The impact of war and defeat on Germany: 1939–1949 Flashcards

Question

the german people | causes of the holocaust

Answer 1

1. 'Hitler’s Willing Executioners’ (Goldhagen) – active acquiescence with & participation in anti-semitic views & policies. ***Or*** 2. Acceptance – through conformity & apathy & effectiveness of the propaganda Inability to prevent it Unawareness of it

Answer 2

By the Red Army pushing back. July 1944 – Soviet troops liberated Majdanek Oct 1944 – the last use of gas chambers at Auschwitz Nov 1944 – death marches – the Nazis forced 25,000 Jews to walk over 100 miles in rain and snow from Budapest to the Austrian border. Himmler ordered the destruction of the crematoria at Auschwitz. Early 1945 – more death marches as allies advanced 27th Jan 1945 – Soviet troops liberated Auschwitz (Holocaust Memorial Day)

Answer 3

1936 remilitarisation of the Rhineland March 1938 Anschluss with Austria Sept 1938 Chamberlain “Peace in our time” - Munich Sept 1938 Sudetenland March 1939 invasion of Czechslovakia August 1939 Nazi-Soviet Pact 1st September invasion of Poland 3rd September UK & France declare war

Answer 4

Won support at home June 1941 – Operation Barbarossa – the invasion of the USSR

Answer 5

Turning Point 1942/43 German advance was halted at the Battle of Stalingrad Germans had over-reached Losses in north Africa Allied bombing campaign began - > Germany itself was affected

Answer 6

Most of the effects of WW2 were felt by civilians. Soldiers were only really involved at the beginning and end of the war 7.5 million foreign forced labour in Germany by the end of the war (21% of the workforce) Germany in ruins. Berlin had 40,000 tons of shells dropped on it. Humiliation of defeat. Homelessness (from the bombing campaign) Refugees Economic ruin of the state Social problems: High number of deaths (7 million); effects of wounds, loss, psychological damage, missing, bereaved; fear and anxiety, trying to adjust to peace. Trauma of women in the East (1 in 3 raped by Soviet soldiers) Damage to cultural heritage

Answer 7

30 million people displaced by WW2 in Europe At the end of the war they tried to return home – resettled Germans fleeing the advancing Russians, forced labourers returning to Eastern Europe and concentration camp victims trying to find relatives and retrieve their belongings $10 billion was spent on repatriating the refugees and displaced persons between 1945 and 1947 Priority went to citizens of states of the Allies, then Italians and Germans and its collaborators

Answer 8

20% of housing had been destroyed Another 30% badly damaged Berlin, Hamburg and Dresden were significantly worse -> housing crisis Food and fuel shortages

Answer 9

Infrastructure had broken down Massive state debt Rising inflation -> growth in wartime black market BUT Civil service still existed Well-established banking system remained Germany’s established industrial base could recover

Answer 10

The German government had collapsed with the death of Hitler. Admiral Dönitz signed the unconditional surrender on 8th May 1945. The German state had ceased to exist. The Allies took over control of Germany.

Answer 11

How should Germany’s political system be rebuilt? How should the Nazis and the threat of Nazism be dealt with? How should militarism be contained? How should the German economy be rebuilt? What do you think the Allies aims might have been?

Answer 12

The initial aim had not been division. However the challenges faced by the Allied occupation and the wider international context of the Cold War caused Germany to be divided. Germany was divided into zones, with each of the main allies taking responsibility for the administration of the areas they had liberated. These zones were largely determined by where the allies had reached by the end of the war. In these zones, the allies took responsibility for law and order, food, housing and the economy But divisions grew over how these zones were administered and eventually they became so great as to prevent the merging of the zones back into a united Germany.

Answer 13

Traditional western view – USSR was to blame (due to their actions and aims) Newer view – unity would be difficult to maintain once the common enemy was defeated due to the ideological differences between the allies. The western allies should have been more understanding of Russia’s needs and interests.

