Studied by 4 people
September 1939
WW2 begins
September - November 1939
Germany goes into panic due to fear of bombing
Germans stockpile goods caused by fear of food shortage, like in WW1
air raid shelters are built
blackout regulations are issued
children are given gas masks
December 1939
Hitler announces the move to war economy
1939 - 23% of goods were military related
1941 - 47% of goods were military related
demonstrating the Nazis shift from consumer satisfaction to military success
April 9th 1940
Germany invaded Denmark and Norway
under code name: “Operation Weserubung”
May 10th 1940
Germany invaded Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and France
June 22nd 1940
France signed an armistice
leaving Great Britain as the only allied country fighting Germany
June 1941
Germany invades the Soviet Union
February 1942
Albert Speer was appointed as Minister of Armaments and War Production
describe the economical changes Speer introduced in 1942
focused factories on producing a single product to increase the yield of the item, making the production more efficient
employed more women as working men were fighting in the war
used concentration camp prisoners as workers, with the unpaid labour cutting manufacturing costs and increasing the amount of workers
excluded skilled people from military service to keep professionals from dying, ensuring Germany’s industries remain intact
numerical change in number of tanks produced 1940-1944
1940 - 1,600
1942 - 6,300
1943 - 12,100
numerical change in number of aircrafts produced 1940-1944
1940 - 10,200
1942 - 14,200
1943 - 25,200
explain the changes in tanks and aircrafts produced 1940-1944
Hitler’s war economy shifted manufactures focus onto military goods
causing an increase in military goods produced from 23% to 47%
Speer’s appointment as Minister of Armaments and War Production in 1942 further shifted manufacturer focus onto production of military goods
with schemes such as
utilising unpaid labour from concentration camps and having factories focusing on producing one product streamlining manufacturing
explain the impact of shortages on the German people
serious shortages were caused by Speer’s and Hitler’s economical changes and the amount of imports into Germany being greatly reduced
rationing was introduced and the supply of necessary items was controlled, decreasing the diversity of German diets
people were issued rationing points based on their age, occupation and status
with worsening the persecution of Jewish people who received less points than their German counterparts
explain the impact of women on the German people
Speer wanted women to work, disagreement with Hitler on this topic meant women were never conscripted
this crated tension between Speer and Hitler, conflict between what the Nazis wanted based on ideologies and what they needed
lots of women took up employment, with employment increasing between 1939-1941 from 760,000 to 1.5 million
1.5 million/30 million German women was still a very small minority, signalling that women were still influenced by Nazi ideologies of the ‘ideal’ woman
explain the impact of bombing and evacuation on the German people
Spring 1940 - RAF began bombing German industrial areas
voluntary evacuation of German children began in larger cities
German families were hesitant to use this scheme as they feared their children might be indoctrinated or mistreated
what was the impact of the early war on the German people
German economy shifts from consumer-focused to a war economy, creating significant implications on the quality of people’s life due to the decreased diversity of diet and goods
the state took over factories and businesses, instructing them on what to produce and when, spearheaded by Albert Speer
more women went to work than before the war, but this was still a minority of German women, with Nazi ideologies of the ‘ideal’ women undermining Speer’s efforts
March 15th 1939
Hitler invaded an occupied Czechoslovakia
in contravention of the Munich Agreement
August 23rd 1939
Nazi-Soviet Pact formed
alliance between Hitler and Stalin
to agree to divide Poland between Germany and the Soviet Union
September 1st 1939
Hitler invaded and occupied Poland
September 3rd 1939
Britain and France declare war on Germany
May 26th 1940
evacuation at Dunkirk
June 22nd 1941
launch of Operation Barbarossa
Germany invades the Soviet Union
December 8th 1941
USA joins the war
May 1942
rations in Germany reduced to half a loaf of bread and 40g of meat per day
first Allied bomber attack on Cologne
February 2nd 1943
end of the Battle of Stalingrad
which was the largest and bloodiest battle in WW2
Germany were majorly defeated
June 6th 1944
allied invasion of mainland France (D-Day)
July 20th 1944
July Bomb Plot places an attempt on Hitler’s life
August 25th 1944
Paris is liberated from German occupation
March 1945
Allied forces cross the Rhine
April 30th 1945
Hitler commits suicide
May 7th 1945
Hitler’s successor, Admiral Doenitz, offers Germany’s unconditional surrender
what passive opposition existed before the war
refusal to make the Nazi salute
telling a joke about Hitler
anti-Nazi graffiti
what active opposition existed before the war
peaceful protest
violent protest
examples of non-conformity
failure to give Hitler salute
failure to praise the Nazi regime
example of resistance
protest against Nazis
plotting to overthrow the Nazi state
did WW2 change opposition to the Nazis
