Life in wartime Germany, 1939-45 Flashcards

1
Q

When does Georg Elser attempt to assassinate Hitler?

A

Nov 1939

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2
Q

When was the order to remove crucifixes from walls in Catholic Bavaria given?

A

April 1941

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3
Q

When does Operation Barbarossa begin?

A

June 1941

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4
Q

When does Bishop von Galen publicly challenge the T4 programme?

A

Aug 1941

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5
Q

When does Germany declare war on America?

A

Dec 1941

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6
Q

When is the Wannsee Conference?

A

Jan 1942

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7
Q

What is the name of the conference where the Final Solution is agreed upon officially?

A

Wannsee Conference

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8
Q

When is the Germany army defeated at Stalingrad?

A

Jan 1943

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9
Q

When does Goebbels give his total war speech?

A

Feb 1943

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10
Q

When are Hans and Sophie Scholl executed?

A

Feb 1943

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11
Q

When was operation Flash and what was it?

A

1943 –> plot to assasinate Hitler

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12
Q

When is D-Day

A

June 1944

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13
Q

When was the Bomb Plot?

A

July 1944

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14
Q

When is Dresden destroyed?

A

Feb 1945

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15
Q

When is Bonhoeffer executed?

A

April 1945

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16
Q

Name 3 of the 6 countries (other than Poland) that Germany invaded by the end of 1940

A
France
Belgium
Holland
Denmark
Norway
Luxembourg
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17
Q

What were the 4 main reasons that Hitler wanted to invade Russia?

A

Lebensraum

Slav labour

Oil reserves in Caucasus / grain supply in Ukraine

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18
Q

Why was the German advance in Russia delayed? 3 things

A

vast distances

harsh winter (1941)

Stalin’s ‘scorched earth’ policy

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19
Q

What happened when the German army surrendered at Stalingrad?

A

Red Army captured 93,000 men including 24 generals

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20
Q

When do the remainder of the Axis forces (italy and Germany) surrender in North Africa?

A

May 1943

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21
Q

When do Germany’s fortunes in North Africa turn? What happened?

A

Oct 1942 - British army inflict heavy losses

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22
Q

When did the new Italian government surrender to the Allies?

A

1943

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23
Q

What was operation overlord? When was it?

A

British and American troops invade France (June 1944)

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24
Q

When is Paris liberated?

A

August 1944

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25
Q

When is Brussels liberated?

A

Sept 1944

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26
Q

When was the siege of Leningrad broken?

A

Jan 1944

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27
Q

By the end of 1944 in what state was Russia?

A

liberated

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28
Q

Why did the regime prioritise the consumer?

A

Maintain morale on the home front

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29
Q

When did the consumer begin to make sacrifices? Give an example

A

1942

Meat ration cut from 500g to 300g a week per person

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30
Q

How did the government react to considerable unrest caused by the reduction in the meat ration 1942?

A

increased it by 50g

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31
Q

Give one example of how the regime attempted to boost morale?

A

Christmas bonuses

1942 every citizen received extra rations, including 200g of meat

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32
Q

What was the public reaction to Georg Elser’s assassination attempt on Hitler?

A

relief that it failed –> blamed the British for the bomb

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33
Q

What was the significance of Hess flying to Scotland? When did he do this

A

May 1941 –> damaged morale

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34
Q

What was the effect of the failure of operation barbarossa?

A

led many to question Nazi ideology for the first time

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35
Q

Quote a one-liner that made fun of Hitler’s military failures

A

‘Whats the difference between the sun and Hitler? The sun rises in the east, Hitler goes down in the east’

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36
Q

As the war went on where did Hitler spend most of his time? What effect did this have?

A

isolated in his Berlin bunker

Made him prone to criticism and jokes

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37
Q

How many Germans were killed by the Allies bombing campaign?

A

305,000

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38
Q

Did the allied bombing campaign succeed in destroying morale on the home front?

A

no

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39
Q

How many homes did the allied bombing campaign destroy?

A

2 mil

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40
Q

Why were some areas demoralised by 1943?

A

areas that had been systematically bombed e.g. Rhineland

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41
Q

How did Goebbels continue to offer hope? 2 points

A

Promises of a secret weapon e.g. V1 and V2 bombs

Films –> Kolberg (1945)

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42
Q

How effective was propaganda on morale?

A

increasingly less effective as certain defeat dawned

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43
Q

What was the reaction to the banning of crucifixes in Bavaria in 1941? What effect did this have?

