Nazi Economy Flashcards
1
Q
Hitler’s Personal Economic View
- Standard of living
- Rearmament
- Independence
- Major Projects
A
Hitler’s Personal Economic View
- Ensure a reasonable living standard to maintain support
- Provide resources for rearmament
- Move towards autarky to guarantee independence and strength
- Provide resources for major civic and architectural projects
2
Q
Nazi Economics
- Rejected Communism
- Destroy Capitalism
- Capitalist class
- Class privileges
- Trench
A
Nazi Economics
- Rejected communism due to internationalism and working class focus
- Capitalism could only be destroyed by a spiritual revolution, replacing individualism with the collective good
- Capitalists were too weak, money hungry and decadent to pursue German greatness
- Rejected traditional class privileges, still believed in natural leaders
- Wanted a “Trench Economy” to transcend classes through “Trench Socialism” and utilise comradeship and unity
3
Q
Economic Recovery Policies
- Indirect Stimulus
- Direct Stimulus
- New Plan (Schacht)
A
Economic Recovery Policies
- Tax cuts in farming, small business, heavy industry; grants for businesses, newly married couples, home owners
- Reinhardt programme (1bn marks on public works); unskilled job creation in rail and postal service
- Import quotas while continuing rearmament; stimulating trade with developing countries (barter deals)
4
Q
Economic Recovery Successes
- Unemployment
- Rearmament spending
- Trade
A
Economic Recovery Successes
- Decreased unemployment from 4.8m in 1933 to 1.6m in 1936
- MEFO bills allowed 1/5 of military spending to be delayed
- Trade rebalanced by 1935, exports grew
5
Q
Economic Recovery Problems
- Trade
- Resources
- Living standard
- Textiles
A
Economic Recovery Problems
- Trade deficit increased as Germans had more money to spend on imports
- Needed to import raw materials and high tech goods for rearmament
- Standard of living dropped due to rearmament
- Textiles struggled due to import quotas, clothing price rose
6
Q
Four Year Plan Control
- Economy type
- Leader of plan and aim
- Policy conflict
- Leader conflict
A
Four Year Plan Control
- Moved to a command economy
- Hitler gave Goering control of the plan with aim of military readiness and autarky
- Conflict between Schacht’s import controls and Goering’s synthesised and ersatz goods
- Schacht’s traditional and conventional views driven out by Goering’s increasing power (resigned 1937)
7
Q
Four Year Plan Raw Materials
- Resource exploitation
- Replacing imports
- Steel company
- Self sufficiency
A
Four Year Plan Raw Materials
- Greater steel (19m tonnes in 1936 to 23m tonnes in 1938), iron and coal (320m tonnes in 1936 to 380m tonnes in 1938) exploitation
- Replacing imports with ersatz goods
- Reichswerke Hermann Göring (mined uneconomical steel)
- Self sufficient in bread, potatoes and sugar
8
Q
Four Year Plan Ersatz Materials
- Imports replaced
- Government investments
- Ersatz oil production
- Ersatz rubber production
- Coal production effects
A
Four Year Plan Ersatz Materials
- Oil, Gas, Cotton and Wool imports were replaced by synthetics
- Government invested in synthetic fabric, rubber and fertilisers using coal,oil and gas
- Producing ersatz oil only met 20% of demand in 1939 due to 20k-30k labour shortage
- Ersatz rubber production increased 500% from 1936-1938 but was still cheaper to import
- Success in coal production led to more ersatz goods
9
Q
Four Year Plan Rearmament
- Aircraft production
- Army leader warnings
- Inflation
- Schacht
- Consumer goods
A
Four Year Plan Rearmament
- Aircraft production declined due to Goering’s refusal to introduce production lines (craftsmanship), and a lack of fuel, steel and workers
- Army leaders warned they would not be ready for war until 1943 due to steel, oil and worker shortages
- Inflation crisis in 1939 due to high rearmament spending
- Schacht wanted reduced military spending, but Hitler refused
- Consumer goods cut off production lines, causing shortages
10
Q
Industrial Workers
A
Industrial Workers
- Lost unions so had little influence over pay and conditions
- Average working week grew from 43 to 47 hours between 1933 and ‘39
- Wages in 1933 were 3% lower than 1932
- Skilled workers saw pay increases
- KDF (strength through joy) programme given to workers
11
Q
Female Workers
A
Female Workers
12
Q
Middle Class
A
Middle Class
13
Q
Mittelstand
A
Mittelstand
14
Q
Farmers
A
Farmers
15
Q
Industrialists
A
Industrialists
