UMMUN 2007 Background Guide

British & German War Cabinets

UMMUN 2007

UMMUN 2007

Dear Delegates,

Welcome to the British and German War Cabinets! We are looking forward to working with you all at UMMUN 2007.

Last year, UMMUN included a British War Cabinet. The committee was such a success that we have expanded it into a joint crisis with a German War Cabinet. The cabinets will be responding to one another’s decisions over the course of the conference. The goal of this joint committee is to simulate the political situation of World War Two. We will stick to historical facts prior to our starting point in the spring of 1940, but after that point, you, the delegates, will have the opportunity to rewrite history. Do not assume that certain events will take place in the future – your decisions in committee rather than the facts you have learned in history textbooks will dictate the course of World War Two.

There are three directors for BGWC this year at UMMUN. Stephanie Fitton is a sophomore planning to apply to the School of Architecture here at the University of Michigan. Stephanie worked on the British War Cabinet last year at UMMUN and is looking forward to its expansion into a joint committee. Dan Jenkins is a junior majoring in history. He directed the UMMUN’s Security Council last year and hopes to apply his knowledge of history to this more historically-based committee. Dana Chidiac is a junior majoring in English. Last year at UMMUN, she worked with Stephanie on the British War Cabinet and she hopes to explore the issues of World War Two through the perspective of the German Cabinet.

Please use this background guide as a starting point for your research. We look forward to meeting you in January!

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Table of contents

...... Page Committee Background...... 1 Mission Statement...... 1 Topic Overview...... 1 Overview of the War...... 1 History of the Cabinets ...... 2 Cabinet Members ...... 2 Committee Rules...... 8 References...... 11

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1 Topic overview

The committee begins in the spring of 1940 with the world at war. On May 10th, was sworn in as British Prime Minister to replace . Holland has fallen to the Nazis, and the German effort to conquer France is intensifying. The goals of the committees include management of the war but also diplomacy. The United States has officially declared neutrality, has made a pact with but has not declared war, and the Soviets have their own Non-Aggression Pact with the Germans. For the British, diplomacy is necessary to get foreign aid for the war effort and to prevent Germany from gaining other allies, but the diplomacy currently in use does not appear to be working. For the Germans, the cabinet must balance expansionary policy with the politics of self-preservation: how to expand without creating too many adversaries to handle at once.

Overview of the War

While the origins and causes of this war are many, the commencement of hostile actions by Germany can be traced to the order to reoccupy the Rhineland on March 7th, 1936. From this point until now, Germany under the leadership of Chancellor will continue attempting to unify Europe under the banner of the Third Reich. Outside of Europe, troops from Italy seized Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on May 5th, 1936. Benito Mussolini declares the war in Ethiopia over. Also in 1936, Japan signs the Anti- Cominterm Pact, officially declaring their place beside Germany and Italy. In 1938, Hitler focused his on his homeland of . Hitler installed a puppet government in Austria and proceeded to send in troops on March 12th, 1938. Later in that same year, a meeting of the 4 big European powers (Germany, Italy, France, Britain) agreed to the turn-over of the Sudetenland to Germany. Less than 6 months later, German troops took control over the rest of Czechoslovakia. Hitler had conquered two nations in a year without firing a single shot. At this point, other European nations figured out that Hitler was not going to stop at Czechoslovakia and the British and French began forming alliances with the other European nations yet to fall under German or Italian control. On August 30th, 1939, mobilized its armies in preparation for a German attack. A week earlier, Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression treaty so any foray into Poland would not start a conflict with the Soviets. On September 1st, 1939, Germany began its invasion of Poland. On the 17th, Soviet troops moved in to claim the eastern half of Poland. By the 27th, the last of the Polish troops surrendered. After the fall of Poland, both the Germans and British wrestled for the alliance of Norway and Sweden. Neither country wanted to do anything to sway favor to the opposing side, so no major military engagements were fought over these nations. Denmark fell in one day (April 9th, 1940) without an army to defend its borders. Eventually, Germany moved against Norway and the Allies (Britain and France) attempted to resist the Germans, but after Germany took and the , the Allies decided to pull out their troops. The now defenseless Norway agreed to an armistice with Germany and the Germans placed 300,000 men in Norway to secure the north.

