OCR Specification focus:
‘opposition and resistance; consequences of the Second World War’
The Second World War reshaped German society through resistance to Nazism and the immense consequences of total war, destruction, and eventual defeat in 1945.
Opposition and Resistance
Varieties of Opposition
Opposition to the Nazi regime during the war took diverse forms, ranging from quiet acts of non-conformity to organised conspiracies. While fear of repression by the Gestapo prevented mass movements, there were notable groups and individuals who resisted.
Political Resistance
The Communist Party (KPD) and remaining Social Democrats (SPD) maintained underground networks. They produced pamphlets, attempted to influence workers, and spread anti-Nazi messages. However, these efforts were fragmented, often infiltrated, and brutally suppressed.Military Resistance
Sections of the Wehrmacht officer corps increasingly opposed Hitler after military failures such as Stalingrad (1942–43). The most significant act was the 20 July 1944 Bomb Plot, led by Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg. Although it failed, it demonstrated elite disillusionment with Hitler’s leadership.Church Opposition
Both Protestant and Catholic institutions produced dissenting voices.Martin Niemöller and the Confessing Church opposed state interference in religion.
Bishop von Galen condemned euthanasia policies in sermons in 1941, demonstrating moral resistance, though he avoided directly criticising Hitler.
Youth Resistance
The Edelweiss Pirates rejected Nazi values, sheltered deserters, and engaged in acts of sabotage.
The White Rose Movement, led by students including Hans and Sophie Scholl, distributed anti-regime leaflets in 1942–43 before members were executed.
Facsimile of the First Leaflet of the White Rose circulated in Munich in summer 1942. It exemplifies student-led moral and political opposition to the Nazi regime. The German-language text is representative of the group’s rhetorical appeals to conscience and responsibility. Source
Everyday Non-Conformity
Small-scale resistance included listening to banned radio broadcasts, refusing to give the Hitler salute, or hiding Jews. While minor, these acts reflected cracks in the regime’s total control.
Definition of Resistance
Resistance: Actions intended to undermine, challenge, or overthrow Nazi power, ranging from dissenting speech to conspiracies aimed at regime change.
Acts of resistance varied in effectiveness, but they revealed that consensus was never absolute in Nazi Germany.
Consequences of the Second World War
Human and Material Losses
Germany suffered catastrophic destruction as the war turned against the Reich.
Civilian Deaths: Millions died, including from bombing raids, starvation, and reprisals against opposition.
Military Losses: Over five million German soldiers perished.
Destruction of Cities: Allied bombing campaigns levelled urban centres such as Dresden, Hamburg, and Berlin.
Ruins of the Reichstag, Berlin, 3 June 1945. The image captures extensive structural damage in the political heart of the city, emblematic of destruction across German urban centres. As a contemporary official photograph, it offers a clear, instructive visual for the human and material cost of war. Source
Displacement: Millions of refugees and ethnic Germans fled advancing Soviet forces.
The war left Germany divided, traumatised, and unstable.
The Collapse of Nazi Germany
By 1945, defeat was inevitable. The consequences included:
Loss of Sovereignty: Germany was divided into Allied occupation zones.
Map showing the American, British, French and Soviet occupation zones in Germany immediately after 1945. Source
End of the Third Reich: Hitler’s suicide in April 1945 symbolised the regime’s collapse.
Division of Germany: Long-term political consequences emerged as Cold War tensions solidified the split between East and West.
Impact on Society
German society faced social upheaval as communities were destroyed and millions were displaced. The war’s consequences included:
Moral Reckoning: Awareness of the Holocaust and Nazi atrocities forced Germans into confrontation with complicity and guilt.
Political Vacuum: The collapse of Nazi institutions left Germany dependent on Allied administration.
Economic Ruin: War production had drained resources, infrastructure lay in ruins, and starvation threatened millions.
Refugees and Displacement
The end of the war created one of the largest population movements in European history.
