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What impact did WW2 have on Germany and its people? Flashcards

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1
Q

What was Germany’s strategy/tactics at the start of WW2 ?

A

Blitzkrieg (lighting war) = strategy to avoid long war

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2
Q

Why was the German military advance successful in the years 1939-41?

A

France & Britain failed to take initiative-Poland left to fight alone
Germany’s Blitzkrieg strategy of rapid advances
French defensive strategy was powerless
USSR taken by surprise by Germany’s attack, not fully prepared
Germany’s expansion allowed it to exploit all the labour & resources of those countries for its own purposes

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3
Q

What was the French defensive strategy at the start of WW2?

A

Based on the Maginot Line
Proved to be powerless in the face of the German Blitzkrieg tactics
As a result, the French political & military leadership lost the will to resist

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4
Q

What happened to Germany’s military advance in Dec 1941 and why?

A

the military advance halted
Hitler’s gamble to break the USSR had failed

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5
Q

Why was there a ‘turn of the tide’ ?

A

Dec 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour “globalised the conflict” as Hitler aligned Germany with Japan + declared war on USA

Winter 1942-43, two defeats at El Alamein and Stalingrad, showed that German armies were no longer invincible

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6
Q

What two defeats for Germany happened in Winter 1942-43?

A

German forces defeated at El Alamein (North Africa)

The surrender of 300,000 troops at Stalingrad

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7
Q

What was Germany’s strategy from 1943?

A

Defensive

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8
Q

What was the name of the attempted assassination attempt on Hitler and when was it?

A

Stauffenburg Plot
July 1944

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9
Q

When did WW2 break out?

A

September 1939

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10
Q

How did the break out of war affect Germany?

A

Not prepared for a long war
Affected young males (conscription)
Women (had to fill spaces in employment)

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11
Q

What did Leadership in Germany issue to avoid the problems that confronted Germany in WW1?

A

A series of economic decrees issued in Dec 1939, they outlined vast programmes for war production

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12
Q

What impact did WW2 have on Germany’s economy / military expenditure?

A

Germany military expenditure more than doubled in the period from 1939 to 1941

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13
Q

When did rationing begin?

A

1939

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14
Q

What happened to armaments production?

A

It remained low
Disappointing increase in number of planes + tanks produced

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15
Q

What did the disappointing increase in tank production mean for Germany?

A

That when they invaded the USSR in 1941 it only had 800 more tanks than when it invaded the West in 1940

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16
Q

What are the stats for plane production?

A

The no. of planes produced increased from 8,290 in September 1939 but only to 10,780 in June 1941

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17
Q

What were the reasons for the results being so disappointing?

A

Production was hit by inefficiency + poor coordination
War was declared in 1938 but a no. of key projects were not due to be finished till 1942
Lack of central control
Armed forces wanted quality over quantity
Numerous agencies eg ministries of armaments continued to function in their own way + had different demands
In-fighting between Nazi officials + corruption

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17
Q

What were the reasons for the results being so disappointing?

A

Production was hit by inefficiency + poor coordination
War was declared in 1938 but a no. of key projects were not due to be finished till 1942
Lack of central control
Armed forces wanted quality over quantity
Numerous agencies eg ministries of armaments continued to function in their own way + had different demands
In-fighting between Nazi officials + corruption

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18
Q

What did the armed forces wanting quality over quantity result in?

A

meant they failed to achieve required levels of armament productions when invasion of USSR began

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19
Q

Why did Germany face a labour shortage?

A

men employed in the economy had been called up to fight in the armed forces (impact of WW2)

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20
Q

What stats show that Germany faced a labour shortage?

A

In May 1939 before war started, 24.5 million men employed in economy
By 1940 that had fallen to just 20.5 million as some 4 million had been called up to fight in armed forces

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21
Q

What did Germany do to overcome the labour shortage?

A

-forcibly recruited foreign workers from both southern & central Europe
-called up women into the workforce, made up 37% of labour force by Sept 1939

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22
Q

Why was the regime reluctant to call up women to the workforce?

