Germany Booklet 7 Flashcards
From 1845-1870 how much did railway networks grow in Bismarck’s Germany?
Grew by 6 times from 3280km to 19,575km of track.
Which countries did Prussian trade increase with?
France, Belgium, Britain and Italy
What 2 factors caused Germany’s economic depression in 1873-1890?
Corruption and overinvestment
Which 2 new inventions did German scientists create?
Electrical generators and synthetic dyes
From 1890-1913 how much did electrical output increase by every year?
18%
By how much did the number of construction workers increase by?
1 million
Between 1872 and 1914, by how much did German exports increase by in value?
£365 million
How much of Europe’s steel and coal did Germany produce?
2/3 of Steel and 1/2 of Coal
Which key resources did Germany industry lack during WW1?
Cotton, rubber, petrol, copper and tin
What was created in 1916 to organise imports from neutral countries and maintain an element of trade during WW1?
The Central Purchasing Company
What controlled food rationing and supplies during WW1 in Germany?
The Imperial Grain Office
How many million marks of war debt did Weimar Germany inherit?
140,000 million marks
Which important industrial regions had Germany lost after the treaty of Versailles?
Saarland and Upper Silesia
How many marks did Weimar Germany have to pay per year for reparations?
2 million
When did the French and Belgians occupy the Ruhr region?
1923-25
In 1923 how many marks was one dollar?
$1 = 4.2 trillion marks
What did the Dawes plan do?
The US provided massive investment to help stabilise the Weimar economy
When did Weimar industrial production reach pre-WW1 levels?
1927
Following rationalization, how much did the workforce decline by but production increase by in the Ruhr region.
Ruhr workforce declined by 33% but the production increased by 18% per working hour
By 1934 in Nazi Germany how much had unemployment decreased by?
It had been halved
When was there a labour shortage in Germany?
1939
What was one reason for German economic improvement in the 1930s?
Road construction
German car industry
By 1938, what % of Nazi expenditure was on rearmament?
44%
Which US plan helped Germany to redevelop after WW2?
The Marshall Plan
Which event in 1950-53 boosted Germany Industry because the US army needed goods that Germany excelled in producing?
The Korean War
What happened to West Germany’s GNP during the 1950s?
It trebled
Which industry was helped by the economic revival?
The house-building industry
How much were US investors losing monthly in Germany following the Great Depression?
$40,000 million
In June 1931 how much was withdrawn from Germany by US investors and how many banks collapsed as a result of this?
1000 Million marks and 3 banks collapsed
Why did many US investors withdraw their investments in the 1930s?
The Nazi party made significant gains and this led to fears amongst US investors about the growth of political extremism and so they withdrew their investments
By December 1930, how much did unemployment increase to?
2.1 million, which peaked at 6 million in January 1932
What total % of Germany’s workforce was unemployed during the Great Depression?
40%
What methods did Bruning implement to try and combat the Great Depression?
Raised taxes and cut unemployment benefits, but this failed
How many people were the Nazis feeding a day in 1931 with soup kitches?
200 a day in some areas
In 1930 how many more votes did the Nazis gain?
6.4 million (equivalent to 18.2%)
When did West Germany undergo economic growth?
From the 1950s-60s
By 1963 how economically powerful was West Germany?
Strongest economic power in Europe and third in the world
How much did West Germany receive from the Marshall Plan?
$99 million
Which industries were developed using the Marshall Plan money?
Coal-mining, Railway, Electrical, Steel and Iron industries
How much did West Germany’s GDP increase by in 5 years following the war?
12%
What did West Germany introduce in 1951?
Co-Determinism
What was Co-Determinism?
It meant that any business with over 1000 employees in the iron and steel industry had to allow representatives of the workforce to have a say in the running of the business
By 1958 what was West Germany nearing?
Full Employment
How did the 1921-23 hyperinflation help farmers?
They could pay off their fixed mortgages easily
What led to the food prices dropping during the 1920s?
Overproduction of food
By 1931, what had wheat prices fallen to?
1/3 of pre-1920 prices
How much higher were Weimar taxes on agriculture compared to the Kaiserreich?
4 times higher
By 1925 what % of the population was working in agriculture?
30%
In 1928 what happened to the price of wheat and rye?
Dropped by 35%
From 1928-32 what happened to the agricultural income?
Dropped by 40%
What did the Nazis give to farmers?
Subsidies for purchasing expensive farming equipment
From 1933-38 how many people left rural areas in Germany?
1 million, meaning less to work on the farms
What did West Germany have to do for food?
Import a lot of it, due to lack of agriculture industry
What did the West German Government introduce in 1955 to support farmers?
