overall economy Flashcards
what were Hitlers aims for the Nazi economy?
- to tackle the Depression and create full employment.
- wanted to make the German economy as self sufficient as possible.
- create a defence economy, an economy geared to the needs of future war.
what were the 3 phases of the economy?
(1) Recovery (battle for work)
(2) Rearmament (four year plan)
(3) War
why did Hitler have his aims for the economy?
- to improve conditions for millions of Germans, and create a broader feeling of optimism
- enable more resources to be utilised to rebuild Germany’s military might, which would lead to territorial expansion.
How many people were unemployed when the Nazis came to power? (off the back of the depression)
6 million
How was Hitler’s economic policy successful?
- restored full employment
- built up Germanys economic strength
How was Hitler’s economic policy not successful?
- (alternative policy) continued development of consumer and export markets rather than rearmament, might have led to a more sustained and faster growth.
- the mass of the German people failed to benefit greatly from economic growth.
- Autarky was not achieved
- rearmament was wasteful and disorganised until Albert Speer finally rationalised the system.
when was phase one of the Nazi economic policy?
1933-1936
when was phase two of the Nazi economic policy?
1936-1939
when was phase three of the Nazi economic policy?
1939-1944
why was Agriculture an important area of the economy during the third reich?
food production was vital for autarky and the waging of war
How did agriculture benifit from the Nazi economic policies?
- higher prices and cancellation of some debts.
- Arable farmers benefited from subsidies
- but livestock farmers were hit by shortages and the high cost of fodder.
how was nazi ecomonic management of agriculture a failure?
- Farms were increasingly harmed by a flight from the land, and extra labour had to be drafted in.
- Production failed to meet growing demand.
- The wealthy landowners benefited as land prices soared, but this was at the cost of their political influence.
How did big business benefit from the Nazi economy?
- Major landowners benefited from the growing demand for food.
- Industrialists benefited from the smashing of the independent labour movement and rearmament.
How did Mittlestand (middle class)benefit from the Nazi economy?
- Initially, they benefited from the Law to Protect Retail Trade in 1933 which placed special taxes on large stores and banned new department stores.
- factors such as the influence of big businesses and slowness of official agencies in paying bills meant that, many small businesses went bankrupt.
How did Peasants benefit from the Nazi economy?
- May 1933 Entailed Farm Law, was designed to protect small farms. But farms could not be sold or mortgaged and had to be passed on to one person. This tied much of the peasantry to the land and discouraged innovations.
- The rural population being the backbone of the nation, it fell from 21 to 18% of the total population.
