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How the war was going for Germany’s army |
How the war affected Germans at home in Germany |
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1939 |
· Hitler was in control of much of western and eastern Europe. o High morale. |
· Many people still remembered the horrors of the First World War. · Food and clothing rations were introduced. · Luxury goods were imported into Germany from captured territories. o High morale. |
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1940 |
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1941 |
· Hitler invaded the Soviet Union – “tore the heart out of the German army”. |
· Longer working hours, cutbacks on heating, and having to recycle rubbish due to the expensive war with Russian forces. · Civilians donated 1.5 million fur coats to keep the German army fighting in Russia warm. |
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1942 |
· Soldiers’ morale started to decline. |
· The “Final Solution” begins – millions of Jewish civilians are executed. · Women drafted into the labor force – contradicting the Nazis’ ‘traditional’ view of women. o Shows that desperation has started to take over. · The Dresden Bombing took place. This crippled German civilians’ morale. · Bombing became more frequent over the next few years. |
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1943 |
· The tides turn – War in Europe starts to favour the Allies. |
· All efforts focused on the armament industries – postal services suspended, letterboxes closed, places of entertainment closed, etc. |
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1944 |
· Morale was significantly low on the front-line and the war was coming to its end. |
· Support for the Nazis was extremely weak as it was evident that the war was over. |
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1945 |
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· Food supplies were dwindling. 3.5 million German civilians had died. ·Germany was left shattered. |
