Economic changes in nazi Germany Flashcards
What was the national labour service (RAD)?
- men 18-25 had to spend 6 months
- they did mainly agricultural work
- Wore uniforms and lived in camps but got free meals and money
What were the public work schemes?
- New autobahns were built
- New infrastructure
- Offered 1000s of jobs
How did the Nazis lie about employment?
- women who gave up work to have a family didn’t count in the figures
- Part time counted as full time
- Out of work Jews that were sacked did not count in the jobless figures
What happened in the rearmament of Germany?
- created 1000s of jobs making new military equipment
- Factory owners made a fortune
- conscription from 1935 for 18-25 men for at least 2 years.
Army grew massively which led to even more jobs
What did the DAF (German labour front) do?
- replaced trade unions
- strikes were now illegal and workers needed to ask to leave
- promised to prep tech workers rights
- Had a scheme to save up for a Volkswagen but all saved money actually went towards rearmament
What was SDA (Beaty of labour)?
- workplaces were improved by installing better equipment for a better experience of work
What was KDF ( strength through joy)?
- leisure activities organised to encourage hard work.
Holidays, theatre and football match tickets if workers met requirements
Why could the Nazis approach to getting people work be seen as a failure?
- workers lost right and trade unions were banned
- people could be forced to work as many hours as the Nazis required
- some holidays that the KDF offered were still to expensive for most working class
- Food cost more due to the idea of being ‘self sufficient’, which meant Germany no longer relied on foreign imports
Who was originally appointed minister of economics?
Hjalmar Schacht
What did Hjalmar Schacht do?
- signed deals with South American and south east European countries to supply for raw materials
- However, despite going well, Germany was still dependant on foreign goods and progress was too slow so Hitler sacked him for Goering
What was the economy like under Hermann Goering?
- 1936 - 4 year plan to increase military production
- High targets were set and met by some industries but not some key industries
- Goering tried to make Germany self-sufficient so they didn’t rely on foreign materials
What were some examples of Germany’s new self sufficiency?
- petrol from coal
- artificial wool from wood pulp
- make up from flour
- coffee from acorns
What did Hitler do that was good for farmers?
- reduced taxes
- They could now not be thrown off their land if they got into debt
- Farmers could not divide land between their children which meant farms would be secure for generations
What did Hitler do that was bad for farmers?
- some farmers did not like the law that prevented the division of farms because their children had to look for jobs in cities instead
- late 1930s the Nazis controlled food prices
How did ww2 go for Germany?
It went well to begin with
The Battle of Stalingrad in Russia marked a turning point and Germany faced defeat
Ordinary citizens suffered hardship
