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GCSE History: Germany Part V - Coggle Diagram
GCSE History: Germany Part V
Impact of WWII
Rations
When WW2 broke out, people were not enthusiastic, Germans could still remember the pain of 1918, their surrender and the punishments but they played their part in the war effort. Food rationing was soon introduced when the war began which was followed by clothes rationing. German diets became very monotonous and there were meat shortages due to lack of import from the US. The war was going well for Germany so it was not hard to keep civilian morale up and supplies of luxury goods flowed into Germany. When Hitler decided to invade the USSR, an estimated 1.5 million fur coats were donated to help clothe the German army in Russia. Germans had to cut back on heating and there were coal shortages.
Bombing
British boming on German cities began in 1942. It is estimated about half a million citizens died while 7.5 million were made homeless.
Refugees
As well as those who had been made homeless, many people were fleeing the advancing Russian soldiers. No transport was easily available as priority was given to retreating German troops. Most that fled were forced to walk . Over half a million died due to disease, hunger and cold. When the survivors reached western Germany they found cities devestated by bombing.
Employment
Women entered the workforce in large numbers. The Nazis increased working hours. There was a labout shortage on the homefront due to men serving in the army.
Loss of Morale
German citizens refused to give the 'Heil Hitler' salute and they stayed away from Nazi rallies
Control and Propaganda
To scare the German people into following the Nazi message there were different organisations:
Schutzstaffel (SS): Led by Heinrich Himmler. It was formed in 1925 and grew after the SA was destroyed in 1934. it was the most important organisation and oversaw the others. It had 2 subdivisions: The Waffen SS were soldiers who followed the army into battle
The Death's head unit were responsible for running the concentration camps.
Gestapo: This was the Nazis' secret police. Their job was to monitor for opposition. It was greatly helped by ordinary citizens telling on each other.
Sicherheitsdienst (SD): Gathered intelligence for SS. Responsible for Hitler's security It was led by Reinhard Heydrich
Legal systems: Judges had to swear an oath of loyalty to Hitler and were expected to act in the interests of the Nazi state. The role of defence lawyers were weakened and new Nazi laws were enforced.
Hitler was in constant presence in the life of German people: the swastika symbol appeared on lots of public buildings, pictures of him were displayed and people were expected to greet each other with 'Heil Hitler' salutes.
He appointed Joesph Goebbels as Minister for Enlightenment and Propaganda.
Press
All newspapers were controlled by government and could only print stories favourable by them. Goebbels sent instructions telling them what to write about and what angle to take.
Radio
Radios were sold cheaply so many Germans could buy them. All outputs were controlled by Goebbels. Speeches by Hitler were broadcasted while other programmes were censored. Listening to the BBC was punishable by death.
Rallies
Nazis organised special events to demonstrate how organised they were. They involved music, speeches and demonstrations of German strength. The best examples was the Nuremberg rallies which took place in the summer. The rallies brought excitement to people's lives. They gave them a sense of belonging and the rallies showed the German people the power of the state and convinced them that every other German fully supported the Nazis. Berlin hosted the Olympics in 1936 which was an opportunity to showcase the success of the regime to the world. Germany won many medals and this was filmed and shown all across the country.
Arts
Hitler encouraged 'Aryan' art which showed physical and military power of Germany and the Aryan race.
Nazis burned thousands of books which opposed Nazism.
The Nazi Party gradually took over film production. Propaganada films were produced by Nazis to show their views. Foreign films were censored.
Nazis were strongly opposed to jazz music. German composer Wagner was promoted while Jewish composers like Mahler were banned.
Opposition
Christians
Bishop Galen criticised the Nazis throughout the 1930s. In 1941 he led a popular protest against the Nazi policies of killing mentally ill and disabled peoples, forcing the Nazis to temporarily stop this. He had strong support and lots of followers so the Nazis decided it was too risky to silence him.
Pastor Martin Niemoller formed the Confessional Church in oppositio to Hitler's Reich Church. He was sent to a concentration camp.
Dietrich Bonhoffer preached against Nazis until the Gestapo stopped him. He helped Jews escape from Germany and even contatced the Allied commanders and asked what peace terms they would offer Germany if Hitler was overthrown. He was executed.
Edelweiss Pirates
They were youths based in the Rhineland. They opposed Nazism and the war. Group members would meet up play music, go on walks and hand out leaflets. They would hunt down members of the Hitler Youth and beat them up. In 1944, they killed a Gestapo chief so 12 of them were publicly hanged
The White Rose
This group was formed by students at Munich Uni in 1943. They published anti-Nazi leaflets and marched the city in protest. Its leaders were brother and sister Hans and Sophie Scholl. They were arrested and sentenced to the guillotine.
Swing Youth
This group were young people who rejected Nazi values. They drank alcohol and danced to jazz music.
Attempts to kill Hitler
Munich Beer Hall Melee (1921)
Hitler was giving a speech at Hofbrauhaus beer hall. The crowd contained social democrats, communists and other political opponents. a drunken brawl broke out and shots were fired towards the speaker's podium. Hitler was unhurt.
Maurice Bavaud's Plot (1938)
Bavaud stalked Hitler across Germany because he thought Hitler was a threat to the Catholic Church. When Hitler marched through Munich to celebrate the anniversary of the Beer Hall Putsch, he attempted waited to shoot but the crowd blocked his view when they saluted. He gave up and was arrested when trying to stow away on a train out of Germany. The Gestapo found his gun and he confesses to plotting to kill Hitler. He was executed.
Georg Elser's Beer Hall bomb (1939
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He was a communist and built a 144 hour timer bomb and installed it when Hitler would speak at Munich's Bungerbraukeller. However, Hitler changed the timing of his speech and left the building at 9:12. The bomb was set for 9:20. He was caught at the Swiss border and executed at the end of the war.
Henning Von Tresckow's brandy bomb. (1943)
His post was visited by Hitler. Tresckow asked a member of Hitler's staff to take a parcel containing brandy for a friend to Berlin. However, he heard the plane had landed safely and quickly phoned the staff officer and told him there had been a mistake with the package. He travelled to Berlin and switched the bomb for brandy.
July bomb plot (1944)
Group of army officers joined together to plan in meticulous detail. They could see
that Germany was heading towards defeat and that Hitler was no longer capable
of providing clear leadership. Claus von Stauffenberg was disgusted at the brutality of the SS. The plan was to detonate a bomb under a table at a meeting. Army officers would then seize power of Berlin. However, someone moved the briefcase to the otherside of a heavy table leg. The bomb went off and Hitler was only slightly injured. All the plotters were executed
Rudolf von Gertsdorff's suicide mission (1943)
Rudolf carried a bomb on him while he guided Hitler through an exhibition of captured Soviet flags and weaponry.Hitler had managed to slip out of the room before the bomb went off and Rudolf quickly diffused it in the toilet.