the impact of the war 1939-45 Flashcards
why was a crucial aspect for the regime in terms of rations
during WW1 shortage of foodstuff caused weariness and the Nazis were determined not the make the same mistakes as Kasier gov
what did allocation of food depend on
age, occupation and race
manual labour recieved more rations and the jews recieved less
how effective was rationing
at the start of the war germany was able to exploit occupied countries for food supplies
during the Nazi-soviet pact the USSR exported food
there was no major food shortages beteen 1939-41, shortage of coal, shoes and soap did cuse some discontent
describe phase one of the war- blitzkreig sept 1939-june 41
Germany defeated Poland and won quick victories
celebration of victories.
hitler was presented as military genius
propaganda insisted that the war would be over soon
describe phase 2 of the war- spreading war june-dec 1941
germany invades USSR but was halted by the red army
germany declares war on USA
SD reported that people feared that the war would go on forever
propaganda downplayed USSR success but letters home undermined this
increase in anti-sematic policies
describe phase 3 of the war- turning of the tide jan 1942-43
germany loosing in the USSR due to winter
letters home and casualty figures show the reality to the civilians
starlingard was a huge shock because goebbels built up unrealistic expectation
hitler myth began to loose authenticity
there was patriotism and willingness to endure hardship
descibe phase 4 of the war- ‘total war’ and defeat of germany feb 1943-may 45
feb goebbels declared ‘total war’
britain and france bombing germany
d-day landings
germany invaded and berin captured and germany surrender
no longer could hitler convincingly be played as a military genius
use of V1 and V2 temporarily lifts spirits
SD reports that people lost faith in their Fuhrer
goebbels greatest achievment the hitler myth crumbled away
describe the opposition from elites over the war
some felt a moral conviction that the regime was wrong whilst other felt that Hitler was leading germany to destruction
describe the opposition from workers over the war
sept 1939 decree on the conversion of the whole german economy into war footing in which wage resrictions and ban on holidays and bonus’ was issued. this caused discomfort which is demonstrated by increased absenteeism therefore the regime restored wages
total war measures 1943-44 holidays were banned and working week was increased to 60 hours, the regime issued disciplinary measures e.g. workers could be conscritped, extra food rationing as reward and fines for absenteeism
increased hours and pressure led to health deterioration
describe the womens responsibility over the war 1939
by 1939 there was 6.4 million married women in employment, the need to increase weapons pressured women to be in the industry which caused tension between the nazi ideology and war economy
describe the womens responsibility over the war 1940
however in 1940 hitler refused to allow women to work, he offered families with conscripted fathers benefits.
describe womens responsibility over the war 1941
goering issued a decree that all female workers who had family allowance but didnt have children will register to work, as a result 130,000 women were sent to armament factories
describe womens repsonsability over the war in 1943
the defeat at starlingrad made total mobilisation essential, a decree forced all women 17-45 to register for work. half a million extra women working in labour
describe women responsability over the war in 1945
60% of the labour force was women
women were assigned to auxiliary roles in the army
during the final stages of the war women were being trained for combat
how did the war affect the youth
HJ activities concentration on training boys to be soldiers. they were also sent to help harvest and to collect money for the winter aid program
1940 conscripted at 19
1941 18
1943 17
1945 16
1942 HJ had to complete a 3 week course if military training that was supervised by the SS
1942 HJ could be auxiliary units for naval and air defense
1943 special HJ divisions of boys 16-18, they saw action at the battle of normandy
what was the decree for the mobilisation of war and when was it declared. however when did Germany actually meet full mobilisation and what did this mean for the war
decree for the conversion of the whole german economy into war footing 1939
1942
between 1940-41 german forces suffered from a lack of weapons and equipment, however this wasn’t a problem until the start of operation barbossa in 1941
what were the reasons behind why Germany didn’t reach full mobilisation until 1942?
hitler didn’t think the war would begin in 1939 because he thought Britain and france would accept the invasion on Poland.
