Women in Nazi Germany

Women were very important for Hitler's plans for the future of Germany and the "purity" of the aryans. It was suggested by higher-ups in the German military that each male member of the Nazi party should have four children, whether or not they were married to the mother. This led to many women having several children with little to no income. Further, women were expected to focus more on being wives and mothers in Hitler's regime, so finding work was extremely difficult.

As mentioned in my previous blog post "Children in Nazi Germany", girls were often put into "Girl Scout" type programs that taught them how to be home makers. This led to many women not having many applicable skills that would help them get a job during the war. When compared to the United States, that put everyone with the ability to work, Nazi Germany focused more on the future of post-war Germany than they did on the actual current war effort.

Operation Market Garden

The Operation called Market Garden is a attempt to regain initiative of the attack. General Marshal Montgomery commanded Allied ground forces and persuaded Eisenhower to concentrate the resources into a narrow attack through the Netherlands and into the northern Germany area. This was expected to happen to bypass the main enemy forces in Siegfried Line. Three Allied forces airborne forces divisions were planned to drop into Holland and secure territory and bridges in and around the towns of Eindhoven, Nijmegen and Arnhem. This would be a great victory as it would create a gateway for Britain corps to advance and the way into Germany's industrial heartland of the Ruhr would be clear.

As the operation was carried out, the British plans go wrong. The men of "C" troops, 1st airborne Reconnaissance Squadron, near Wolfheze station on September 18th were dropped successfully but the troops soon discovered that there were alot more German troops in the area than expected. The bulk of the 1st parachute brigade was quickly cut off from Arnhem. Many of the British radios were not working and no further progress could be made from the 2nd Battalion. After days of fighting, the British were defeated in this operation and the evacuation of survivors were carried out around September 25th. Although it was a costly defeat for the British, the Allies at least manages to establish of lodgement area from which to launch of a future offensive plan into German Rhineland.



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The Deception Plan

          In the D-Day invasion and before the Americans made elaborate plans to deceive the Germans. Their first deception was where they were planning on landing.They deceived Hitler and Germany that they would land anywhere but Normandy. This was done through fake German spies who found information, and fake news that accidentally got let out. The Germans were indirectly informed that the Americans would either invade leaving from Britain, or from Norway. The ploy about Norway seemed unlikely to Hitler due to the lack of ports there. This was disproved when Americans brought mulberries which created fake ports for the ships to dock.

          One of the places we informed Hitler we would invade from was from Britain. To make them believe this, we put some men in Britain and even sent a strong American General to patrol and act as if he were planning. This entire hoax did have effects of the German's decisions. Due to such inconspicuous information, they spread their forces out along the coast in case the Americans attacked from Britain or Norway. This allowed us to attack the beaches of Normandy with less enemy attacks. The generals understood the importance of having less men to go against when invading during D-Day.

Soldiers Return Home To U.S.

When American soldiers returned home from WWII, most experienced "The American Dream." For African American soldiers this was not the case. When they returned home, they still faced segregation. The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, or G.I. Bill, provided returning soldiers with benefits such low mortgages, low interests on businesses and tuitions which allowed them to go to university. This was used by most soldiers. Around 2.2 million used it towards university education and another 5.6 million used it for other purposes. While most soldiers were able to get help after returning, African American soldiers returned without the opportunity for help and still were liable to Jim Crow laws and ultimately "The American Dream."

Germany After the War

After the war Germany was seperated into four sectors, even their capital Berlin. There was a French, American, British, and Soviet sector. These sectors were based roughly where the armies were based. Germany had no plan if they were defeated. While Hitler and the Nazi Regime were still alive, it was considered treason to talk about the possibility that Germany would lose. Once the war was over, Germany was left with millions mourning and country sides destroyed from years of bombing and troops marching through. Those who were displaced were looting as they wandered. Tranportaion and comminications stopped working, and agriculture ceased production. Disease and famine became rampent. Many sexually transmitted diseases were being spread. During this time many German women at relations with Allied troops. It is estimated that 65,000 children were born because of that. Those women and children were then ostrisized by society. The economy was also suffering. The Reichsmark coin was no longer used after the fall of the Nazi Regime. The currency that was once so popular was no longer used. The Nuremberg Trials began in 1945 and only added to the shame and resentment the people felt toward their former ruling party. Citizens and soldiers began working together to clean up the devastation in Berlin, and especially with the passing of the Marshall Plan, an atmosphere of cooperation was established. Besides, with all of the weapons, ammunition, and able bodies going to the front, there weren't really the resources to mount much of a resistance. 

Nazi Education

During Nazi Germany educating the youth to follow Hitler was very important. By educating the youth, the Nazis were able to cultivate a larger following. These children being taught were called Hitler's Youth. Teachers were trained vigorously to make sure they were loyal and teaching the correct curriculum. If a teacher wasn't seen as loyal they were sacked.

Intro to 1930s

General knowlage:

        At the beginning of the 1930s, more than 15 million Americans–fully one-quarter of all wage-earning workers–were unemployed. President Herbert Hoover did not do much to alleviate the crisis: Patience and self-reliance, he argued, were all Americans needed to get them through this “passing incident in our national lives.” But in 1932, Americans elected a new president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who pledged to use the power of the federal government to make Americans’ lives better. Over the next nine years, Roosevelt’s New Deal created a new role for government in American life. Though the New Deal alone did not end the Depression, it did provide an unprecedented safety net to millions of suffering Americans.

Intro to The Great Depression:

The stock market crash of October 29, 1929, provided a dramatic end to an era of unprecedented, and unprecedentedly lopsided, prosperity.

The disaster had been brewing for years. Different historians and economists offer different explanations for the crisis–some blame the increasingly uneven distribution of wealth and purchasing power in the 1920s, while others blame the decade’s agricultural slump or the international instability caused by World War I.

In any case, the nation was woefully unprepared for the crash. For the most part, banks were unregulated and uninsured. The government offered no insurance or compensation for the unemployed, so when people stopped earning, they stopped spending. The consumer economy ground to a halt, and an ordinary recession became the Great Depression, the defining event of the 1930s.

President Herbert Hoover was slow to respond to these events. Though he believed that the “crazy and dangerous” behavior of Wall Street speculators had contributed in a significant way to the crisis, he also believed that solving such problems was not really the federal government’s job. As a result, most of the solutions he suggested were voluntary: He asked state governments to undertake public-works projects; he asked big companies to keep workers’ pay steady, and he asked labor unions to stop demanding raises.

Still, the crisis worsened. Between 1930 and 1933, more than 9,000 banks closed in the U.S., taking with them more than $2.5 billion in deposits. Meanwhile, unemployed people did whatever they could, like standing in charity breadlines and selling apples on street corners, to feed their families.