Answer 14

The Grand Alliance was already under strain before the end of the war Stalin had been pressing for the opening of a second front in western Europe since 1942 and was becoming increasingly impatient as the war dragged on. The defeat of the common enemy, Germany, removed the only thing the allies had in common The capitalist and democratic West despised the communist and authoritarian Soviet Union The Soviet Union had been an outcast nation since the October Revolution in 1917. And the Russians had responded by isolating themselves, promoting Communist activities in other countries and pursuing a hostile foreign policy.

Answer 15

Joined the ‘Grand Alliance’ first with Britain then the US after the German invasion of the USSR, June 1941 The USSR then bore the brunt of the war against Fascism from June 1941 to June 1944 losing 27 million people Stalin requested a second front to be opened up by the US and Britain in 1942 and 1943….. In an effort to appease Stalin and keep him in the war Churchill had promised land to the USSR (in a meeting at Tehran 1943) in which the borders of Poland would be moved And Churchill and Stalin agreed on some ‘spheres of influences’ in post-war Europe (in a meeting in Moscow 1944) – the Percentages Agreement

Answer 16

Fear of Germany – had been invaded twice by Germany through Poland – so wanted a weak Germany and a series of buffer states between it and Germany Reparations = financial revenge

Answer 17

Viewed the occupation of eastern Europe as communist expansionism, and the next stage of the ‘world revolution’ Wanted German recovery – wanted a trading partner and did not want a breeding ground for communism

Answer 18

Had agreed at Yalta that once Hitler had been defeated, Germany and Berlin would be divided into four zones. But by the time they met at Potsdam, the Red Army was already established in Eastern Europe, which gave the Soviets a strong negotiating position. Just as the Potsdam Conference began, the Americans tested the atom bomb (why had they not shared this information with their ally? Who was it really designed to intimidate?) Roosevelt had died in April. Truman was less experienced in foreign affairs. Right at the start of the conference there was a General Election in Britain. And Churchill lost! Had to go home and was replaced by Attlee. After Yalta the USSR was supposed to be supervising free and fair elections in Poland…. That had not happened…..

Answer 19

Joint Allied Control under the Allied Control Council (ACC). zones of occupation The reality was that when a unanimous decision could not be reached, each military governor implemented their own decision. ** 4 Ds Demilitarisation Denazification Decentralisation Democratisation** But there were divergent approaches

Answer 20

When Germany had surrendered, its army had been disbanded. Now there was no German government it would not be possible for it to have an independent military force. Occupation armies stationed there.

Answer 21

***Nuremberg Trials*** November 1945 to October 1946 Some had already committed suicide Some not found 22 brought to trial 11 sentenced to death But then diverged in their approach

Answer 22

5000 brought to trial after this BUT what about the 8 million who had joined the Nazi Party???? Were let off with a questionnaire Why? Impractical to bring to trial / dismiss all teachers, civil servants, administrators etc

Answer 23

Thousands interred in concentration camps (e.g.,Sachsenhausen) Thousands dismissed Why? It was an ideological question. The stamping out of Fascism and all Right-Wing thinking, of which Nazism was merely the worst form. And their economic policy completed this

Answer 24

The Communists, led by Walter Ulbricht, arrived back in Berlin in April 1945 June – SMAD issued Order No 2, which allowed the formation of political parties (KPD, SPD plus various liberal parties, CDU, a Peasant Party, and a more RW party) 1946 the KPD and SPD were forcibly merged into the SED. By 1948 the SED took control of all the parties in an ‘anti-Fascist bloc’ – the National Front for Democratic Germany

Answer 25

Re-emergence of political parties – from the ground up (including **KPD**, **SPD**, FDP, **CDU**/CSU, SRP. NPD, DP, BHE….) Elections were held – starting at a local level Slow steps towards rebuilding democracy

Answer 26

The SED increasingly established itself and got the anti-Fascist bloc to agree that state control and economic intervention was essential. Took control of education and key government appointments Free expression was severely limited and political dissent restrained By 1948/49 democracy was formally abandoned and the SED announced itself as a Marxist-Leninist party, and established mass communist organisations for the youth, women and unions in the Soviet zone.

Answer 27

Demilitarisation Denazification Decentralisation Democratisation

Answer 28

US and British were keen to rebuild Germany; France was not.

