Breadth Study 1 - Economy Flashcards
1
Q
How much of European steel did Germany produce in 1914?
A
2/3
2
Q
How much of European coal did Germany produce in 1914?
A
1/2
3
Q
How much more electrical energy did Germany produce than Britain?
A
20%
4
Q
What are some examples of German Geography being impactful on the economy?
A
Masses of iron ore in Alsace Lorraine
Huge coalfields in Ruhr
Lots of potassium salts and coal
Lots of rivers and canals
5
Q
Why did national liberals support growth of railways?
A
Ability to transport good
6
Q
Between 1845 - 1870 how much did the railways grow by?
A
From 3280 kms to 19375 kms
7
Q
How did the development of steam engines boost Germanys economy?
A
Coal mining became more profitable
8
Q
How did large banks boost the German economy in early stages?
A
Encouraged investment
9
Q
How much did exports increase by in 1845 - 1860?
A
70%
10
Q
What were Germanys main exports in 1800s?
A
Coal and iron
11
Q
When did railways reach their peak?
A
1873
12
Q
When was the depression before the 1900s?
A
1875 - 1890
13
Q
What did electrical output grow by through 1890 - 1913?
A
18% per annum
14
Q
What are the key electrical firms in Germany?
A
AEG, Siemens, Halske
15
Q
What did the population grow by between 1890 to 1910?
A
50 million to 60 million
16
Q
Between 1895 and 1911 what did the number of constriction workers grow by?
A
Over a million
17
Q
What did cartelisation achieve?
A
It bettered off competition with huge oligopolies
18
Q
What is are the examples of the cartels created in early Germany?
A
Rhenish-Westphalian Coal Syndicate and the Steelworks Association
19
Q
What did Chancellor Caprini achieve?
A
Signed commercial treaties with a range of countries like Italy and Austria between 1890 and 1894
20
Q
What did the value of German exports increase by from 1872 to 1914?
A
£385 million
21
Q
Who was Walter Rathenau?
A
Head of War Raw Materials department and director of AEG-electricity
22
Q
What were the losses associated with the Treaty of Versailles?
A
100% of colonies
80% of fleet
48% of iron production
16% of coal production
12% of population
23
Q
What was the War Debt associated with WW2?
A
140,000 million marks
24
Q
What were the reparations payments needed?
A
2 billion marks
25
What led to economic recovery in manufacturing and exports?
The Dawes Plan
26
What was the main economic success after WW1?
The recovery of the German economy to pre-war levels by 1927 due to the Rentenmark
27
What technology helped with the economic success after WW1?
Assembly Lines
28
What were the workforce and production changes in the Ruhr after WW1?
Workforce declined by 33% and production increased by 18%
29
What economic areas were the Nazis focused on?
Public work schemes such as the Autobahn, self-sufficiency and rearmament
30
How did the Nazis invested heavily in industry?
Four Year Plan after 1936
44% of GDP in 1938
31
How was efficiency of German industry improved under the Nazis?
Albert Speer's Central Planning Board in 1942 was a group focused on efficiency
32
What was the primary reason for Germany's economic recovery after WW2?
Marshall Aid
33
What was the economic miracle?
Germanys recovery after WW2
34
How did external wars benefit Germany?
The Korean War (1950-1953) required the type of industrial goods Germany specialised in
35
What happened to German GNP in the 1950s?
It trebled
36
How did Germany's economical focus change after WW2?
Moved away from heavy industry and mining towards advanced machinery, electronics, cars and services
37
When did West Germany become the strongest economy in Europe?
1963
38
When did West Germany reach near-full employment?
1958
39
When did the economic miracle come to an end?
1963
40
What were the four reasons for the economic miracle?
The residual strength of the German economy
West Germany's place
American Investment
Labour relations
41
How did Germany's residual strength lead to the economic miracle?
Lots of German infrastructure remained after WW2 in 1949
There were also lots of skilled workers willing to return to work
42
How did West Germany's place lead to the economic miracle?
West Germany stayed out the Cold War reducing GV spending
Large demand for luxury goods that Germany produced after economic boom of 1951
Influx of 3.6million refugees from the East
43
How did American Investment lead to the economic miracle?
Marshall Aid brought $99 million to the German economy
American investment allowed the economy to the peak-Nazi economy
44
How did Labour relations lead to the economic miracle?
The cooperative union prevented wage increases
Followed co-determination after 1951 meaning workers had a large say in management
Over 1000 employees in iron/steel became workers representatives
Established Workers Council in 1952 which prevented striking
45
What fraction of workers worked in agriculture in 1871?
2/3
46
What percentage of workers worked on farms or forestry land by 1925?
30%
47
Why was the war especially negative for agriculture?
They took peasants and horses to the front
48
Why was early globalisation a problem for the Junker?
German rye farming was expensive whereas cheap food from Ukraine and the US were becoming more widely available
49
Why was hyperinflation beneficial for farmers?
They were able to live off their land and were able to pay back their debt
50
Why were the 1920s a bad era for German farmers?
