4. How did the Nazis Attempt Economic Recovery (1934-1945)? Flashcards
40% of what had declined by 1932?
40% of industrial production
Why was it significant that the industrial production of Germany declined?
Majority of Germany’s economy came from industry
What fraction of the German workforce was unemployed by 1932?
1/3
Who wasn’t included in the unemployment stats of 1932?
Women, particularly married women
How many major banks collapsed by 1932?
5
How many Germans were unemployed by 1933?
8 million
What temporarily let Germany off paying ToV reparations to enable economic recovery?
1931 Hoover Moratorium
1932 Lausanne Conference
What aspect of von Schleicher and von Papen’s leadership did Hitler keep when he came to power?
Work creation programmes
What had began to level out by late 1932, making January 1933 a good moment for Hitler to come to power?
Economic crisis of the Great Depression
What was the improving economic situation of Germany by late 1932 shown by?
Shown by the sought reduction of Nazi support in the Reichstag in late 1932
Economic promise made by Nazis in their electoral campaign: Nazi slogan promised to German citizens
Nazis promised German citizens “work and bread”, hoping to spread message of reducing unemployment
Economic promise made by Nazis in their electoral campaign: what the Nazis wanted in the short term
Economic recovery
Economic promise made by Nazis in their electoral campaign: 3 things the Nazis wanted in the long term
Autarky
Ersatz
War
Autarky
Economic self-efficiency without need to rely on imports in any area of life such as food, petrol and electricity
Ersatz
Replacement of goods, often of interior quality
Three stages of Nazi economic policy
Economic refival
Preparation for war
Wartime recovery
Period of economic revival
1933-36
Period of preparation for war
1936-39
Period of wartime economy
1939-45
Who was Nazi economic revival under?
Schacht
Who was Schacht?
A non-Nazi German economist/banker
What was the preparation of war called?
The Four Year Plan
What schemes did the Nazis introduce to give work to the unemployed?
Public spending schemes
4 policies of the First Four Year Plan
The “Battle of Work”
The “New Plan”
Mefo Bills
Big Business
What did the “Battle of Work” involve reducing?
Involved reducing unemployment following the GD
What did the “Battle of Work” involve large amounts of money being spent on?
Involved large amounts of money being spent on the building of public services (e.g. roads)
What did the “Battle of Work” stimulate? How?
Stimulated industrial protection by loans and tax relief from private companies
3 examples of the “Battle of Work”
Autobahns
Reich Labour Service 1935
Military conscription
Autobahns
Motorways
Reich Labour Service
Unemployed men compelled to do 6 months labour in farming or construction
What did the “Battle of Work” help to reduce? (Strength)
Unemployment
Limitations of the “Battle of Work”
Economic recovery had already begun before Nazis took power
Part of reduction of unemployment achieved by persuading married women to give up employment for men
What did the “New Plan” involve controls being put on?
Involved controls being put on:
-Wages and prices
-Access to foreign currency
What did Schacht initiate under the “New Plan”?
A series of trade agreements with foreign countries
What was Germany supplied with by the trade agreements with foreign countries?
Food and raw materials
On paper what did the “New Plan” bring about?
On paper it bought about economic revival
What was a negative consequence of the “New Plan”?
Food shortages caused by export import programme
Due to the “New Plan” what was the government’s spending dilemma?
Whether to spend money on food or rearmament
Who introduced Mefo Bills?
Schacht
Why were Mefo Bills introduced?
Because the Nazis needed to borrow money to finance rearmament, while avoiding dangers of inflation
What were Mefo Bills used to do?
Used for government to pay for its military equipment
What could Mefo Bills be exchanged for?
Cash
Strength of Mefo Bills
Rearmament programme could be kept secret since expenditure didn’t appear on government account
Were Mefo Bills a short or long term fix?
Short term
What did the big business policy involve?
Attempts to stimulate big business in order to stimulate economy
What were given to businesses to encourage them to take on more workers?
Subsidies
Subsidies
Contribution of money
What did the results of the Four Year Plan not match?
The claims of propaganda
By 1939, what fraction of German raw materials were imported?
1/3
What didn’t Germany have to achieve the regime’s aims of the Four Year Plan?
Germany didn’t have resources
Germany’s economy by 1939
Under severe strain
By mid-1936 what happened to unemployment?
It had fallen to 1.5 million
By mid-1936 what happened to industrial production?
It had increased by 60% since 1933
What did Schacht oppose? What did this result in?
He opposed the Nazi Policy of Autarky, resulting in him losing his influence after 1936
Who replaced Schacht?
Goering
What caused Schacht to resign?
Schacht felt that the promotion of Goering (less experiences and less responsible than himself) undermined him
What did Goering introduce in 1936?
The second Four Year Plan (2nd FYP)
Aims of Goering’s 2nd FYP
Rearmament
Work programmes to keep unemployment low
Autarky
What is a command economy? (Under the 2nd FYP)
An economy controlled by the government
Ways in which the 2nd FYP would be achieved: economy
Creating a managed economy with tight control
Ways in which the 2nd FYP would be achieved: targets
Setting production targets
Ways in which the 2nd FYP would be achieved: industry
Introducing state owned plants
Example of state owned plant introduced during 2nd FYP
German Goering Steelworks
Ways in which the 2nd FYP would be achieved: production
Increasing production of key commodities
Ways in which the 2nd FYP would be achieved: imports
Reducing Germany’s reliance on imports
“Guns or butter” debate
An economic choice between prioritising rearmament or consumer goods
Focus of Nazi propaganda from 1936-39 (during 2nd FYP): German items
Persuading people to only buy German goods, eat only German food and only use German raw materials
Focus of Nazi propaganda from 1936-39 (during 2nd FYP): savings
Persuading Germans to save up more money
Benefit of Germans saving more for Nazis
Savings would help fund investment in new production facilities
Focus of Nazi propaganda from 1936-39 (during 2nd FYP): image projected
Projecting image of success of Nazi economic policies
What did Nazi propaganda exaggerate following the Four Year Plans?
Exaggerated success of Nazi economic policies
What did Nazi propaganda cover up following the Four Year Plans?
Covered up failures of Nazi economic policies
Evidence of success of 2nd FYP: success of propaganda
Propaganda was successful during this period as population was persuaded to carry burden of rearmament programme, without mass opposition
Evidence of success of 2nd FYP: production expanse
Production of key materials expanded
Evidence of failure of 2nd FYP: arms production
Arms production never reached satisfactory level
Evidence of failure of 2nd FYP: imports
1/3 of Germany’s raw materials were imported
Success of 2nd FYP: how were farmers helped?
Farmers were helped by increased tariffs on imports and higher prices
