Employment and Living Standards Flashcards
Explain why Reducing Unemployment was a Priority for Hitler
-In January 1933, around five million Germans were unemployed (around 25% of the labour force).
-This was politically dangerous to Hitler. Unemployed workers suffered poor living conditions and demanded help.
-If Hitler could not help them, they may begin to support the Communist Party, Hitler’s rivals.
Describe Nazi Beliefs About Employment
-The Nazis promised to make the economy strong again. Unemployment would disappear and Germany would become an autarky.
-The Nazis believed that unemployed workers were a waste of resources and a burden on society.
-To remove this burden, they wanted as many people as possible in useful work, in the service of the country.
Describe the Labour Service (RAD)
-In 1933, the Nazis set up the National Labour Service. This provided paid work for the unemployed.
-It provided workers for public works, such as repairing roads, planting trees and draining marshes. These projects gave men work but were also good for Germany as a whole.
-At first, the RAD was voluntary. From 1935 it was made compulsory for all young men to serve six months in the RAD.
-By 1935, membership reached 422,000.
Describe Problems with the Labour Service
-The RAD was not very popular. It was organised like an army- workers wore uniforms, lived in camps and did military drills and parades as well as work.
-Rates of pay were very low and some complained of poor food and working conditions.
-Some men saw the RAD as service for the Nazi party or military service rather than normal employment.
Describe the Autobahn Project
-The Nazis planned a 7,000 mile network of dual-carriageway roads to improve transport around Germany.
-In September 1933, Hitler personally started construction of the very first autobahn. The first stretch of motorway was opened in May 1935.
-By 1935, 125,000 men were employed building motorways and by 1938, 3,500km had been finished.
Explain how the Autobahn Project Helped to Reduce Unemployment
-The autobahn project was just one example of a huge number of public work schemes financed by the Nazis.
-They created public buildings, bridges and sports facilities. Funding grew from 18 billion marks in 1933 to 38 billion in 1938.
-Public works such as these created many jobs in the construction industry. Better roads and bridges also meant quicker and cheaper transport for German industry and agriculture.
-This helped to boost the sale of German goods at home and abroad, creating more jobs in the rest of the German economy.
Describe German Rearmament
-The Treaty of Versailles had limited the size of Germany’s armed forces. However, Hitler defied these terms.
-In 1935, he announced military conscription. All young men would have to serve a period of time in the armed forces.
-By 1939, there were 1,360,000 men in the German armed forces. This helped to reduce the number of unemployed.
Explain how Rearmament Helped to Reduce Unemployment
-Hitler’s bigger armed forces needed more arms and equipment.
-Government spending on arms in 1933 was 3.5 billion marks. By 1939, this had grown to 26 billion. This caused a big jump in employment in the arms industry.
-For example, in 1933, there were only 4,000 people employed in the aircraft construction industry. By 1935, this had grown to 72,000.
Describe Methods of Invisible Unemployment
-The Nazis forced women and Jews to give up work. These unemployed did not show up on the unemployment figures.
-The Nazis changed the way that unemployment statistics were calculated after 1933. From 1935, people in part-time jobs were counted amongst the full-time employed.
-The Nazis put hundreds of thousands into prisons and concentration camps. This made unemployment look lower than it would in normal times.
Describe the Success of Nazi Attempts to Reduce Unemployment
-The Nazis reduced the official unemployment figures in Germany by over four million. In comparison, unemployment in Britain fell only by about one million in the 1930s.
-Reducing unemployment helped to prevent any build up of public resentment towards the Nazis.
Nazi Limits of Nazi Attempts to Reduce Unemployment
-Unemployment was falling everywhere in the 1930s as countries recovered from the Great Depression.
-Some unemployed people, such as Jews, women and political figures were not counted in official figures.
-Some jobs created by the Nazis (for example, the Labour Service) were not ‘real’ jobs- they were created by the economy.
-Some jobs were supported by high levels of government spending, (such as the autobahn project) which could not have been maintained in the long run.