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2 On May 10th, 1940, Germany launched a massive assault on the low-lying regions of Belgium and the Netherlands. On that same day, Winston Churchill became the prime minister and defense minister of Great Britain. Brussels became the fifth capital conquered by Germany in 9 months and the port city of Antwerp fell on May 18th. The invasion of France also began on May 10th with the Germans sidestepping the Maginot Line. The Allies offer some resistance in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, but the Allies have their backs against the wall with the superior numbers and tactics of the Germans bearing down upon them.

History of the Cabinets

German War Cabinet

Hitler’s cabinet in the Third Reich underwent numerous changes from Hitler’s ascension to power in 1933 through 1940. The cabinet started out with 11 members including the Chancellor himself in January 1933. By March of that year, had been appointed to the new position of Minister of Propaganda. New ministries were added in the years preceding the outbreak of the war I 1939, including the ministries of Aviation, Science and Education, Forestry, Ecclesiastical Affairs, and finally, in March 1940, the ministry of Armament and Ammunition. In addition to these new ministries, several new ministers without portfolio were added to the cabinet so that by 1940 Hitler’s cabinet included 24 ministers, five of them ministers without portfolio. Hitler used all of his cabinet members as advisers – and especially supporters – on the war and in capacities not necessarily related to their official positions.

British War Cabinet

When Winston Churchill became Prime Minister in 1940, he retained his predecessor, Neville Chamberlain, in the British cabinet position of Lord President of the Council. The war cabinet was not hugely powerful in the less action-packed first eight months of the war, which was called the “Phony War” under Chamberlain’s premiership. A British expedition to Norway to counter a German invasion there in 1940 made it clear that the Prime Minister and his cabinet would need to be more active in the war. After this mission, members of the government saw that Chamberlain had proved to be a weak war leader and called for his resignation. After Chamberlain resigned and Churchill assumed the premiership, the British war cabinet became a more powerful force in the war.

Cabinet Members

BRITISH WAR CABINET – SPRING 1940

Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, Minister for Aircraft Production

Aitken was a British-Canadian businessman, financier, and politician who moved to London from Canada to establish a lucrative and powerful newspaper business at the turn

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3 of the century. He offered his considerable services to the Canadian government at the outbreak of the Great War and eventually established the Canadian War Records Office in London. After the war he continued the expansion of his newspaper empire, becoming the first “baron of Fleet Street,” and he was appointed Minister of Information for the British government in 1918. In 1940 Churchill appointed him the Minister of Aircraft Production and eventually the Minister of Supply.

John Anderson, Lord President of the Council

Anderson (1882-1958) was a Scottish statesman who began his career with the British civil service in 1905 in the Colonial Office. He also served in Ireland and the Home Office, and was eventually appointed as Governor of Bengal in 1932. In 1938 he was elected to the House of Commons as a National MP, or a non-party national government supporter. He joined Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s Cabinet as Lord Privy Seal that same year and was placed in of air raid preparations. A year later, after the outbreak of the war with Germany, he returned to service in the Home Office until appointed to Winston Churchill’s War Cabinet as Lord President of the Council. In addition to serving on the War Cabinet, Anderson presided over the Lord President’s Committee. Anderson is also remembered for his part in the development of the Anderson air-raid shelter, an underground steel structure that was widely used in Britain during the war.

