Economic development and policies

Question 1

What evidence is there about the state of the German economy when the Nazi’s took control?

Answer 1

• economy had shrunk by 40%
• 8 million unemployed
• agriculture recession
• demand for German goods was low

Question 2

who was in charge of the economy in Nazi Germany 1933-36?

Answer 2

Hjalmar Schacht

Question 3

How did Schacht help farmers get reasonable prices for their produce?

Answer 3

Introduced subsidies on tariffs on imported goods

Question 4

How much did public investment increase by?

Answer 4

tripled

Question 5

What was built under the public works schemes?

Answer 5

motorways, houses, libraries and schools

Question 6

what did Schacht create to help pay for government spending?

Answer 6

Mefo bills - gov IOUs used as an extra currency. Could be exchange for real currency after 5 years

Question 7

Which countries did Schacht arrange bilateral trade with?

Answer 7

e.g. Romania and Yugoslavia

Question 8

what suggests that Schacht’s reforms were successful by 1936?

Answer 8

• unemployment fell to 1.5 million

- production increased by 90%

Question 9

What was the major weakness in the German economy that Schacht failed to solve?

Answer 9

Trade.

Still imported more than exported

Question 10

What was the name for the ‘war economy’ that Hitler wished to create?

Answer 10

Wehrwirtschaft

Question 11

Why did Hitler remove Schacht from power in 1936?

Answer 11

they disagreed over military spending

Schacht wanted to focus on exports, Hitler wanted tp focus on war economy

Question 12

What did the phrase ‘Guns or Butter’ refer to?

Answer 12

economic choice in the mid 30s between rearmament and consumer goods

Question 13

Who replaced Schacht as economics minister?

Answer 13

Hermann Goering. Was prepared to go along with Hitlers vision of a war economy

Question 14

What is autarky?

Answer 14

self sufficient economy

Question 15

what is ersatz?

Answer 15

substitute materials that make Germany less reliant on foreign imports

Question 16

what were the two key elements of the 1936 four year plan?

Answer 16

• to increase production in agriculture and raw materials to reduce imports
• to massively expand armament

Question 17

what was the main weakness of ersatz products?

Answer 17

inferior quality

1/3 of raw materials still had to be imported

Question 18

did the four year plan achieve autarky by 1939?

Answer 18

No!

Question 19

what evidence is there that the Germans failed to mobilise the economy during the war?

Answer 19

Armaments production remained very low

Question 20

why was the economic mobilisation so slow during the war?

Answer 20

poor coordination and inefficiency

lots of political infighting

Question 21

Who did Hitler appoint to improve armaments production in 1942?

Answer 21

Albert Speer

Question 22

How did Speer improve Germany’s war production after 1942?

Answer 22

• employed more women in arms factories
• used concentration camp prisoners as workers
• prevented skilled workers being lost to conscription

Question 23

give evidence that Speer improved the production of armaments

Answer 23

within 6 months of 1942:

• ammunition production increased 97%
• tank production rose 25%
• Total arms production increased 59%

Question 24

Why did the Nazi economy ultimately fail to meet the demands of total war?

Answer 24

-Anglo-American bombing destroyed factories and led to breakdown in communications