How did the Nazis’ economic policies develop during WW2? Flashcards
Who replaced Todt as minister of armaments and when?
Albert Speer in Feb 1942
What did Speer use the Fuhrer’s authority to do?
cut through the mass of interests & implement his programme of ‘industrial self-responsibility’ to provide mass production
What did Speer do to the controls + constraints previously placed on business?
relaxed them & established a Central Planning Board in April 1942 in their place
What did Speer do to the military personnel where possible?
excluded military personnel from the production process wherever possible, at the same time he encouraged industrialists + engineers to join his ministerial team
What was Speer called, and why?
a ‘technocrat’, he simply coordinated & rationalised the process of war production to more effectively exploit the potential of Germany’s resources + labour force
How did Speer improve production?
by:
employing more women in the arms factories
making more effective use of forced labour
preventing skilled workers from being lost to military conscription
What were the results of Speer’s first six months in power?
ammunition production increased by 97%
tank production rose by 25%
total arms production increased by 59%
Why were Speer’s economic policies limited?
Germany had the capacity to produce even more & could have achieved a level of output close to that of the USSR or USA
occupied territories not always exploited with real economic efficiency
Speer not always able to conquer power of the party Gauleiters at a local level or control SS
What did Speer do to streamline the arms industry?
put arms manufacturers directly under his control
cut back on unnecessary paperwork
combined small firms making specialist equipment together
brought industrialists in to the ministry for munitions
Why did Speer combine small firms making specialist equipment together?
so they were not duplicating each other’s work
What was the impact of Speer’s work to streamline the arms industry?
there were significant improvements in arms manufacture
What are some examples that show there were significant improvements in arms manufacture?
Construction times fell dramatically, e.g a U -boat toll 16 weeks to build instead of 42
arms manufacturing costs declined
efficiency advisors were appointed to all major firms to show how to prevent the waste of valuable commodities eg steel
Why did arms manufacturing costs decline?
because Speer was better able to impose maximum prices on arms manufacturers
What happened by 1944 ? (positive impact of Nazis’ economic policies)
by 1944, the German arms industry had become 50% more efficient than it had been in 1942-however it was still inefficient compared with the vast productive power of Germany’s enemies
When did Goebbels demand a new policy of total war?
Feb 1943
