Living standards in Nazi Germany

Question 1

What did the Nazis set up in 1933 to provide paid work for the unemployed?

Answer 1

The National Labour Service (RAD)

Question 2

What work did members of the RAD perform?

Answer 2

Public works: repairing roads, planting trees and draining marshes

Question 3

In what year did all young men have to serve in the RAD for six months?

Answer 3

1935

Question 4

How many men were in the RAD by 1935?

Answer 4

422,000

Question 5

Give THREE reasons why the RAD was unpopular

Answer 5

1) It was organised like an army: workers wore uniforms, lived in camps and did military drill

2) Rates of pay were very low

3) Poor food and working conditions

Question 6

What was the autobahn project in Nazi Germany?

Answer 6

A planned 7,000-mile network of dual-carriageway roads (motorways) to improve transport around Germany

Question 7

When did Hitler personally start construction of the very first autobahn?

Answer 7

September 1933

Question 8

In what month and year was the first stretch of autobahn opened in Germany?

Answer 8

May 1935

Question 9

How many men were employed on the autobahn project by 1935?

Answer 9

125,000

Question 10

How many kilometres of autobahn had been built by 1938?

Answer 10

3,500km

Question 11

How did the amount of money spent on public works change between 1933 and 1938?

Answer 11

1933: 18 billion marks
1938: 38 billion marks

Question 12

What were TWO consequences of increased spending on public works in Nazi Germany?

Answer 12

1) More jobs in the construction industry

2) Quicker and cheaper transport for German industry and agriculture

Question 13

What did Hitler announce in 1935 in defiance of the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 13

All young German men would have to serve a period in the German armed forces (conscription)

Question 14

How many men were in the German army by 1939? How did this compare to the limits set in the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 14

900,000 - or 9 times that in the Treaty of Versailles

Question 15

How much did the Nazis spend on arms and equipment in 1939? How did this compare to 1933?

Answer 15

1939: 26 billion marks

1933: 3.5 billion marks

Question 16

How did the number of people employed in aircraft construction change between 1933 and 1935?

Answer 16

1933: 4,000 people

1935: 72,000 people

Question 17

What do some historians argue about the Nazis and unemployment?

Answer 17

They didn’t really reduce it: the real unemployment figures were almost 1.5 million higher than the official figures

Question 18

Give THREE ways the Nazis may have made unemployment ‘invisible’

Answer 18

1) Women and Jewish people who lost their jobs didn’t show up on the unemployment register

2) Men who were unemployed were given jobs in the Labour Service or public works

3) Hundreds of thousands of people in prisons or concentration camps did not appear in the unemployment figures

Question 19

What were the benefits of reduced unemployment for workers?

Answer 19

More people could enjoy the benefits of a regular income, improving their standards of living

Question 20

How much did wages increase by between 1933 and 1939?

Answer 20

20%

Question 21

Whose wages rose more quickly: RAD workers or arms workers?

Answer 21

Arms workers

Question 22

How much did food prices go up by between 1933 and 1939? Why is this important?

Answer 22

20%

Higher wages were cancelled out by higher prices (real wages did not change)

Question 23

Why were rising prices not an issue for high earners?

Answer 23

They could pay the extra cost of food and have money left over to buy luxury goods

Question 24

Why were rising prices an issue for low earners?

Answer 24

They had to use their extra wages to cover the higher costs of essentials like food

Question 25

What happened to the length of the average working week for German workers between 1933 and 1939?

Answer 25

From 43 hours to 49 hours (14% increase)

Question 26

What did the Nazis replace trade unions with?

Answer 26

The German Labour Front (DAF)

Question 27

Give THREE ways the DAF protected the rights of workers

Answer 27

1) Set out workers’ rights in the workplace

2) Set the maximum length of the working week

3) Set minimum pay levels

Question 28

Give THREE ways the DAF worsened the rights of workers

Answer 28

1) Workers lost their right to negotiate improvements in pay and conditions with their employers

2) The maximum length of the working week went up by six hours a week

3) The DAF could punish workers who disrupted production

Question 29

What was Strength Through Joy (KdF)?

Answer 29

A division of the DAF that aimed to make the benefits of work more enjoyable

Question 30

Give FIVE examples of leisure activities provided by the KdF

Answer 30

1) Sports events
2) Films
3) Theatre shows
4) Outings
5) Foreign travel

Question 31

What could the most loyal workers win from the KdF?

Answer 31

Impressive holidays

Question 32

How many members of the KdF were there by 1936?

Answer 32

35 million

Question 33

What car was designed in Nazi Germany as an affordable car for four people which could run at 40 miles per gallon?

Answer 33

The Volkswagen

Question 34

What did workers have to do to get a Volkswagen?

Answer 34

Give five marks per week to the KdF to set up factories to make the cars

Question 35

Why did no worker in the KdF ever see a Volkswagen?

Answer 35

The factories switched to producing armaments from 1938

Question 36

What was the Beauty of Labour (SdA)?

Answer 36

Part of the KdF, it campaigned for employers to provide better facilities for workers

Question 37

Give FOUR examples of facilities the SdA wanted improving in workplaces

Answer 37

1) Toilets
2) Changing rooms
3) Showers
4) Canteens

Question 38

How did the SdA help employers with building and decorating costs?

Answer 38

Reduced their taxes

Question 39

How many companies did the Nazis claim had improved their facilities through the SdA by 1938?

Answer 39

Nearly 34,000

Question 40

Under the SdA, who was expected to do the work in building and decorating facilities?

Answer 40

The workers themselves (for no extra pay)