Germany at War, 1939-45

A War of Changing Fortunes

When war began in 1939, many Germans were confident and the early victories came fast. By 1945 their cities lay in ruins and the country was defeated. The war was not one fixed experience. ⭐ The home front tracked the fortunes. As Germany advanced, confidence and support were high. As the fortunes turned, hardship grew and support fell away. ⚠️ This was a brutal war. The occupation of the East was part of the Nazi racial war, and the later bombing brought severe hardship to German civilians. Both are held here soberly and without graphic detail.

The early war, and the late war

The same war felt utterly different at its start and at its end. Hold both halves.

Order the changing fortunes

Put the turning points of Germany at war into the order they happened.

• War begins with the invasion of Poland in 1939
• Rapid victories follow, including the fall of France in 1940
• Germany invades the USSR and occupies large areas of the East in 1941
• The tide turns at Stalingrad in 1942 to 1943
• Retreat, heavy bombing and defeat by 1945

What the eastern invasion led to

What did the German invasion of the USSR in 1941 lead to?

• The occupation and brutal colonisation of large areas of the East, as part of the Nazi racial war
• A quick and peaceful agreement with the USSR
• The immediate end of the war in Germanys favour
• No change to the course of the war at all

Words for Germany at war

Five words that let you explain how the war changed, rather than just narrate the battles.

Spot the signs the war had turned

Three of these show the war turning against Germany. Choose the three.

• The defeat at Stalingrad
• Heavy Allied bombing of German cities
• The declaration of total war in 1943
• The rapid fall of France
• Confident crowds cheering the early victories

The home front mirrored the fortunes

The sharpest answers show that the German home front cannot be understood apart from the military fortunes: the two moved together. While Germany advanced, the early victories kept confidence and support high, and the war felt distant and winnable. Once the fortunes turned, the picture changed sharply. Defeat in the East, heavy bombing and the demands of total war brought real hardship, and support drained away. Reading the home front as a mirror of the fortunes, rather than as a fixed backdrop, is the grade 9 move.

Match each war term to what it means

Find the sentence that links the two

A student writes about Germany at war. Select the ONE sentence that links the home front to the changing fortunes.

• As the early victories gave way to defeat in the East, bombing and total war, the confidence of the home front turned to hardship and falling support.
• The German home front never changed at any point during the war.
• The war went badly for Germany from the very first day.
• The military fortunes had no effect on ordinary Germans.

Why historians read the home front as a mirror

Historians rarely study a wartime society on its own. They read it alongside what was happening at the front, because the two are so closely linked. When a war is going well, a society can bear its costs with confidence, and support tends to hold. When the war turns, the same costs feel far heavier, and belief in it starts to break. The mood at home is often the clearest sign of how the war itself is going. Hold that idea. To judge a country at war, look at the fortunes and the home front together, not one without the other.

Complete the account of Germany at war

The war against the USSR from 1941 was fought on the _____. Turning the whole society over to the effort was _____. The shift from advance to retreat, above all at Stalingrad, was the _____. The civilian population and economy formed the _____. Limiting food and goods for the war was _____.

Judge Germany at war

Which is the soundest understanding of Germany at war between 1939 and 1945?

• An experience that changed with the fortunes, swinging from early triumph to defeat, with the home front tracking the military situation closely
• A single, unchanging experience from start to finish
• A war Germany was always plainly losing from day one
• A military story with no connection to life at home

The fortunes, and the home front

The strongest answers hold both together, because on this topic the one drove the other.

Judge Germany at war like an examiner

You are marking three claims about Germany at war. For each, choose the soundest judgement.

• An essay says the German home front never changed. Is that safe?
• An essay says the war went badly for Germany from the very start. Is that safe?
• An essay says the bombing had no effect on ordinary Germans. Is that safe?

Write: how Germanys war changed, 1939 to 1945

How did Germanys experience of the war change between 1939 and 1945? Explain the changing fortunes, weigh them against the changing home front, and reach a judgement. This is written in English and is not auto-marked.

• Explain the confident early war and its rapid victories
• Explain the invasion of the USSR and the war in the East
• Explain the turning point and the slide to defeat
• Explain how the home front changed with the fortunes, including total war and bombing
• Reach a supported judgement holding fortunes and home front together