Nazi pre-war Economy Flashcards
what happened to paying reparations?
after the depression, the allies understood that it was impossible for reparations to be paid back so in 1932 they scrapped them
why did Germany break off trade with the US?
Germany couldnt pay off its US debts
what was Hjalmer Schact’s ‘new plan’?
- trade with other countries such as Hungary and Yugoslavia
- exchanging goods instead of paying for imports
When was the first four year plan announced?
1 January 1933
what were the 3 targets of the first for year plan?
- creating employment
- managing agriculture
- managing business and workers
why was there a increase in workforce under the Nazis?
- industry had just recovered from the great depression and began employing people again
- workforce no longer included Jewish people which meant they were not included in unemployment statistics
- Nazis created many work schemes for the unemployed
what were Nazi work schemes called?
Reichsarbeitsdienst schemes for unemployed men and women
what work schemes did the Nazis give?
- road building
- truck and car manafacture
- the autobahns (84,000 workers)
what benefits did the unemployed get by joining Nazi work schemes?
- provided manual work
- accomodation in basic labour camps
- better pay than unemployment social pay
how many unemployed in 1933?
30% of workforce
how many unemployed in 1936?
7.4% of workforce
who was the minister for agriculture in 1933?
Alfred Hugenberg
what did Hugenberg do for the economy?
- increased import tarrifs led to cheaper German produce
- banned banks from repossesing farms form debted farmers
who replaced Hugenberg in 1933?
Richard Darre
what was the RNS?
the Reichsnarhstand
it regulated food production and distribution and farmers wages
what did the Nazi govt do to increase agriculture?
- work creation schemes (more farmers)
- goverenment control over food prices
- fining those who did not conform 100,000 RM
by 1934 what % of farm produce was German?
80
which big business supported the Nazis?
I.G Farben
what was the law for the protection of retail trade?
stopped the building of new stores and stopped the expansion of existing ones
did the Nazis support big or small business?
SMALL
what was the only union in Nazi Germany?
the DAF
German Labour Front
what were the benefits of being part of the DAF?
you had better chances of getting work
when was the second four year plan announced?
1936
why was the first four year plan ended early?
change in economic priorities
high foreign debts due to the cost of raw materials for rearmament
who led the second four year plan?
Hermann Goring
what was the main aim of the second four year plan?
TO REARM
how did Germany deal with raw materials it could not produce?
they were replaced by alternatives such as:
synthetic Buna rubber
what was the ‘command economy’?
an economy geared towards rearmament and with a lot of govt intervention controlling the priorities of the economy
what was the guns or butter argument?
the Nazis had to deal with deciding whether to focus on investing in social improvements or to focus on the military
senior Nazis like Goring and Geobbels made it clear that
what did Goebbels say in a speech about the guns vs butter argument?
one cannot shoot with butter but with guns
what was an example of party vs state conflict in the economy?
the Office of the Four-year plan > the Ministry of Economics
this battle led to Schactht resigning after feeling his ministry was useless
what eating habits did the Nazis change?
eat fish instead of meat
eat jam with bread instead of sausage
why was the Nazi economy not ready for war?
it’s command economy failed by focussing too much on the BREAD and not full on the GUNS