A

because of their view of the role of women

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23
Q

Why did Nazi Germany not mobilise its married women as much as Britain?

A

thought it would damage soldiers’ morale
in order to maintain morale armed forces needed to know their wives + girlfriends were being looked at after, concerned that if not there would be a repeat of 1918 & collapse of morale at home–> wanted to avoid this at all costs

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24
How is Germany's failure to mobilise adequately at the start of the war made even clearer?
by comparing the % of Germany spent on military with that of Britain
25
What were Britain's and Germany's % of GDP spent on military like in 1937? (years prior to war)
Britain lagged considerably behind Germany in the years prior to outbreak of war In 1937: Germany=13% Britain=7%
26
What were Britain's and Germany's % of GDP spent on military like in 1941?
Britain soon caught up and then over took Germany IN 1941: Germany=47% Britain=60%
27
When did rationing begin in Germany?
1939
28
What was the impact of rationing?
2 out of 5 Germans actually ate more healthily than before the war the amount of meat&dairy produce was limited clothes rationed hot water only allowed 2 days per week toilet paper not available
29
What happened in 1939-40 in terms of battles/wars for Germany?
Germany gained many victories against countries like Poland, France, Denmark Impact=Boosted morale
30
As the early years or war went well, what happened to the goods produced in Germany?
goods in Germany were bolstered by large amounts of plundered goods taken from conquered countries meant luxuries were sent to Germany 1939-40 Increased standard of living + public thought they were winning
31
Who was impacted by luxuries being sent to Germany?
Wealthy/powerful + high ranking officials got hold of items
32
When were luxuries being sent to Germany?
1939-40 Start of war
33
When was the labour shortage?
1943
34
What did the Russian campaign of 1941 accustom many people to?
seeing injured soldiers on the streets of Germany led to food rations being increased in Christmas 1942 due to concerns it might undermine confidence in regime
35
What was declared in 1943 and what did this mean?
the declaration of total war in 1943, meant that everything was geared to war eg sweet shops closed despite selling food as well
36
As defeat became more likely, what were no longer honoured?
Ration cards no longer honoured, people had to rely on the black market for goods
37
What had become an even bigger problem by 1941?
Production shortages
38
What did Hitler issue as a result of low armaments production?
the 'Rationalisation Decree' in Dec 1941
39
What did the 'Rationalisation Decree' intend to do?
reform the economy and eliminate waste
40
Who was appointed Minister of Armaments and when?
Albert Speer in Feb 1942
41
What did Speer use his close relationship with Hitler to do?
cut through conflicting interests & implement 'industrial self-responsibility' to ensure mass production
42
What policies did Speer introduce to ensure resources were properly exploited?
using concentration camp prisoners as workers employing women in armament factories ending the conscription of skilled workers into the armed forces eliminating things that did not contribute to war production eg professional sport
43
Why did Goebbels call for total war in a famous speech in Berlin?
due to the surrender of the German army at Stalingrad
44
What was Speer doing his best to create?
A war economy
45
Why did Speer's policy appear to be successful at first?
within his first 6 months in office: production of tanks rose by 25% ammunition rose by 97% total arms production rose by 59% meant that by 1944 there had been a threefold increase in war materials when compared with 1942
46
Under Speer's policy, how much had ammunition rose by?
97%
47
Under Speer's policy, how much had the production of tanks rose by?
25%
48
Under Speer's policy, how much had total arms production rose by?
59%
49
What was the impact of the increases in production?
that by 1944 there had been a threefold increase in war materials when compared with 1942
50
What was the limitation of Speer's policy?
despite these encouraging figures, the economy could have produced even more Speer was handicapped by a number of factors
51
What factors handicapped Speer?
the influence of party gauleiters at a local level the SS exploited conquered lands for personal gain rather than the benefit of war economy conquered territories were plundered rather than exploited the impact of Allied bombing
52
How did the influence of party gauleiters handicap Speer?
they were able to prevent Speer's orders from being carried out
53
How did the impact of Allied bombing handicap Speer?