The Agriculture Act, which supported agricultural prices through protective tariffs on agricultural imports
How much did agricultural production increase by after the Agriculture Act?
10%
From 1950-70 how much did agricultural employment decrease by?
1.6 million
By 1989 how much of the GDP came from agriculture compared to 1956?
1989: 1.6% of the GDP
1956: 11% of the GDP
By 1990 how many farms were there compared to 1950?
1950: 1.6 million
1990: 630,000
By 1873, how many companies went bankrupt due to the economy collapsing?
Over 150
Which group was formed in 1876 and what did it do?
Central Association of German Industrialists, formed as a pressure group which used its influence to put pressure on Bismarck and the government to introduce reform
What was threatening the wealth of the Junkers?
The long term slump in agricultural prices
What did Kaiser Wilhelm II order in 1888 with the Navy?
A complete restructuring of the Navy’s administration to improve it’s efficiency
How strong was Germany’s Navy in 1897?
7th in the world
Why was the Kaiser keen to build a large navy?
To make Germany a long term world power and unite the middle classes and Junkers
In 1898 how many ships in how many years did the bill introduced by Tirpitz want created?
17 ships created over a 7 year span
By how many votes did the 1898 bill to create ships pass by?
212 to 139
Following the Kaiser’s request, how many ships was the 17 increased to?
36 ships
When was the dreadnought battleship developed?
1905
Who did Hitler appoint as President of the Reichsbank in 1933?
Hjalmar Schact
How much did Schact invest into public works programmes from 1933-35?
5,000 million Marks
What did unemployment fall to in 1934 and 1935?
1934: 2.7 million
1935: 1.7 million
What were MEFO bills?
MEFO bills, in which government contracts to large companies were not paid in Reichsmarks but would be paid in four years’ time. This meant the government could rearm without printing money reducing the value of the currency
How much did the Reichsbank issue in MEFO bills?
12,000 million which financed 50% of arms expenditure from 1934-46
By 1933 how many firms was the army ordering military equipment from?
2800
When did the Nazis shift the economy to drive it for war?
1936
What was Autarky?
German Self-sufficiency
Following the four year plan, how much did the produce of synthetic fuels increase by and how much was the demand?
It increased by 130% but this only met 18% of the demand
What slowed the German economy in 1941?
The invasion of the USSR, as the amount of resources needed to fight on such a large front against a seemingly numberless army was significant.
From 1940 who was appointed as the Minister of Armaments and Munitions?
Fritz Todt
What did Fritz Todt do?
Took arms production away from Goring’s four year plan and industry was given greater control to manage its own production meet demands of the armed forces
Who replaced Fritz Todt in February 1942?
Albert Speer
In 1942, how much higher was arms production per head than in 1939?
32%
After Speer’s improvements, how much did Tank and engine production increase by?
200%
By 1939-44 how much did the manufacture of weapons increase by and how much did the number of workers increase by?
Weapons production increase: 130%
Number of workers only increased by 11%
How many women were hired as part of Gobbels’ new policy?
270,000
By 1944 how much of the German workforce was foreign?
20%
When were the British and American zones in West Germany merged and what was it called?
January 1947, called Bizonia
How much did the Marshall Plan provide to Western Europe?
$17 billion
How much did West Germany received during the 40s and 50s from USA?
$2.7 billion
How much of West Germany’s imports were paid for by the Marshall Plan?
37%
By 1946, how much of Germany’s pre-war output had West Germany achieved?
40%
When did the French zone merge with Bizonia and what was it called?
June 1948, called Trizonia
What was the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC)?
The OEEC coordinated all of the aid given by the Marshall plan to Western Europe
When was the European Coal and Steel Community formed (ECSC)?
April 1951
What did the ECSC do?
Combine the heavy industrial sectors of France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg into one common market
When was the European Economic Community (EEC) formed?
25th March 1955, after the signing of the Treaty of Rome
What % of West Germany’s exports went to EEC members?
45%
What % of West Germany’s imports came from EEC members?
47%
What did the EEC introduce in 1962?
The common agricultural policy (CAP), to reduce competition between nations and improve the stability of member states
From 1962-70 what did the CAP establish?
Common prices on goods like wheat, rice, oils, milk, fruit and vegetables
Between 1971-77, how much of West Germany’s share of sugar exports were to the EEC?
19%
In the 1970s, how much of West Germany’s total expenditure was on the CAP?
30%
Why could farmers avoid improving their inefficient systems?
Because there was no competition due to the CAP and a restriction of food imports from the USA
In the 1970s how much higher were EEC food prices than the world markets?
2-5 times highers
By 1989, how much of West German agriculture came from subsidies?
2/3
By 1989, how much of the EECs total budget came from the CAP?
50%
