WWII-+Germany

Vivek Jani

Prompt: Considering the period 1933-1945, analyze how the economic, diplomatic, and military reasons for Germany's defeat in the second World War,

Thesis: Due to a lack of a total war mobilization, a lack of a centralized economy, lack of powerful allies, and Hitler's unwillingness to diplomatically reason with the Allies, Germany was eventually defeated in WWII despite the fact that they were winning the war until about 1943-1944.

I. Economic Reasons A. Economic Success -Hitler appointed Albert Speer as the minister of armaments and munitions, hence the main economic figure in Germany -eliminated waste and rationalizing procedures leading to triple armament production B. Economic Failure -Speer urged for total war mobilization, but Hitler was unwilling to comply -by the time he did, Germany was already losing the war and the Allies had the upper hand, it was of no use -Hitler was unwilling to cut from consumer goods as this would lower civilian morale -total war mobilization did not come until July of 1944, and the cafes and theaters were closed -Speer used the money foe military purposes but Germany was unable to win the war -hyperinflation prominent in Germany due to the War guilt Clause and WWI (Stokesbury) -the results of the Great Depression impacted Germany's economy during the war (Stokesbury) C. Economic Incorporation of Women -at first, Hitler was unwilling to let women work and help with the war effort -they were to be good housewives and baby producers -by 1944, Hitler wanted women to join the war effort as Germany was losing the war -14.9 million employed women by September of 1944

II. Diplomatic Reasons A. Prewar diplomacy -Hitler aggressively progressed with dangerous actions before the start of WWII, taking advantage of the British policy of appeasment (Chamberlain) -this included: Germany leaving the Geneva disarmaments conference, remilitirization of Germany, occupation of the Rhineland -Munich Conference: Britain, France, Italy, and Germany; allowed Hitler to occupy the Sudetenland in Czechosolvakia -left the Czechs defenseless as the Sudetenland had the military and industrial fortifications of Czechoslovakia -Munich conference forbid Hitler from invading Poland; he did anyway on Sep 1, 1939 -could have avoided WWII with better diplomatic policies -broke the nonagression pact in 1939 with the invasion of Poland (Stokesbury) B. Diplomacy during the War -unable to compromise with Allies in North Africa after the failure of Rommel and the Mediterranean Policy - unable to compromise after losing the Battle of Britain -did not compromise after the bombing of Dresden -did not join the Big Three at the conferences of Yalta and Teheran, could have avoided losing war -declared war on US, instead of letting them remain neutral (Lend-Lease Policy) -did not compromise at D-Day or when USSR declared war at Stalingrad -intense German nationalism and Anti-Semitism prevented reasonable diplomacy by the Germans (Mishra)

III. Military Reason A. Initial Success - was able to conquer Poland and Czhecslovakia using Blitzkrieg, or Lightning Warfare, - conquered France and established the puppet Vichy France under Petain -Rommel was defeating Montgomery in North Africa and pushed him back to Alexandria -initially was able to conquer Denmark and Norway in 1940 (Stokesbury) B. Turning Points of the War- Germany's defeat -failure of Operation Barborosa at Stalingrad -failure of Rommel at the Battle of El Alamein -Dresden bombing -loss of Germany at the Battle of Britain due to the radar system ' -conquer of Italy at D- Day under Eiseenhower -caputured France and Berline: Germany lost the war -the Indian National Army prevented Hitler's success in the Middle East (Mishra) -operatation overload lead the Allies to victory under Eisenhower and Montgomery (Mishra) -the presence of the Red Army in Poland and the Balkans weakend Hitler's position (Mishra)

Sources Used: Mishra, Patit Paban. "World War II." //Encyclopedia of World History: Crisis and Achievement, 1900 to 1950//, vol. 5. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. //Modern World History Online//. Facts On File. Web. 24 Apr 2011. <@http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp? ItemID=WE53&iPin=WHV317&SingleRecord=True>

Stokesbury, James L. "World War II." //World Book Advanced//. World Book, 2011. Web. 24 Apr. 2011. []