A

storm of protest e.g. meetings, letters, petitions, and demonstrations

–> original order overturned

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44
Q

Why did von Galen speak out (1941) against the T4 programme?

A

Local monasteries were being closed

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45
Q

How did Hitler react to von Galen’s condemnation (1941) of the T4 programme? 2 things

A

called off campaign to close religious institutions

publicly ended T4 programme but continued it secretly

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46
Q

From when did the Catholic Church know of the systematic extermination of the Jews?

A

1942

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47
Q

How did Bonhoffer oppose the regime? What happened to him?

A

Helped Jews flee the country –> was arrested in 1943 and executed in 1945

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48
Q

What effect did the Nazi-Soviet Pact (1939) have on opposition?

A

Undermined communist opposition

49
Q

What was the name of the underground communist organisation, and what did it do?

A

Red Orchestra - provided info to the Soviet army –> warned Stalin about Operation Barbarossa

50
Q

What did the communists set up in factories?

A

communist resistance cells

51
Q

In 1941 how many factory cells were there in Berlin?

A

89 resistance cells

52
Q

What did the communist resistance cells do?

A

produced pamphlets attacking the regime and calling for acts of resistance

53
Q

What was the main weakness of communist resistance?

A

vulnerability to infiltration by Gestapo

54
Q

When was the communist resistance infiltrated?

A

1943

55
Q

Why were some youths disillusioned w/ the regime? 3 points

A

regimentation of youth groups

military training intensified

absence/loss of father encouraged delinquency

56
Q

Give 3 examples of youth opposition and what they did

A

Edelweiss Pirates - attacked membs of Hitler Youth

The Swing Kids - listened to banned music

White Rose Group (Munich) - distributed anti-nazi leaflets

57
Q

What was the effect of the early victories on conservative opposition?

A

limited scope –> they would be unpopular

58
Q

When was the Goerdeler circle formed?

A

1941

59
Q

What did the Goerdeler circle aim to do?

A

build diplomatic links w/ the Allies

60
Q

When was the Kreisau circle formed?

A

1941

61
Q

Who was the leader of the Kreisau circle?

A

von Moltke

62
Q

Why were relations between the Goerdeler and Kreisau Circles strained? 2 points

A

Due to differences in beliefs and generation gap

63
Q

What happened to the Kreisau Circle in 1944?

A

discovered by the Gestapo and Moltke arrested

64
Q

Who planted the bomb on Hitler’s plane during Operation Flash (1943)?

A

General von Tresckow

65
Q

Why did a serious nationwide opposition movement emerge in 1943? 3 points

Who was it led by?

A

interference of SS = intolerable

Generals from eastern front witnessed atrocities

Germany losing the war

Dissident generals

66
Q

Who was the leading plotter in the Bomb Plot 1944?

A

von Stauffenburg

67
Q

Why did many generals wish to make peace before Germany was invaded?

A

preserve the myth of invincibility

68
Q

What was the aim of the Bomb Plot 1944?

A

trigger a rising throughout the Reich and oust the Nazi regime

69
Q

How many generals were executed for their part in the Bomb Plot 1944?

A

22

70
Q

Why could the army leadership not pose a sustained threat to the regime?

A

too naive and isolated

71
Q

Why did army opposition fail?

A

too late

72
Q

Which 3 agencies shared responsibility for the planning of the war economy?

A

Ministry of War
Ministry of Economics
Office of the Four Year Plan

73
Q

What was created, and when, that ended the confusion in armaments production?

Who ran it?

A

Ministry of Munitions (1940)

Todt

74
Q

What effect did the Blitzkrieg wars have on the economy?

A

did not put it under strain

75
Q

In the arms industry, what happened to output per head between 1939-40?

A

fell 12.5%

76
Q

in consumer industries, what happened to output per head between 1939-40?

A

increased 16%

77
Q

How many workers were there in 1940 in comparison to 1939?

A

3.5mil fewer

78
Q

How many foreign workers were there in Germany by the end of 1940?

A

2 mil

79
Q

In 1941 how many workers were drafted into the army?

A

1.7mil

80
Q

BY the end of 1942 how many foreign workers were there in Germany?

A

6.4mil

81
Q

When did the Fuhrer order the rationalisation of armaments production?

A

1941

82
Q

Who initially undertook the process of rationalisation?

