Hitler was surprised to find his attack on Poland turn into a world war, but he wasn’t worried: his major eastern opponent, Stalin, was ready to take part in the spoils, and on the west no one was anxious to fight. Hitler could deal with Poland first (easily) then go on to France, if neccesary)

THE NATURE OF THE CONFLICT IN 1939

Despite Germany’s attempts at self-sufficiency, they needed resources for a prolonged war. So they had to act quickly. SPEED

Hitler planned to act quickly and with overwhelming force to conquer his objectives, then to steal their resources. He did not solve Germany’s long term production problems but merely side stepped them.

In 1939 Germany did not switch to a war economy.

Allied control of the seas allowed them exclusive access to American "cash and carry" arms and meant that if they could withstand the first German attacks they would just have to wait out a long economic blockade of Germany.

Emotionally no one wanted a war. Both sides populations were terrified at the thought of more bombing of cities and poison gas attacks.

WAR IN THE EAST, 1939-1940

Hitler set up a fake boarder skirmish. Pretended to negotiate--made the allies force poland to hold off on mobilization for an extra day. 1 September 1939 Hitler invades Poland

Britian and France couldn’t practically come to Poland’s aid. Warsaw fell 27 Sept and fighting ended 2 October.

Stalin was nervous about the fast moving Germans and also wanted to get his territory. Moved in 17 September 1939. Treaties to station troops in Lithuania and assurances with Latvia ad Estonia.

30 Nov 1939 Russians invade Finland to take over the Bybog area which was 20 miles from Leningrad after the Finns refused to give it up. The Russians suffered very heavy casualties--evidence that the Purges had destroyed their army.

Summer 1940 while Hitler was busy in the West, Stalin took over Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, and continued to supply Hitler with supplies.

WAR IN THE WEST, 1940

Hitler offered peace on 6 Oct 1939--The allies didn’t even consider it. They spent a while trying to figure out what to do--lost their fighting edge--decided against direct attack--instead wanted to encircle and starve Hitler.

Set up blockades on imports, but they got through Italy and USSR.

9 April 1940 Hitler invaded Denmark and Norway, Danmark fell immediately, Norway a little while later despite British and French forces landing.

10 May 1940 Attack on France and the Low Countries began--French had planned to move armies up into Belgium and Holland after Hitler attacked (they were adamantly neutral)--France horribly underestimated the speed of mechanized warfare

General Guderian took 10 Panzer divisions through the Ardennes--French mistook a simultaneous advance of a German army into Belgium as the main offensive

Failure to pinch off the exposed area behind the Panzers--they moved faster than the regular troops.

200,000 Birtish and 130,000 French were forced to evacuate from Dunkirk in the first days of June

Marshal Pétain and commander in chief General Weygand argued civil revolution might break out and that they must surrender. 16 June formed a new governemtn and negotiated na armistice: occupation of Northern France, demobilization of France, keep citizens controlled, and "collaborate" with the Germans.

The most powerful nation on the continent had been forced to surrender in 6 weeks.

Brittian was now badly out gunned by the Germans across the channel--Hitler expected them to come to terms, but they rallied around Winston S. Churchill--rallied the British very effectively, but in the war they lost their empier and their place as a world power.

All out attack on the British-- airial bombing of landing fields--7 Sept 1940 switched to bombing cities--if they had stuck to landing fields they might have been sucessfull--British do night bombing raids on German cities, 24 August

London was bombed every night 7 Sept -2 Nov 1940--15,000 people died

The British with radar and home based fighters managed to inflict heavy losses on the German bombers. The Germans decided 17 September 1940 to postpone the invasion of England (indefinitely)

Oct/Nov 1940 Hitler visits with Franco and Pétain (France) but both want neutrality

WAR IN THE EAST, 1941-1942

18 Dec 1940 Hitler preapares to attack the USSR (Operation Barbarossa) fatal mistake to go for a 2 front war before Britian had been defeated. Hitler thought he could capture all the supplies he needed and that the Communist USSR would collapse in war.

Oct 1940 Italy invades Greece--pushed back, Hitler has to come Mussolini’s rescue to prevent his Soviet attack from being threatened by an Allied front on the Balkan flank. The Yugoslave gov. agreed to help Hitler, but a military revolt put them on the Allied Side. 6 April 1941 attack by Hitler took Yugoslavia and Greece and Crete.

Hitler reinforces Italy in Ethiopia with a tanks

If Hitler had stuck to the Mediterranian and split the British Empire in two he might have won

22 June 1941--Hitler attacks the USSR with his most massive force 175 divisions.

The Russians were thrown into confusion and suffered heavy casualties from failing to withdraw to a defensible posotion--Stalin had not made any defences.