Describe the Impact of Employment on Standards of Living in Nazi Germany
-More people in work in Germany in 1939 meant more workers enjoyed the benefits of a regular income. This could be seen as evidence of a rise in the standard of living.
-However, not everyone benefitted equally. Some people, such as Jews, found it increasingly difficult to get jobs.
-Also, some workers, like many in the Labour Service, did not enjoy their jobs.
Describe the Impact of Working Hours on Standards of Living in Nazi Germany
-On average, the working week for German workers rose from about 43 hours in 1933 to about 49 hours in 1939.
-This meant that even for workers whose wages went up, they had to work longer to earn them.
Describe the Impact of Wages on Standards of Living in Nazi Germany
-In general, wages improved under the Nazis. The improvement was quite slow between 1933 and 1936 but between 1936 and 1939, wages rose quite quickly.
-However, the wages of some, such as in the armaments industries, rose more than others, such as in the Labour Service.
-The price of goods also rose in the 1930s. Food prices rose by 20% between 1933 and 1939. For some, the benefits of high wages was cancelled out by higher prices.
Describe Variations in the Standard of Living
-High earners, like skilled workers, could pay the extra cost of food and have money left over to buy more luxury goods.
-This meant the standard of living seemed to have gone up quite a lot. The number of car owners in Germany, for example, trebled in the 1930s.
-However, low earners, like unskilled workers, had to use their extra wages to cover the higher costs for essentials, such as food.
Describe the Purpose of the Labour Front
-In place of trade unions, Hitler set up the DAF to protect the rights of workers.
-The DAF set out the rights of workers in the workplace, the maximum length of the working week and minimum pay levels.
-The DAF regulated what employers could do and, in this sense, it protected the standard of living in Germany.
-Overall, its role was to control both employers and workers. This ensured that businesses work for the interest of the state and not the interest of the business owner or workers.
Describe Problems with the Labour Front
-In some ways, workers were worse off under the DAF than they had been under trade unions.
-Workers had lost their right to negotiate improvements in pay and conditions with their employers.
-The maximum length of the working week set by the DAF went up by about six hours per week.
-The DAF had the power to punish workers who disrupted production.
Describe the Purpose of Strength Through Joy (KdF)
-Hitler realised the loss of trade unions could be a source of unrest amongst workers.
-Because of this, the Nazis set up the Kdf to improve the standard of living of workers. It was a division of the DAF.
-The purpose of the KdF was to make the benefits of work more enjoyable, so that Germans would see their work as a way to a happy life, as well as making the nation stronger.
Describe the Work of the KdF
-The KdF provided leisure activities for workers to improve the benefits of work. These included sports events, films, theatre shows, outings and even foreign travel.
-Most activities were low key but they were well supported. The most loyal workers though could win impressive holidays.
-Most workers were expected to join the KdF and were encouraged to take part in its activities. By 1936, there were 35 million members.
Describe the Purpose of the Volkswagen
-Hitler asked Porsche to design a car for four people which would travel 40 miles to the gallon and which the average German could afford. Porsche deigned the Volkswagen.
-The Volkswagen was a scheme for workers run by the KdF. The KdF encouraged workers to give five marks per week from their wages which would eventually entitle them to a Volkswagen.
-The money set up factories to make the cars but from 1938, the factories switched to the production of armaments. No workers ever saw their money or their Volkswagen.
Describe the Purpose of Beauty Through Labour (SdA)
-The SdA was a division of the KdF which affected the standard if living for workers.
-This campaigned to provide better facilities for workers, such as toilets and canteens.
-The SdA gave employers tax breaks to help with building and decorating costs.
-By 1938, the Nazi Party claimed that nearly 34,000 companies had improved their facilities.
Describe the Problem with Beauty of Labour
-It was normal for employers to expect workers to do the building and decorating themselves, after work and at no extra pay.
-Some employers even threatened those who did not volunteer with dismissal.