Clement Attlee, Lord Privy Seal and Deputy Prime Minister

Attlee was educated as lawyer and, after turning to socialism, joined the Independent Labour Party, to which he remained allied for the rest of his career. He joined the army and served in the Great War, after which he entered the world of politics. He was appointed to his first governmental post as Under-Secretary of State of War for the First Labour Government. Attlee managed to survive the political turmoil of the next several decades and became the leader of the Labour party in 1935. Within Churchill’s Labour- Liberal wartime after the outbreak of World War II, Attlee acted as Churchill’s regular deputy and took on many of the Prime Minister’s civil responsibilities so that Churchill could concentrate primarily on military matters.

Ernest Bevin, Minister of Labor

Bevin became involved in labor issues early on and was a member of several committees during the Great War which handled allocation of labor for the war effort. After the end of the war, he became a founding leader of the Transport and General Workers Union and one of the leading trade unionists in Britain. Distrustful of parliamentary politics, he allied nominally with the Labour party and became involved with foreign policy, and his political activism led in part to the Attlee’s appointment as head of the Labour party in 1935. In 1940 Churchill appointed him Minister of Labour and National Service.

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4 Winston Churchill, Prime Minister

Churchill began his career as a soldier and military correspondent before being elected to Parliament in 1900 as a Conservative candidate. However, he soon split with the Conservatives on various issues, subsequently leaving that party to join the Liberals. His first ministerial position, Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, came in 1905. The next four decades were filled with political turmoil for Churchill, and he returned to the Conservative party in 1925. Always a highly outspoken and controversial figure, he was ultimately excluded from the National Government Cabinet in 1931. Despite his fall from grace, Churchill continued to use his considerable energies to vocally oppose British foreign policy. After the outbreak of World War II, Churchill rejoined the government as First Lord of the Admiralty until Chamberlain’s resignation in May 1940. Churchill was then appointed Prime Minister, and he immediately set about energizing the war effort and strengthening British resolve at a time when German victory in Europe seemed virtually inevitable.

Anthony Eden, Minister of Foreign Affairs

Eden initially entered the world of politics as a Conservative in Parliament, but quickly shifted his role to foreign affairs. He served in the Foreign Office and as the minister to the League of Nations between the two World Wars. He was promoted to Foreign Secretary in 1935 but resigned in 1938 when Chamberlain began negotiations with Italy. He rejoined the government at the outbreak of the war, and was made Secretary of State for War by Churchill after Churchill’s appointment as Prime Minister. An ally and close confidant of Churchill, Eden often served as Churchill’s lieutenant in many government functions, although Churchill conducted most of the more important foreign policy affairs.

Arthur Greenwood, Minister Without Portfolio

Greenwood became one of the preeminent members of the Labour Party beginning in the 1920s. A former economics instructor at Leeds University, Greenwood was most noted for his competent handling of his party’s research department. He entered Parliament in 1922 and was elected deputy leader of Labour under ’s leadership in 1935. He was appointed to the War Cabinet by Churchill in 1940 as a Minister Without Portfolio.

Sir Howard Kingsley Wood, Chancellor of the Exchequer

Wood began his career in city government, serving on the London City Council until his election to Parliament as a Conservative in 1919. In subsequent governments he also served as Postmaster-General, Minister of Health, and Secretary of State for Air. During his time in this last post, he is credited with implementing the Empire Air Training Plan and with significantly increasing the strength of the Royal Air Force. He was then appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer by Churchill, giving Wood the power over and responsibility for the national budget.

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5 GERMAN WAR CABINET – SPRING 1940

Adolf Hitler, Chancellor

Hitler became a staunch German patriot while fighting in for the Bavarian army. He emerged from the war with a strong conviction that Germany’s defeat resulted from betrayal from within. He immediately joined the German Workers Party and became involved in politics. National anger with the Versailles Treaty, economic collapse, and increasing social tension allowed Hitler and what would become the to become more and more influential in German politics in the following decades. Using a combination of charisma and propaganda, Hitler was ultimately appointed Chancellor in 1933 and then consolidated power until he attained supreme authority over the state with nearly full support of the German public. He also began rearmament and ended compliance with the terms of the Versailles Treaty. In 1939 Hitler ordered the invasion of Poland, and the Second World War began.

