germany during world war ii

• When did World War Two begin?

  3 September 1939
• What prompted Britain and France to declare war?

  The German invasion of Poland
• How did most Germans perceive the invasion of Poland?

  As a reaction to Polish aggression
• What city did Germany aim to reclaim from the Treaty of Versailles?

  Danzig
• What was Hitler's public offer after Poland's defeat?

  To make peace with the western allies
• How did Britain and France respond to Hitler's peace offer?

  They refused to trust him
• How did Germans react to the outbreak of war in 1939?

  With resignation
• What memory influenced Germans' reaction to the war?

  The pain of 1918 and Versailles
• When was food rationing introduced in Germany?

  27 August 1939
• What system was introduced for clothing in October 1939?

  A points system
• What was the impact of autarky and rearmament on consumer goods?

  They became expensive due to low supply
• What type of food dominated German diets during rationing?

  Bread, potatoes, and preserves
• What caused meat shortages in Germany?

  Lack of imports from the USA
• What did many Germans fear during the war?

  A repeat of World War One shortages
• How were food entitlements determined?

  By individuals' importance to the war effort
• How were Jews' food entitlements set compared to Aryans'?


  Below Aryans'
• What was the winter of 1939-40 like in Germany?

  Exceptionally cold with coal shortages
• What was the British bombing strategy until mid-1942?

  Targeting industrial and military targets
• What change occurred in British bombing policy in 1942?

  Switched to area bombing
• What was the first British 'thousand bomber raid'?

  Against Cologne
• How many German cities were attacked over three years?

  61 cities
• What was the combined population of the attacked cities?

  25 million
• How many homes were destroyed in the bombing raids?

  3.6 million homes
• How many Germans were killed in the raids?

  300,000 – 400,000 Germans
• What was the impact of the raids on German industrial production?

  It continued to increase until mid-1944
• How did Nazi propaganda affect the morale of the German population?

  It downplayed the impact of the raids
• Where did many Germans flee at the outbreak of war?

  East into Germany
• Why did many Germans return after fleeing east?

  Immediate fighting with France failed to begin
• What created thousands of refugees from May 1942 onwards?

  The British area bombing campaign
• What happened to civilians during the Soviet army's advance in 1944 and 45?

  They fled westwards to avoid brutality
• How many German men served in the army during the war?

  13.7 million men
• What was the impact of men serving in the army on the workforce?

  Created a huge labour shortage
• How did women contribute to the workforce during the war?

  Entered large numbers into factories and as medics
• What role did forced labour play in the war effort?

  Kept the war effort going
• How many enslaved labourers became refugees inside Germany at the end of the war?

  Eight million labourers
• How many ethnic Germans were refugees or expelled from Eastern countries?

  11 million ethnic Germans
• What was the general attitude towards the war effort within the army?

  It was generally supported
• What weakened enthusiasm for the war?

  The allied bombing campaigns
• When did German civilians' morale collapse?

  When the Reich was invaded in 1945
• What were the two main efforts to remove Hitler during the war?

  One in 1939 and one in 1944