The Impact of War on German Society

• When did WW2 begin? What triggered this?

  1st September 1939. 

  The invasion of Poland.
• Why were the Nazis adamant not to limit food too much at the beginning of the war? 

  They knew food rationing had been the biggest problem for the Kaiser during WW1 and had turned the public against him. 
• For how long did the Nazis not change rationing rules? Why?

  For the first two years of the war.  The war had been a Blitzkreig and grain was being supplied by the USSR under the Nazi-Soviet pact of 1939 meaning rationing had not needed to be as strict.
• What caused food rationing to be reduced after 2 years?  

  The invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. 
• Who were mainly in charge of monitoring the public’s mood during the war? 

  The SD. 
• Why did the German invasion of the Soviet Union halt by winter 1941? 

  The weather was too cold for the Germans who were not used to the conditions- this allowed the Russians to stop them and launch a counter-attack.  
• Why did things get worse for Germany on 7th Dec 1941? 

  America declared war on Germany because the Japanese (Germany’s allies in Asia) attacked Pearl Harbour in Hawaii.  
• Why did anti-Semitism get worse by winter 1941? 

  Hitler said that the Jews were internationally ‘puppeteering’ the USA, the USSR and Britain to destroy the Germans and their Aryan race. 
• What propaganda could the Nazis not control coming out of Russia? 


  The letters home for soldiers who described the conditions.  
• What homefront campaign did Goebbels declare by Feb 1943? 

  ‘Total War’.  
• What did ‘total war’ mean for Germany?  

  All non-war related workplaces (e.g. pubs) had to be shut down so the workforce could be re-allocated into the war effort. 
• When were the American and British D-Day landings in Normandy? 

  June 1944.  
• By what point did the SD report that the mood had turned completely against the Fuhrer? 

  By the D-Day landings the German public knew it was over and only a matter of time.  
• What did British Bomber Harris famously say? 


  “Turn their cities to rubble and their rubble to dust”.  
• How did the Nazi propaganda machine report public morale during the terrible civilian bombing campaigns by the British? 

  They said the German people were very resilient and were completely behind the regime.  
• How many German civilians were killed due to bombing raids by the allies?   

  600,000 civilians (1/3 more than British killed by German raids).  
• How many ethnic Germans fled their homes due to Russian westward advances in the later part of the war?  

  Between 500,000 to 1 million- all homeless and essentially refugees.  
• Examples of turning against the regime as the war progressed.  

  • Taking down swastika flags 
  • Privately criticising the regime (known as ‘defeatism’) 
  • Listening to the BBC (etc) on radios 
  • Not giving the ‘hail Hitler’ greeting 
• List 2 things which happened to worker’s rights in August 1944. 

  • Holidays were banned 
  • The working week was increased to 60 hours 
  • Overtime pay was abolished 
  • Workers were often paid for the amount they produced rather than hourly 
• What was the percentage change in women workers from 1939-1945? 

  From 37%- 60%.  
• What was the Women’s Auxiliary Corps?  

  By late 1944 the Nazis had created a women’s unit of the army to support the men. They began in secretarial roles for the army but by 1945 they were fighting on the front lines.  
• By what age were the Hitler Youth able to be conscripted into the regular army in 1945? 

  16.  
• What were 12 years olds having to do by the end of the war? 

  Dig ditches with the German Homeguard.