History A Level Y12 - GERMANY 1939-49

How did Hitler cause an outbreak of war in Europe in the late 1930s?

In the 1930s, Hitler had an aggressive foreign policy. Initially he had taken back German land that had been taken with the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler then gained confidence due to the failure of the British and French policy of appeasement and the treaty with Russia. This meant he decided to attack Poland in September 1939.

When did Hitler issue economic decrees with programmes for war production?

December 1939.

Describe the Germany’s economic position in 1939 onwards.

• German military expendature more than doubled between 1939 and 1941.

• Food and then soap rationing introduced. Clothes rationing indroduced in November 1939. Shortage of loo roll.

• Labour force mobilised for war.

• Civilian consumption dropped.

Describe Germany’s situation with armaments production.

• Armaments production was still slow

• There were 8,000 planes in 1939 and only 10,000 planes in 1941

• The number of tanks used to invade Russia in June 1941 was only 800 more than for the invasion of the West

• Production was inefficient and tightly controlled

• There was a lack of good control due to numerous agencies (complicated things)

• Ministries of armaments, economy, labour and finance all wanted different things. This meant production was inefficient.

• By 1941, they failed to achieve required levels of armaments production.

• By the end of 1941, Germany was at war with Britain, the USSR, and the USA, and yet armaments production was lower than in Britain alone.

What was the Rationalisation Decree and when was it issued?

• Issued in December 1941

• An order from Hitler to ensure existing resources were used correctly.

What position did Alber Speer have? Discuss his successes and failures.

• Albert Speer was appointed as Minister of Armaments in February 1942

• He introduced the Policy of Industrial Self-responsibility to ensure mass production

• In April 1942 the Central Planning Board was introduced, coordinated by Speer

• He made prisoners in concentration camps work and supported employment amongst women in arms factories

• He got skilled workers to no longer be conscripted but anything that didn’t contribute to the war efforts was eliminated, e.g. magazines and proffessional sport in 1943

At first, Speer was successful.

• He caused a 25% increase in tank production

• He caused a 97% increase in ammunition production

• He caused a 59% increase in total arms production

• By 1944, there had been a three fold increase in war materials since 1942.

However,

• Party Gaulieters had local influence and prevented Speer’s orders from being carried out

• The SS did whatever they wanted and exploited the land

• Allied bombing meant this was limited

Describe how bombing impacted Germany during WW2.

• Air raids in Germany began in 1940, and got more intense

• Attack on Hamsberg in 1943 caused a firestorm killing 30,000

• 150,000 killed in air raids on Dresden in 1945, with 70% of properties destroyed

• Nearly as many people were killed in bombing as soldiers dying

• Bombing stopped Germany from reaching full economic potential

• Germany was forced to move workers to build underground sites which limited production

How did morale stay high during WW2 in Germany?

• The belief of establishing a 1,000 year Reich

• Gestapo forced people to keep fighting

• People thought they would build a super weapon and win the war

• Bombing united people

How did antisemitism and genocide develop during the war?

• German occupation of Poland 1939 got 3 million Jews under Nazi control

• Ghettoes were made

• In June 1941, after the invasion of Russia, SS Einsatzgruppen carried out mass shootings, murdering 700,000 Jewish people in the next year

• From September 1941, Jews had to wear yellow star of David

What is ‘The Final Solution’?

• The Final Solution was agreed at the Wansee conference in January 1942

• It outlined plans for gas extermination at Auschwitz, Sobibor and Treblinka

• Jews moved from ghettoes to death camps

• In 1943, the Warsaw ghetto was destroyed and inhabitants were sent to death camps

• In 1944, Jews fro all over German-conquered lands were sent to death camps.

• Over 6 million Jews were killed along with political opponents, gays, Sinti, Roma, gypsies, etc.

When was Hitler’s suicide? What happened to Germany afterwards?

