Carnes, Mark C. and John A. Garraty. The American Nation. New York: Pearson Education, 2003.

• “nearly all German Americans were vigorously anti-Nazi” P-741
• Germans’ last reserves were exhausted after “the bulge” P-747
• Germany’s capital was reduced to rubble by Russian shells, and one German city fell almost daily.

Hein, Avi. “Hitler Youth.” 19 Apr. 2006. Jewish Virtual Library. 2006. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/hitleryouth.html.

• Baldur von Schirach was appointed Reich Youth Leader and his primary goal was to unify all of the different Nazi youth organizations. S-Top
• In 1935, the Hitler Youth comprised of 60% of the country’s youth, and by 1939, it owned 90% of the youth population. S-Top

• “German youth could join the Hitler Youth beginning at the age of 10. The organization was divided into two categories, one for members ages 10-14 and the other for members 14-18. The organizational structure was based on a military model, with squads, platoons, and companies.” S-1/2

Landwehr, Alfons. Personal Interview. 23 April 2006.
Pipes, Jason. “Heer - The Army 1935-1945.” 19 Apr. 2006. Feldgrau. 2005. http://www.feldgrau.com/main1.php?ID=2.

• “The German Heer, or army, was formed in May of 1935. It was formed after the passing of the "Law for the Reconstruction of the National Defense Forces". This law brought back into existance a free standing German army, navy and airforce, something that had been essentially banned after the end of World War I.” S-Top
• “Between 1939 and 1945 the Heer bore the majority of six years worth of fierce combat, some of which was so fierce - as on the Eastern Front - humankind will likely never again see such fighting. Although not immune to the overtones of politics and the occasional brush with questionable actions, the vast majority of German Heer units served with great distinction across many thousands of miles of battlefields.” S-4/5
•  S-Top

Tschik, Tom. “A German Soldier's Memory, The Eastern Front, Operation Barbarosa.” 19 Apr. 2006. ATT. http://home.att.net/~w.tomtschik/WW2OBindex.html.
S-Top

“I was drafted into the German Wehrmacht in early August 1940, and learned how to be a truck driver, that is, after the full four months as a recruit suffering through the peacetime Prussian Basic and AIT. I swear to you I still can recognize every single blade of grass on that wide meadow on which we had the pleasure to learn how to hit the dirt, crawl and all the other delights of Basic. I also learned how to disassemble the Mauser 98k rifle blindfolded and, as a bet, with my left hand tied behind my back.” S-Top

“the regular HE shells weighed s bit over 38 kilos, that is over 83 pounds (with the shaped-charge shells weighing in at 68 pounds); the propellant was in a separate cartridge, weighing almost 8 pounds. The ammunition capacity was stated as 35 shells; but every single loader found some space to squeeze three more shells in place not built as an ammo holder. The weight of the ammo was not the worst. The worst was that when the tube was at the highest angle, shoving over 86 pounds into the breech was a problem.” S-1/2

“The German soldier of World War II felt no hatred for the individual French soldier, or the British Tommy, or the Ami, as we called them then. The French were pitied because of their lousy leaders and the fact that they were forced to fight with over-aged weapons; the British were respected as good fighters under lousy commanders, and the Americans, well we didn’t really know what we should think about them, they were to new in the business of war. The Russians were hated with a red-hot passion because every one of us had seen what they did to German POWs.” S-3/4

Tran, Linda. “German Propaganda of WWII.” 20 Apr. 2006. PPSB. 2003. http://www.1.ppsb.org/schools/bhs/Hoyle/Linda.htm.
S-Top

• “During World War II, Germans used propaganda to persuade the public that Americans were the enemy.  Propaganda of defeatism was spread through France to inform the public to fear German military powers.  Much of this propaganda worked.” S-Top

• “Joseph Goebbels was Germany’s Propaganda Minister during World War II. He was a master at using propaganda.  Many of the ideas he spread were false. He claimed that the war was forced on Germany because England threatened Germany’s social revolution.” S-1/4

• “Pamphlets were often used to illustrate that the war was exciting so young men could enlist in the military.  Many were stories about soldiers’ missions and attacks.  Other pamphlets were used to describe that other countries’ military powers could be strong or weak.  It was used to encourage men to fight harder for their country, and not lose.” S-2/3

 

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