economic challenges Nazi period

Question 1

what did the Nazis still have to pay, not reparations?

Answer 1

government debt on borrowing

Question 2

what did the Nazis fail to pay in 1934? what did it cause?

Answer 2

US debts, trade with USA collapsed

Question 3

who drew up the New Plan?

Answer 3

Schacht

Question 4

what did the New Plan aim to do?

Answer 4

make trade treaties with other countries that involved exchanging goods rather than paying for imports

Question 5

when was the first 4 year plan announced, what was its aim?

Answer 5

1st jan 1933, achieving autarky as soon as possible, target unemployment and agriculture

Question 6

how were employment statistics changed so rapidly?

Answer 6

Depression out of worst, businesses employing again
Nazis manipulated statistics - Jews, women stopped from working
created work schemes

Question 7

what organisation created work schemes?

Answer 7

Reich Labour Service RAD

Question 8

what did the work schemes do?

Answer 8

provided manual work, often less pay than unemployment pay, basic food and accommodation

Question 9

what was the Reich Food Estate set up to do?

Answer 9

regulate food production, distribute farm produce, set prices and farm wages

Question 10

why did the Reich Food Estate (RNS) set up Reich agencies?

Answer 10

to control the importing of farm produce

Question 11

how much of the total of farm produce did German farmers provide in 1928 and 1934?

Answer 11

1928- 68%
1934-80%

Question 12

what did the Law for the Protection of Retail Trade do?

Answer 12

introduced 1933
stopped building of new department stores + banned expansion of existing ones
help small businesses

Question 13

what was the only union in the Nazi period?

Answer 13

German Labour Front (DAF)

Question 14

how did the DAF not support workers?

Answer 14

allowed big businesses to exploit workers more, workers not part of it found it harder to get jobs, controlled people and many of the working conditions

Question 15

what was the crisis of 1935-36?

Answer 15

countries demanding cash not trading of goods for goods, Germany still needed rearming and raw materials, also needed food
Schacht had to choose between materials or food

Question 16

what did the trading problems lead to for Germany?

Answer 16

guns vs butter debate
balance of payments problems

Question 17

what is a command economy?

Answer 17

economy where state not businesses or agriculture decides what and how much to produce

Question 18

what was the state suffering from in 1936?

Answer 18

high foreign debts because of raw material imports for rearmament and work creation

Question 19

when did the first 4 year plan run from and to?

Answer 19

1933-36

Question 20

what did the second 4 year plan focus on, who was in charge of it?

Answer 20

focus on autarky and preparing for war, Goering

Question 21

what did Goering control all of?

Answer 21

all business and agricultural production

Question 22

what 6 departments did Goering’s Office of the Four Year Plan have?

Answer 22

raw material production
agricultural production
distribution
labour
prices
foreign exchange matters

Question 23

what happened to the raw materials Germany couldn’t produce? example?

Answer 23

replaced by manufactured synthetic alternatives
e.g rubber replaced by Buna

Question 24

why were results of autarky not as rapid as hoped?

Answer 24

had to build new factories to produce synthetic goods
processes were new so technical difficulties arose

Question 25

what was the Guns vs Butter debate?

Answer 25

problem of reconciling needs of rearmament and needs of people for food, fuel and necessities

Question 26

why was it not just as simple as rearmament over food etc?

Answer 26

Hitler believed support of all people vital, so rationing would be unpopular, Nazi election promised work and bread

Question 27

how did the Nazis try to reeducate people?

Answer 27

used propaganda to urge people to consume less and change eating habits, said to be patriotic

Question 28

what was the situation over the economy like in 1939?

Answer 28

Nazis had tight control of economy, farming and industry didn’t always meet targets but focus much more on rearmament

Question 29

how much of its agricultural needs was Germany importing in 1938-39?

Answer 29

17%
1934 had been 20%

Question 30

which groups did the command economy make the Nazis unpopular with and why?

Answer 30

industrialists, manufacturers of consumer goods
resented Nazi levels of control

Question 31

why were wages regulated?

Answer 31

so people didnt have too much spending money, industry geared for war production not consumables

Question 32

what did the Strength Through Joy programme provide?

Answer 32

provisions of loans, medical care, extra food for mothers etc

Question 33

what was the National Socialist Peoples Welfare (NSV)? when was it set up?

Answer 33

1933
divided needy into those who deserved help and those who didntw

Question 34

what did the NSV set up and manage to create a strong healthy nation?

Answer 34

Mother and child programmes, creches, housing, yearly Winter aid programme providing food, clothing

Question 35

how many creches and mother and children programmes were there by 1938? why did the Nazis have these?

Answer 35

10,800
good way to influence children’s upbringing

Question 36

how much ammunition did the government have in store for the war, how did this compare to what it actually wanted?

Answer 36

had supplies of ammo for 6 weeks of war, wanted four months worth

Question 37

why was Fritz Todt ineffective at being minister of armaments and munitions?

Answer 37

could not get people and organisations to accept his power therefore couldnt centralise control of industry, multiple organisations continued to influence production and make it less effective

Question 38

what did the Central Planning Board do, when was it created?

Answer 38

April 1942, distribute raw materials, decide whether to build factory or expand existing one, organise transportation

Question 39

what happened to factories under the Central Planning Board?

Answer 39

closed smaller factories concentrating production of materials in few larger ones, machinery standardised, adapted to most efficient mass production techniques and machinery

Question 40

why was the economy overstretched and damaged in 1945?

Answer 40

allied bombing wiped out factories, mines, transport links etc
loss of land + raw materials
damage to electricity, gas + water supplies
sabotage by foreign workers
food production halted, people starving

Question 41

what were Mefo bills, how were they used?

Answer 41

IOUs that allowed the gov to buy armaments and delay payment as rearmament banned under Versailles

Question 42

why did Nazi policies create a balance of payments problems?

Answer 42

found jobs for people, money to spend but spent it on foreign goods, work schemes gave jobs but didnt produce any goods to export

importing more than exporting

Question 43

what did Germany become self sufficient in under the 4 year plan?

Answer 43

bread, sugar + potatoes

Question 44

why was the economy on the brink of another inflation in 1939?

Answer 44

massive amounts of money being spent on rearmament, gov pumped massive amounts of money in economy to pay for it