Germany at War- Civilian Morale

2. 1. The military
2. The economy
3. Genocide
1. Responsibility for the holocaust
4. The Civilian struggle
5. Resistance and repression
6. Defeat

3.  Externally no regard for international opinion
(39)
 Internally the regime was very aware of the
importance of maintaining public opinion.
 Declaration of war not met with 1914 response.
 Rather apprehension and resignation
 However early victory eased initial fears.
 The ‘return from France’ episode solidified
Hitler's mystique in many ordinary German.

4.  Rationing from outset of war, however it was
always sufficient.
 By 1942 consumer goods were in short supply
 In the final year the situation declined sharply
 Food rationing turned to shortage and absence
 Clothes rationing ended (with clothes production)
 Shoes were considered luxury items
 Magazines and sweets were non existent

5.  Under Speer working conditions worsened
 Working hours increased
 Foreign workers were brought in
 Non essential businesses were closed
 Nazi ideology created a classic contradiction when it came
to the position of women.
 Hitler opposed any move away from traditionalism
 German expansion necessitated female labour
 Speer suggested female conscription
 A necessary compromise came in the last two years of the war
when women worked in factories and fields (and at home).
 However the regime did not renounce its official anti-feminist
stance on women.

6.  During 1942-43 propaganda and censorship could
not disguise the reality of Allied bombing.
 Berlin was targeted day and night
 Fire bombing of Dresden (12 weeks before German
surrender) and Hamburg caused significant
destruction of the civilian population.

7.  Did the final two years cause dissent or unity?
 The Youth
 Increasingly polarised between fanatics and dissenters
 Youth resistance increased, but so did Gestapo oppression – 12
Edelwiess Pirates hanged in Nov 44.
 The Church
 Church attendance increased towards the end of the war as did
the Church's anti-regime rhetoric.
 Bishop Galen overturned the euthanasia policy in 41
 Conclusions
 From 43 civilians were resigned to defeat
 By 44 there was a ‘loss of confidence’ in the regime
 After Stalingrad popular dissent was common