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The Impact of War on life in Nazi
Germany
www.educationforum.co.uk
Morale
• The passage of the war certainly had a major
impact on the morale of the German people,
something Hitler predicted.
• In 1939 the SD were instructed to produce
regular reports on the morale of the people
for the regime
Morale Patterns
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At first the war went well for the Nazis with the rapid defeat of Poland, Norway,
Denmark, Holland, Belgium 1939-40 and morale at home is high
British bombing of German cities started in Summer 1940 (something the Nazis
said couldn’t happen), morale worsens
June 1941 – Hitler’s decision to invade USSR and fight a war on 2 fronts
War against Russia initially goes well – public euphoria. Victory within sight
Winter 1941/2 tide turns against Germans – Red Army pushed Germans back –
rising casualties, severe strain on supply routes and munitions – morale declines
December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour brings USA into war – more bad
news for Germany
1943 Defeat at Stalingrad – whole German 6th army surrounded and forced to
surrender largely because Hitler refused to allow them to retreat – population at
home starts to turn against the ‘Hitler Myth’
Feb 1943 – Gobbel’s ‘Total war’ speech talks of real and imminent danger to
Germany and for renewed effort by everyone – slight upturn in morale
1943-45 continued military setbacks, sustained allied bombing – depressed morale
and increased opposition but mainly quiet resigned acceptance of fate.
Propaganda
Defeat at Stalingrad and ‘total war’ placed an additional strain on civilian population
The purpose of Nazi propaganda changed to maintaining public morale and urging
them on to greater efforts
Gobbels concentrated on the themes of
1. Anti Bolshevism (anti communism) – Germany was now in a struggle for survival
with Communist Russia – a deep fear and hatred of the USSR encouraged
2. Anti Semitism – war turned into a war against ‘international Jewry’ – also
identified with USSR. From 1942 ‘Final solution of the Jewish Problem’ began
3. Strengthen resolve despite British air raids
4. Retaliation and revenge – ideas of new secret weapons like the V1
propagandised to keep hopes alive
Despite Gobbels best efforts belief in the Hitler Myth decline considerably in the latter
years of war – his aura of man who could do no wrong was fatally damaged
following Stalingrad and Hitler largely withdrew from public life being rarely
seen. He did however maintain the dedicated loyalty and respect of his own
party members.
Europe’s Victory is Your Prosperity’
1941
‘Work as hard for victory as we fight!’
1942
“Unshakable, determined to fight,
certain of victory! 1943
‘Mothers Fight For Your Children’
1944/5
“The Jew: The inciter of war, the
prolonger of war.” 1944
Workers: Early War
• The start of war saw rapid increase in conscription to the
armed forces – those workers who remained in the
economy therefore had to be made to work harder, and the
regime began to use ‘foreign labour’ from conquered
territories both East and west
• The ‘Decree on the conversion of the German Economy to a
war footing’ Sept ‘39 banned overtime payments,
introduced work on a Sunday and compulsory night shifts.
• Large numbers of workers reacted through absenteeism –
so much so that wage rates were increased and overtime
payments reintroduced the following year
Workers: Total war
• Invasion of Soviet union led to a massive increase
in the use of foreign slave labour in German
factories – 4 million such workers by 1941
• Defeat at Stalingrad ’43 put even more pressure
on the workforce – all non essential production
stopped in favour of arms and munitions. Non
essential small businesses closed down and
workers redeployed. Hours of work increased
further, wages further reduced.
• Total ban on holidays imposed 1944 and working
week increased to 60 hours
Youth: Early War
• The HJ made compulsory in 1939 and there
was little change in HJ activities in the early
stages of war except for necessity to help out
with harvests.
• HJ maintained primary task of indoctrinating
boys to be soldiers and girls to be mothers
• The evacuation of children from cities
targeted by Allied bombers did begin from
1940 however
Youth: Total War
• Age of conscription reduced from 19-18 years in
1941, then to 17 in 1943.
