Economy in Nazi Germany

Question 1

what was ‘guns and butter’?

Answer 1

• german economy slogan
• butter was the improvement in living standards, 1933-36
• guns was war and rearmament (needed people and stability) 1936-39

Question 2

what were the main points of Hjalmar Schacht’s economy?

Answer 2

• state investment
• trade agreements with other countries
• tried to limit imports
• the ‘New Plan’
• work-creation schemes

Question 3

who was Hjalmar Schacht?

Answer 3

President of the Reichsbank and Minister of Economics from 1934-37

Question 4

why did Schacht increase state investment?

Answer 4

• expanded and refined the Weimar’s policies of state investment which had been started in 1931
• hoped it would stimulate demand for goods and expand income, and lift Germany out of economic recession.
• allowed the Nazi state to slowly take control of industry. as gvt spending channelled through industry

Question 5

what was the impact of trade agreements with other countries under Schacht?

Answer 5

• supplied raw materials
• meant that Germany relied on other countries which slowed rearmament
• this didn’t matter to nazis as they would eventually take over those countries

Question 6

when was the ‘New Plan’?

Answer 6

September 1934

Question 7

what was the ‘New Plan’?

Answer 7

• to grow the economy to provide the basics for rearmament
• promoted autarky so Germany would be less vulnerable to fluctuations in the world’s economic situation, and more able to sustain a long war.

Question 8

why was autarky an aim for the Nazi economy?

Answer 8

in WWI they suffered from all kinds of shortages due to Allies blocking the flow of goods into the country

Question 9

when was the first work-creation scheme announced?

Answer 9

1st June 1933

Question 10

what was the RAD?

Answer 10

• Reich Labour Service
• used unskilled or unemployed workers to complete large-scale government projects
• government heavily invested in projects that would require large amounts of labour (eg constructing schools, hospitals, roads)

Question 11

what kind of things did the RAD do?

Answer 11

• reich labour service
• Autobahn system, planted forests, mended headges, dug farm drainage ditches, 1936 Olympic stadium)

Question 12

how many men did the creation of the autobahn system create work for?

Answer 12

over 80 000

Question 13

when was the RAD made compulsory, and for how long?

Answer 13

1935, for at least 6 months, as part of rearmament policy

Question 14

who was employed by the RAD?

Answer 14

men 18-25 y/o

Question 15

did work creation schemes help unemployment?

Answer 15

• largely successful in reducing the number of unemployed, but those ‘employed’ had little choice over what they did, what they got paid, and where they worked.
• wages fixed at a lower level than they had been prior to the Wall Street Crash and were not up for negotiation.
• maximum working hours per week were increased from 60 to 72.
• limited choice of profession open to workers in Germany - Many forced to work as laborers or in factories for the war effort.
• people who refused to work listed as ‘work-shy’ - horrific treatment by Gestapo, or put in concentration camps.

Question 16

what were the main points of Hermann Goering’s economy?

Answer 16

• regulation on imports (food price increased) and exports of goods
• achievement of economic self-sufficiency specifically in raw materials needed for rearmament
• retraining the labour force with industrial skills
• rearmament

Question 17

who was Hermann Goering?

Answer 17

Commissioner of the Four Year Plan 1937-38

Question 18

when did the four year plan begin?

Answer 18

started in 1936 - aimed to be completed in 1940

Question 19

what was the aim of the four year plan?

Answer 19

to re-orientate the economy towards rearmament and war preparation

Question 20

why was goering made commissioner of the four year plan?

Answer 20

freed Hitler from his reliance on non-Nazi economists to stabilise and recover the economy since 1933

Question 21

why was Schacht opposed to the four year plan?

Answer 21

• believed that economic revival should have been continued to improve living standards and Germany’s international position
• opposed Hitler using economic stability to launch into full-scale rearmament programme, as he was concerned that Hitler’s policies would undermine his economic achievements

Question 22

from 1936-39, how much industrial development came from war preparation?

Answer 22

2/3

Question 23

how much was invested in war preparation, under goering, by both state and private companies?

Answer 23

6.4 billion Reichsmark

Question 24

why was unemployment almost completely eradicated by 1938?

Answer 24

investment demanded employment - jobs in steel, textiles, shipbuilding
- production of raw materials eg rubber, oil, coal - new industrial plants

Question 25

BY 1939, what % of the german workforce were women, compared to england? and what does this show?

Answer 25

37.3% of the German workforce were women - in comparison to 26.4% in the same year in England
- Rearmament prioritised above all else, even ideological ideals

Question 26

how did the nazis attempt to achieve self-sufficiency?

Answer 26

made artificial substitutes (petrol from coal, coffee from acorns, makeup from flour)

Question 27

what is the Determinist viewpoint of big business in Nazism?

Answer 27

• claims that Nazi rise to power and policies in power was a reflection of the agenda of big businesses
• they supported Hitler because they wanted to use his power to control the masses to increase support for their own interests.
• hoped that Hitler would destroy the political left and suppress the trade union movement, giving them freedom to operate how they liked.

Question 28

what is the Compliant viewpoint of big business in Nazism?

Answer 28

• whilst big businesses weren’t enthusiastic about Weimar, this didn’t necessarily translate into support for Hitler.
• Many big businesses only supported the Nazis as an alternative to communism, and would have preferred a more moderate conservative government.
• Nazis focus on Autarky meant that they were increasingly isolated in Europe which created huge problems for some export-based industries, removing their ability to trade.
• Where big business interests and the Nazis political goals clashed, the Nazis prioritise their own political achievements

Question 29

major industrial managers’ wages increased by what % under nazis?

Answer 29

50%

Question 30

what were some limitations of nazi economic policy?

Answer 30

• four year plan not achieved in its entirety
• Autarky was not achieved
• conditions for workers did not improve - workers total income never reached the levels that it had been prior to Wall St Crash.
• success of Hitler’s economic policies and plans primarily limited by its own aggressive foreign policy, which brought a major war earlier than had been intended.

Question 31

what did the failure to achieve autarky mean for the economy?

Answer 31

• shortage of raw materials and from 1938
• shortage of labour needed to increase the amount of raw materials being produced.

Question 32

how did Nazi workers’ experiences vary?

Answer 32

depending on which industry they worked in
- industries directly connected to the war effort worked longer hours, for similar pay
- industries not directly connected to the war struggled to thrive, often placing their workers on short time contracts.
- almost all workers experienced a drop in dispensable income and ability to buy food, which became more scarce and more expensive as the war went on.