Germany At War 1939-45

Some believe that Hitler had a defined set of objectives which turned into a ‘stage by stage plan’

• The destruction of the Treaty of Versailles + restoration of Germany’s pre-1914 boundaries.
• Unification of all German-speaking people 
• Creation of Lebensraum - expanding the Nazi empire into Eastern Europe

In the years 1935-38 Germany rapidly made gains which rapidly changed the balance of power in Europe:

• The Treaty of Versailles was challenged by the creation of an air force and the introduction of conscription (March 1935).
• Remilitarisation of the Rhineland (March 1935)
• Anschluss (annexation) with Austria (March 1938)
• Munich Agreement which gave the Sudetenland to Germany (1938)

Once Nazi Germany had occupied Czechoslovakia in March 1939 Britain and France would no longer tolerate the German expansion and said that if Poland was attacked then they would declare war. The war was declared 1st September 1939.

At the start of the war Germany's military might was so much that it was thought they would win and from September 1939 - November 1941, this was backed up with evidence. But eventually, Nazi Germany would fall into complete collapse.

Germany crushed Poland within a few weeks using the Blitzkreig tactics – gave them access to valuable raw materials and labour. Hitler wanted to keep up this momentum and planned to invade France. Leading Generals were not keen on this idea and the idea was postponed.

The period Sept 1939 – May 1940 = phoney war – no direct military action.

May 1940 – Germany attacks the Western Front of France. Germany needed to “ destroy France “ and to make Britain accept German aspirations on the continent – it was hoped to force Britain, under the pressure of military circumstances. Into a “deal” with Germany.

Germany defeated the Low Countries ( Belgium and Netherlands ) and France within six weeks – a dramatic triumph for both the armed forces and Hitler.

The new British Prime Minister Churchill refused to consider negotiations with Germany. Germany recognised, therefore, that she needed to secure air superiority in order to invade Britain and disable its military potential.

Germany’s failure to win the Battle of Britain in the autumn of 1940 was significant. Even more so was Hitler’s decision to change tactics and plan for the invasion of USSR even before Britain had been neutralised.

18th December 1940 – Hitler issued Directive no. 21 for “ Operation Barbarossa”, stating that “ The German armed forces must be prepared to crush Soviet Russia in a quick campaign even before the end of the war with England.”

The German invasion of the USSR took place on 22nd June 1941. It was delayed by the need to invade Yugoslavia and Greece in order to secure Germany’s southern flank.

At first, all went well. Vast areas of Russian territory were occupied and thousands of prisoners were taken, so that by November 1941 German troops were only miles from Moscow and Leningrad.

In the years 1939-41 the German military advance was phenomenally successful for the following reasons:-

• France and Britain failed to take the initiative and Poland was left to fight alone
• Germany’s Blitzkrieg strategy of rapid advances outmanoeuvred all of its enemies in the first two years.
• The French defensive strategy was based on the Maginot Line and it proved to be powerless against the Blitzkrieg.
• Germany’s expansion ( from 1938 ) allowed it to exploit all the labour and resources of those countries for its own purposes
• USSR was taken by surprise by the German attack and was not prepared

But – the military advance halted in December 1941. Hitler’s gamble had failed and Germany was now faced with a war on two fronts.

December 1941 – Japan attacked US naval base at Pearl harbour – “globalised “ the conflict. Hitler aligned Germany with Japan and declared war on the USA.

Although it appears that events of Dec 1941 were the vital turning point for German fortunes in the war, this was not apparent at the time. It was the eventual failure of Germany in capturing Stalingrad, and the offensive in North Africa that sees the period of the winter of 1942-43 referred to as the “ turn of the tide”.

From 1943, Germany’s strategy was essentially a defensive one. Hitler was determined to protect “ fortress Europe “ from Allied invasion.

Hitler deluded himself into thinking that the alliance between the Allies and the USSR would not last and this would then allow Germany to play off one against the other.

However, Allied military co-ordination continued to work reasonably well.

The war had also begun to have an impact on Germany itself – bombing raids caused destruction and dislocation. It was becoming clear that the war would not be won by Germany and it faced total devastation unless the Allied demand for unconditional surrender was accepted.

It was not until April 30th 1945 that Hitler committed suicide and the Russian advance reached Berlin, that the German nation was freed from the Fuhrers command and Germany surrendered on 7th – 8th May.

Hitler was determined to avoid the problems faced by Germany in WWI and to fight in the coming war with an economy thoroughly prepared for a major conflict.

A series of economy decrees was issued by Hitler in Dec 1939 outlining vast programmes for every possible aspect of war production e.g ​submarines and aircraft. These plans suggest that the Nazis went well beyond the demands of Blitzkrieg and a limited war

In real percentage terms, German military expenditure doubled between 1939 and 1941.

Food rationing in certain items was introduced form the very start of the war and the German labour force was rapidly mobilised for war so that, by summer of 1941, 55% of the workforce was involved in war-related projects.