Joachim von Ribbentrop, Minister of Foreign Affairs

Ribbentrop joined the National Socialists in 1932 after serving in the German army during World War I and helped to engineer Hitler’s rise to power in 1933. This personal assistance greatly helped his status within the party and his personal relationship with Hitler, and Ribbentrop became a loyal Nazi. He spent the next five years as an unofficial diplomat, and his success in foreign policy negotiations with nations such as Great Britain further enhanced his prestige at home. In 1938 he was appointed Foreign Minister, and the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Nonaggression Pact with Russia in 1939 was considered one of the highest points of Ribbentrop’s career.

Wilhelm Frick, Minister of the Interior

Until the end of World War I, Frick served in the Bavarian civil service as a lawyer at the police headquarters. He was director of the Kriminalpolizei – Germany’s professional detective agency – by 1923, when he participated in the Beer Hall Putsch. Frick was arrested and tried for treason, but he was only given a suspended sentence and lost his police job. He was elected to the in 1924 and joined the National Socialists the following year. Hitler came to power in 1933, and Frick was then appointed Minister of the Interior and helped to draft many of the policies that would define the Nazi regime under Hitler’s rule.

Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk, Minister of Finance

Krosigk, a member of an old German aristocratic family, studied law and political science at several foreign universities, including Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, and served honorably in World War I. He attained the rank of First Lieutenant and earned the for his service. After the war, he was identified as a conservative but did not ally with any particular political party. He entered the German government in 1920 within the treasury department, and he steadily rose through the government ranks. In 1932,

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6 Chancellor appointed Krosigk as Minister of Finance. Krosigk continued in this post through Hitler’s rise to power at the request of then-President .

Franz Seldte, Minister of Labor

Like many other cabinet ministers, Seldte served as an officer in the German army during World War I. He lost his left arm in the war, thereby earning the Iron Cross and a promotion to captain-in-reserve, before becoming a field reporter. After the war, he co- founded the Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten, a paramilitary Freikorps group formed to promote and oppose the . Seldte joined the National Socialists in 1933 and merged the Stahlhelm into the (SA), the primary Nazi paramilitary organization. He rose through the ranks of the SA to the status of SA- Obergruppenführer, and in 1934 he took the leadership of the German League of Front Fighters until the organization dissolved soon after. He continued his government service at Hitler’s insistence and was made Minister of Labor in the cabinet.

Hermann Göring, Minister of Aviation, Minister of Forestry, and Commander-in-Chief of the

Göring emerged a hero from the Great War and joined the Nazi party in 1922. His first appointment was Oberste SA-Führer (commander of the Sturmabteilung), but he stepped down soon after and was instead appointed SA-Gruppenführer, a post he still held at the outbreak of World War II. He joined the Reichstag in 1928 and was one of the engineers behind the rise of the Nazi party and the takeover of the German government. He thereafter held various ministerial positions, and he was also responsible for overseeing Germany’s rearmament and rebuilding of the economy. In 1935 Göring was appointed head of the Luftwaffe, which he modernized in preparation for the coming war. 1939 brought the long-awaited invasion of Poland and the beginning of war. Göring’s Luftwaffe destroyed the Polish Air Force within the space of two days, and his political and military reputation reached new heights.

Joseph Goebbels, Minister of Propaganda

Rejected from army service because of a club foot, Goebbels graduated with a Ph.D. in Literature and Philosophy from the University of Heidelburg in 1921 and spent the next several years as a journalist and unsuccessful author. He joined the Nazi party in 1924 and was elected to the Reichstag four years later. During the following years, Goebbels was largely responsible for creating the massive Nazi propaganda machine that helped the party achieve public acceptance and eventually take power. As Minister of Propaganda, he was given the authority to regulate the arts, the media, and many other aspects of German cultural life. Goebbels was also involved with the events of Kristallnacht in 1938.