• HJ activity more clearly focussed on actual
military training with military camps for HJ set up
(120 of them) supervised by the Waffen SS
• From June 1943 16 and 17 year old boys directly
conscripted into navy and air force as auxiliaries.
• By 1945 school children were fighting in the
regular army to protect Berlin from the advancing
Russians
Women: Early war
• Women bore most of the hardships of the home
front – rationing, queuing, bringing up children
alone and later on despite Nazi ideology some
labour conscription.
• Rationing was introduced straight away in 1930
for essential foodstuffs and fuels and allocation
was based on a strict age, occupation and race
basis. For most of the war basic supplies were
good but later shortages of coal, soap, shoes and
washing powder did cause some discontent
Women: Total War
• Hitler was extremely reluctant to allow even 'labour
conscription' for women until he had no other options - i.e.
calling up women to work in the munitions factories - only
after the start of total war in 1943/4 did Hitler relent and
allow some female labour conscription - however by 1945
women did make up about 60% of workforce - largely
because all the men were off fighting.
A small amount of women (about half a million max.) were
called up for military activities and only in the very final
stages of the war were they prepared for combat
• Even at the end women were largely restricted to
secretarial and non combat activities in the armed forces
such was the strength of Nazi Ideology
Persecution
• From 1942 the planned extermination of the entire
European Jewish population was mapped out at the
Wannsee Conference attended by 15 leading Nazis
headed by Heydrich– ‘The Final Solution of the Jewish
Problem’ – Heydrich aimed to have murdered 11
million Jews – to be transported across Europe to
extermination camps in the East
• "Europe would be combed of Jews from east to west,“
(Heydrich)
• Planned in incredible detail the plans led to the
extermination of around 6 million European Jews 19421945
Morale 1944-45
• By the Spring of 1944 the SD were reported a
depressed and downbeat mood amongst the
German people as a result of further defeats
and retreats in the East, massive Allied
bombing of German cities, and the failure to
defeat Britain.
• In June 1944 the Allied landings at Normandy
added to the gloom
Bombing
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From 1942-45 Britain and the USA bombed German cities relentlessly day and night often with over
1,000 aircraft at a time. All Germany’s major cities and industrial areas were affected – horrific
scenes of death and destruction
One tactic used by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Force was the creation
of firestorms. This was achieved by dropping incendiary bombs, filled with highly combustible
chemicals such as magnesium, phosphorus or petroleum jelly (napalm), in clusters over a specific
target. After the area caught fire, the air above the bombed area, become extremely hot and rose
rapidly. Cold air then rushed in at ground level from the outside and people were sucked into the
fire.
In 1945, Arthur Harris decided to create a firestorm in the medieval city of Dresden. He considered
it a good target as it had not been attacked during the war and was virtually undefended by antiaircraft guns. The population of the city was now far greater than the normal 650,000 due to the
large numbers of refugees fleeing from the advancing Red Army.
On the 13th February 1945, 773 Avro Lancaster's bombed Dresden. During the next two days
the USAAF sent over 527 heavy bombers to follow up the RAF attack. Dresden was nearly totally
destroyed. As a result of the firestorm it was afterwards impossible to count the number of victims.
Recent research suggest that 35,000 were killed but some German sources have argued that it was
over 100,000
Resistance
• Resistance and opposition in the latter stages of the War increased
significantly
• After the invasion of the USSR the KPD started to operate 89 underground
cells to spread their ideas and encourage resistant and sabotage
• Church Resistance increased significantly. Bishop Galen spoke out against
the Euthanasia programme in 1940 and archbishop Frings spoke out
against the murder of PoWs
• Youth resistance increase with the emergence of the Edelweiss Pirates and
the Swing youth
• Student Resistance emerged with the White Rose Movement
• Elite and military resistance increased peaking in the failed Stauffenberg
Bomb Plot of 1944
Resistance however was still weak even at the point of the collapse of the
regime as the Russians took Berlin most Germans showed little outward
sign of resistance or rebellion.
Grounds of Auschwitz 1945
Dresden 1945
Berlin 1945