They didn't have enough money to purchase technology such as tractors allowing for US and Russian farmers to become more efficient
51
Why were world food prices falling in the Weimar period?
Overproduction of food
52
Why did German food prices especially low?
There was a major price fall in 1928 and by 1930 they were at a third of the initial value
53
What happened to agricultural income between 1928 and 1932?
It dropped by 40%
54
What was the average agricultural income compared to the whole of Germany in the Weimar period?
44%
55
What were the farmers opinions on the Nazi party?
Very positive as shown by the large support from Rural Lower Saxony, Upper Bavaria and Schleswig-Holstein in the 1928 election
56
What was the Osthilfe programme?
After the Great Depression the German government bought farms and then resold them to the family with a large discount to allow families to invest
57
Why did the split hurt West Germany's agricultural sector?
Most of the farmland was in the East
58
What happened to the agricultural workplace between 1950 and 1970?
Fell by 1.6 million
59
What percentage of GDP was farming in 1956 and 1989?
11% in 1956 and 1.6% in 1989
60
What happened to the number of farms between 1960 to 1990?
Went from 1.6 million to 630,000
61
When did the Reichstag pass a protective tariff law?
1879
62
Why did the protective tariff law harm the agricultural sector?
It led to an increase in the price of bread and thus a rise in socialism
63
What position was the German navy in by 1897?
7th largest but in decline
64
Who was Alfred von Tirpitz?
He established the Navy League pressure group which was heavily supported by industrialists
In 1898 he introduced a bill to create 17 ships in 7 years
65
When were there further naval bills encouraged by the Kaiser?
1906, 1912, 1918
66
When did Schacht become President of the Reichsbank?
March 1933
67
When did Schacht become Minister of the Economics?
August 1934
68
What did Schacht achieve for the financial sector?
He created a new Supervising Office to regulate the banking system to improve trust
69
What did Schacht achieve for workers?
Between 1933 and 1935 he invested 5 billion marks in public work programmes
Unemployment fell from 2.7 million in 1934 to 1.7 million in 1935
70
What did Schacht achieve for German industry?
Gave 12 billion marks in mefo bills meaning the industry would receive it later
He also used mefo bills for 50% of arms expenditure between 1934-1936
71
What was Schacht's new plan?
In September 1934 Schacht bought lots of raw materials from SE Europe and South America with marks that could only be spent on German goods
72
What was the point of Goering's four year plan?
To speed up military and self-sufficiency
73
What industries were banned and which were prioritised in the Four Year Plan?
Mortgages and house building were stopped but synthetic rubber and fuels were encouraged
74
Was the Four Year Plan successful?
No, whilst synthetic fuel production rose by 130% but this was only 18% of what was needed
75
Under Nazi Germany what happened to wages?
They were kept constant but this led to excess demand for labour in 1939 leading to falls in employment
76
Was Nazi Germany productive?
Yes, they were able to reach rearmament by 1939 despite the expected year of 1942 without significant inflation
77
What happened to armaments production from 1639 to 1642?
It was 32% higher
78
What happened to the productivity of armaments under Speer?
Munitions per worker rose by 60% and production of weapons rose by 130%
79
How many women joined the workforce during wartime?
Only 271,000
80
How did Nazi policy on imports indirectly help farmers?
People became reliant on German food instead of cheaper international alternatives
81
When did Nazis give subsidies to farmers?
1938
82
How did Nazi military policy hurt farming?
Increased focus on military there was less technological advancements in farming
83
How many people left the countryside between 1933 and 1938?
Around 1 million
84
Who was Ludwig Erheart?
Germany's finance minister after the creation of Bizonia
85
How did Erheart's policies differ from ideas of Hitler and Bismarck?
He took all of the American aid and Russian money offered during the Cold War
86
What did President Truman state to introduce on 12 June 1947?
Economic and military assistance to capitalist nations
87
When did Congress aid for West European states and how much?
$17billion in April 1948
88
What percentage of German imports did Marshall Aid pay for?
37% and helped improve railway, electrical and steel industries
89
When did Germany reach 40% of pre-war output?
1946
90
When was the ECSC formed?
April 1951
91
Who were the first members of the ECSC?
France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and Netherlands
92
When and what was the Treaty of Rome?
1957 - Created the EEC and Common Market
93
What did the Treaty of Rome cause for the German economy in 1981?
45% if exports went to other EEC members
94
When was CAP established?
1962
95
What did CAP achieve for Germany?
Greatly weakened their farming industries
96
What was CAP?
A single European market for agricultural goods leading to mass production and excess supply
97
What happened to German sugar exports between 1971 and 1979?
Rose by 19%
98
What percentage of EEC funding went into CAP?
70%
99
What percentage of CAP spending was on West Germany?
30%
100
By 1989 what happened to German farmers income?
2/3 was made from state subsidies and CAP and made up 50% of EEC spending
101
What happened to food prices in Germany by 1970s?
They were 2 to 5 times higher than world food prices