• Hitler killed himself in April 1945

• New government briefly took over and signed unconditional surrender on 8th May 1945

• Allies took joint control of Germany

What was the Potsdam Conference?

• Allies agreed to divide Germany into 4 zones at the Yalta Conference in February, then again in Potsdam in July

• It was attended by Stalin, Truman, Churchill & Attlee

They decided:

• Germany and Berlin split into 4

• Demilitarisation, denazification, democratisation

• Local elections were to be held

• Poland gained much former German land

• Economy would be one unit

• Each place took reparations from their zone

• Soviets had fewer resources and so get 25% of reparations from other zones

Describe the policies of Demilitarisation, Denazification and Democratisation for Germany after WW2.

Demilitarisation:

• German forces disbanded after surrender in May 1945

• No independent military until 1955

• This was due to having no German government

Denazification:

• Nazi Party disbanded

• Major war criminals tried at Nuremberg

• Many Nazis died in former concentration camps

• ‘Normal’ Nazis who committed themselves to communism returned to political life

• Soviets said capitalism lead to Nazis so they must destroy capitalism

• Large landed estates where redistributed and former Nazi property taken, as well as banks and factories.

Democratisation:

• German communists (led by Ulbricht) arrived in Berlin at the end of April 1945 and planned to gain control of Berlin but appear democratic

• The Soviet Military Administration (SMAD) issued Order Number 2 in June 1945, which allowed political parties to form

• The KPD and SPD merged to form the SED in 1946

• Liberal parties formed such as the LPD and CDU

• By 1948 the Communist Party formally abandoned democracy

Who were the SED? How did they consolidate power in Germany after WW2?

• The SED was the leading communist party in East Germany. It was led by Ulbricht.

• They argued that workers and peasants were victims of Nazi control and were innocent of war guilt. This meant they gained support.

• They originally supported having other parties but got more and more control gradually.

• Initially they didn’t hae mass support but they made sure they controlled education and the appointment of personnel to build a group of reliable supporters

• They gradually eliminated other political groups / views

• Soviet miliatry supressed political party activity in Berlin - CDU and LDPD ended

• Free expession was severly limited an political dissent restrained

• SED announced a Marxist-Leninist ‘Party of a New Type’ in 1948-9

What were the problems in West Germany?

• Food and fuel shortages

• Homele

Describe the progression of government in West Germany between 1946 and 1949.

1946 - U.S. drew plans for German reconstruction but Russia and France didn’t want strong Germany.

1946-7 - Severe Winter worsened conditions. Britain’s poor economy meant it couldn’t fund this zone.

1947 - Economic recovery was essential. It cost 700 million dollars to import food for the year. Conditions became worse due to an influx of refugees and some industry had been dismanted for reparations. U.S. and Britain joined to make Bizonia.

1948 - The Marshal Plan was applied to the Western zone (U.S. giving financial aid to Europe) and the London Conference agreed on West German currency and state. Western representatives ofthe ‘Parliamentary council’ started to devise a constitution.

1949 - France merged to form Trizonia after initial resistance. A new constitution, the Basic Law, was adopted in May, establishing West German State.

How did the divide between East and West Germany grow?

• Disputes developed over Soviet reparations from the Western zones

• Growing divisions from the Truman Doctirine (U.S. policy to help with ‘freedom’ against communism) and the Marshal Plan.

• Black market had grown in West due to poor currency, so they introduced Deutschmark but the Soviets refused to follow.

• Antagonised, Soviets began the Berlin blockade and introduced the East German Mark.

Describe the events of the Berlin Blockade.

1. Difficulties continued to develop in the Cold War and Stalin wanted to spread communism and seizing Berlin was part of the process.

2. From June 1948 to 12th May 1949, the Soviets blocked access to West Berlin. They blocked all transport links including rails, roads, air and water transport with the aim of starving West Berlin and forcing its merge.

3. The Allies sent supplies through plane so they wouldn’t starve and built a new airport.

4. Berlin became the centre of the Cold War.