The End of War 1 Flashcards
Events nearing the end of the war
- Collapse of West German resistance when Western forces had crossed the rhine in February
- Soviets reached Berlin first in April
- Surrender document signed 8th/05/1945
Fall of Berlin
- Battle for Berlin, Soviet advance
- Hitler commits suicide on the 30th of April
- 75% of buildings uninhabitable
Why did the fighting carry on so long after it was clear the war was lost?
- Hitler’s stubbornness and insistence to keep fighting
- Allies wanted unconditional surrender
- Series of partial surrenders starting with surrender of army in Italy
In the aftermath of WW2 - Death
-6.5 million Germans killed, many in fire storms and Eastern advance
In the aftermath of WW2 - Rape
-Soviet army, systematic rape of 90 000. 150 000 - 2000 Russian Babes would be born
In the aftermath of WW2 - Shelter
- 20 million living in ruins
- homeless children, 53 000 in Berlin
In the aftermath of WW2 - Food
- Food/medicine in short supply
- Av. calorie intake in American zone 860 per day
In the aftermath of WW2 - Disease
- Infant mortality rate up 66/100 in July 45
- British zone dec 45 1/4 kids under 1 dying
In the aftermath of WW2 - refugees
- Eastern Germans running from Soviet advance
- Refugees from East German lands like East Prussia
- People of Eastern European background escaping Communist domination
- Released POWs, German and English
- Millions for forced labour
Differing views on Germany’s future
- Some wanted separate states, no heavy industry
- Others favoured WR style centralised federal state
Yalta conference - February 1945
- Britain, America and USSR attending
- Each get an occupation zone of equal population density, USSR zone larger, rural and less concentrated
- French zone allocated from previously Western lands
- USSR gets Northern-East Prussia
- 4 Ds were decided
- Disagreement on reparations, and Stalin wanted 80% of all German factories
Demilitarisation
-Makes Germany a neutral or non-aligned disarmed country
Decentralisation
- Strong central government removed
- Power with local states/lander
- Breaking up international conglomerates
Denazification
- Removal of all nazi influence from society
- Force civilians to break from nazi bast
- Punish nazis responsible for the horrors of WW2
Democratisation
- Restored freedom to choose between political parties and be ruled by an elected government
- Reliant on consent from people, debate over issues and essential majority support
- DEMOCRACY
Development of the occupation zones
- Allied Control Council established in June to rule
- Russians acted fastest setting up SMAD working in Berlin. 5 lander (local state governments) in Soviet zone by July
Potsdam conference - August 1945
- Aimed to settle disagreements between allies
- Agreed Germany should pay $20 Billion, each power taking reparations from occupation zone
- Russia receives extra 10% and further 15% for food/materials from their zone from Western allies
- Little progress made on how to implement 4 Ds. Consequentially all powers adopted different systems
- German Polish border was fait accompli, Polish border pushed west by soviets and poles resettled
Nuremberg trials - Nov/45-Oct/46
- Denazification
- Tried on Crimes against Peace, Humanity, War Crimes and conspiracy to commit the above
- 13 sentenced to death includin Goring (suicide 2 weeks later)
- 2 life sentences
- 2 acquitted
- 4 Shorter sentences of 10-20 years
Overview of denazification
- Initial policy of non fratenisation with Germans but dropped by September 1945
- Germany army disbanded, Nazi leaders tried at Nuremberg, Nazi party dissolved
- However denazification of Germany as a whole would be very complex
Denazification in the Russian zone
- Nazis purged from positions in society
- -> 520 000 purged from Government by 1948
- Medical profession less thoroughly denazified as medics were essential to clean up operation
- Denazification where it suited them
BERLIN
- All nazi teachers in schools dismissed
- Ex nazis/employees only employable as reconstruction workers
- 1400 nazi businesses closed
- Nazis regain full citizenship by 1952 except war criminals,
- Reeducation programme to promote socialism
Denazification in the Western Zones
- SS, generals, induistrialists (nazi supporters) rounded up
- Directive to remove all showing more than nominal support
- -> taken differently, 117 000 removed in US zone but only half that in British zone
- June 45: those dismissed could appeal to tribunal, presenting others to plead for them (persil certificates)
- Questionnaires introduced by the Americans, adopted
- –> as a result of responses, major offenders were imprisoned, general offenders were imprisoned and reeducated, lesser offenders were fined and re educated, followers were restricted and re educated, or they were acquitted
- March 1946, Law for liberalisation from national socialism. Tribunals
- -> 90% exhonerated in British zone, 1/3 in US, 1/2 in French
Abandonment of denazification by Western Allies
- Early 1950s
- Practical issues, so many people to address
- 1951 former civil servants offered jobs again or allowed to retire on full pension
Effects of the denazification and re education programme in the west
Successes:
- 870 000 lost jobs in West
- 230 000 detained, some for a long time
- Protestant church issued statement of guilt
- No resurgence of nazism
- New economic revival and political freedoms meant no desire to return to past
- Influences of press which discredited nazism. Films of concentration camps shocked audiences
Failures:
Re-education was confused. No major restructuring of schools, university academics kept posts on whole,
-Many tried in 1945-7 regained similar positions to before as no alternative. In this sense FAILURE