The actual mobilisation of the German economy was marred by inefficiency and poor coordination. The pressures resulting from the premature outbreak of war created problems since many of the major projects were not due to be ready until 1942-43.

This should not have been an impossible barrier if only a clear and authoritative central control had been established over the economy. Instead, a host of different agencies all continued to function in their own way and often in a fashion that put them at odds with each other. So, although there was a Ministry of Armaments, it existed alongside three other interested governmental ministries, those of Economics, Finance and Labour.

There was also political infighting between the leading Nazi figures and also considerable financial corruption.

By the end of 1941, Germany’s armaments production remained inferior to that of Britain. The appointment of Albert Speer as Minister of Armaments in Feb 1942 marked the real turning point.

Speer had previously been the Fuhrers personal architect and had excellent relations with Hitler. He used this authority to cut through the mass of interests and to implement his Programme of “ industrial self-responsibility “ to provide mass production. The controls and constraints previously placed on business, to fit in with the Nazi wishes, were relaxed. In their place, a Central Planning Board was established in April 1942.

This meant Speer was able to maintain overall control of the war economy. He coordinated and rationalised the process of war production and effectively exploited the potential of Germany’s resources and labour force.

He improved production by:-

• Employing more women in the arms factories
• Making effective use of concentration camp prisoners as workers
• Preventing skilled workers being lost to military conscription

As a result of Speer’s first 6 months in power:

Ammunition production increased by 97%

Tank production rose by 25%

Total arms production increased by 59%

Despite these successes, the newly occupied territories, although plundered, were not exploited with any real economic efficiency.

Above all, from 1943, Speer could not reverse the detrimental effects of Anglo-American bombing. While the effectiveness of blanket bombing has been questioned, it is accurate to suggest that the effects prevented Germany from increasing its levels of arms production any further. Because of this, Germany was unable to achieve a total war economy.

Furthermore, the power of party GAULEITERS ( leaders of regional areas ) at the local level to manipulate the local economy, as well as the extent to which the ** remained a law unto themselves, especially in conquered lands added to the difficulty and limitations of central control.

In the end, the Nazi economy had proved incapable of rising to the demands of total war and the cost of that failure was all too clearly to be seen at the end of the war.

Within Germany, the Nazis remained very aware of public opinion and the importance of keeping up the nation’s morale.

The German strategy of Blitzkrieg was incredibly successful and gave the impression of military and economic strength.

From the earliest days of the war, the Nazis had to introduce the rationing of food, clothes and basics like soap and toilet paper. The peoples rations were about 10% above the minimum calorific standard – but boring and restricted. By 1942 consumer goods began to decline and in the final 12 months of the war the situation worsened dramatically with clear consequences such as:-

• Food rationing led to real shortages and hunger
• Clothes rationing was ended but only because of the decline in clothes production
• Boots and shoes were in short supply
• Small luxuries, like magazines and sweets were stopped

Moreover, under the direction of Speer, the economy was geared even more to fighting a “total war”. This meant that every part of society was focused on the war effortand would have to make real sacrifices:-

• Industry was organised more efficiently
• Working hours were increased
• Millions of foreign workers were encouraged to work
• Non – essential businesses were closed

The war put great pressure on women – both in and out of the home. Speer tried to conscript women workers but Hitler opposed this as he wished women to maintain the traditional roles in order to maintain civilian morale.

The Nazis were caught in the contradictions of their own ideology between theory and practice of female employment.

In the final two years of the Nazi state, more and more women ended up at work, many having to balance working life with one of running a home and raising children.

During the winter of 1942-43, it became impossible for Nazi propaganda and censorship to disguise the reality of the military defeats. In addition, the Anglo-American bombing started to hit the cities day and night.

Famously, on the night of 24th July 1943, a massive raid on Hamburg created a firestorm that killed 30,000 civilians and left an estimated 1 million homeless. The bombing of Dresden on 13-15th February 1945 saw 1300 heavy bombers drop over 3900 tons of high explosive bombs and incendiary devices, destroying 13 square miles of the city.

By 1945 it is estimated that as a result of the air raids:-

• 300,000 Germans were killed
• 800,000 were wounded
• 3.6 million homes were destroyed

The effects of the bombing on German civilians are open to discussion – some claiming that despite the difficult circumstances in the last two years of the war, there was no real sign of a decline in morale – indeed many people came together against the enemy as a result.

However, especially from 1943, there was a growing mood of grumbling and complaint. As such there was a growing disaffection.

Evidence suggests that church attendance increased during the war and many individual churchmen put their own freedom and lives at risk in order to uphold their beliefs or to give pastoral assistance.

• Bishop Galen of Munster – his outspoken sermon attacking Nazi euthanasia policy in 1941 proved so powerful that the authorities recoiled from arresting him and ACTUALLY stopped the programme.