Failure and Defeat LO Examine life in Germany

Failure and Defeat LO: Examine life in Germany towards the end of the war.

1944 -1945 • By 1944, The Allies were pushing German armies back in the west and in the east. • Goebbels was put in charge of total war.

Age limit for compulsory labour for women was raised to fifty All non. Germans had to work in armament factories Total War All places of entertainment apart from cinemas were closed. The ‘Volksturm’ was formed Why do you think that cinemas were kept open? How do you think these measures affected morale?

Volkssturm • All males aged 1660 who did not already serve in some military unit • Very basic training • Many sent directly to front line • Wore civilian clothes with black armbands

“Nation, Rise Up, and Let the Storm Break Loose” • The nation is ready for anything. The Führer has commanded, and we will follow him. • We do not want to fail him. We believe firmly and unshakably in victory. We see it before us, we need only reach for it. • “Now, people rise up and let the storm break loose” What was Goebbel’s try to do with this speech?

The Bombing of Dresden • In 1941 the RAF introduced a policy of area bombing where entire cities and towns were targeted. • One tactic used by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Force was the creation of firestorms.

On the 13 th February 1945, 773 British planes bombed Dresden. During the next two days the Americans sent over 527 heavy bombers to follow up the attack. Dresden was nearly totally destroyed. As a result of the firestorm it was afterwards impossible to count the number of victims. Recent research suggest that 35, 000 civilians were killed. Some Germans claim it was more than 100, 000.

What effect do you think the bombing had on the morale of the German people?

April 1945 As Allied and Russian troops advanced in to Berlin, they met little resistance from local people who were drained by the war.

• The Nazi administration could not cope with such destruction. • Early 1945 – government in chaos. • Ration cards not honoured. • People scavenged for food. • Anything could be bought on the Black market. • Later, as defeat loomed, you could buy a six point star of David as worn by Jews. Why would people want to buy a Jewish star?

The Fall of Berlin - 1945 By April 24 the Soviet army surrounded Berlin. Fighting street-tostreet and house-tohouse, Russian troops blasted their way towards Hitler's chancellery in the city's centre.

Many Germans burnt Nazi flags, breathed a sigh of relief and desperately tried to prove that they had opposed the Nazi regime all along. A Soviet soldier raises the Hammer & Sickle above the Reichstag