Answer 29

In Communist thinking, Nazism was merely the worst form of capitalism, and therefore capitalism must be abolished. Break-up of large agricultural estates The takeover of banks and factories Factories dismantled and taken to the USSR as reparations The Soviet zone had fewer industrial resources and so they would receive an extra 25% of reparations from the British and American zones. Keen to strip their zone of assets and willing to have a weak Germany

Answer 30

The Hunger Winter 1946/47 (food shortages in Germany) Britain had to introduce rationing at home in order to fund its zone Britain also could not keep up with payments of the reparations to the Soviets So Britain and America merged their zones to form Bizonia in January 1947 France joined in 1948 to form Trizonia (the reality was a western economic system…..)

Answer 31

The West saw the establishment of a communist political and economic system in the Soviet zone as evidence of Stalin’s desire for world revolution. The USA saw opportunities to gain from a greater involvement in European affairs. Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech, March 1946 Truman made a speech in March 1947 which laid the foundations for The Truman Doctrine It pledged that the US would protect democratic governments against Communist influence – a policy of Communist containment Concern about economic problems in European countries and how this might provide a breeding ground for Communism, especially as Communist parties were popular in France, Italy and Greece (Greek Civil War) This led to the Marshall Plan - $13 billion American aid to Europe (European Recovery Programme) Aid was also offered to the Soviet Union and countries under its influence but it was rejected as ‘dollar diplomacy’ because of all the conditions attached.

Answer 32

Had become devalued because the Soviet zone had printed so much A drop in food and industrial production made it worse Danger of inflation at 1923 levels Black market grew

Answer 33

Introduced the Deutsche mark (June 1948) without consulting or seeking agreement from the Russians It was a great success - industrial production grew, raised morale, a strong well-established economy in the three western zones

Answer 34

Refused to introduce the new currency in their zone – believed it was designed to undermine their zone. Within days, the Soviets, brought in their own currency, the East German mark. AND sought to cut off West Berlin from the rest of Germany

Answer 35

June 1948 - May 1949

Answer 36

June 1948 – May 1949 (321 days) Stalin blocked the road and rail access to West Berlin Aim: to starve West Berlin and force its merger into the Soviet zone Provoked by what the Soviet Union saw as the aggressive policies of the USA, especially on Marshall Aid

Answer 37

The western allies were determined to resist the spread of Communism – even if it resulted in the division of Germany Vital to prevent the absorption of West Berlin into the Eastern sector because of the city’s position inside the Soviet zone For the West it was useful to have an outpost in the communist sea The first direct clash between west and east, so it was a test of nerves The west feared, and the Soviet Union hoped, that if it took control of the whole of Berlin it would be the start of a Soviet takeover of the whole of Germany So the Western allies organised an airlift of food and fuel to the city One plane took off every 4 minutes. At its peak – one per minute!!! The only way the airlift could be stopped was for the Soviet Union to shoot down the planes and risk World War Three, which it was not prepared to do In the end, Stalin backed down.

Answer 38

Stalin realised that the resolve of the West was much greater than he had expected Support for the West Berliners had done much to raise morale there It had increased integration between Germans in the western zones and the Western Powers – no longer the enemy It sealed the division of Germany

Answer 39

The West were discussing not whether but when a division should occur Began working on a new constitution for a democratically elected government of a new West German state, the Federal Republic of Germany The constitution was adopted in May 1949 and in August the elections took place October 1949 – the Soviet zone became the GDR

Answer 40

Decrees for war production By 1941 55% of the workforce worked on war-related projects Low production of consumer goods ‘Rationalisation Decree’ Dec 1941 – to reform the economy and eliminate waste (committees responsible for particular types of weapon or equipment)

Answer 41

to reform the economy and eliminate waste (committees responsible for particular types of weapon or equipment)

Answer 42

Desperate need for tanks and ammunition

Answer 43

Small increases in production of planes and tanks.

