Effects Of WW2 On Civilians

Question 1

How did the general German population respond to the outbreak of WW2?

Answer 1

They were reluctantly loyal to Hitler, there wasn’t much enthusiasm compared to Hitler’s expectations at the start of the war. Hitler was concerned as one of the Nazi’s main aims was to sustain morale of the home front and eliminate any defeatist mindsets in public mood

Question 2

What were the main Nazi methods of maintaining morale?

Answer 2

. Availability of rationing
. Propaganda

Question 3

How were Nazis aware of the importance of sufficient rationing for WW2?

Answer 3

During WW1, the inadequacy of rationing system was one of the main reasons for war weariness that led the Kaiser’s government to a downwards spiral into defeat

Question 4

When did Nazi food rationing start?

Answer 4

Decrees establishing a food rationing system issued in august 1939, before war even began

Question 5

What wasn’t included in the original rationing system in august 1939?

Answer 5

Clothing, but permits were needed to purchase clothes, leading to panic buying before the regulations took effect so people could have sufficient clothing
- this meant the rationing scheme was adapted in November 1939 to include clothing

Question 6

Was the allocation of Nazi food rations equal for everyone?

Answer 6

No, depended on age, occupation and race:
. Those employed in manual labour got more than those in sedentary occupations (due to having to exert more effort)
. Jews received smaller rations
. Special allocations for groups such as pregnant women, nursing mothers and the sick

Question 7

How consistent were Nazi allocation of rationing during the start of the war and why?

Answer 7

Pretty consistent, remained largely unchanged during the first two years of wars
- this was because the Nazis didn’t want to ramp up rations too quickly out of a fear of anti-war feelings growing

Question 8

What were the food ration allowances in august 1939?

Answer 8

Per week:
. 500g meat
. 125g butter
. 1 egg
. 100g margarine
. 250g sugar

Question 9

How intense was Nazi rationing compared to other powers during WW2?

Answer 9

Civilian consumption cut more in Germany than Britain at start of war

Question 10

How was the Nazi rationing system from 1939-41 generally efficient and without much food shortages?

Answer 10

. All of Germany’s bloodless victories meant these newly occupied countries could be exploited for food supplies for Germans.
. While Nazi-soviet pact was in place, Germany received imports of grain from Soviet Union

However, there was some discontent from time to time over shortages of coal, shoes, soap etc

Question 11

Why was there some growing irritation over shortages in Germany by 1940?

Answer 11

It felt as though everybody was starving for Hitler and his henchmen as rations were unequally distributed with upper-class Germans living a reasonably lavish lifestyle

Question 12

When were some of the food rations reduced?

Answer 12

June 1941 after invasion of Soviet Union:
. Meat ration cut from 500g per week to 400g per week

Question 13

What was the state of food supplies by the end of the war?

Answer 13

. Became very precarious and unpredictable, especially in industrial cities, many Germans experienced malnutrition
. In countryside, farmers had access to food they could grow themselves but experienced shortages of animal feed, fuel and replacement tools that were needed to actually produce the food

Question 14

How was the public mood and effectiveness of propaganda monitored?

Answer 14

SD reports and Gestapo

Question 15

What are the four phases of WW2?

Answer 15

. Phase 1: Blitzkrieg (Sept 1939-June 1941)
. Phase 2: the spreading war (June 1941-December 1941)
. Phase 3: turning of the tide (Jan 1942-Jan 1943)
. Phase 4: ‘Total war’ and the defeat of Germany (Feb 1943-May1945)

Question 16

What are the dates of the first phase of the war where Germany steamrolls through most of Western Europe?

Answer 16

. September 1939 - Poland falls
. April 9 1940 - Denmark surrenders straight away
. June 9th 1940 - Norway falls
. May 10th 1940 - Luxembourg occupied
. 14 May 1940 - Netherlands surrenders
. 28th May 1940 - Belgium surrenders
. June 22 1940 - France surrenders

Question 17

What are the features of phase 2: the spreading of war?

Answer 17

. Germany experiences more success in Blitzkrieg victories in summer months
. Hitler wrongly believes they simply need to invade the USSR and it will immediately collapse
- by winter 1941, Wehrmacht stalled in winter conditions of ussr (unprepared)
- temperature close to Moscow got as low as -10
. December 1941 - USA enters war

Question 18

What are some features of phase 3: the turning of the tide?

Answer 18

. USSR launches huge counter offensive
. German losses mount as soldiers Erich due to cold and illness
. Battle of Stalingrad decimated Germans and now there is little hope for Germans
- Hitler mistake: didn’t allow retreat of the 6th army during Stalingrad even though it could have been withdrawn and easily saved
. Around 1 million casualties during battle of Stalingrad

Question 19

When was the battle of Stalingrad?

Answer 19

August 1942-February 1943

Question 20

What were the actions of the German government in the first phase of the war?

Answer 20

. Propaganda:Hitler presented as military genius who was responsible for the victories (Hitler myth)
- his speeches were broadcast on the radio and were important for morale
. Jan 1940-June 1941: Hitler made 9 major speeches, leading to optimism and belief that war would be over soon
. Newsreels heavily edited

Question 21

What was the public mood during the first phase of the war?

Answer 21

Generally celebration over the bloodless victories, although this period was volatile as society changed and propaganda wasn’t always effective in lifting morale

Question 22

What were the actions of the German government in the second phase of WW2?

