Germany booklet 7: Reacting to economic challenges 1933-1945

Question 1

What were the key aims of Hitler regarding the economy?

Answer 1

Ensure a reasonable standard of living in order to maintain public support
Provide resourced for rearmament to ensure German military might
Move towards Autarky to guarantee strength and independence
provide resources for major civic and architectural projects

Question 2

What did Hitler believe about economics?

Answer 2

That his will, vision and determination could solve all of Germany’s economic problems. He thought that economic policy should have political objectives

Question 3

What was indirect stimulus in terms of Nazi economic policy?

Answer 3

Tax cuts for farming, small businesses and industry, introduce government groups designed to boost spending, and in doing so, lead to greater employment.

Question 4

What was direct stimulus in terms of Nazi economic policy?

Answer 4

The government set up schemes that employed people to work on government projects e.g. the autobahn

Question 5

What were the successes of the indirect and direct stimuli policies of Nazi economics?

Answer 5

Work creation programmes succeeded in reducing unemployment - created 7.8 million jobs.

Question 6

What were the issues of the indirect and direct stimuli policies of Nazi economics?

Answer 6

questions over figures - some schemes weren’t actual employment, yet counted as such
Balance of payments deficit increase - imports greater than exports
increased Germany’s debt

Question 7

What were the issues of the ‘new plan’ policy of Nazi economics?

Answer 7

The standard of living for most Germans dropped in the 1930s and the limitations on wool, cotton and leather meant the textiles industry failed to recover its pre-depression levels (employed 20% of the population) -price of clothing rose much faster than that of any other goods.

Question 8

What were the successes of the ‘new plan’ policy of Nazi economics?

Answer 8

German trade came back into balance in 1935, allowing the economy to grow as well as continue with rearmament

Question 9

What was the ‘new plan’ in terms of German economic policy?

Answer 9

It introduced import quotas and controls, which reduced all imports which were not directly for rearmament. By August 1934 Schact had created 25 new departments in the ministry of economics to issue import licences. They made new trade deals with poorer countries so they could get better deals.

Question 10

What was the ‘Guns or Butter’ debate?

Answer 10

Whether the German economy should be focused on food and living standards, or military. There was conflict between Darre and Goering, both arguing one side of the argument.

Question 11

How did Hitler respond to the guns or butter debate?

Answer 11

Short term: Hitler allowed more food imports to bring down the prices of foods
Long term: he began the process of creating a command economy

Question 12

What is Autarky?

Answer 12

Economic self-sufficiency

Question 13

What is a command economy?

Answer 13

An economy that responds to the commands of the government.

The government commands determine what is produced, the quantity of production and the price

Question 14

What is Ersatz?

Answer 14

Substitute or replacement goods - synthetic goods such as rubber, oil and fabric which were no longer being imported from other countries so had to be created artificially

Question 15

What was the DAF?

Answer 15

The German labour front - replaced the trade unions in May 1933 - controlled by the government and therefore would not organise the working class to resist the government

Question 16

What was the RAD?

Answer 16

A scheme designed to provide work for the young people aged 18-25 (an unpaid labour scheme)

Question 17

What was the KDF?

Answer 17

(strength through Joy) - an organisation designed to bring the benefits of culture and leisure to working class people.

Question 18

What were some stats of the KDF?

Answer 18

By 1937 it had a budget of 29 million RM, was responsible for half of all theatre bookings in Berlin and subsidised more than 1.7 million short holidays.

Question 19

What were the downsides of the KDF?

Answer 19

The holiday facilities often had little to no privacy or sanitisation. The workers had little choice in the entertainment, so subsidised tickets were often bought by the middle class

Question 20

What did the Nazis want to achieve in the four year plan?

Answer 20

To get Germany’s armed forces ready for war in four years and their economy achieving autarky in the same time period.

Question 21

What was good about the four year plan in terms of raw materials?

Answer 21

Coal production increased from 319.7 million tons in 1936 to 380.9 million in 1938 and Germany also became self-sufficient in terms of bread, sugar and potatoes
Germany’s was the largest steel company in Europe

Question 22

What was bad about the four year plan in terms of raw materials?

Answer 22

Working with uneconomic iron ore drove up the price of steel

Question 23

What was bad about the four year plan in terms of rearmament?

