Economic development and policies Flashcards
What evidence is there about the state of the German economy when the Nazi’s took control?
- economy had shrunk by 40%
- 8 million unemployed
- agriculture recession
- demand for German goods was low
who was in charge of the economy in Nazi Germany 1933-36?
Hjalmar Schacht
How did Schacht help farmers get reasonable prices for their produce?
Introduced subsidies on tariffs on imported goods
How much did public investment increase by?
tripled
What was built under the public works schemes?
motorways, houses, libraries and schools
what did Schacht create to help pay for government spending?
Mefo bills - gov IOUs used as an extra currency. Could be exchange for real currency after 5 years
Which countries did Schacht arrange bilateral trade with?
e.g. Romania and Yugoslavia
what suggests that Schacht’s reforms were successful by 1936?
- unemployment fell to 1.5 million
- production increased by 90%
What was the major weakness in the German economy that Schacht failed to solve?
Trade.
Still imported more than exported
What was the name for the ‘war economy’ that Hitler wished to create?
Wehrwirtschaft
Why did Hitler remove Schacht from power in 1936?
they disagreed over military spending
Schacht wanted to focus on exports, Hitler wanted tp focus on war economy
What did the phrase ‘Guns or Butter’ refer to?
economic choice in the mid 30s between rearmament and consumer goods
Who replaced Schacht as economics minister?
Hermann Goering. Was prepared to go along with Hitlers vision of a war economy
What is autarky?
self sufficient economy
what is ersatz?
substitute materials that make Germany less reliant on foreign imports
what were the two key elements of the 1936 four year plan?
- to increase production in agriculture and raw materials to reduce imports
- to massively expand armament
what was the main weakness of ersatz products?
inferior quality
1/3 of raw materials still had to be imported
did the four year plan achieve autarky by 1939?
No!
what evidence is there that the Germans failed to mobilise the economy during the war?
Armaments production remained very low
why was the economic mobilisation so slow during the war?
poor coordination and inefficiency
lots of political infighting
Who did Hitler appoint to improve armaments production in 1942?
Albert Speer
How did Speer improve Germany’s war production after 1942?
- employed more women in arms factories
- used concentration camp prisoners as workers
- prevented skilled workers being lost to conscription
give evidence that Speer improved the production of armaments
within 6 months of 1942:
- ammunition production increased 97%
- tank production rose 25%
- Total arms production increased 59%
Why did the Nazi economy ultimately fail to meet the demands of total war?
-Anglo-American bombing destroyed factories and led to breakdown in communications