Answer 22

. USSR invasion presented as a ‘crusade against Jewish Bolshevism’
. Jews portrayed as being behind the allies
- setting up war of racial annihilation
. Propaganda downplayed effectiveness of soviet success
. Marked increase in anti-Semitic propaganda
- scapegoats needed to explain spreading f war, as Germany declared war on USA: it claimed that a Jewish international conspiracy to destroy the third Reich was behind the allied efforts

Question 23

What was public mood like during the second phase of WW2?

Answer 23

. Optimism after initially pushing back red army
. Fears grew that war would go on for years
. Letters home from soldiers undermined propaganda as harsh winter conditions and seemingly limitless soviet supply of manpower and equipment was exposed
- hopes of quick and easy victory gone

Question 24

What were the actions of the German government in the third phase of the war?

Answer 24

. Goebbels broadcast an appeal for people to collect winter clothings for soldiers on eastern front
. Goebbels had built up unrealistic expectations of Nazi victory and concealed truth about desperate situation of German forces there

Question 25

What was public mood like in the third phase of the war?

Answer 25

. Rising casualties and letters home awakened civilians to the reality of war . Mood of disillusionment deepened as Goebbel’s exposed winter conditions in appealing for collection of winter clothing . Scepticism of propaganda showed faith in regime fading, Hitler myth lost some potency . Stalingrad was a defeat for propaganda as well as forces . War weariness grew . However, there was some strong patriotic feeling and willingness to endure hardship as German aimed to gear for total war, but too late

Question 26

What is a total war?

Answer 26

A conflict in which a combatant state mobilises its entire population and all of its material resources to participate in the war effort

Question 27

When was Goebbel’s total war speech and what was the impact of it?

Answer 27

At sports palace in Berlin in February 1943 - calls for radical measures to mobilise the population and the economy were generally welcomed - the main criticism was that the measures were introduced too late Goebbel’s charisma in this speech brought life back into the German’s to try and kill of defeatist mindsets coming out of Stalingrad etc.

Question 28

Why did the Hitler myth decline by the fourth phase of WW2?

Answer 28

. Hitler couldn’t be portrayed as a military genius after Stalingrad . Hitler appeared less frequently in public so wasn’t able to keep up the spirit of the Fuhrer

Question 29

How did the first bombing raids on Germany change Germany’s view on the outcome of the war?

Answer 29

Before the bombing, hitler believed Britain would see their position as hopeless after Germany took pretty much of all of Europe and would negotiate with Germany - now that direct attacks were on Berlin through this bombing, this view was challenged and morale dropped as German’s weren’t convinced of having a strong position in the war

Question 30

How did the German population react to the first bombing raids over Berlin?

Answer 30

. Many people didn’t go to air raid shelters, assuming they were false alarms . Little physical damage was done but the Germans were alarmed after their victorious start to the war by 1940

Question 31

When were the first civilian deaths from bombing in Berlin during WW2 and how did the Nazi press react?

Answer 31

28th august 1940: 12 killed - Nazi press portrayed these RAF attacks as ‘acts of terrorism’ to fuel a hatred against the bombing to keep fighting rather than allowing the deaths to reduce morale

Question 32

What were the two objectives of the RAF in their bombing campaign on Germany?

Answer 32

1. Destroy German economy and infrastructure (wasn’t very successful thanks to Speer etc.) 2. Break civilian morale (became the main focus of the bombing campaign) They believed a long term bombing strategy could wear the enemy down and decrease their ability to fight on

Question 33

Where were the main bombing raids later into 1940?

Answer 33

In Hamburg as it was west of the Rhine and easier to reach than Berlin

Question 34

How bad had the bombing raids in Hamburg gotten by mid-1942?

Answer 34

. Over 1400 had been killed and 24k made homeless when the cities population was 2 million

Question 35

How did it become clear to the Germans that the allied bombing raids could produce huge damage, concerning the morale of the Germans?

Answer 35

30th May 1942 - first ever 1000 bomber raid in cologne destroyed/damaged 12.5k houses

Question 36

How did the allies decide to continue the war around January 1943?

Answer 36

Stalin demanded a second front in Europe and an allied cross channel invasion of France in 1943 - Churchill didn’t think this would be successful so Britain and America instead hugely escalated the air war over Germany in an operation called the combined bombing offensive

Question 37

When did the allied bombing raid on Germany start?

Answer 37

March 1942 on Lubeck

Question 38

How was the allied bombing campaign coordinated?

Answer 38

RAF bombed by night and USAAF (USA bombers) attacked by day, 1000 at a time

Question 39

Where was a high concentration of allied bombing?

Answer 39

industrial areas such as Rhineland and Ruhr

Question 40

What was surprising about morale at the start of the bombing campaign?

Answer 40

Generally the regime kept support, SD reports on Lubeck highlight the composure of the population there - however, these reports are probably twisted to the true experiences of individuals who experienced the bombing first-hand

Question 41

How did the Nazi regime classify those who dropped in morale during the war?

Answer 41

as 'defeatists': any remark critical of nazi leadership or loss of faith in Germany to win war

Question 42

How did Goebbels try and keep up morale in the face of allied bombing?

Answer 42

. talked of secret wonder weapons that were being developed

Question 43

Were the aims of the allied bombing raid successful?

Answer 43

Not really, even though the raids did eventually exhaust germans and war-weariness grew, workers continued to go to work and production was shockingly maintained at least until the end of 1944