The impact of war on the German people

Why did Germans feel so excited at the prospect of war before and during the beginning of WW2?

Hitler used propaganda and his huge army to show off German strength, filling the population with confidence - this was backed up with evidence during the war as it took multiple years for the Germans to lose a single battle!

When did Germany lose its first battle?

The Battle of Stalingrad in February 1943 was the first time a German army surrendered, although the Germans had been facing severe opposition several years before, and were beginning to weaken at the extent of damage done to the country

Why did the Germans lose the battle of Stalingrad?

The Russian army was huge, making it significantly harder to defeat than any other army they had come up against before. Germany also experienced heavy losses in soldiers as the army began to push them back. The cold winter also forced the fighting to stop, which was very unexpected for the German soldiers - however, the Russian army were prepared for it

At what point in the war did German general opinion begin to change?

At the start of 1944, even Hitler’s tightly controlled propaganda scheme couldn’t deny that the Germans were experiencing many losses - the German people at home were also facing huge hardships and a loss of morale

What were the three main reasons why the Germans were suffering a huge loss of morale?

Rationing, bombing and labour shortages

When was food and clothing rationed?

By November 1939

How many eggs were people allowed?

One per week

What goods were in short supply?

Soap and toilet paper

What was an alternative to soap?

Stewed pine needles

What other products were there shortages of?

Coal and meat

How did Hitler try to encourage the people to accept these changes?

He asked them to submit themselves completely to the war

Who was made Armaments Minister in 1942?

Albert Speer

How many foreign workers were being used as slave labour in 1944?

7 million

Which people did Nazis start asking to return to work and why?

Since factories were asked to stay open for longer, Nazis began reintroducing women to support these longer hours, especially since many men were off fighting

What impact did bombing in 1942 have?

It caused a lack of electricity, water and transport

How were the medical services coping?

They were at full stretch

What were secondary dangers caused by bombing?

The threat of floods, gas explosions and unexploded bombs was constant

Why did support for the Nazis weaken especially in 1942?

The Allies switched their policy to ‘area bombing’

What was area bombing?

Bombs targeted industrial cities and used incendiary bombs designed to start fires, instead of distinguishing between military and civilian targets

Before 1942, what policy did the RAF (royal air force) hold when bombing?

Bombing raids were targeted to industrial and military targets only

In the three years between 1942 and 1945, how many German cities were attacked?

61

In the three years between 1942 and 1945, how many Germans were killed?

300,000 to 400,000

In the three years between 1942 and 1945, how many people were made homeless?

7.5 million

In the three years between 1942 and 1945, how many German homes were destroyed?

3.6 million

What did German propaganda do?

Downplayed the impact of the bombing in order to keep people’s spirits high, so they didn’t publish the number of deaths - this meant that people didn’t realise the full impact that the Allies were having on Germany

Who fled further into Germany at the outbreak of war?

Many Germans living in the west near the Saar and France as they believed that fighting would start immediately - however, most returned a few moths in, when there was no mention of fighting with France

How did British bombing impact people?

They created thousands of refugees as cities were burnt down or flattened

When did the population flee west?

During the advance of the Soviet Union through Eastern Germany during 1944 and 1945 - they were very brutal to the people, so many decided to become refugees in order to escape that