it prevented Germany from increasing arms production further, but also caused the diversion of resources to the construction of anti-aircraft sites
54
What did the handicaps that Speer faced lead to?
Germany was unable to meet the demands of total war although production levels peaked in Aug 1944, these were below its full potential
55
When did bombing raids increase?
by 1942/1943
56
What were the impacts of the increased bombing raids?
drove many Germans to leave cities + move to rural areas destroyed 3.6 million homes many people were injured, dead & homeless prevented Nazis from achieving total war production
57
What was the impact of the attack/bombing on Hamburg?
caused a fire storm killed some 30,000 people
58
When was the attack/bombing on Hamburg?
1943
59
When were the raids on Dresden?
Feb 1945
60
What were the impacts of the raids on Dresden?
destroyed 70% of property killed some 150,000 people
61
How many civilians were killed as a result of the raids?
some 600,000
62
What did the impact of bombing have on morale?
increased morale the shared suffering brought the Nazi party + people closer together increased resentment of the enemy instead of a wish to surrender
63
When did opposition increase?
1944
64
What was used to try to counter opposition?
propaganda
65
Why did Nazi Youth policy lose support as a result of war?
many of the leaders were called up to fight, leaving organisation to be run by youngsters the almost complete emphasis on military affairs put many off & encouraged them to look for alternatives eg the Swing Youth or Edelweiss Pirates
66
Why was the Swing movement never going to topple the regime?
because its main aim was to simply listen to 'swing' music in 'swing clubs'
67
How did some members of the Edelweiss Pirates get involved in resistance to the regime?
sheltered those who escaped concentration camps attacked military targets & Nazi officials
68
Why was the impact of the Edelweiss Pirates minimal?
when they killed the head of the Cologne Gestapo they were soon caught and killed
69
Who did the most famous of the challenges to the regime come from?
The 'White Rose' Group in Munich
70
What did the 'White Rose' group do?
printed leaflets encouraging people not to help the war effort & attacking Nazi policies towards Jews
71
What was the impact of the 'White Rose' group?
they were soon caught and arrested their attacks on the regime were brave but achieved very little
72
Which individual stood up to the regime?
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
73
What did Dietrich Bonhoeffer do?
did not believe that the Christianity could accept Nazi racial policies his attitude resulted in him being involved in the plot to assassinate Hitler Oct 1942 arrested and eventually hanged
74
Why were the churches not an active threat to the regime?
They were more concerned with self-preservation + did not publicly condemn the policy towards Jews
75
Where did one of the most influential and active resistance movements come from?
Germany's upper classes particularly those in civil service & officer corps
76
What encouraged opposition with in the army to grow?
the military failings of the winter 1942/43 led to the formation of the Kreisau Circle
77
Why was the Kreisau Circle clearly the most significant opposition to the regime?
because its members were potentially influential figures with the possibility of army support
78
What did the Kreisau Circle's discussions centre on?
a plan for a new Germany after Hitler
79
Why were the Kreisau Circle limited?
they lacked any real popular support
80
Why was opposition limited?
Not united contained a range of opinions with some opposed to the assassination of Hitler
81
What was the July Bomb plot?
an attempted assassination on Hitler July 1944
82
Why did the July Bomb plot fail?
the bomb had been moved so he was only injured fellow plotters in Berlin failed to act quickly & seize the capital plotters arrested + executed Hitler used it to arrest some 7000 opponents, of whom nearly 5000 were killed
83
What did the Bomb plot show?
only way to take down the regime was to assassinate Hitler many army generals were still loyal to Hitler, few were willing to act, regime was strong
84
What examples of social defiance show there was some resistance to the regime?
Catholic opposition to euthanasia desertions young people reacting against the disciplines of the regime
85
Why did an effective resistance movement not emerge?
-the repression of the regime (effective Gestapo agents) -the acceptance of so many Germans of the regime at different levels
86
Why was there a lack of resistance?
resistance failed because it was too divided or ineffective
87
When did Germany surrender?
1945

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