The Economy and Living Standards (1933-39)

Question 1

List 4 problems the German economy had when the Nazis came to power.

Answer 1

• Germany was short of essential raw materials
• There wasn’t enough foreign currency to pay for many imports
• Exports were hit by a slump in global trade
• Almost 6 million Germans were unemployed

Question 2

List 4 aims Hitler had for the economy, and explain them.

Answer 2

• To have a good standard of living to guarantee public support
• To provide materials necessary for rearmament
• To move towards autarky so that the economy would not be so vulnerable during war
• To make enough resources for the major architectural projects to remake Germany

Question 3

List 3 reasons why Germany’s economy had been recovering even before the Nazis had come to power.

Answer 3

• Brüning had reparations cancelled
• He had also set up public work schemes
• The economy was naturally recovering from the Depression

Question 4

In what 2 ways did the government deal with the Depression?

Answer 4

• Indirect stimuli
• Direct stimuli

Question 5

Give 2 indirect actions the Nazis used to improve the economy.

Answer 5

• Tax cuts in farming, small businesses and heavy industry (so more workers could be employed/ goods could be bought)
• Grants for business (to pay debts, buy new machinery and employ more workers), newlyweds (to spend on furniture) and homeowners (to pay for house improvement, repairs or domestic servants)

Question 6

Give a direct action the Nazis used to improve the economy.

Answer 6

• Expanding public work schemes

Question 7

What 2 other things did the Nazis do to deal with the issue of unemployment?

Answer 7

• They changed who counted as unemployed
• There was conscription for all 18 to 25 year old men from 1935

Question 8

Give figures on unemployment in 1934 and 1936.

Answer 8

• 2.7 million
• 1.6 million

Question 9

Give 3 details on how the Nazis changed which groups could count as unemployed.

Answer 9

• Married women (who either left or were sacked) did not count in the statistics
• Jews were not allowed to work in public service
• The RAD (Youth Service) took the young off the unemployment register (400,000 in 1934)

Question 10

Give 2 details about the RAD.

Answer 10

• It provided the youth with manual labour to do
• They paid less than unemployment pay, gave them basic food and workers stayed in labour camps

Question 11

Who was in charge of the economy in 1933, and when had they been appointed to their post?

Answer 11

• Hjalmar Schacht
• He was reappointed as President of the Reichsbank in March 1933

Question 12

List 2 advantages that the reappointment of Schacht had.

Answer 12

• It reassured economic elites
• He was a very able economist, as he had been the one who had dealt with the hyperinflation crisis

Question 13

What were 3 measures Schacht took to improve the economy?

Answer 13

• He used deficit financing
• He suspended debt repayments
• He made sure to prevent inflation

Question 14

What 2 things did Schacht do to prevent inflation?

Answer 14

• He put government controls on wages and prices
• He used Mefo bills to increase public spending

Question 15

What were Mefo bills?

Answer 15

• Credit notes issued by the Reichsbank to companies servicing the government
• The idea was that companies would be able to claim their money, with interest, in 5 years

Question 16

Give 2 huge advantages the use of Mefo bills had for the Nazis.

Answer 16

• It financed half of their rearmament programme from 1933 to 1938
• It kept rearmament secret

Question 17

What problem did the revival of the economy cause by 1934? List 4 reasons why.

Answer 17

• A balance of trade crisis
• The increase in jobs meant more Germans had money to spend, which they tended to buy foreign goods with
• At the same time, employing Germans to work on public work schemes didn’t produce additional goods to be exported
• Rearmament required the import of even more raw materials, which would led to a bigger trade deficit
• Due to the large number of imports, gold and foreign currency reserves were running low

Question 18

What was the name of Schacht’s plan to deal with this issue? When did he create it?

Answer 18

• The New Plan
• 1934

Question 19

What were 2 aspects of the New Plan?

Answer 19

• Imports had to be approved by the government
• Schacht made a series of bilateral trade agreements with many of the Balkan states that provided Germany with the raw materials needed for rearmament

Question 20

What led to the creation of the Four Year Plan? Give 3 details.

Answer 20

• In 1935, due to a poor harvest, it was necessary to import food
• However, Schacht wanted to keep imports and borrowing as low as possible as he believed the economy was distorted enough due to rearmament
• He also wanted to slow the increase in arms expenditure
• Rationing was considered, but as this would be very unpopular, it was abandoned (expect for the rationing of butter in 1935)

Question 21

When was the Office of the Four Year Plan created, why, and who was put in charge of it?

Answer 21

• 1936
• Hitler put Göring in charge, as he was getting impatient with Schacht’s caution, and wanted to create a command economy

Question 22

List 2 aims of the Four Year Plan.

Answer 22

• To make the German army ready for war in approximately 4 years
• For the German economy to reach autarky

Question 23

When did Hitler expect war to break out?

Answer 23

• 1942-3

Question 24

How did Germany plan to reach autarky? Give 2 ways.

Answer 24

• By increasing its own production of key materials (whether this was for rearmament or food)
• Developing ersatz (substitute) products, such as Buna (artificial rubber)

Question 25

What 3 things did Göring do as head of the Office of the Four Year Plan? What did this cause?

Answer 25

• Set priorities for industry
• Issued production targets
• He could nationalise companies that did not reach the production targets
• This meant that his work cut across other economic ministries

Question 26

How did Göring and Schacht’s policies conflict with each other, and what effect did this have?

Answer 26

• Schacht wanted to control imports while Göring wanted to increase military expenditure
• Schacht resigned

Question 27

How successful was Germany at reaching autarky? Give 4 details.

Answer 27

• It took 6 tonnes of coal to produce 1 tonne of oil for military transport
• Germany still relied on foreign imports for one-third of its raw materials
• Germany became self-sufficient in bread, sugar and potatoes
• Making Buna was more expensive than importing rubber

Question 28

What issue did the amount of government spending on rearmament cause in 1939?

Answer 28

• There was almost another inflation crisis

Question 29

What was the NSV and when was it set up?

Answer 29

• The Nazis’ social welfare programme
• 1933

Question 30

What was the aim of the NSV?

Answer 30

• To create a healthy nation rather than to look after individuals

Question 31

Give 3 examples of the NSV’s work.

Answer 31

• By 1938 they ran 10,800 crèches
• It was also responsible for housing
• From 1933 it ran a yearly Winter Aid programme

Question 32

How did the numbers of female workers under the Nazis change?

Answer 32

• 11.4 million in 1933 to 14.8 million in 1939

Question 33

How did the Nazis make use of female workers?

Answer 33

• They used them to take jobs such as clerical work, as this would free men to work in munitions factories

Question 34

Describe 2 aspects of life for female workers.

Answer 34

• Their wages were half of men’s on average
• This forced many women into sex work

Question 35

What were 3 reasons why the professional middle-class supported the Nazis?

Answer 35

• They had lost their savings in the 1923 hyperinflation crisis
• Brüning had reduced the size of the civil service
• Jewish academics and professionals were excluded, which opened up more positions for them

Question 36

In what 2 ways did the industrialists benefit from the Nazis being in power?

Answer 36

• The destruction of trade unions and the creation of the DAF allowed big companies to keep wages low and increase hours
• Companies benefitted from military contracts