Impact Of War And Defeat, 1939-1949

Question 1

Who was armaments minister between 1939-42:

Answer 1

Fritz Todt

Question 2

Successes of economic policy under Todt:

Answer 2

Military expenditure x2 (but GB x3)

55% of the workforce in war-related projects

Question 3

Failures of economic policy under Todt:

Answer 3

Aircraft production trebled in GB but rose by less than 25% in Germany

War started prematurely, before many projects from 4 year plan were due to be complete (many were not expected to be complete until 1942-3 when GER was already at war with USA and USSR.

Armed forces determined to have very best specifications possible so drive for quality was pursued at the expense of quantity

Autarky failed: attempts to produce oil and rubber artificially failed

Question 4

Who was armaments minister between 1942-1945:

Answer 4

Albert Speer

Question 5

Successes of economic policy under Speer:

Answer 5

‘Production miracle’ - Overy

Central planning board established for greater oversight - armed forces had to submit requests to him

Concentration camp labour extended and female labour encouraged

Streamlined production to avoid anything not essential for the war effort

Question 6

Failures of Speer’s economic policy:

Answer 6

Germany did not start to mobilise her full potential for war production until after Stalingrad (1943) when it was already to late

Allied bombing had a significant impact but as Overy suggests, it placed a ceiling on production: without it GER may well have been able to out produce GB

Question 7

Successes of the German Economy’s mobilisation for war:

Answer 7

Food rationing was introduced from the very start of the war

By 1941, 55% of the workforce was involved in war related projects

Arms production trebled 1941-44 despite increasingly heavy bombing

German aircraft production overtook British in 1944

Question 8

Failures of how the German Economy mobilised for war:

Answer 8

Quantity was sacrificed to quality as army, navy and Luftwaffe insisted on best weapons

Germany lacked own supplies of vital raw materials like oil and rubber and efforts to produce them artificially had only limited success

In 1944, Germany produced 1/3 fewer tanks than would have done if there had been no bombing

Question 9

Racial policy before the war:

Answer 9

1933 Boycott of Jewish shops

1935 Nuremberg laws

1938 Kristallnacht

1938-39 Forced emigration

Question 10

Racial policy after the outbreak of war:

Answer 10

Outbreak of WW2 1939: invasion of Poland meant 2 million more Jews

Victory over France 1940: focus on emigration through Madagascar plan, blocked by Royal Navy

Operation Barbarossa June 1941: Another 3 million Jews

Wannsee Conference 1942: planned murder of European Jews

Question 11

Intentionalism:

Answer 11

Holocaust happened because Hitler wanted it to (it was intended from the start)

Question 12

Structuralism:

Answer 12

Happened because of changing circumstances, radicalisation as a result of Nazi structures, and Hitler left most of the details to others e.g. Himmler

Question 13

Opposition groups:

Communist cells

Answer 13

Red Orchestra survived into the war years but they were small and isolated and the red orchestra was crushed in 1942

Question 14

Opposition groups:

Individual Christian opponents

Answer 14

Spoke out more during the war e.g. Bonhoeffer and Galen but churches as institutions remained silent

Question 15

Opposition groups:

White Rose Group

Answer 15

Motivated by genuine outrage at Nazi atrocities, but were isolated and their protest short lived

Question 16

Opposition groups:

Kreisau Circle

Answer 16

Influential and planned to assassinate Hitler but were divided about aims and tactics and lacked popular support

Question 17

Opposition groups:

Stauffenberg

Answer 17

Had support from the army officers but was crushed

Question 18

Why did Germany lose the war?

Answer 18

Hitlers strategic bungling

Germany was not fully prepared for war

Failure to defeat the USSR by the winter of 1941 and the entry of the USA into the war tipped the balance

Four Year Plan of 1936

Us economy was simply to powerful

Soviet economy had undergone a ruthless industrialised programme

Question 19

Why was Germany divided by 1949:

Answer 19

Economic reasons - West wanted to revive German economy but East wanted to take reparations + build a communist economy

Role of the USSR - USSR ended cooperation in Germany be giving control to the SED party, creating a puppet state. West feared trying to spread communism

Political developments - western and soviet zones went down different political routes - west had a multi-party democracy, Soviets had communist governments under the SED

Role of the West - USA became aggressive towards the USSR encouraging division for example Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan

Berlin Blockade -

Decisions made at wartime conferences

Question 20

Western aims of the wartime conferences:

Answer 20

We’re keen to avoid crippling Germany’s economy as they wanted a strong trading partner

Wanted to ensure Germany was democratic

Prevent conflict - avoid over harsh treatment

Denazification - prevent Nazi ideology from continuing

Demilitarisation - prevent Germany from having weapons in order to reduce threat of another war

Wanted Germany to act like a “bulwark” a barrier to the spread of communism

Question 21

Soviet aims of the wartime conferences:

Answer 21

Wanted to cripple the German economy in order to ensure they would not have enough money for another attack

Wanted to take territory from Germany in order to give themselves a buffer zone against further attacks

We’re keen to spread communism

Wanted severe reparations

Keen to gain security

Question 22

Tehran Conference:

Answer 22

December 1943

Main aim was to determine military strategy for the final phase of the war

Question 23

Yalta conference:

Answer 23

February 1945

Agreed by USSR, USA and GB, 3 months before Germany surrendered, that the Oder-Neisse Line along the rivers Oder Neisse should become Germany’s eastern frontier -

meant that Pomerania and Silesia were given to Poland and East Prussia was divided so that the Northern part was given to USSR + southern part to Poland

Germany lost 25% of her territory, twice as much as in the TOV, and 8 million Germans living in Eastern provinces were forcibly expelled

Question 24

Potsdam conference:

Answer 24

July 1945

American, British and Soviet heads of government met to discuss Germany’s fate

USA = Harry Truman 
Britain = Winston Churchill then Atlee 
USSR = Stalin

Question 25

What was agreed at Potsdam:

Answer 25

All of Germany east of the Oder Neisse line would be given to Poland or USSR

Rest of Germany would be divided into 4 zones of occupation: Soviet, US, British and French

Berlin would be divided in the same way despite being completely surrounded by Soviet zone

Division intended to be temporary

4Ds: denazified, democratised, demilitarised, and de cartelised

Economy should be administered as one unit but each occupying authority should take reparations from their own zone of occupation

Question 26

Key facts about the division:

Answer 26

4 occupation zones 1945-49

Berlin in soviet zone but divided into 4 sectors

Emerging differences in political and economic structures in Soviet zone compared to West b/c of attitude towards Germany and differing ideology

Truman Doctrine 1946 and Marshall Plan 1947

Introduction of DM 1948

Berlin Blockade, 1948-49

FRG Formed May 1949, GDR formed October 1949