OCR Specification focus:
‘war and racial policies, the Final Solution; morale and rationing’
The Second World War transformed German society under Nazi rule, reshaping racial policy, civilian morale, and everyday survival through rationing. These policies reveal the extremes of totalitarian control.
Nazi War and Racial Policies
Racial Ideology in Wartime
The Nazi state intensified its racial policies during the war, aligning them with Hitler’s vision of a racially pure Reich. The war provided both opportunity and cover for the most radical aspects of Nazi racial ideology, particularly against Jews, Roma, Slavs, and other groups classified as Untermenschen (“subhumans”).
Anti-Jewish legislation of the 1930s escalated into systematic persecution and ghettoisation during wartime.
Nazi leaders increasingly framed the war as a racial struggle, portraying Jews as responsible for both communism and capitalism, enemies to be eliminated.
Conquered territories in Eastern Europe became testing grounds for brutal policies, including mass shootings and deportations.
From Persecution to the Final Solution
The move from discrimination to genocide followed a series of escalating measures.
1939–41: Jews were confined in ghettos such as Warsaw and Łódź, often forced into slave labour under appalling conditions.
1941: The invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa) marked a turning point. Special units called Einsatzgruppen carried out mass shootings, murdering over one million Jews in Eastern Europe.
1942: The Wannsee Conference formalised the Final Solution – the plan for the systematic extermination of European Jewry through death camps.
Final Solution: Nazi policy adopted in 1942 to exterminate all Jews in Europe, implemented through mass deportations and killing centres such as Auschwitz, Treblinka, and Sobibor.
The genocide of six million Jews, alongside millions of other victims (Roma, disabled people, political prisoners, and Slavic civilians), marked the most extreme manifestation of Nazi racial policy.
Impact on Occupied Territories
Nazi rule in occupied lands applied racial hierarchies ruthlessly.
Western Europeans (e.g., Dutch, Norwegians) were viewed as “racially valuable” and treated less harshly.
Poles, Ukrainians, and Russians faced enslavement, deportation, or death as part of Generalplan Ost, which envisaged the destruction or displacement of Slavic populations to make way for German settlers.
Millions of civilians were subject to forced labour in German industry, often under brutal conditions.
Morale on the Home Front
Civilian Experiences
The war placed immense strain on German civilians. Morale fluctuated depending on military success, propaganda, and material conditions.
Initial victories (1939–41) boosted confidence in Hitler and the regime.
By 1942–43, setbacks such as the defeat at Stalingrad undermined faith in inevitable victory.
Allied bombing campaigns (from 1940, intensifying in 1943) devastated cities, destroying homes and killing thousands, further challenging civilian endurance.
Despite hardships, the Nazi regime maintained significant levels of compliance. The Gestapo and a pervasive propaganda machine suppressed dissent, while appeals to patriotism and fear of reprisals discouraged open resistance.
Propaganda and Morale Management
Joseph Goebbels’ Ministry of Propaganda worked to sustain morale:
Radio broadcasts, films, and posters emphasised unity, sacrifice, and Hitler’s leadership.
Setbacks were often downplayed or reframed as heroic struggles.
Emphasis on “total war” in Goebbels’ 1943 Sportpalast speech called on Germans to endure further sacrifices.
Propaganda and morale management relied heavily on radio, especially the low-cost Volksempfänger sets that carried Goebbels’ messaging into homes and workplaces.
Volksempfänger VE301 domestic radio, introduced to maximise audience reach for regime broadcasts. Its simplified design and low price facilitated mass ownership, underpinning sustained messaging during wartime. The image shows the characteristic Bakelite cabinet and dial layout. Source
Rationing and Economic Pressures
Introduction of Rationing
Rationing was introduced in 1939, ensuring equitable distribution but also limiting civilian consumption. Items such as meat, fats, bread, and clothing were carefully controlled.
Rationing: The controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, or services, designed to prioritise military needs and maintain fairness among civilians during wartime shortages.
The system functioned effectively in the early years, but shortages intensified as the war dragged on.
Civilian rationing (state control of scarce goods) covered bread, meat, fats, sugar, clothing and coal, tightening from 1942 as imports collapsed and bombing disrupted supply.
German fat ration card (Reichsfettkarte) valid 15 December 1941–11 January 1942. Coupons were detached to control household access to limited fats, illustrating the everyday reach of wartime regulation. The form and printed instructions make the state’s priority categories and time limits visible. Source
Changes During the War
Food supplies were supplemented by imports and exploitation of occupied territories, though shortages persisted.
By 1942–43, conditions worsened: diets became monotonous and malnutrition increased.
Bombing disrupted supply chains, compounding civilian suffering.
Forced Labour and Resource Exploitation
To support the war economy, the regime relied heavily on forced labour:
Millions of foreign workers, including POWs, were brought into Germany.
These labourers endured poor rations, harsh conditions, and discrimination, reinforcing Nazi racial hierarchies even within economic policy.
The Interconnection of War, Race, and Morale
Nazi Germany’s racial policies and the Final Solution were inseparable from the war itself, with military conquest enabling genocide. Meanwhile, morale and rationing determined how far the civilian population could sustain the regime’s ambitions. As the war turned against Germany, these elements combined to expose the destructive consequences of a totalitarian state committed to racial war at all costs.
FAQ
The Nazis framed the war as a struggle for racial survival. Propaganda portrayed Jews as responsible for Germany’s military setbacks and as allies of communism.
The invasion of the Soviet Union gave ideological cover, with Hitler presenting it as a battle against “Judeo-Bolshevism.” This enabled leaders to argue that extermination was both a military necessity and a racial imperative.
Extensive use of propaganda to present hardship as patriotic sacrifice.
Fear of repression through the Gestapo and informants.
Public appeals from Goebbels, such as the “total war” campaign, reframing defeats as opportunities for renewed unity.
Compliance often reflected fear and resignation rather than genuine enthusiasm.
German civilians received priority, with ration books ensuring at least a basic diet.
In contrast, forced labourers and occupied peoples—especially in the East—were deliberately given minimal rations. Many starved or suffered malnutrition, reflecting Nazi racial hierarchies and the policy of exploitation for the war effort.
Women were usually responsible for stretching limited resources. They queued for food, adapted recipes to cope with shortages, and organised household consumption.
The regime encouraged thriftiness and promoted recipes using ersatz (substitute) ingredients. These responsibilities placed heavy burdens on women, especially as bombing disrupted supplies and male relatives were absent at war.
Bombing intensified rationing problems by disrupting supply chains and destroying food depots.
It also lowered morale by creating constant fear and uncertainty, with many civilians losing homes or loved ones. Yet the regime used bombings as propaganda, presenting Germans as victims of “terror raids” to rally unity and resilience.
Practice Questions
Question 1 (2 marks)
What was the role of the Einsatzgruppen during the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941?
Mark scheme
1 mark for identifying that they were mobile killing units.
1 mark for explaining that they carried out mass shootings of Jews and other targeted groups in occupied territories.
Question 2 (5 marks)
Explain how rationing affected German civilians during the Second World War.
Mark scheme
1 mark for noting rationing began in 1939 and applied to key items (e.g. meat, bread, fats, clothing).
1 mark for recognising the system was initially effective in providing fairness.
1 mark for explaining shortages worsened from 1942 due to imports collapsing and bombing disruption.
1 mark for noting diets became monotonous and malnutrition increased.
1 mark for linking rationing to civilian morale, showing its role in testing public endurance under Nazi rule.