he thought the war would begin with operation barbossa
the Luftwaffe expansion wasn’t due until 1942
why did german armaments suffer structural weaknesses
because instead of making standardised equipment, german made different types of weapons which were expensive and required skilled labour
why was Goering ineffective as an economic leader?
lacked technical and economic knowledge to do his job effectively
he had poor relations with army leaders and laege companies and banks
his failings were masked in 1939 by german forces success but in 1941 his failures were revealed
what did speer describe goering as
incompetent
who was fritz todt and what is is significance
armament minister
in 1941 he complained about the shortage of vital equipment in Russia but hitler ignored him
Todt died 1942 and was replaced by speer. speer was given centralised control without interference from military and full cooperation from companies
what did the radicalisation of production involve
coordinated allocation of labour, equipment and materials of armament factories
standardised products
shift working 24/7
how much did production of tanks and aircraft increase by 1941-43
tanks 250%
aircraft 200%
when did USA and Britain bomb germany
1942-45
what impact did the bombing have on germany
targeted industrial and civilian morale
however speers achievements occurred despite this
it did have an impact on production because supply lines were damaged, factories had to be dispersed and worker morale was affected
the bombs resulted in 35% less tanks and 31% fewer aircrafts
how was the situation of increased conscription and increased need for armament production
it was met using foreign labour and by using labour forces in the most efficient way
how did the defeat at starlingrad 1943 effect the mobilisation of labour forces
drastic measures to increase labour supply
decree for the comprehensive deployment of men and women for reich defence task meaning all men 16-45 and women 17-45 had to register for work
a rigorous ‘combthrough’ exercise identified men to join the army
from when were foreign workers recruited from occupied areas
june 1940-42
how did the invasion of the USSR effect foreign labour
October 1941 hitler agreed that Russian prisioners could be used to slave labour
whos Sauckel
established the general for labour allocation to organise control over procurement of foreign workers
he transported 2.8 million workers from western eurpose between 1942-45
by 1944 how many foreign workers were there
7 million
what were the conditions like for foreign workers
harsh, lower wages, poor living conditions and harsh disapline
describe the Wannasee conference
20th april 1942, it was the key moment in the implementation of systematic murder
it was supposed to be Dec 1941 but was postponed by pearl harbour and soviet-counter defense
the meeting included 15 high ranking Nazis, excluding hitler and Himmler
heydrich led the meeting on receiving orders from goering to organise the ‘final solution’
the meeting determined the Jews fate, no longer were they set to vague destinations in Poland but specific camp areas. this was to coordinate and accelerate mass killings
describe the responsibility of the holocaust?
internationalists- it is viewed that the holocaust was hitlers war against the Jews, without hitler it would’ve of happened
structuralist- the final solution involved more than one men, industrialised murder on such a large scale requires actions and decisions by many Nazi leaders. millions of ordinary germans were involved in persecution, deportation and killings. the regime had many overlapping rivals competing for hitlers approval. many people share responsibility
after the defeat at starlingard 1943 what was goebbels response?
autum- ‘total war’ speech followed by huge anti-sematic propaganda
after bomb raids and USSR winning what was the response
spring- anti-semantic propaganda
after D-day what was the response
summer- speeches and articles on destruction of Jews
after 1944 with inevitable defeat what was the repsonse
accelerated ‘final solution’
what was the public opinion of concentration camps
some approved but some feared
when did death camps come into operation and what was the first one and how many people died here?
1941, chelmo first established in poland, 145,000 died
give some other examples of death camps other than Auschwitz and chelmo and there death number
majdanek, first a CC 1940 and then DC 1941, 200,000, 60% Jews
belzec labour camp turned death camps 1942 half a million Jews died here
sobibor and treblinka
when did auschwitz become the main hub of killing? describe auschwitz
1943/44
auschwitz I active army base
auschwitz II arrival centre where gas chamber and crematoria was
auschwitz III industrial complex
describe resistance to the holocaust
partisan fighters, deep in the forest and created sabotage. in general government Hans Frank
what were the death marches?
