Impact of World War Two
Odd one out?
Brain gym- Is a broken
down car parked?
Session Objectives
To understand the success of Hitler’s initial foreign
policy
To analyse the impact of the war on the economy
To interpret the effect of the war on German citizens
Hitler’s Foreign Policy
Using pages 400-403 create two lists of
points one with Hitler as a master planner
the other as Hitler as an opportunist
How had Hitler built up his armed forces
form 1932 to 1939?
What were the main reasons for Hitler’s
foreign policy being so successful? (405)
Be prepared to debate and argue your main
points.
Success 1939-41?
• Select the reasons for Nazi success in this
period
• Was there any indication that there
fortunes may be about to change in 1941?
Main events and turning points
of the war
Make notes on the following areas as I go through
the presentation
• North Africa
• Italy
• Air War
• Stalingrad
• Tide turns
• D-Day
• Victory in Europe
North African Campaign
• On January 1, 1942 the U.S., Britain, and the Soviet Union
(Allies) joined to defeat the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy,
Japan)
• Even though Japan was conquering much of the Pacific the
Allies agreed to concentrate on fighting Germany in Europe
first.
• Europe and Africa were almost completely conquered
by Hitler and the Allies felt if the Soviet Union were
conquered, Germany might prove unstoppable.
•Although Stalin wanted an assault on Europe by the
Allies to open a second Western Front, it was deemed to
difficult at the start of the war and instead the Allies
started by attacking German forces in North Africa
• Axis forces in Africa were under the command of General
Erwin Rommel known as the “Desert Fox” because of his
success in desert warfare.
• In November 1942, the British defeated Rommel at El
Alamein, (on the boarder of Libya and Egypt) that prevented
the Germans from capturing the Suez Canal linking the
Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
The Invasion of Italy
• The Allies now had areas to prepare military bases to launch an invasion of
southern Europe
• They took the Island of Sicily in the summer of 1943 and landed on the
Italian mainland in September of 1943.
• As the Allies advanced on their capture of Italy, Hitler had to divert men
and resources to try and help his Italian Allies.
• With Allied advances on Rome the Italian population grew disenchanted
with Mussolini and the war.
• Mussolini was overthrown by the Italian people and Italy surrendered and
Italian forces were out of the war.
• However, German forces continued to fight.
• Fighting in the Italian mountains slowed the Allies who made an
amphibious landing at Anzio, near Rome in an attempt to capture the
capital.
• The Allies were pinned down on the beach for four months until they
finnaly broke through German forces and advanced to take Rome and
liberate the capital in June of 1944.
Air War over Germany
• The Allies also launched an air war against Germany
•In the summer of 1942, using bombers, the British and U.S. air forces began
bombing Germany.
•The Allies looked to destroy the manufacturing capability of Germany and
prevent them from supplying the war.
•The bombing caused massive damaged to Germany and killed many
civilians.
• The British and U.S. forces suffered many casualties as bombers were shot
down at an alarming rate.
• The capacity of U.S. factories to re-supply planes quickly was a major
factor in helping to defeat Germany.
• Intense Allied bombing of cities often resulted in firestorms in the cities. In
one attack on Hamberg in 1943, 30,000 people died in the firestorm that
resulted from the bombing.
The Tide Turns in Europe
• On the Eastern Front it was the Soviets that bore the brunt of the fighting
as there forces battled German troops.
• German forces had advanced far into the Soviet Union after their initial
invasion and by September of 1941 they surrounded Leningrad.
• The Germans began a siege ( military blockade to starve a city) of the city.
• The blockade lasted 900 days.
• Leningrad did not fall, and as food ran out people of the city ate the animal
(even dogs and cats) as well as bread made from wall paper paste.
• In 1944, Soviet forces broke the siege and Germany retreated, many
civilians were killed or suffered malnutrition and disease after it was over.
• German forces also tried to capture the Soviet capital of Moscow and
reached the cities outskirts before bad weather and a Soviet counteroffensive
forced a German retreat.
Stalingrad
• In 1942, the Germans attempted to capture Stalingrad, a city near rich oil
fields.
• The Germans fought house to house to take the city.
• No sooner than the German victory and capture of Stalingrad, Soviet forces
surrounded the city cutting off German supply lines and laying siege to the
city.
• Cold and Starving and running out of ammunition German forces fought
until February 1943, when the remains of their Army surrendered.
• The Soviets then launched an offensive that drove back the Germans
hundreds of miles.
•Germany counterattacked but the loss of their Army at Stalingrad marked
a turning point in the war as there forces were no longer able to dominate
the field of battle as they had before.