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7

Otto Meissner, Minister of State and Head of the Chancellery

Meissner earned a Doctorate in law and worked as a bureaucrat for the Reichsbahn until he joined an infantry regiment in the German army to serve in the First World War in 1915. Through his various business and political connections, after the war in 1919 he was appointed to government office as Acting Advisor in the Bureau of the President. In 1923, Meissner became Secretary of State, and he remained in post throughout the turmoil of the rise of the National Socialists. Eventually his role was merged into Hitler’s as Führer, and Meissner’s office thus became the Presidential Chancellery. In 1937, Hitler formally designated Meissner the Chief of the Presidential Chancellery of the President and Chancellor.

Walther Funk, Minister of Economic Affairs

Funk was a student of economics at the University of Berlin and the University of Leipzig. After the end of World War I, he went to work as a financial journalist for the Berliner Börsenzeitung until he resigned in 1931 when he joined the National Socialists. He met Hitler and became one of his chief economic advisors, strongly advocating the importance of free enterprise and guiding the Führer away from more radical anti-capitalist economic policy. He was elected as a Reichstag deputy in 1932. He left his Reichstag posts soon after to become the Chief Press Officer of the Third Reich, and later a State Secretary at the Ministry of Propaganda. In 1937, Hitler appointed Funk the Minister of Economics. Funk also assumed the role of President of the two years later.

General , Director of the Wehrmacht High Command

Keitel was a military man from the beginning, joining as a cadet officer in 1901 and serving in World War I. However, injury took Keitel off of the front lines, and he was reposted to the German General Staff. He remained in military service after the end of the war, participating and helping organize various Freikorps activities such as Polish border patrols. In 1924 he joined the Reichstag Defense Ministry and moved through the ranks to become head of the organization department. Keitel was recommended for his work to Hitler after the Nazi rise to power, and he was subsequently made chief of the Armed Forces Office in 1935. The Supreme Command of the Armed Forces (OKW) was created in 1939, with Keitel as Chief of the OKW at its head. He was soon after promoted to field marshal as befitted his new post.

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8 RULES OF COMMITTEE

Language: English is the working language of the British War Cabinet (BWC) and German War Cabinet (GWC). If another language is used, an English translation must be provided.

Attire: Delegates should wear Western business attire during all sessions. Period clothing is acceptable.

Conduct: Delegates should conduct themselves in a diplomatic manner, including, but not limited to, showing courtesy to the staff and to other delegates, respecting others who have been given time to speak, and refraining from vulgarity during committee sessions.

The Chair: It is the chair’s duty to direct debate, call delegates to speak, and decide on motions by the body of the committee. The chair may set speaking time and rule motions out of order. The chair also reserves the right to declare topics to be non-substantive. He may, if he so wishes, delegate this authority to a member of his staff. He also reserves the right to make alterations to the rules should the need arise.

Quorum: Committee session may begin when at least one-half of the delegates are present. If a delegate believes the necessary quorum is not present, he or she may request a quorum count. Otherwise, a quorum will be assumed.

Roll Call: At the beginning of each session, the chair will take a roll call of all delegates. Delegates arriving late should send a notice to the chair.

Agenda: The BWC and GWC have no set agenda. Thus, there will be no debate on setting the agenda. Moreover, discussion may flow freely between topics without a formal vote.

SPEECHES

Speeches: No delegate may speak without first being recognized by the chair. The chair reserves the right to call a delegate to order if his/her remarks are not germane to the issues before the Cabinet.

Speakers’ List: The BWC and GWC have no Speakers’ List. Delegates will be chosen by the chair to speak. Typically, the chair will ask for delegates wishing to speak, delegates will raise their placards, and the chair will call on one.