By Nov 1941 Hitler was at Leningrad and Moscaow and the Don River.

Hitler was over extended and had not achived rapid victory--unprepared for the winter--Stalin’s larger resources would be decisive--Hitler did not withdraw enough--defeated at the city of Rostov-on-Don Nov 1941--generals suggested withdrawing to the Polish boarder to prevent winter encirclement

Summer 1942--Germany advanced further south into Russia, nearly to the Caspian sea

Summer German advances/Winter Russian advances

HITLER’S "NEW ORDER"

Hitler had the largest Continental empier ever--and many states were helping him which were not directly part of his empire.

German economic client states-Großwirtschaftsraum

Early 1942 Germany began to feel the pains of a long term war economy. Not militarily mobilized--consumer production still only down 3%--dependent on Blitzkrieg, but now a drawn out war of attrition was clear.

December 1941--Russian campaign bogged down, US entered the war--forced the Germans to devote more to military production

Spring 1942-July 1944 Albert Speer more than trippled German war production, but still not as much a wartime economy as Britians

No longer supporting the Nazi aims of indpendent farmers and buisnessmen

Germany extracted huge sums from occupied countries--took their resources and their food--made them starve so Germans could eat

Heavy use of prisoners of war for heavy labor and use of occupied states for labor.

Racial segregation--used Polish for labor

Treatment depended on your race.

The SS became a state within a state. Began compeeting economically an creating its own military units. Its treatment of occupied land became more racially based than needed.

The least visible most assimilated Jews were the most frightening to Hitler

Sept 1941--Jews had to wear a yellow star

Initially Jews were expelled, but as the war progressed locations for expelling them to dissappeared.

With the invasion of the USSR, Hitler got millions more Jews--Einstazgruppen-intervetion squads-used poison gas and CO to kill jews and communist officials

Final Solution--fall 1941/spring 1942 invention of systematic extermination--large scale, many people knew it was going on--devoted precious resources to it

Auschwitz set up to exterminate eastern european jews, then later used on western jews

5 million jews killed, 2/3 of the prewar population

COLLABORATION

Germany didn’t work with idological allies--Fascist parties in France/Romania/Hungary--but rather through their governments.

The SS got foreigners to help fight Russia through propoganda saying that Europe under Stalin woudl be much worse

Independent countries helped Hitler so they could get territory--Hungary (Tryansylvania from Romania), Romania, Croats and Slovaks

Economic--war materials bought from european manufacturerers in occupied Europe

Most people

France: Vichy France under Marshal Pétain vs. Free French in Londun under General Charles de Gaulle--legitimite power was split

Vichy France tried to get rid of the Third Republic and set up a new more conservative government--more state control over industry

After the war 38,000 French imprisoned for war collaboration, 1,600 executed, and 50,000 deprived of voting rights

Most French were glad for the cesation of fighting--but did they help the germans by not fightng them?

Chales de Gaulle seemed to support Britian and renewed war and possibly Stalin

Other governments, Dutch, Norwegian Belgium, refused to legislate under the German pressure--only administrative duties--exiled leaders in Britian--kept legitimite power unified

RESISTANCE

Small and limited by the fear of a popular all powerfull tyrany. Mostly detached members of society doing petty things to hurt the Germans

Communists were told to take no part in the war by the Comintern and held with the Germans as long as the Nazi-Soviet pact remained in force

22 June 1941 Nazi invasion of USSR--Communists in occupied Europe worked agains the Nazis

1943 Increase in hope and anger as it appeared Hitler might lose and as he demanded more from the occupied countries

Not much resistance in comfortably occupied countries (Danemark, France)--not much in brutally occpied ones either (Poland)

If the occupied country (France) had a "legal" Nazi backed regime, there was less resistance--for nations with exiled govs. who okayed resistance, there was more

Real national feeling for Hitler made internal resistance much harder

Left had a potential mass following but no way to get at the army or the bureacracy, the right had the opposite problem

Political parties had worked against Hitler’s lawlessness within the framework of the laws and lost in 1933

The Left thoguht that Hitler’s attempted revolution might bring about a proletariat revolution, so they didnt’ stop him in 1933 either.

Lutheran churches disunified--worked more for their own independence than against the regime itself. Catholic church agreed to be out of politics if it could remain in the country, 1933

Hitler and his tactics really were popular, any governemnt/military take over would not have been popular.

Bomb attempt on 20 July 1944 by senior officers failed

Only real impact in Easter Europe was Yugoslavia’s Tito who held down 10 German divisions

Existentialism--Jean-Paul Sartre