The Home Front & German Society at War (AQA A Level History: Component 2: Depth study): Revision Note

Summary

• The war had an enormous impact on the lives of the German people

  • This included severe shortages of food, longer working hours and the requirement for women and children to do jobs left vacant by men who had joined the armed forces

  • It also included being subjected to an enormous aerial bombing campaign that destroyed many German towns and cities and killed hundreds of thousands of people

• The use of censorship and propaganda helped the Nazis to maintain the morale of the German people

  • However, support for Hitler fell during the war, although there was no widespread protest or rebellion against the Nazi government

Rationing, propaganda and morale

Rationing

• Rationing was introduced in Germany before the Second World War even began

  • From August 1939, bread, sugar, eggs, cheese and butter were all rationed

  • From November 1939, clothing was rationed

  • In addition to this, items that needed to be imported from outside of Europe, such as coffee, chocolate and exotic fruits, became very difficult to buy

• The amount of rations a person received depended on their occupation, age and ethnic background

  • Those who did hard, physical labour typically received more rations

  • Jewish people were entitled to less

  • People who were pregnant or sick also received more

• Rationing helped maintain food supplies and ensured that there were no significant shortages for the first two years of the war

  • This changed after the invasion of the USSR in June 1941

  • All food imports from the USSR stopped, which led to a reduction in rations in April 1942

  • Further reductions in rations followed until, by early 1945, the supply of food to Germany's civilian population had all but stopped

  • As a result, many German people only had access to food they could grow themselves, and many faced starvation

Propaganda

• Joseph Goebbels had created a system that strictly controlled what information the German people could access

  • He used newspapers, films, speeches and radio broadcasts to create the impression that all Germans were happy with the sacrifices and shortages caused by the war

  • During the early years of the war, as Hitler's armies defeated Poland and France, this propaganda campaign was very effective

• Even when Germany began to suffer defeats such as at Stalingrad, Goebbels' propaganda was still very effective

  • In February 1943, Goebbels gave a speech at the Sportpalast in front of thousands of people that was also broadcast by Nazi radio stations

  • In the speech, he said that Germany was in a struggle for its very existence and that more sacrifices were needed

  • When he asked the crowd if they wanted total war, they enthusiastically responded with shouts of 'yes'

Morale

• However, as the war dragged on, Germany began to suffer military defeats, and food shortages became greater

  • Germany's civilian population also became the targets of the British and American air forces

  • Britain bombed Germany's towns and cities by night, and the USA bombed them by day

  • The raids increased in frequency and intensity as the war progressed, and around 410,000 German civilians were killed by the Allied bombing campaign

"There was no gas, no electricity, not a drop of water, neither the lift nor the telephone was working. It is hard to imagine the panic and chaos. Each one for himself, only one idea: flight. We too raced to the police station for our exit permits. There were endless queues, but our permits were issued because we had a place to go to. But how could we travel? No trains could leave from Hamburg because all the stations had been gutted, and so Harburg was the nearest. There were no trams, no Underground, no rail traffic to the suburbs. Most people loaded some belongings on carts, bicycles, prams, or carried things on their backs, and started on foot, just to get away, to escape. A long stream of human beings flooded along the Sierichstrasse; thousands were prepared to camp out, anything rather than stay in this catastrophic inferno in the city. During the night, the suburbs of Hamm, Hammerbrock, Rothenburgsort and Barmbeck had been almost razed to the ground. People who had fled from collapsing bunkers and had got stuck in huge crowds in the streets had burning phosphorus poured over them, rushed into the next air raid shelter and were shot in order not to spread the flames."

An extract from a letter written by Mathilde Wolff-Mönckenberg on 24 August 1943 to her adult children who were living abroad. She was a resident of Hamburg, and the letter was written after the city had suffered an enormous air attack.

• Under these circumstances, the propaganda became less effective, and the mood of the German people began to change

  • By 1945, the morale of the German people had collapsed and people had all but stopped greeting each other with 'Heil Hitler'

  • However, the bombing did not result in widespread opposition or resistance to the Nazi government

The impact of war on the elites and workers

Elites

• Many members of the elite of German society were right-wing and conservative in nature

  • They believed in and supported many of Hitler's policies

  • Many members of the elite had made huge profits from supplying the Nazis with the materials they needed to rebuild Germany's armed forces

• However, from 1943 onwards, as Germany began to suffer more defeats on the battlefield, many began to doubt Hitler

Workers

• The war meant that workers spent more hours at work

  • From 1943, with the introduction of 'Total War', working hours increased still further

  • Some workers responded to this by increasingly calling in sick or late

  • Others deliberately worked slowly or made faulty goods

  • However, the Nazis worked hard to enforce discipline over factory workers

The impact of war on women and youth

Women

• The need to keep Germany's soldiers supplied with weapons and ammunition meant that the Nazis had to reverse their ideological beliefs about women working

• After Germany's disastrous defeat at Stalingrad, the Decree for the Comprehensive Deployment of Men and Women was issued in January 1943

  • It aimed to engage as many men and women as possible in work that directly helped the war effort

  • It gave the government powers to direct men and women into jobs it considered essential

    • Although pregnant women, mothers of two or more children and farmers' wives were exempt from working, women were increasingly used to fill roles left vacant by men who were away fighting

"On March 22, a speech by the Deputy of the Führer will initiate a comprehensive campaign called “Women Help Achieve Victory,” the purpose of which is to bring about the voluntary registration of all women and girls eligible for war work. The Deputy of the Führer will address these women and girls in an appeal and ask them to register voluntarily on lists which will be kept by the local groups of the NSDAP and will be open for registration during the period from Sunday, March 23, to Saturday, March 29. Since the action is based on the principle of voluntariness, the press has a special part in its implementation. In particular, it is necessary to make a strong appeal to honour and to constantly and increasingly emphasise it during the whole week of registration. The historical struggle in which we find ourselves today demands the commitment of all compatriots. While the German man does his duty at the front, the German woman must fill the man’s place with her labour, especially in the war economy."

An extract from a planned propaganda campaign called 'Women Help Achieve Victory' in March 1941, which the Nazis hoped would encourage women to enter the workplace

Youth

• The age that young people could be called up to join the army was reduced from 19 to 17 in 1943

  • This was further reduced to 16 in the final stages of the war

• Members of the Hitler Youth were increasingly called upon to fill gaps left by millions of absent men

  • This included helping to bring in the harvest and serving in the home guard (Volkssturm) to defend Germany's cities as the Soviet armies attacked

How far did the war change German society?

• Some historians believe that, despite the hardships of war, the German people remained united behind Hitler

  • They argue there was no large insurrection

  • Most Germans continued to follow the orders and instructions of the Nazis and remained patriotic

  • Germany's armed forces fought to the bitter end

• However, others argue that, despite the lack of widespread protests, many Germans were turned against Hitler

  • This was due to the terrible bombing campaign, the severe reduction of living standards and the defeats on the battlefield

  • They also argued that the adoration of Hitler was severely reduced