(U1) The impact of the war on Nazi Germany and the occupied territories in Eastern Europe 1939–45 (minus War Opposition) Flashcards
1
Q
What followed the German invasion of Poland? (3)
in the context of antisemetism
A
- Einzatsgruppen (formed as part of SS August 1939) followed German forces in Poland
- Goal to eliminate all anti-German elements
- Poland added 2 million Jews to Germany
2
Q
What happened to Poland after invasion? (3)
A
- Split with western part going to Germany and eastern part going to USSR
- Germany incorporated the polish corridor and Danzig (West Prussia), Cienchanow (Zichenau), Allenstein (Olstyn)
- Created General government of Poland under Hans Frank
3
Q
How did the first ghettos work?
and
Where was the first one established?
A
- Nazis used Ghettos to contain, isolate and alienate Jewish people
- First established April 1940 in Lodz with 160,000 Jews being housed there
- Residents forced to form Judenrats to govern ghettos
4
Q
What was the most infamous ghetto
A
- Warsaw ghetto first established 1939 but failed
- Judenrat constructed 2.2m wall around Jewish quarters March 1940
- 5km area had 500,000 Jewish people living there
- inhabitants given daily calorie intake of 300 15% of German ration
- combined over crowding and poor sanitation made ghetto breeding ground for disease
- Ghettos became what the Nazis had declared was their purpose. Conditions become perverse justification for their establishment
5
Q
What was the Nazis policy of Euthanasia
A
- policy of mercy killing
- economic reasons due to preservation of medical supplies
- Reich committee for the scientific registration of serious hereditary and congenitally based ailments
- began 1940 carried out in secret suspended after public pressure no small part due to Archbishop of Münster Von Galen
- Those involved transported east to work on Jewish question
6
Q
What was a key event that eventually led to the final solution
A
- Operation Barbarossa June 22nd 1941 key in Jewish policy
- SS launched an unprecedented attack on communists and jews
- This was a war to the death between two arch enemies
7
Q
What two orders drastically escalated the road to genocide
A
- 2nd July 1941 order to execute any jews not in service of the party
- 17th execute all Jews
8
Q
what signs showed the planning for genocide
A
- ban on Jewish emigration august 1941
- September jews forced to wear yellow star of David
- October transportation of Jews to the east
9
Q
What was the Wannsee conference
A
- Process of transportation accelerated late 1941
- Himmler commissioned to find most humane and efficient way to process Jewish people
- January 20th 1942 meeting held at Wannsee where ‘final solution for Jewish problem in Europe’ agreed a blueprint for genocide
10
Q
what followed Wannsee
A
- Genocide endorsed and justified
- death camps built ( Belzec, Chelmo, Sobibar, Treblinka and Auschwitz-Birkenau)
- used methods trialed during euthanasia programmes
- codename for genocide was ‘operation Reinhardt’
- planned genocide of first 2 million inhabitants of General government areas
11
Q
what was Auschwitz-Birkenau
A
- most infamous of all death camps
- became massive labour camp mid 1941
- Rudolf Hoess became commandant in summer 1941
- Came up with idea of using Zyklon B in gas chambers
- at peak 6,000 murdered every day
- after abandoned by Nazis inmates left to starve while some had to complete death marches back west
- liberated January 27th 1945
- 10 days after last roll call with 62,000 present only 2,000+ liberated
12
Q
how many died in the Holocaust
A
- 6,000,000
13
Q
why wasn’t the Nazi economy not built for long term war
A
- 4 year plan failed to create base for Germany to fight sustained war
- targets not met and dream of autarky left unfulfilled
- production synthetics expensive and draining
despite huge spending on weapons production was disappointing (Germany spent 6 billion USD US spent 3.5 billion USD but USA produced 50% more aircraft,100% more vehicles and similar amount of tanks)
14
Q
why did an earlier war hurt the German economy
A
- war not expected to break out this early for Nazis so spending concentrated on infrastructure rather than weapons which peak production was expected to be in 1941-42
- smaller producers were also incompetent and reluctant to change methods
- Goering was incapable of running an economy and only reported good news to Hitler
15
Q
why was armament supplies an issue for Germany during total war 1941-45
A
- By the summer of 1941 the German war economy was in a state of crisis.
- Armed forces demanded new weapons at a time when conscription took 6 million out of the labour force
- The key to overcoming these problems would be rationalisation of production.
December 1941 – Fuhrer Decree ‘Simplification and Increased Efficiency in Armaments Production.’
16
Q
Role of Todt and Speer for economy
A
- Todt, Minister for Armaments was killed in February 1942 but had set about rationalising the system set up Main Committees for production of particular weapons or equipment.
- replaced by Albert Speer who enjoyed good relations with and access to Hitler.
Speer also set up a liaison committee with Goebbels Propaganda Ministry to propagandise for armaments production. - January 1942 Fuhrer Command ‘Armament 42’ – another programme for huge increase in production.
- Speer persuaded Hitler to set up the Central Planning Board and a production miracle was achieved in the following years.