Answer 23

Aircraft production declined due to the lack of fuel, steel, workers and Goering’s refusal to introduce production lines.
The massive amounts of money being spent on rearmament meant that by 1939 the country was on the brink of another inflationary crisis

Question 24

What was bad about the four year plan in terms of Ersatz Materials?

Answer 24

Turning coal into ersatz oil required more coal mines but Germany’s labour force was severely lacking so they only produced 20% of the artificial oil required in 1939.
The production of ersatz rubber was expensive and would have been more efficient to import actual rubber.

Question 25

What was good about the four year plan in terms of Ersatz Materials?

Answer 25

The plan increased production of ersatz rubber by 500% between 1936 and 1938

Question 26

What was bad about the four year plan in terms of leadership and control?

Answer 26

Goering was in charge and he had no economic experience - he banned production lines in factories because he thought they destroyed German craftsmanship. The military leaders advised Hitler that Germany wouldn’t be ready for war until 1943, due to a lack of steel, oil and workers

Question 27

In what ways was Speer successful in helping the German wartime economy?

Answer 27

He allowed the German army to keep fighting - increased war production and stopped the destruction of industry
Ammunition production increased by 97%
total arms production increased by 59%
Truck production increased by 25%
By 1944 productivity in the munitions industry had increased by 60%

Question 28

In what ways was Speer un-successful in helping the German wartime economy?

Answer 28

He did not manage to turn the tide of the war
Allied air raids did destroy factories, synthetic oil plants, roads and canals, making it difficult to produce or transport goods, despite Speer’s task forces

Question 29

What were some of Speer’s economic policies?

Answer 29

He set up task forces to repair bombed factories - temporary housing could go up in a day
He encouraged the employment of women
He put a ban on all plans for post war production
He campaigned against the allocation of vital resources for non-military uses
He excluded military leaders from economic discussions.

Question 30

Describe the effect of impossible plans on the war effort.

Answer 30

Hitler and Goering massively overestimated the strength of Germany’s economy and many military plans were made based off economic plans which were impossible to carry out. For exampleHitler authorised the production of 21,000 planes, but Germany was never able to make more than 5,000, yet the invasion of the soviet union was based on the idea that they would have 21,000 planes.

Question 31

What are some examples of the Nazis having the wrong priorities during the war?

Answer 31

Until 1943, the Nazi economy continued to produce goods that were totally useless to the war effort, such as products to perm hair, whereas Britain had totally banned certain productions such as lipstick.
The final solution wasted resources and labour for no apparent reason

Question 32

How did the military’s focus on research and development affect the war effort?

Answer 32

It led to German weapons being very expensive and while they were new and improved, by 1940, Germany had spent $6 million on weapons, which ultimately did nothing to sway the tide of the war (this was more than double the UK)

Question 33

Outline administrative chaos in terms of the Nazi war economy

Answer 33

There were four different centres of economic power:
The four year plan organisation
The ministry of economy
The SS (ran a network of labour camps)
Todt’s ministry of munitions
This led to much competition so sometimes the focus was on internal fighting rather than the war effort.

Question 34

How did the four year plan affect the small businesses?

Answer 34

They benefited from the destruction of the trade unions, but ultimately lost out because the big companies were favoured for rearmament and therefore got the governmental support

Question 35

Why were the living standards of the majority of German’s low during the four year plan?

Answer 35

the quest for rearmament led to the Nazi economy lurching from one crisis to another, and the Nazi government was not focussed on the living standards

Question 36

How were the industrial workers affected by the four year plan?

Answer 36

They lost out considerably due to the destruction of the trade unions and their pay decreased massively.
The average working wages were 3% lower in 1933 than they had been in 1932

Question 37

How were the farmers affected by the four year plan?

Answer 37

Medium and large sized farms weren’t able to be bought out of the family, which meant that the large land owners couldn’t get more land but it also meant that the families couldn’t get loans based on the value of their farms
the price cuts on food meant that the farmers couldn’t afford to pay workers well, so they hardly had any workers.

Question 38

How were the industrialists affected by the four year plan?

Answer 38

They benefited largely from the destruction of the trade unions and many gained money through rearmament, however some resented the Nazi interference in their business.

Question 39

How were the women workers affected by the four year plan?

Answer 39

Despite the Nazi belief that women should only have domestic duties, they allowed some to work as they needed the labour. However, the women’s wages were less than half that of the mens, and many in these positions turned to prostitution in order to survive.