Answer 44

Armaments production remained low Planes did increase from 8000, but only to 10,500 in June 1941 Low increase in tank production too. Inefficiency and poor coordination, partly due to the war beginning too early, and partly due to the polycratic nature of the state Not ready for the invasion of the USSR. Labour shortage: 24.5m in 1939 down to 20 m by 1940 (away fighting) Used foreign workers from occupied Europe, but had to be heavily policed. By September 1939 women made up over 37% of the workforce Percentage of GDP spent on the military was much higher than Britain in 1937 and 1938, but much lower in 1939, 1940 and 1941.

Answer 45

In 1939 some food, and all clothes were rationed (until 1943 when there was no clothes manufacturing at all!!!) Soap, toilet paper, hot water, sweets were also rationed Very limited amount of meat and dairy

Answer 46

Shared out the resources and freed up resources for the military. The German population did not feel the worst effects until 1944.

Answer 47

As defeat became more likely, government became more chaotic. Ration cards were no longer honoured. People had to rely on the black market.

Answer 48

February 1942 Albert Speer was appointed Minister of Armaments. Central Planning Board April 1942 with a range of committees. Use of concentration camp prisoners as workers Employing women in armaments factories Ending conscription of skilled workers into the armed forces Eliminating the production of everything that did not contribute to the war (e.g., clothes, professional sports, magazines…) February 1943 – Goebbels called for total war (due to surrender at Stalingrad)

Answer 49

To sustain a war on multiple fronts Total commitment of all human and material resources in the nation to waging war

Answer 50

First 6 months in office tank production rose by 25%, ammunition by 97%. Total arms production by 59% By August 1944 a threefold increase in war materials when compared with 1942.

Answer 51

But could have produced more: Gauleiters at local level prevented Speer’s orders from being carried out. SS exploited conquered land for their own gain rather than the benefit of the war economy. Conquered territories were plundered rather than exploited impact of Allied bombing prevented further arms production Failure at Stalingrad – faced with fierce Soviet resistance, a lack of supplies and bitter winter conditions 1942/43. (this also marked the failure of German attempts to win the Caucasus oil fields) Failure in North Africa

Answer 52

* Destroy industrial targets * Bring down morale * Revenge for bombing of the UK

Answer 53

* **Air raids** on German industrial targets began in ***1940*** (alongside the British policy of naval blockade). The immediate and dramatic effect of an air raid was good for morale at home in Britain. * By 1942 – bombing raids more frequent and intense * Germans were driven to leave the cities and move to rural areas which reduced available workforce 1. Hamburg, 1943 – caused a firestorm – killed 30,000 people 2. **Dresden**, February ***1945*** – killed **150,000** people and destroyed **70% of property ** 3. Total civilian deaths – ***600,000 ***

Answer 54

1. Some argue it had little impact on German economic production levels 2. Other argue prevented levels from rising further; there was industrial destruction, communications were disrupted. More effort had to be spent relocating sites underground instead of increasing production. There bombing was very significant in preventing the Nazis from achieving total war production

Answer 55

* Nazi **propaganda** continued to be important in ***maintaining morale. *** * BUT the problem was that the ***propaganda assured them that the superior German race would win*** the war which made it harder to understand all the bomb damage and led people to question whether Germany was really winning * So, the regime did acknowledge setbacks in the fighting, and these were used to rally the people and encourage them to greater efforts. * **Little evidence of a collapse in morale **(like Britain’s ‘blitz spirit’) * In fact, the ***shared suffering brought the Nazi Party and people together*** and made them defiant against the enemy * Goebbels gained popularity by visiting bombed areas (Hitler stayed away) As late as May 1945, most people were still willing to keep fighting to the bitter end * fear of what would happen to them as the Soviet troops advanced. 1. Would they be the victims of revenge 2. fear of the consequences of the racial policies towards the Jews – retribution 3. still shared Hitler’s vision of the future – the Thousand Year Reich * The last phase of the war **saw a rise of violence** – local Nazi officials killing many Germans who showed signs of wanting to surrender.*** Roving squads of SS executed suspected deserters. Death marches of concentration camp survivors. *** * BUT also signs that at the very end, **most became concerned with their own personal survival rather than fighting. ** Breakdown of government; no support for refugees and evacuees; and breakdown of the Hitler myth of invincibility.

The impact of war and defeat on Germany: 1939–1949 Flashcards

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