(U1) The impact of the war on Nazi Germany and the occupied territories in Eastern Europe 1939–45 (minus War Opposition) Flashcards
(30 cards)
What followed the German invasion of Poland? (3)
in the context of antisemetism
- 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
What happened to Poland after invasion? (3)
- 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
How did the first ghettos work?
and
Where was the first one established?
- 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
When was the Warsaw Ghetto built?
How large was it?
What were conditions like
- first established 1939 but failed, built finally in March 1940
- 5km area had 500,000 Jewish people living there
- Shit
- inhabitants given daily calorie intake 15% of German ration
- combined over crowding and poor sanitation made ghetto breeding ground for disease
- Conditions become perverse justification for their establishment
What was the Nazis policy of Euthanasia & why was it introduced?
When did it start?
Why did it stop?
- policy of mercy killing of the disabled
- economic reasons due to preservation of medical supplies
- began 1940 in secret
- public pressure largely from Archbishop of Münster Clemens Von Galen
Led by : Reich committee for the scientific registration of serious hereditary and congenitally based ailments
Why was Operation Barbarossa key in escalation of Nazi Jewish policy?
When did it start?
- June 22nd 1941
- SS launched an unprecedented attack on communists and Jews in Soviet territory
- also expansion of Einsatzgruppen activity and mass murder
What two orders drastically escalated the road to genocide
- 2nd July 1941 order to execute any jews not in service of the party
- 17th July 1941 execute all Jews
What actions did the Nazis take against Jews in 1941 that escalated the threat of genocide (3)
- ban on Jewish emigration august 1941
- September 1941 jews forced to wear yellow star of David
- October 1941 transportation of Jews to the east
What was the Wannsee conference
When was it?
- January 20th 1942
- meeting where ‘final solution for Jewish problem in Europe’ agreed a blueprint for genocide
- Process of transportation accelerated late 1941
- Himmler commissioned to find “most humane and efficient” way to process Jewish people
What followed Wannsee
State-sponsored Genocide - Operation Reinhardt:
- death camps built (Belzec, Chelmo, Sobibar, Treblinka and Auschwitz-Birkenau)
- used methods trialed during euthanasia programmes
- 6m Jews killed in total
What was Auschwitz-Birkenau?
At its peak, how many were murdered per day?
What happened after?
most infamous of all death camps:
- commanded by Rudolf Hoess in summer 1941
- using Zyklon B in gas chambers
- at peak 6,000 murdered every day
- liberated January 27th 1945
How many Jews died in the Holocaust
6,000,000
Why was the Nazi economy not built for long term war (3)
- 4 year plan failed to create base for Germany to fight sustained war
- targets not met and dream of autarky left unfulfilled
- ‘ersatz’ 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)
Why was armament supplies an issue for Germany during total war 1941-45
How did the state respond? (Legally)
By summer 1941 the German war economy was in a state of crisis:
- 6m conscripted - out of the labour force
- production lacked manpower
Legal state response:
December 1941 – Fuhrer Decree ‘Simplification and Increased Efficiency in Armaments Production.’
Role of Todt and Speer for economy
- 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
Why was the role of women in the Nazi war economy an issue?
Why were they added to the workforce?
- 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 by female labour (after male military conscription) and eventually women conscripted for work however 236,000 opted out due to family commitments which the Nazis allowed
How was foreign labour used to lessen labour shortages?
(Edit)
- 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 increased possible labour but the Nazis 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.
- To improve morale and productivity Nazi ideology was pushed with 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.
How did the Nazis address labour shortages? (2)
laws passed
- January 27th 1943 2 decrees passed
- all men 16-65 not in military service and
- 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 war production
What issues faced the German civilian population at war? (4)
- Fuel supplies ration of 1:3 of Americans
- Allied Bombing affecting industries and production and killed potential labour
- rationing left population short of required/recommended caloric intake up until 1944
- inflation
What early victories did the Nazis achieve in the war?
How did this affect the German public?
- October 1939 - July 1940:
- Poland
- Denmark
- Norway
- Netherlands
- France
All siezed
- Spoils of war sent home, general morale high and no shortages. Also no real allied resistance.
How did the war affect rationing in Germany?
- 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
How did evacuations escalate throughout the war in Germany?
- 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
How were people in Germany encouraged to join war effort?
- Hitler youth 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
How did working hours change throughout the war?
- 49h in 1939
- 60h in 1945
