These revision notes provide an in depth summary of this specific chapter of AQA History in the Study of The quest for political stability: Germany, 1871–1991. They can be used directly as lecture notes or can be reduced further to more of a summary of the topic.
History Revision – Germany in 1945 (14)
- German surrender came on 8th May 1945
The social and economic legacy of war
- The economy had collapsed as had transport and comms links
- No central government remained to implement policies to combat starvation and
epidemics
- ‘Trümmerfrauen’ – the rubble women
o Job was to clear Gr of its rubble and bricks
Berlin: The Final Days
- 20th April 1945 – Red Army begins its assault on Berlin
- 30th April 1945 – Hitler commits suicide
- Russian troops took bicycles, other valuable items and raped the women of Berlin
- Western Allies didn’t enter Berlin until July
o Staling refused all access to the city until Br and US troops had pulled back to
their allocated zones of occupation which had been agreed at Yalta
Gave Ru 2 months to consolidate position and place supporters in every
party of the new city administration
- This process was led by exiled Com, who had spent the years of the Third Reich in
Moscow – First arrived on 27th April, led by Walter Ulbricht
Chaos
- 6.5 million Gr killed
- 20 million homeless
- 7 million more men than women – ratio of 170 women to every 100 men
- 2 in 3 German men born in 1918 didn’t survive Hitler's war
- ¼ of all houses destroyed
Migration:
- From summer 1944, many Gr’s had been trying to escape fighting on E and W fronts
- End of war followed by further mass expulsions of Gr’s from E and Central EU
- Overall, between 12 and 14 million ethnic Gr’s fled or were forced from E territories
- Concentration camp prisoners and Gr POW’s
Food:
- Average calorie intake of Gr’s had fallen dramatically – 1,412 calories by 1946
- In June 1945 in the US zone, official daily ration was only 860 calories
- Food available on black market but was very expensive
Black market:
- Reichsmark lost any worth and barter economy emerged – cigarettes main currency
Retribution
- Allies still viewed the Gr’s as the enemy – little allied sympathy for their situation
- Gr’s had to know their place and had to work for rations, with many evicted from
homes with little regard for their welfare
- Rules forbidding fraternisation were soon found to be unforceable
Terror:
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