The impact of War on the German people 1939-1945

1. The impact of War on the German people 1939-1945 1) Changes in attitudes and daily lives 1939-1941 2) Impact of invasion on USSR and ‘total war’ 3) Effects of bombing and military defeats 4) State of Germany 1945 How successfully did Hitler maintain his position/ popular support during the war?

2. Germany at war • 1939 – Outbreak of war – Invasion of Poland (September) • Oct 1939-April 1940 – Defeat of Poland followed by phoney war. • May – June 1940 – Initial victories – France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg. • April 1941 – invasion of North Africa (Rommel), by May 1943 the Axis (Germany, Italy and Japan) forces had surrendered. • 22nd June 1941 – Operation Barbarossa (invasion of the Soviet Union) early successes force Red Army to retreat. • June 1942 – Stalingrad – offensive to capture the Caucasus oilfield and Stalingrad. Crushing defeat in July 1943 – by end 1944 whole of Russia had been liberated. • Defeat on the Western Front – June 1944 – March 1945.

4. Until 1942 raids were few and inaccurate on Germany. In February 1942 the RAF launched the first of many mass raids. 30th May 1942 Cologne suffered the first thousand-bomber raid. In July 1943 over 50,000 civilians died in Hamburg and an even greater number in Dresden on 13th Feb 1945. The precision bombing against targets in the Ruhr also had an important damaging effect on the German war economy. The Bombing of Germany

6. 1939-1941 • Why was Germany’s military advance so successful between 1939-1941? • France and Britain failed to take the initiative and left Poland to fight alone. • The French defence strategy based on the Maginot Line was not effective against Germany’s Blitzkrieg tactics. • Germany’s expansive foreign policy allowed her to exploit labour and resources of those countries. • USSR taken by surprise and not well prepared for German attack.

7. Group presentations You are going to be put in groups to research and present on an aspect of the impact of war on the German people Use your textbooks and the sheets to prepare a side of notes to use in your presentation You will present to the class and I will copy your notes for everyone so you each have a full set of notes from the lesson

8. Group presentations Propaganda – Sam, Dilan and Rob Rationing – Will, Bikram and Alasdair Workers – Pranave, George and Anees Women – Manoj, Michael and Charlie Youth – Cameron, Salman and Conor Attitudes of Germans to war – Elliot and Hamish

9. Changes in propaganda 1939-45 P.65-67 AQA blue textbook • What were the aims of Nazi propaganda in the 1930s, and in the early years of the war (1939-41)? • What was the ‘total war’ strategy (after Dec 1941) and what impact did it have on Nazi propaganda? Consider the key themes • Why did the Hitler Myth decline in the 1940s? • How far did the realities of war undermine the effectiveness of Nazi propaganda in the years 1943-45? • What pressures led to the failure of Nazi propaganda?

10. Notes on: 1) Rationing p.117 2) Workers p.117/8 3) Women p.118/9 4) Youth p.119/20 Think about: What was the impact of the war on these sections of society? Did the Nazis compromise their ideological beliefs? Changes in attitudes and daily lives 1939-1941

11. Reactions to war? Fears? Pressures? Read the sources and explain the different attitudes to war, using quotes and linking to your own knowledge Attitudes of Germans towards the war between 1939-1941?