Speaking Time: Speaking times are at the discretion of the chair. He will, however, consider heavily the desires of the Cabinet when it comes to length.

Yields: There are no yields, as there is no Speakers’ List.

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9

Comments: There are no comments.

POINTS

Point of Personal Privilege: If for some reason the delegate is impaired from participating in the debate, he or she may rise to a point of personal privilege and request that the impairment be rectified. Examples include requesting that the speaker talk louder because he or she cannot be heard, requesting that the temperature of the room be changed, or requesting that more water be brought into the committee room. A point of personal privilege may also be used to increase or decrease speaking times. Points of personal privilege may interrupt speeches, but should only do so in the most serious circumstances, such as when a speaker cannot be heard.

Point of Parliamentary Inquiry: If a delegate has a question concerning the workings of the Cabinet, he or she may rise to a point of inquiry.

DOCUMENTS

Working Papers: Working papers are the primary means of sharing ideas in a well-organized manner. They may take a number of forms, but all serve a similar purpose: enacting or expressing the Cabinet’s will. Working papers may be voted on directly (that is, they need not be accepted as “resolutions”), but they must be presented to the committee in a suitable fashion beforehand.

Types of working papers include:

• Press releases: The BWC and GWC may issue press releases to the various media (radio, periodicals, wire services, foreign media, etc.). Although they cannot in and of themselves enact policy, they are a good way of communicating with the rest of the country and/or the world. • Radio addresses: The Cabinet can vote to have the chair give an address of his or of the Cabinet’s design to the nation via radio. • Military action: The Cabinet has control over military activities, and thus can issue orders. • Others: If the Cabinet believes an action to be in its interest that is not listed above, it should be brought up to the chair. He will consider it and decide whether the Cabinet has the power in question.

Voting: Working papers will require a qualified majority to pass. All delegates present are required to vote. Votes allowed include yes, no, or abstain. Other votes may be considered. For the most part, voting will be done by a show of hands.

Qualified Majority: A qualified majority is defined as “the consent of the chair.”

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10 For the most part, decisions will be made on a majority basis. From time to time, however, the chair reserves the right to veto the decisions of the Cabinet.

Solitary Action: Delegates have complete control over their departments and the actions taken by their departments. They are encouraged to stay well-informed about and engaged in the activities of their department as long as they do not violate the will of the Cabinet. They have control over information requests about their departments by other delegates, but can be compelled by the chair to reveal information to the body as a whole.

Amendments: Working papers may be amended either before they are voted upon by the delegate(s) who prepared them, or they may be amended ad hoc immediately before voting. That is, if the body believes that a paper is worth voting except for a specific sentence, that sentence may be cut out.

MOTIONS

Caucus: If a delegate believes a break from formal debate is necessary, he or she may motion for a caucus. Caucuses are at the discretion of the chair, but he will attempt to keep the interests of the committee members in mind. (“Caucus,” for the purposes of the BWC and GWC, will always be unmoderated.)

Appealing the Decision of the Chair: Any decision the chair makes may be appealed. However, for an appeal to pass, the Cabinet must vote unanimously against the chair.

Suspension of Debate: If the floor is open and there are fewer than ten minutes left in the current session, a delegate may motion for suspension of debate until the next Cabinet session. This motion ends all committee functions until the beginning of the next session. The chair reserves the right to rule absolutely on this question.

Adjournment of Committee: If the floor is open within ten minutes of the end of the last session of conference, a delegate may motion for the adjournment of the Cabinet. This is solely at the chair’s discretion.

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11 References

Bard, Mitchell. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to World War II. Alpha, 2004.

CNN. 9 Aug 2006 .

Johann Ludwig Graf Schwerin von Krosigk. 8 Sept 2006 .

Nazi Germany. 16 Sept 2006 .

Second World War Encyclopedia. 28 Aug 2006 .

Wikipedia. .

The World War I Document Archive. Brigham Young University Library. 9 Aug 2006 .

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