Preparations for war

Abstract

In the summer of 1940, Nazi Germany triumphantly stood astride the European continent at the apex of its power. Following the defeat of Poland, Germany turned west and, in remarkable campaigns that lasted a mere ten weeks, conquered Denmark, Norway, and the Low Countries, and defeated the “hereditary” enemy of France while forcing the British into two humiliating retreats from the continent. The beginnings of the Battle of Britain took shape following the conquest of France and, as summer moved into fall, the Luftwaffe rained destruction down on British cities. To the east, Hitler’s newfound ally – the Soviet Union – seemingly worked with Berlin in dividing eastern Europe into spheres of influence, while simultaneously providing Germany with the delivery of much-needed raw materials and foodstuffs. Despite this favorable military position, the German imperium still faced various threats. First, the determined resistance emanating from Whitehall ensured that Great Britain and its empire would remain in the war; such an eventuality gave second thoughts to those who remembered Great Britain’s decisive contribution to German defeat during the First World War. Second, the Soviet Union pursued an increasingly aggressive foreign policy in the Balkans that clashed with German interests. Finally, a progressively worsening food situation within continental Europe as a whole and in Germany more specifically undermined the Reich’s actual power. Fixated on the experiences of the First World War – one characterized by the notion of total war – the Reich’s military and political leadership paid special attention to the German home front.