1939 - many Germans feared the impact the war would have, increasing the likelihood of Nazi opposition to prevent the war beginning
1941 - Operation Barbarossa caused Germany to lose millions of men, turning the German public against the Nazis
1943 - Germany’s humiliating defeat in the Battle of Stalingrad further proved to the public that Hitler and the Nazis weren’t fit to rule the state
from 1943, the Nazis were running into difficulties in the war effort, such as providing resources for the public and suffering military defeats
describe the Hampels opposition to the Nazis
led by Otto and Elise Hampel
the Hampels were working lass Germans living during the war
1940 - Elise’s brother was killed in action
this spurred Elise into resistance, where her and Otto wrote and distributed over 200 anti-Nazi postcards all over Germany, demanding for free press and calling the Nazis murderers
most postcards were immediately delivered to the Gestapo as denunciation was rampant during the Third Reich
it took the Nazis 2 years to track down the Hampels
1943 - they were tried and executed by the People’s Courts
describe the White Rose Movement’s resistance to the Nazis
led by Hans and Sophie Scholl and Christoph Probst
they wrote 5 series of leaflets
the 5th series of leaflets stated that Hitler couldn’t win WW2
the Scholls and Probst distributed 6,000-9,000 leaflets in Munich University
the Scholls were caught red-handed distributing the sixth leaflets, just after Germany lost the Battle of Stalingrad
the Gestapo arrested the leaders and they were tried and executed by the People’s Courts
describe the Catholic Church’s opposition to the Nazis
Cardinal Galen opposed individual Nazi policies, not the regime
Galen continued to preach against Nazi ideas such as euthanasia
1941 - Galen preached against the Gestapo’s use of terror and violence
Nazis put Galen under house arrest until 1945
1945 - Galen was put in a concentration camp
describe the Protestant Church’s resistance to the Nazis
Dietrich Bonhoeffer resisted the Nazi regime
Bonhoeffer was a prominent Protestant leader
he joined the military intelligence and secretly passed messages to the resistance underground movements
Bonhoeffer helped organise the escape of Jews
April 1945 - Bonhoeffer was caught by the Gestapo and killed in Dachau
describe the army’s resistance to the Nazis
high ranking army officer: Claus von Stauffenberg was behind the July Bomb Plot, aided by other army officers
which aimed to kill Hitler
von Stauffenberg was motivated to resist the Nazis as he opposed what was happening in the war and the murdering of Jews
in Operation Valkyrie, von Stauffenberg planned to bring a bag of explosives to blow up Hitler in East Prussia
July 20th 1944 - Stauffenberg set up the bombs and fled to Berlin
Stauffenberg and all his conspirators were arrested and executed, with over 5000 people being executed following the plot
why wasn’t there more opposition to the Nazis during WW2
people were scared of the consequences, as violently demonstrated by the executions of the Scholls and 5,000 believed conspirators in the July Bomb Plot
although some didn’t agree with the majority of Nazi ideologies, some Nazi ideologies were beneficial to them, making them unlikely to oppose the regime
other held a misplaced hope that the Nazis would win WW2
what was the turning point in WW2
February 2nd 1943 - German defeat in Battle of Stalingrad
February 18th 1943
Goebbels called for Total War
what are some of the main changes in 1943
February 18th 1943 - Goebbels announces Total War
more women were mobilised (3 million were called to war service but only 1 million showed up)
professional sport ended
more shortages were enacted, with the Nazis cutting back on bread, meat and fuel, causing German morale to drop
Nazis increased the war-time propaganda
growth in air raids
describe the events that occurred in 1944
tide of the war had turned against Germany, causing the Nazis to be desperate for a success
on D-Day, the Allies fought back and landed in Western Europe
July Bomb Plot led to 5,000 being executed
lots of German workers refused to go to work, showing the public’s unease in the success of the Nazis through large scale industrial absenteeism
January 1943 - Germany faced labour shortages, causing them to conscript all men aged 16-45 and women aged 17-45 to register as available for work
1944 - 7 million prisoners were working for the German industries
July 1943 - air raid in Hamburg destroyed half the city, killing 40,000
growth in air raids led to cities like Berlin having homeless population of up to 500,000
what key changes occurred in 1944
Goebbels announced shift to Total War
making 500,000 workers soldiers
increasing forced labour
August 1944 - ban on holidays for workers was introduced; working week was increased to 60 hours
compulsory service for women rose to age 50
Volkssturm created, including all men aged 16-60, regardless of issues making them ineligible for war
the men were given just 4 days training, receiving no uniform and old rifles/captured weapons
they were deemed the ‘Dad’s Army’ of Germany
what events occurred in 1945
allied troops invade Germany
as defeat loomed, German morale plummeted, with many stating they would “prefer an end with horror than a horror without end”
growing disruption and chaos due to sever shortages
Hitler committed suicide and ended the war
1944-1945 - 2/3 of Germans servicemen (6 million soldiers) who died died during this timeframe
Goebbels commits suicide
