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Political and governmental change, 1918 - 89 (Key features of Nazi govt,…
Political and governmental change, 1918 - 89
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Government in wartime, 1939-45
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SS took over more govt administration - anyone who worked for govt had to join Nazi party or lose job
Gestapo + SS stepped up control of the population - SS numbers rose from 240,000 in 1939 to over a million in 1944. SS ran Hitler's racial policy of getting rid of non German races from the Reich
13 military districts were formed from German regions + their Gauleiters = made Reich Defence Commissioners (RVKs) - ran all Home Front activities in the local areas - including rationing and Volkssturm
Structure of govt grew with new sometimes short lives bodies being set up at all levels. Each of armed forces was given own ministry to coordinate supplies and troops. Their work was coordinated by the new high commander of the armed forces- Wilhelm Keitel - big task as each depart competed for biggest budget
30 August 1939 Ministerial Council for the Defence of the Reich set up - supposed to coordinate domestic affairs to support war effort - seemed to be signif change in direction - Hitler was not on council although it reported to him - chaired by Goering and members = Frick, Funk, Keitel, Hess, Lammers
Council - did not long long - falling victim of Hitler's dislike of group meetings as way of governing even among his most trusted officials - council was disbanded Nov 1939 but Frick, Funk and Keitel met frequently as the 'Group of Three'
Problems of growing Reich - as German army marched east it too over more and more land in its quest for Lebensraum. While SS was in charge of clearing out so called undesirables in this newly claimed land, task of allocating the land to incoming Germans and of running it as part of Germany became job of 11 new Reichsgau ran by Reichsttathalter
Most heavy handed of these Germanisation programmes = undertaken in Poland as the army swept through. Hitler made it clear that all Poles were untrustworthy and were to be used for hard labour only. Polish leaders were to be shot so that they did not become focus for resistance
Southern Poland treated as 'colony' called General Government adminstered by Hank Frank, its governor general. It was used as a dumping ground for all Poles and other undesirables of Reich - most of whom lived in appling conditions + used as slave labour
Over half of million ethnic Germans, mostly from Baltic countries and the USSR, went to Warthegau area of Western Poland, while similar number of Poles were deported east to make room for them
Germany's growth = much more land to govern + centralised govt became harder - Gauleiters became increasingly powerful - from 1942 following start of British bombing raids - given control of all civil defence measures, including firefighting + bomb damage clearing
In Aug 1944 decree for the Implementation of Total War Mobilisation gave gauleiters control over local bureaucracy not just Nazi Party officials + gave signif powers over local business
Losing Control
22 June 1941 - Germany turned on ally USSR + invaded - huge mistake - When Soviet Red Army and people did not collapse as the Nazis had assumed they would - German army had to fight on 2 fronts
December - USA joins war - from this point German forces were badly overstretched + Germany began to suffer
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Rationing = tighter - First Germanshad been shielded from shortages of food, fuel and other necessities were brought in from captured goods
Policy of total war = shops that did ot contribute to war effort = banned eg cake shops as were prof sporting events. Children evacuated from cities - as it became harder to convince people that the army was invincible + as German families lost their men
June 1944, Allies landed in Normandy + Allied troops moved towards Berlin from the east and the west. Hitler moved to a safer bunker in Berlin with trusted members of staff -Eva Braun + Goebbels - committed suicide 30 April 1945
Many other Nazis committed suicide either just before or just after capture by the Allies - German govt had collapsed