Changes in Standard of Living 1918-89: Flashcards
Weimar: Standard of Living for Workers:
-Received several welfare benefits e.g. 8 hour working day
-Wages rose by about 30% in 1930 than compared to 1924.
-Government spending on housing and welfare increased, particularly in the Stresemann years.
During early Weimar years, workers enjoyed high standard of living mostly due to the growing influence of trade unions and the fact that the SPD were in a high position of power.
-Towards end of era it got worse. Welfare spending stopped as it was too expensive and unemployment increased massively.
How much higher was government spending on housing in 1925 when compared to 1913?
20 times higher.
Standard of Living for middle class:
-hyperinflation wiped out their savings and forced them to sell or barter property e.g. Von Lingens family.
-critical of the Americanisation of culture which effected how they spent their time.
-The emerging middle class did better: they were able to pay off their debt during Hyperinflation whereas the established middle class could not.
The Great Depression:
-Many lost their jobs or saw their pay decline.
-Lost their savings due to bank collapse.
Overall, they felt threatened by the WC as they were better protected by the SPD.
Farmers:
-Early years saw tight regulation of produce as it was needed to feed a starving population.
included price capping which led to decreased standard of living.
Stresemann years:
1922-24 - Tended to do better as their food had increased value.
1924-29 - Cheap imports led to their products losing value as they had to compete with US imports.
TGD:
-People stopped buying food as much due to mass unemployment and as a result farmers suffered.
-Price of agricultural products dropped by 25%.
Nazi Regime: Importance of Standard of Living to the Nazis:
Hitler recognised the importance of keeping the population happy e.g. avoided bread rationing even during war.
(standard of living actually dropped under the Nazis though, mostly due to the policy of autarky and rearmament.)
Workers under Nazi regime:
-Hitler strove to decrease worker power as they were potentially going to hinder his strive for rearmament through strikes etc. hence why he created his own trade union.
-Working hours increased from 43 to 47 hours and wages were 3% lower once the Nazis took power.
KdF: set up in 1933 by some Nazis who were committed to Volksgemeinschaft.
-Sports training.
-Theatre and opera tickets.
-art exhibitions.
However, workers had little to no choice in the entertainment provided.
Women workers under Nazi regime:
-Number of women in work increased by 3.4 million from 1933 -1939
-They were encouraged to take clerical jobs.
-Average woman’s wage was around half the wage of a man –> forced many women into prostitution.
Middle class / industrialists under Nazi Regime:
Benefitted from:
-Destruction of trade unions.
-Government contracts for munitions.
IG Farben was very closely linked to the Nazis - instrumental in formulating the 4 year plan. As a result it became one of the largest businesses in the world - RM1.6 Billion.
Some other businesses came into conflict with the Nazis e.g. United Steelworks over Goering’s insistence on mining unusable steel.
Small businesses:
-Benefitted from destruction of unions.
-Lost out on the strive for rearmament.
-Schachts policies to ban textile import meant some suffered.
Farmers under the Nazi Regime:
RNS aimed to help farmers but their policies backfired.
-Price controls meant that they couldn’t pay workers well, and the RNS always took a cut of their profits.
-Women could no longer inherit farmland.
Higher ups essentially thought there problems would be solved once Lebensraum was achieved.
FRG: Consumer demand:
-High standards of living meant that Germans had more disposable income: car ownership had risen by 10 million by 1965 from 1950.
-95% of the population had access to washing machines, phones, fridges etc.
Cost of Living:
Relatively cheap cost of living boosted extra spending money e.g. price index was 100 in FRG and 121 in GDR.
-It began to rise in the 70s with slight inflation due to high wages but then decreased in the 80s - inflation then never reached higher than 3% for the rest of the decade.