• Hitler would suffer a major blow because of his attack on the Soviet Union.
• Even though his forces were initially superior, the vastness of the Soviet
Union, its large supply of men, and its cold harsh winter (the coldest in a
generation after Hitler’s attack with temperatures dropping that winter to 60
degrees below zero) would be too much for Germany to overcome.
Position pre D-Day
The Allied Invasion of France
D-Day
• By 1944, the Allies were preparing to open a new front on Germany by landing
forces in France and opening a second Western Front to the war.
• General Eisenhower was named the Supreme Allied Commander and code
named the invasion “Operation Overlord”
•It would be a massive invasion using U.S., British, and Canadian forces in a
massive amphibious assault that included Allied paratroopers, the French
underground, and a massive bombing campaign from both the air and sea.
• The Germans were convinced that the invasion would come at the port city
located closest to England.
•General Patton was assigned to the area where the Allies created a fake army to
fool the Germans.
•Instead, Eisenhower chose the French costal area of Normandy for the invasion.
• The plan was set to correspond to the proper tides for the landing at the
beginning of June but poor whether delayed the invasion.
•With a glimmer of hope for a break in the weather Eisenhower ordered his troops
to their ships on June 5th where they stayed till June 6th when the weather cleared.
D-Day
• June 6, 1944, the Allies waded ashore on the beaches of
Normandy.
• The Germans had prepared the coasts with defenses that
included land mines, barbed wire, and fierce artillery from
fixed positions.
• Many soldiers were killed in the landing on the beaches as
the Allies struggled in some areas to gain a strong foothold.
• Hitler refused to release the Panzer tanks he held in reserve
to repel the attack believing the the real invasion would come
at the Roux d Callis.
• The move proved to be an error as the Allies succeeded in
securing a beachhead and began building docks to land troops
and supplies.
• Within a few weeks the Allies had landed over 1 million men
and the Germans were in retreat from what was now a two
front war.
• On August 25, French and American soldiers marched
through joyful crowds and liberated Paris. France was ruled
by the French once more.
Victory in Europe
• The Germans were now fighting the Soviets on the Eastern front and the
British and Americans on the Western Front.
•General Patton was brought to France and his Army raced across France
quickly.
• In late 1944, the cold winter and German resistance slowed the Allied forces
at the Rhine River.
• In mid-December the Germans mounted a desperate winter offensive along
a 50 mile front in Belgium, trying to split Allied forces and regain an
advantage in the war.
• The “Battle of the Bulge” as it became known, created a deep bulge in Allied
forces leaving Allied forces in the position of having their lines broken.
• After several weeks, and with a long winter drive by Patton’s Army, the
Germans were pushed back.
• German forces also suffered from a lack of gasoline for their tanks and
trucks.
• The battle resulted in 75,000 casualties and marked the end of any real
German resistance.
V-E Day
• The final phase of the war in Europe began in the spring of 1945.
• The Soviets surrounded Berlin, the capital of Germany.
• Hitler refused to leave the capital and spent the final few months of the war
in an underground bunker.
• On April 30, 1945, when he realized the situation was hopeless he committed
suicide along with his companion Eva Braun.
• On May 7, 1945, Germany signed an unconditional surrender ending the
war in Europe.
•The Allies declared May 8, V-E DAY for “Victory in Europe”
Decline 1942-5
• Make a timeline of events from 1942 to
1945
• What were the main military reasons for
Germany’s failure?
War Economy
• Why was Nazi Germany so inefficient in
comparison to Britain?
• Why was Hitler’s idiosyncrasy a hindrance?
• How did Nazi ideology hinder their scientific
efforts?
• What problems did Speer face and how did he
tackle them (Produce a table)?
• Did Speer make the Nazi regime more efficient
during the war?
The German People
• Using the sources on pages 418 and 419
how do you think people responded to the
war. Include direct quotes from sources in
your answer
Research task
• Research the following topics and vreate a
booklet of information on the effect of the
war on employment, ordinary citizens and
the war economy.
• Research the topic in groups of two and
produce a revision handout.
Overview
Discussion/debate: The changing nature of political power and life in
Germany
Create a rise-o-graph that considers the following time periods.
1918-45 –themes:
• How, and why, did the Weimar Republic emerge?
• Why did the Weimar Republic survive for so long?
• What factors undermined the Weimar Republic in the years 1929-33?
• Why was the Nazi Party able to come to power?
• How far did life in Germany change in the short period 1933- 41?
• What factors contributed to the downfall of Germany in 1945?
Stability
Time