Expulsions of Germans from Eastern Europe led to around 12–14 million displaced persons.
Refugees faced poverty, disease, and hostility from host populations.
These experiences deepened the crisis of national identity in the post-war years.
Definition of Consequences
Consequences of War: The lasting political, social, and economic effects resulting from a nation’s participation in armed conflict, often including territorial, demographic, and cultural change.
Legacy of Opposition
Although opposition movements failed to overthrow Hitler, their existence demonstrated that the Nazi regime was never entirely secure. Post-war, groups such as the White Rose were celebrated as symbols of moral courage in Germany’s democratic rebirth.
Political Consequences
The war shaped Germany’s political destiny. The Nazi dictatorship ended in absolute defeat, while Allied powers imposed denazification, demilitarisation, and democratisation. This laid the foundations for the Federal Republic of Germany in the West and the German Democratic Republic in the East.
Social Consequences
Collapse of Nazi Ideology: Belief in Hitler’s promises evaporated in the face of destruction.
Generational Divide: Youth indoctrinated under the regime were forced to adjust to new democratic or socialist systems.
Trauma and Displacement: Millions of families were torn apart by death, imprisonment, or migration.
Economic Consequences
The war economy left Germany ruined:
Industry and infrastructure destroyed.
Inflation and shortages widespread.
Dependence on Allied aid (such as later Marshall Aid in the West) necessary for recovery.
Despite these immense difficulties, the defeat of 1945 marked a turning point, opening the path to reconstruction, though at the price of immense human suffering.
FAQ
Although the plot failed to assassinate Hitler, its impact was significant. It revealed internal opposition within the army and led to brutal reprisals.
Over 7,000 were arrested, and about 4,980 executed, which strengthened Hitler’s control in the short term. Yet historically, it undermined the myth of absolute loyalty in the military.
The group believed moral persuasion and intellectual appeal were more effective than violence. They aimed to awaken German conscience through Christian and humanist principles.
Leaflets could circulate widely and be re-copied, reaching sympathetic audiences while limiting immediate detection compared to open armed resistance.
The Gestapo infiltrated networks and used denunciations from citizens to track opponents.
Underground Communist cells were repeatedly dismantled.
The White Rose students were arrested after a janitor informed on them.
Torture and intimidation ensured fear remained pervasive.
This combination of surveillance and terror limited resistance effectiveness.
Bombing caused devastation and hardship, but its effect on morale was mixed.
For some, it hardened resolve and increased reliance on Nazi propaganda.
Others grew disillusioned with the regime’s promises of victory.
The chaos of destruction made clandestine resistance harder to organise.
Defeat brought acute crises beyond military collapse.
Food shortages and hunger were widespread due to destroyed supply chains.
Millions of displaced persons needed shelter, creating refugee camps.
Cities lacked electricity, clean water, and functioning infrastructure.
The humanitarian emergency forced reliance on Allied relief and shaped post-war recovery.
Practice Questions
Question 1 (2 marks):
Name one youth group and one religious figure who opposed the Nazi regime during the Second World War.
Mark Scheme:
1 mark for correctly identifying a youth group (e.g. White Rose, Edelweiss Pirates).
1 mark for correctly identifying a religious figure (e.g. Martin Niemöller, Bishop von Galen).
Maximum: 2 marks.
Question 2 (6 marks):
Explain two consequences for Germany of defeat in the Second World War.
Mark Scheme:
Award up to 3 marks per consequence explained.
Consequences could include:
Political: division of Germany into occupation zones; collapse of the Nazi regime; Allied-imposed denazification and democratisation.
Social: mass displacement of refugees; trauma from bombings; moral reckoning with Nazi crimes.
Economic: widespread destruction of industry and infrastructure; shortages and starvation; reliance on Allied aid.
1 mark for identifying a valid consequence.
1–2 additional marks for development of that consequence (explaining its impact in context).
Maximum: 6 marks.
