Issue 4: Nazi Economic and Social Policies

Question 1

Nazi economic policies 1933-1939

Answer 1

1. Nazi economic policy in 1933 was focused on economic recovery. It included major public works schemes to reduce unemployment, for example the building of the autobahn
   (motorway) network.
2. In 1934 the former Reichsbank president Hjalmar Schacht was appointed Minister of
   Economics and launched the ‘New Plan’, designed to make Germany’s economy self-
   sufficient.
3. The Nazis were happy to place economic production in private hands. Big businesses such as Krupps and IG Farben flourished in Nazi Germany.
4. In 1936 the Nazi regime launched the Four Year Plan, designed to prepare Germany for war, administered by Hermann Goering.
5. The Four-Year Plan concentrated German economic resources on rearmament, improving infrastructure, and production of synthetics.
6. By 1939 the Four-Year Plan was only partly successful and Germany still relied heavily on foreign imports.
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Question 2

Nazi militarism during 1933-1939

Answer 2

1. The Nazi regime began a programme of rapid rearmament in 1933, in defiance of the Treaty of Versailles. This included the mass production of tanks and fighter and bomber aircraft.
2. The economic ‘Four Year Plan’ 1936-1939 was geared to preparing the German economy
   for total war.
3. The school curriculum was changed to include more PE and military drill for school boys.
4. The Hitler Youth focused on instilling military values and discipline, and training boys in the use of weapons.
5. Women were given incentives to get married and have as many children as possible, to breed future soldiers for Germany. They were discouraged from pursuing careers instead of motherhood.
6. The paramilitary SS was given overall control over all policing in Nazi Germany by 1936.

Question 3

Youth movements in Nazi Germany 1933-1939

Answer 3

1. The Nazi regime aimed to include all young people in Germany in its Hitler Youth movement (except for the minority groups it wished to exclude from society).
2. The Hitler Youth movement included subsections for younger boys (the German Youth), older boys (the Hitler Youth), and girls (the League of German Maidens).
3. All non-Nazi youth movements were banned in Germany in 1933, and joining the Hitler Youth became compulsory in 1936.
4. Membership rose from 230,000 at the start of 1933 to 8 million by the end of 1939.
5. Hitler Youth activities included weekly meetings used to indoctrinate members in Nazi beliefs.
6. Hitler Youth emphasised building physical fitness for all members, military drill and weapons training for boys and home making for girls.

Question 4

Education in Nazi Germany 1933-1939

Answer 4

1. The education system was ‘Nazified’ in 1933. Jewish teachers were removed at all levels,
   and other teachers were expected to join the Nazi Teachers League.
2. Any books that were deemed unacceptable by the Nazi regime were removed from school
   libraries.
3. Indoctrination in Nazi beliefs became a compulsory part of the school curriculum in 1934.
4. The history curriculum was changed to present Germany’s history as a national struggle against Judaism.
5. Geography lessons focused on Germany’s need for ‘living space’ in Eastern Europe.
6. There was an increased emphasis on physical fitness at the expense of academic learning, with extra PE lessons and children allowed to miss school to attend Hitler Youth activities.

Question 5

Role of nazi women in Nazi Germany 1933-1939

Answer 5

1. The Nazi regime excluded women from positions of leadership within their party and government. (Gertrude Sclotz-Klink was made head of the Nazi Women’s Bureau but did not question Nazi policy in any way.) Women therefore did not participate in politics in Nazi
   Germany.
2. The Nazis launched a propaganda campaign to promote motherhood and large families, with marriage loans for newly-weds available on condition that the bride did not take up paid work.
3. Young women and girls were expected to join the BDM (League of German Maidens), which encouraged physical fitness and indoctrinated them into Nazi beliefs.
4. Women who mothered multiple children were awarded the ‘Honour Cross of the German Mother’ - bronze for four children, silver for six, and gold for eight. The birth rate rose by 30% between 1933 and 1936.
5. Women were expected to conform to a particular physical appearance - full skirt, flat heels, no make-up, no imported clothes, no smoking.
6. During 1933-1936 women were actively discouraged from working, but from 1937 onwards there was a labour shortage and all women were required to do a ‘duty year’ of unpaid
   work.

Question 6

The Nuremberg rallies

Answer 6

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1. The Nuremberg rallies were held in September every year 1933-1938 in the city of Nuremberg in the centre of Germany. (The 1939 rally was cancelled due to World War II
   breaking out.)
2. Each rally was given a theme name - 1933 was the ‘Rally of Victory’, 1934 the ‘Rally of the Will’, 1935 the ‘Rally of Freedom’, 1936 the ‘Rally of Honour’, 1937 the ‘Rally of Labour’, 1938 the ‘Rally of Greater Germany’.
3. The rallies were intended to be a mass demonstration of support for Hitler and Nazism, for example 700,000 supporters attended the 1934 rally.
4. Each rally was filmed for propaganda purposes, including the famous film of the 1934 rally, Triumph of the Will’.
5. Each rally took place over several days (the 1934 rally lasted four days) with speeches from the main Nazi leaders, torchlit parades and other activities.
6. The SA and SS paraded in military formation at each rally to create an image of unity and
   strength.
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Question 7

Reasons why many ordinary Germans supported the nazi regime 1933-1939

Answer 7

1. At first the Nazi regime appeared legitimate, the Nazis had won more votes in elections than any other party and Hitler had been appointed Chancellor by President Hindenburg.
   For example, the Nazis were the largest party in the June 1932 elections (38%), the December 1932 elections (33%) and the March 1933 elections (44%).
2. Memories of Weimar politics and the Great Depression were fresh on the minds of the German people, by comparison the Nazi regime seemed to be running Germany successfully. For example, unemployment peaked at 6 million in January 1933 but fell rapidly after that due to work creations schemes in Germany as well as worldwide economic recovery.
3. The removal of all organised opposition in 1933 made it difficult for anyone who had doubts about the Nazi regime to find others who felt the same way. For example, during May-July 1933 the Nazis banned independent trade unions and opposition political parties.
4. The Nazi regime successfully used fear and intimidation to motivate ordinary Germans to support the Nazi regime. For example, the Gestapo (secret police) built up a network of informers who reported on any opposition or non-cooperation with the Nazi regime.
5. The Nazi regime successfully used propaganda to present a positive impression of what they were doing for Germany, which won them popular support. For example, the Nazi regime took over all radio stations in 1933 and produced cheap radio sets so that they could broadcast propaganda into households and workplaces across Germany.
6. The Nazi regime carried out social policies that indoctrinated many Germans into Nazi beliefs, which made them support the Nazi regime for ideological reasons. For example, all young Germans were required to join the Hitler Youth which instilled Nazi and military values into German boys and Nazi and homemaking values into German girls.