
Who was Operation Barbarossa aimed at?
the USSR (to gain more Lebensraum)
What tactics did Hitler think would win him the USSR?
Blitzkrieg
When was Operation Barbarossa put in action?
22 June 1941
What did Hitler need from the USSR to become an Autarky?
the large reservoir of Slav labour; the oil reserves in the Caucasus; grain from the Ukraine
Which Russian tactic delayed German progress?
scorched-earth tactic
Which were the three fronts of the USSR that Germany invaded?
Northern: Leningrad
Centre: Moscow
Southern: Crimea and the Ukraine
What conditions delayed the German army into meeting the Russian winter?
the vast distances, partisan activity and poor roads
How many miles were the German army from Moscow by 1941?
30 miles (bonus: they had reached Leningrad)
How many prisoners of war had they captured so far?
3 million Russian troops
What was the German phrase used to describe the attack on the USSR?
‘Crusade against Communism’
What had the Germans been completely unprepared for?
The Russian Winter
What did the soviets do in 1941-1942 to protect their industry?
moved 1,500 factories East of the Urals
Which Russian general formed a counter attack in December 1941?
General Zhukov
Where did Hitler order the Sixth Army to attack in 1942?
Stalingrad (turning point!!)
Why did Hitler want to gain Stalingrad?
- gateway to the Black Sea for natural resources
- was named after Stalin and so would damage morale
- big city
What happened at Stalingrad?
General Zhukov organised a counter offensive and the Germans were encircled - Hitler demanded that the Sixth Army mustn’t surrender, but in January 1943 they did
What did the success of Stalingrad mean for Germany?
They now had a war on two fronts
how many German men were captured by the Red Army?
92,000
Where did the German army, headed by Rommel, invade in February 1941? Why?
North Africa to support their Italian allies
Which important Egyptian town did they take?
Tobruk
Where did General Montgomery and the British inflict a heavy defeat on the Germans in 1942?
El Alamein (turning point??)
Who was involved in Operation Torch?
Anglo-American force which landed behind Rommel in Morocco defeating the army
When did Allied troops invade Sicily?
July 1943
Where was Mussolini rescued and taken to?
He was rescued from the Allied forces by the Germans who took him to Berlin
What was Operation Overlord?
the attack of the Normandy beaches in June 1944
How many British and American troops landed along the Normandy beaches?
326,000
Where had Hitler instructed his men to be?
to guard the towns and ports, not the beaches.
When was Paris liberated?
August 1944
What event happened in December 1941? What did this prompt?
the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour in America and this prompted a globalised war because Hitler aligned Germany with Japan and declared war on America
How many German troops surrendered at Stalingrad?
300,000
What does the term ‘turn of the tide’ refer to?
the term used to describe the Allied victories in the winter of 1942-3, when the war started to go in the Allies’ favour
Which two battles were won in 1944 by the Allies?
Ardennes and the Battle of the Bulge
When did American troops cross the Rhine?
22 March 1945
How many German troops surrendered in the Ruhr in April 1945?
320,000
How many men did the Battle of Berlin cost the Russians?
300,000
Who were the last Germans fighting for Hitler in Berlin?
The youth (result of indoctrination)
Which German Admiral surrendered Germany to the Allies?
Admiral Donitz
When did the Germans surrender?
8 May 1945
When did Hitler commit suicide?
30 April 1945
When was the first point at which people experienced extreme shortages in the war?
Near the end of the war after the collapse of the Russian Front
What was an internal problem with food distribution that led to greater food shortages?
there was mass corruption among the Gauleiters who sold things on the Black Market - unfairly distributed
Why were the government so desperate to prevent shortages?
They didn’t want a repeat of the First World War
What was the meat ration at until April 1942?
It was at a reasonable level of 500g
After April 1942 what was the meat ration cut to?
300g
Who was given extra rations?
everyone at Christmas and those doing more strenuous jobs
What did the early victories mean for morale?
They were emphasised by propaganda, which supported the Hitler Myth and celebrated the Fatherland
….and these conquered countries provided more food for the German people
Why was there a shortage of clothes?
there was ‘panic buying’ at the start of the war
Who did the propaganda blame for the war?
Britain for not agreeing to Germany’s terms
In 1942 what were there shortages of?
soap and household goods
Who fled to Scotland in May 1941?
Rudolf Hess - deputy Fuhrer
How was morale damaged by the refusal of negotiation talks with Britain and Hess’ escape to Scotland?
The people thought the war would be short and when Britain refused to negotiate they knew it was going on longer than expected
Hess was a senior figure and when people heard he had gone they questioned the likelihood of success
What did Goebbels do in December 1941 which raised concern on the Home Front?
He appealed through the media for warm clothing for men at the front - this suggested they were unprepared, they hadn’t made the necessary territorial gains= losing the war
How many Germans were killed by Allied bombing?
305,000
How many Germans were injured by RAF and USAF bombing?
780,000 (2million homes destroyed)
What was the term for leveling a whole city wit bombs?
Carpet Bombing
Firestorms in Hamburg(‘43) and Dresden(‘45) killed how many citizens?
80,000
What was a propaganda film made to boost morale?
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
Did German morale ever completely collapse?
