The Impact of War on Nazi Germany and Occupied Territories 1939-1945

Early Success and Initial Impact of War

• Initial apprehension replaced by confidence due to Blitzkrieg successes in 1939-40.

• Victories in Poland provided access to resources and labor, aided by the Nazi-Soviet pact.

• Conquest of Belgium, Netherlands, and France enhanced Hitler's prestige and power.

• Failure to defeat Britain and the shift towards planning the invasion of the USSR (Operation Barbarossa) marked a turning point.

• Operation Barbarossa launched in December 1940, aiming for a quick victory against the Soviet Union.

• Initial advances into Russian territory halted by December 1941 due to Soviet resistance and Anglo-American aid.

• The attack on Pearl Harbor and Hitler's alliance with Japan expanded the conflict and strained German resources.

• By late 1942, offensives in the Caucasus and North Africa failed, signaling a shift in the war's momentum.

Economic Measures and Rationing

• Introduction of rationing for food, clothes, and basic necessities due to economic strains from the war.

• German population adequately fed until early 1944, but diet was restricted.

• Rationing and tax increases were limited initially to maintain public commitment to the war.

• Increased controls and sacrifices after the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.

• Food supplies became precarious in industrial cities by 1945, leading to malnutrition.

• Consumer goods trade declined, with furniture and clothing sales dropping significantly.

• Coal prioritized for industrial production, reducing availability for domestic heating.

• Black market flourished due to high demand for rationed goods.

Propaganda and Morale

• Nazi regime focused on maintaining public morale through propaganda and censorship.

• Early victories were exploited for propaganda purposes.

• Difficulty in disguising the reality of the situation after the winter of 1942-43.

• Defeat at El Alamein and surrender at Stalingrad damaged public confidence.

• Joseph Goebbels worked to persuade Germans to accept sacrifices and maintain morale.

• Efforts to portray a defiant and unified Germany despite the losses.

• Government monitored popular feelings and reactions through the SD.

• Concerns about reactions to the brutality of war in the east and Allied bombing.

• Reluctant loyalty and hope for a quick end to the war initially, replaced by disillusionment and war-weariness.

• Propaganda focused on negative portrayals of the Allies and promotion of victory.

• Anti-Bolshevik and Antisemitic propaganda influenced German soldiers on the Eastern Front.

• Goebbels urged Germans to contribute to the war effort through various activities.

• Peasantry became disillusioned, feeling their interests were sacrificed to the urban majority.

• Many Germans remained loyal to Hitler despite defeats and blamed the Nazi Party instead.

Impact of Allied Bombing

• Civilian hardship intensified after 1943 due to Allied bombing.

• British RAF and US air force conducted numerous missions over Germany, causing significant destruction.

• Allied bombing initially boosted morale but did not last.

• Estimated 650,000 German civilians killed, with destruction of industrial plants and communications.

• People's confidence in the Nazi regime collapsed despite propaganda efforts.

• German society became more atomized due to the war's impact.

• Evacuation of children, women, and elderly from northern and western cities.

• Criticism of the Nazi regime for failing to protect cities and inhabitants.

• Labour shortages due to the movement of people from bombed cities.

• Increase in absenteeism from work and a rise in the regime's use of terror.

• Large numbers of people were moved out of the cities. By 1945, half a million Germans were held in camps compared to 100,000 in 1942.

• German refugees found a society in disintegration by the end of 1944 as 50\% of the population was on the move due to allied bombings.

• Examples of city destruction: Hamburg (July 1943, 45,000 killed), Dresden (February 1943, over 150,000 killed), Hamburg again (August 1943, 60,000 – 100,000 people were killed).

Mobilization of Labor Force

• Waging war put a strain on Germany’s supply of men who were needed in the army + workplace.

• The Nazi regime tried to resolve these demands by drawing up a REGISTER OF LABOUR + directing labour to where it was most needed.

• Men were drafted into the armed forces, some 13 million by 1944, which led to a fall in the number employed in the labour force from 39.1 million in 1939 to 30.4 million in 1944.

• Labour + investment focused on war related industries such as chemical, iron + steel, synthetic oil + metal working.

• The armaments industries tried to protect + retain their skilled labour force by giving them a special priority rating which made them exempt from conscription.

• Factories previously devoted to car manufacturing, clothing + furniture production now began to manufacture armaments, aircraft + uniforms.

• These labour changes created problems in training to acquire the new skills of a changing technology.

• The ministry of labour tried to overcome the problem by publishing regular checklists of labour shortages so that their agents could work out what kind of labourers were needed.

• The workforce was also required to work multiple shifts as part of the strategy to increase industrial capacity, but this was unpopular and inefficient.

• The Nazi regime was more efficient in adding to its labour force by drafting in foreign workers from occupied or allied countries + by using prisoners of war (POWs).

• By the Spring of 1941 there was 1.75 million foreign workers from occupied countries working on the German labour force. This amounted to 8.5\% of the total work force.

• By the summer of 1944 the Nazi regime was forced to introduce a total mobilisation of German society with the creation of the Volksstrum (People’s army).

• Hitler ordered a major economic mobilisation for war + German military expenditure doubled 1939-41.

• Layton: “The actual mobilisation of German economy was marred by inefficiency + poor co-ordination.”

• Albert Speer took over the economy in 1942; under his guidance the economy was now organised effectively for total war.

• Ammunition production increased by 97\%, tank production rose by 25\% and total arms production increased by 59\%.

• By the 2nd half of 1944, when German war production peaked, there had been more than a 3-fold increase since early 1942.

• Layton: “Despite Speer’s economic successes, Germany probably had the capacity to produce even more.”

• Layton: “In the end, the Nazi economy had proved + the cost of that failure was all too clearly seen in the ruins + economic collapse of 1945.”

Mobilization of Women and Impact on Youth

• Females made up 37.4\% of the work force by 1939.

• The war forced many married women to adopt more independent roles.

• By Jan 1943 Hitler issued 2 decrees: all men 16-65 who were not in the armed forces + all women aged 17-45 had to register for war work.

• the unpopularity of compulsion both at home + with married men on the front caused the Nazi party leadership to hold back.

• Effects of evacuation, allied bombing + family losses all combined to take their toll on them emotionally + socially.

• One main impact of the war on young people was the decline in education + academic standards – although this had started in the late 1930s.

• Formal exams ceased in 1943 + the end of 1944 any teaching in schools had petered out.

• Age of military service was reduced to 17 in 1943 + lowered again to 16 in 1945.

• In addition, increasing numbers of teenagers were used for defence work like manning anti-aircraft batteries.