from 1944 as german forces pulled back the regime carried out a frantic program of evacuation and forced marches.
camps were hurriedly closed down and inmates sent on long marches
the marches caused suffering and death, 250,000-400,000 died on these marches mostly women
marches were carrried out in winter and most people had no shoes. if they didnt keep up they were shot
describe the events of 1945
the soviet forces libertated auschwitz Jan, the final solution was never completed
germany had surrendered and hitler had killed himseld
when did soviet forces invade germany
nov 1944
what were the 2 groups of resisting youth?
edelweiss pirates
swinging youth
how did the edelweiss pirates resist
they were anti-hitler and tried to avoid conscription.
they ‘hated all disapline and thereby placed themseves in direct opposition of the community
they opposed the hitler youth by organising independent expeditions and singing banned sangs in the hitler youth
during the war there was increased clashes between the HJ and edelweiss prates
how did the regime break up the resistance of the edelweiss pirates
the gestapo and HJ arrested and shaved the heads of the pirates and banished them to labour camps
in 7th dec 1942 28 groups were broken uo and nov 1944 leaders were hanged
describe the swing youth as a resistance group
they were motivated by there desire to have a good time.
they directly opposed the regime by listening to american and british swing music
the nazi referred to swing music as negro music
they werent overtly political or attempting to overthrow the regime, but they did directly oppose the attitudes of the regime
what was the resistant group for students called, how did they resist
white rose group
they were more political and was led by Hans and Sophie Schole, its main target was uneductated middle class
they believe in personal freedom, this led to them attacking the treatment of the Jews
they issued pamphlets and painted ‘Hitler mass murder’ slogans
they were eventually caught by the gestapo and executed
describe the opposition of churches to the euthinasia program
bishop Galen, his protest influenced other christians to speak out which temporarily halted the program.
galen survived but 3 other priests were exeuted
what religious group were the only ones to openly speak out about the treatment of the Jews?
protestants
describe Bonhoeffer’s opposition
he opposed the regime since 1933 and called for a wider resistance to the treatment of the Jews
however he was banned from public speaking and therefore couldnt influence wider germany
bonhoeffer become involved with the elties in 1939, he had contacts abroad. however he was executed 1945
why wasnt the communist resistance as effective
because the nazi-soviet pact undermined their opposition, the KPD struggled to justify the arrangment
the gestapo had considerable success in destroying underground cells. by 1942 22 cells had been destroyed
what were the communiests main way of spreading idea
leaflets attacking the regime
what was some of the reasons why the elites rebeled?
deep moral conviction that the regime was evil
acting out of patriotism and the belief that Hitler was leading germany to destruction
traditional conservatives who wanted to return to an authortarian non-nazi gov
who was apart of the Kreisau circle and what was it
von moltke and bonhoeffer, they believed in personal freedom. however they were broken up by the gestapo in 1943
when was the first plot to overthrow hitler
1938
why did the elites decide their only option was to assasinate hitler
general beck and goerdeler tried to persuade senior army generals to arrest hitler. they also made contact with the british gov through bonhoeffer, hoping for a commitment to negotiate peace if hitler was removed.
none of these moves were effective so they decided their only option was to assasinate hitler
when was the first assasination attempt planned and what did it involve
march 1943
a bomb was placed on hitlers plane but it failed to explode.
the plot wasnt discovered but bonhoeffer and members of the Kreisau circle were arrested april by the gestpo
who and what did the assassination attempt of 1944 involve
von stauffemberg joined, he succeeded in planting a bomb in Hitler headquaters
plans were made for a military coup if Hitler was assassinated, a gov consisted of conservatives SPD nd non party members would tried to negotiate peace with allies
the bomb exploded but hitler escaped
what happened as a result of the failed assassination in 1944
himmler was plaved in charge of rounding up conspirators. they arrested 7000 and executed 5746
beck commited suicide and von stauffemberg was shot
what was germanys views on the assassination
many ordinary germans gave very little sympathy. the plotters were viewed as traitors