NO
What happened in April 1941 that caused a series of protests?
Wagner demanded all crucifixes be removed from Bavarian schools - people wanted to protect tradition but were not attacking the regime
What did Bishop von Galen criticise? why?
the Nazi mercy killings of asylum patients (Aktion T4) because the monastries were being shut
What had von Galen initially supported?
The crusade against godless Bolshevism
How did Hitler react to this ISOLATED act of opposition?
He called off the closing of monastries and ended the Aktion T4 programme
What was opposition from the church aiming to protect within the system?
their independence and integrity
How early on did the Catholic Church know of the extermination of Jews? What did they do?
by 1942 and they failed to condemn this in public
Which protestant churchman spoke out against the regime in 1943?
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Who did opposition of the left come from?
individuals and small groups after the collapse of the Nazi-Soviet Pact in 1941 - - - - the majority had already been exiled, killed or put in concentration camps
Who set up resistance cells in factories?
Robert Uhrig (distributed pamphlets)
How many resistance cells were there in Berlin by the summer of 1941?
89
Which two Nazi officials set up Rote Kappelle?
Arvid Harnack and Harro Schulze-Boysen
Who was another communist resistance leader?
William Knochel
When did the Gestapo infiltrate Knochel’s opposition?
1943
Why were the youth providing opposition?
they were disillusioned with the increased failures of Germany in war and became alienated by the regimented nature of the Hitler Youth
What effect did fathers going off to the Front have on German youths?
It led to single parents - more ill-discipline of smoking, drinking and promiscuity
Which were two opposition youth groups?
Edelweiss Pirates and the White Rose group
What did the Edelweiss pirates do?
active in 2nd world war and worked with the left wing underground - the leaders were executed publically in 1944
What did the White Rose group do?
a student movement which distibuted anti-Nazi pamphlets
Who led the White Rose group?
Hans and Sophie Scholl - executed in 1943
Why did some conservatives turn against Hitler?
They were closest to him and so saw what he was really like - had no military/ tactical ability, lazy and uninterested in politics—they were losing the war
In 1941 who formed a conservative opposition group?
Carl Goerdeler
Which were two Nazi officials in the foreign office involved in Goerdeler’s group?
Ulrich von Hassell - opposed on conscience
Adam von Trott
What was the name of another conservative opposition group?
The Kreisau Circle (led by von Moltke)
What was the name of the bomb plot organised to kill Hitler in 1944?
Stauffenberg’s plot
What was the code name for the plot to kill Hitler?
Operation Valkyrie
Why did the Normandy invasion hurry the plot?
The generals wanted to make peace before Germany herself was invaded so they could keep the myth of being unconquered, alive
How did the bomb plot fail?
Hitler wasn’t caught in the initial bast and survived
What was Hitler’s response to the attempted assassination?
Hundreds of suspected conspirators were arrested, tortured and sentenced to death - many were garrotted as a very personal and brutal method; visual message to deter others
How many generals were killed in assoication with the bomb plot?
22
Why was the army subordinate by 1939?
they swore an oath of allegiance to Hitler
What impression did propaganda of the initial victories create?
that the Nazi War economy and regime worked!
Who created the Ministry of Munitions?
Frtiz Todt (Head of Ministry of Armaments)
What did the creation of the Ministry of Munitions do for the organisation of the war economy?
It simplified the system, and there was less confusion as industry was directed to increase productivity
By how much did military spending increase between 1939 -1941?
doubled (in Britain it trebled)
By 1941 how much of the work force was involved in war-related projects?
55%
By how much was the airforce increased from 1939-1941?
from 8,290 to 10,780 (Britain trebled theirs)
What other military department was also low in production?
Tanks
How many workers were lost to the army in 1940?
3.5 million
How many foreign workers were there in Germany?
2 million
When was Speer made Minister of Munitions?
February 1942
Which decree did Hitler issue in 1941? What did it aim at?
Rationalisation Decree (gave direction not specifics) it would rationalise the armaments industry
What was Albert Speer known as?
‘The Miracle’ - he had the Will of the Fuhrer
What was Speer’s new appointment in 1943?
Minister for Armaments and Production - he was given responsibility for all industry and raw materials (everyone followed his plan as Hitler liked him)
What did Speer aim at doing?
reorganising sectors of the economy to save labour, time and space
What position was Goebbels given that gave him greater control over production?
Reich Plenipotentiary for Total War - an ally of Speer helping create more change
By January 1945 what state was the economy in?
in a state of collapse from exhaustion and invasion
In march 1944 what changed for Eastern Workers?
given the same pay and benefits as other foreign workers
Which areas brought in huge quantities of iron-ore for Germany’s war effort?
Alsace-Lorraine, Poland, Austria and Bohemia
How much did iron-ore supplies increase between 1940-1943?
13.4 mill - 20.2 mill
How many more women were in employment by 1943?
400,000 more women recruited
How many more children were born in 1939 than 6 years previously?
1 million
Overall by how much was ammunition increased?
97%
Under Speer how much of an increase had there been from 1942-44?
75% (3 fold)
Who did Speer prevent from going to the front to keep up productivity?
Skilled professionals
What did Speer suggest in terms of the concentration camps?
to use them as slave labout on large public projects