This board organised the allocation of raw materials - Industrialists were encouraged to rationalise production and use new management techniques and maximise their facilities
17
Q
why was the role of women in the war economy and issue
A
- women made up 37.4% of workforce in 1939 and poor training programmes for women led to resentment due to long hours and lower pay and eventually inefficient production as the training wasn’t enough
- tension in Nazi party around role of women in workforce as it was against Nazi ideology
- huge labour shortages filled partially y female labour and eventually conscription however 236,000 opted out due to family commitments which the Nazis allowed
18
Q
how was foreign labour used to lessen labour shortages
A
- Reich Labour Ministry was pushing for female labour conscription but it was unpopular and so they held back
- alternative Polish labour was used as were French POWs. By early 1941 shortages were acute again invasion of the USSR opened a huge pool of possible labour but so sure of victory were the Nazis that they continued with their policy of extermination
- the Labour Ministry and armed services pushed for deployment of Russian POWs. Many hadideological reservations (Himmler) whenSpeer took over at Munitions and Armaments in February 1942 large scaledeployment of Russian POWs and civilians occurred.
- move was facilitatedby FritzSauckelPlenipotentiary for Labour Mobilisation. Sauckel’sjob was tobring huge numbers to Germany for the Labour market and maximise theirproductivity.By November 1942 he had recruited 1.5million Russians
- Between 1943 and 1944 another 2.5 million foreign workers were recruited and by the end of 1944 there were 7 million in total. To improve morale and productivity Nazi ideology was moderated and propaganda like ‘Europe against Bolshevism’ was introduced.
- Western European workers were treatedbetter, receiving the same wages and rations as Germans. Italianworkers and the Russians and Poles were at the bottom of the pileand lived in conditions not much better than slave labour.
19
Q
what other ways were the labour shortages dealt with
A
- pressure placed on Wehrmacht as 150,000 lost replenished by only 50,000-60,000
- January 27th 1943 2 decrees passed (1) all men 16-65 not in military service and (2) all women 17-45 had to register for work
- 3 days later Reich commissioners given permission to close all non essential trade and businesses and assign their workers to new industries
20
Q
what other issues faced the German war economy
A
- Fuel supplies ration of 1:3 of allied forces
- Debt of 42 billion reichsmark
- Allied Bombing affecting industries and production and killed potential labour
- Rationing
- which was introduced in early days of war
- simple items like food, soap and toilet paper rationed
- rationing left population short of required/recommended caloric intake up until 1944
21
Q
what early victories did the Nazis achieve in the war
A
- gained control of Poland in 6 weeks having control of entire country by mid October 1939
- after 7 month phony war annexed Denmark and Norway by April 1940
- May 1940 Benelux fell under superior German military strength
- France falls quickly as well by June/July 1940
- huge impact on morale in Germany increased resources, wealth and manpower in Germany with little negatives for people in Germany at this stage
22
Q
how did the war affect rationing in Germany
A
- rationing began at start of war despite it not being needed from the start
- average ration of meat at start of war 700g per week but by end of war reduced to 250g
23
Q
how did evacuations escalate throughout the war in Germany
A
- evacuation of children decided from major cities as early as 1940
- evacuation called in Berlin but when bombings didn’t occur evacuations didn’t take place
- after tide of war changed evacuations commenced
- became compulsory in 1943 after aerial attacks on Hamburg
24
Q
how were people in Germany encouraged to join war effort
A
- population encouraged to assist Reich in war effort
- young people in Hitler youth central to this encouraged to collect scrap metal for recycling
- public parks and private gardens converted into vegetable gardens
- people encouraged to make do and mend rather than seek new items of clothing and furniture
- exchange centers open to exchange and provide replacement items
25
Q
how did working hours change throughout the war
A
49 hours in 1939 to 60 in 1945
26
Q
how did the air raids affect Germany
A
- initially allies restricted bombings to military and industrial targets
- allied bombers reached German soil May 30th 1942
- aftermath of allied bombing was scene of devastation
- Cologne attacked in first ‘thousand bomber raid’ Hamburg attacked July and August 1943
- causalities in between 110,000 and 150,000
- 75% Hamburg destroyed 1 million left homeless
- most of Dresden destroyed with another 150,000 being killed
- estimated 3.5 million killed in allied bombings
27
Q
what followed the total war speech
A
- total war speech by Goebbels February 1943 all economic activity focused on task of winning the war everything else ceased
- 1944 90% unmarried women in workplace
- Albert Speer increased working hours again
28
Q
what happened following the Nazis defeat
A
- May 1945 Germany surrendered and war in Europe ended
- German people left bemused and alienated
- their cities destroyed, economy in ruins and Nazis defeated
29
Q
What were the economic factors against Germany toward the end of the war?
A
- Failure the Four-Year Plan & lack of preparedness for sustained war
- Effects of Anglo-American bombing
- Labour shortages e.g. after conscription
- National debt growth to 42 bn RM
- Fuel ratio of US 1:3 of Germany
- Soviet resources outmatching Germany
30
Q
When was Operation Valkyrie?
Who was behind it?
A
- 20th July 1944
- Kreisau Circle, perpetrated by Claus von Stauffenberg