A

Todt

83
Q

What did Goebbels’ Total War speech (1943) call for? 2 points

A

universal labour service

closure of all non-essential businesses

84
Q

Until 1943 how was production not efficient? 2 points

A

many firms not working double shifts

production was dispersed

85
Q

What was set up to standardise production?

A

Armaments Commission (1943)

86
Q

Give 2 examples of how production was standardised

A

Production lines introduced (1943)

Number of tank models cut from 18 to 7 (1944)

Better use of raw materials

87
Q

Between 1939-44 what happened to output per worker?

A

increased 60%

88
Q

How did IG Farben benefit from supporting the regime?

A

Systematic looting of conquered countries –> became Europe’s largest chemical producer (1942)

89
Q

Give an example of Nazi ideology undermining economic logic?

A

Hitler ordered ‘scorched earth’ policy –> Speer refuses as industry would be essential for recovery after the war

90
Q

What was the productivity of a foreign worker in comparison to a German worker?

A

60/80% less productive

91
Q

Give 2 examples of how polish foreign workers were treated badly

A

1940 forced to wear yellow P badge

banned from using public transport

92
Q

Who attempted to improve the situation for eastern foreign workers? How?

A

Fritz Sauckle

1944 - all eastern workers given same pay and benefits as other foreign labourers

93
Q

Which important raw material did Germany lack large reserves of?

A

high-quality iron ore

94
Q

Name 2 countries from where Germany attained huge quantities of high-quality iron ore

A

Austria, Bohemia, Moravia, Poland, Alsace Lorraine (by 1940)

95
Q

What was the steel shortage caused by?

A

coal shortage –> soviet scorched earth policy destroyed mining reserves

96
Q

What was the consequence of Germany being unable to fully exploit the raw materials of occupied countries?

A

prevented expansion of economy needed to fight major war

97
Q

Between 1939-44 how many extra women entered the workforce?

A

200,000

98
Q

What did the government do that was a disincentive for women to work?

A

benefits paid to wives of soldiers

99
Q

how many women were already in employment at the start of the war?

A

14.6mil (HIGH)

100
Q

Why was it difficult to redistribute women into the essential war industry?

A

many worked in agriculture and textiles and couldn’t be spared for munitions

101
Q

What was the fundamental problem that limited economic expansion?

A

lack of raw materials and labour

102
Q

Give the quote that has been used to suggest that Hitler planned the final solution

A

the result of war will be “the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe” (1939)

103
Q

When were Jews forced to wear the star of david badge?

A

1941

104
Q

When do the Jews officially begin to be deported? From where to where?

A

1939 - Poland to the General Government

105
Q

Name 3 Polish ghettos

A

Lodz, Warsaw, Lublin

106
Q

When was the Madagascar plan suggested?

A

1940

107
Q

How did the early successful conquests affect racial policy?

A

brought millions more Jews under direct Nazi rule

108
Q

By Feb 1942 how many Jews had been murdered in Russia?

A

700,000

109
Q

What did Hitler want to do with the Jews if he successfully conquered Russia?

A

relocate Europe’s Jews to the other side of the Urals

110
Q

Why did Hitler have a change of heart mid Sept 1941, in regards to the Jewish Question? 2 points

A

Stalin ordered deportation to Siberia of 600,000 ethnic Germans from Volga region

Roosevelt ordered US navy to shoot on sight at any German warship considered threatening

111
Q

Where did pressure for deportation of the Jews arise from?

A

Gauleiters in the west (e.g. Goebbels) (1941)

112
Q

Where did pressure for the extermination of the Jews arise from?

A

Gauleiters in the east, who found their Gau w/ more Jews after they had been deported there

113
Q

What did Hitler tell Himmler that suggests that the Final Solution had been decided?

A

Jews were to be ‘exterminated as partisans’ (1941)

= authorisation for extermination of all european Jews as russian jews were already being killed

114
Q

What did the Wannsee Conference (1942) signify?

A

Systematic programme for the annihilation of the Jews had been formed

115
Q

What was the SS compromise in regards to Jewish labour?

A

Employ Jewish labour but work them to death

116
Q

How many Jews were murdered by Jan 1945?

A

6 million

117
Q

Which 2 leading Nazis were important in the radicalisation of anti-semitic policy?

A

Goebbels and Heydrich

118
Q

Why was the opposition that did exist, limited?

A

divided

lacked leadership

ruthlessly suppressed