Christmas 1942 Santa forgot about Hitler

When thinking about Germany pre-World War 2 and during World War 2 there is one thing that always comes to my mind and that is late 1942 and early 1943. The Germany Third Reich started after the end of the Weimar Republic and catapulted with Adolf Hitler taking charge of the German government. The war started with Germany invading Poland in on September 1, 1939 and Poland was lost in just 5 weeks (pg263-264). The Germans had their sights set toward taking over Great Britain next but were denied the opportunity and headed toward the Soviet Union. Hitler’s plan was to get Britain to surrender by taking over the Soviet Union. Hitler figured that with the allies largest force out of the war there would be no way for them to win. However, like Hagen said “It was the same fatal mistake that Napoleon had committed in 1812” (pg 266). This would end up being the worst mistake Hitler makes in his conquest for “Fortress Europe.” Hitler was now in a two-sided war with France and the Soviet Union. It didn’t take him long to over run the French but the Russians were providing a bit more of a fight for the Germans.  From 1939 to fall of 1942 the Germans had taken over an enormous amount of land. Their empire stretched from France to the outskirts of Moscow and from Norway to North Africa. However, Hagen specifically says this “By midwinter of 1942-1943 the military commanders of the Third Reich had shifted to purely defensive strategy” (pg 277).

            This defensive strategy was started because of two cities on the eastern front of the war, Stalingrad and Moscow. With the German’s in ability to obtain these two cities their pursuit for taking over the Soviet Union was more or less over. It expended a great part of their army and it was a huge strike to the moral of not only their soldiers but also their people. After the defeat at Stalingrad Joseph Gobbles the head of propaganda under Hitler gave a speech to the German people in hopes of “whip[ing] the public up to a frenzy of fanaticism and determination to hold out”(pg 281). This was a far cry to regroup the public and make them believe that there was still a chance to win the war. The Soviet Union had a way different picture painted for the German public and it only included the Red flag raised over Berlin.

            My personal opinion in the matter is that Germany and Hitler made an absolute terrible decision to invade the Soviet Union so soon. This in my opinion was the ending point of the war in Europe. The thing that intrigues me the most is what if they would have waited till after the winter to invade? Could our world, as we know it today be completely different? In studying World War 2 I have thought about these questions an immense amount. If German 2had taken over Moscow then they would have controlled nearly all of Europe with an open territory to assist Japan in China and wage a naval attack on the west coast of the United States. 1942 and 1943 played as the turning point of the war and ultimately the entire world. Without the stop of the Germans advance in the Soviet Union our world could be completely different today.

The picture above is an arial snap shot of what Stalingrad looked like after the battle. You can see how terrible the destruction was and how hard the Russians had to fight in order to keep the city.

These are German soldiers on the front lines for the Battle of Moscow. It is clear as day that they are a tad bit cold. Most German soldiers at the Battle of Moscow did not even have winter clothing and some froze to death. This was one of the greatest blunders of the entire war for the German army and could have very easily been the deciding point in them losing this battle. 

This picture represents the German advance on Moscow. Its easy to tell that the weather had a huge part to play in the advance. Mainly because after the 16 of December there was very little gain in ground toward Moscow. Once winter settled into getting progressively worse the axis advance stalled. They were now playing on the Russians terms who were ready for the cold and knew how to fight in it. 

German Conquest 1942

German Conquest 1944

The two maps represent the time frame of the German advance. In 1942 right before the losses at Moscow and Stalingrad the Germans were on the verge of taking over the two most important cities in the Soviet Union. By the end of 1944 the Germans were completely out of Soviet land and had lost France and most of Italy.

Industrialization and Literacy Contribute to Independence

Throughout our reading of Germany a New History there are has been a reoccurring theme of German freedom and statehood. In the time period from 1840 to 1871 Germany saw its fair share of ups and downs. There was a general goal throughout the nation that they wanted to become a state. However, it is extremely apparent that there was not enough consensus of where to start that it failed at first. In the years around 1840 France was again trying to expand its borders toward Germany, much like Napoleon had tried earlier (pg 119). This movement started mass protest in Germany, and reignited nationalism throughout the German nation. This is unique because of the correlation it has with American history. Throughout American colonialism Americans wanted independent freedom from Great Britain. Much like the Germanic nation wanted their own state. Germans set up own unique groups or movements like the “Turnbewegung” in order to get the German people ready for statehood. This also compares to American history when we were trying to gain independence by following groups such as the Sons of Liberty that were men that later helped draft the Declaration of Independence. The one thing that these groups had in common was that they were all educated men.

            Germans throughout early history have been known as a very rural group of people and also a very uneducated nation. Hagen gives us a great example on page 119 of another reason why the press for independence was growing. He state in a caption that “Around 1770 about 15 percent of adults in Germany could read and write; by 1840 the number had grown by half—a true revolution.” The fact that their literacy rate had grown by 15 percent in 70 years was a huge advantage for supporters of independence. This meant that activist were able to spread their word and feel comfortable that the German people were able to understand the importance of the issue. Like Hagen said this improvement in German education was a true revolution but there was also another revolution that paid dividends to the cause.            

            Germany also began to advance their industrial systems, this decision along with the improvement in literacy rate were two of the key impacts on German independence. In late 1835 Germany had exactly 3.7 miles worth of railroad tracks. By 1848 there were over 3000 miles worth of rail cover twice as many miles as France had (pg 130). This is a monumental feet for German people it gave them the ability to transport goods and more importantly food across the country. It also made travel much easier for important individuals that were involved in the revolutionary efforts. It also allowed for military units and materials to be transported very quickly. These advances played a huge part in the Austro-Prussian War. Especially at the battle of Koniggratz, were the Prussians halted the Austrian troops in July of 1866. The Prussian General Helmuth von Moltke used rail and telegram to center his attack on one location and devastate the Austrians (pg 141). He would not have been able to claim this battle with out the advancement in technology due to the German industrial revolution. Hagan says this “in light of the Prussian victory, as a step forward to German unity” (pg 141). It was only a matter of 5 years later that the former Prussian king would be named German Emperor.  None of this would have been able to happen if it were not for the German people being able to understand fully what was happening in the situation through the climb in literacy, or the huge boom of industrialization that allowed Germany to connect their country. 

This picture represents the major rail industrial revolution that took place from 1835 to 1848 where Germans added over 3000 miles in track. This was later pivotal in trade and military transportation. 

Otto von Bismarck was a master mind behind military techniques and development of an army. He posed as Minister President for Prussia during the time German independence took place. 

This is a picture of Germany in the early 1800's. This picture shows the multiple kingdoms and principalities that were ruling during the time period. The mass amount of principalities played a huge part in gain independence because of the constant fight for who would get rights to power if there was unification.