The War Economy

Question 1

Why was the Office of the 4YP not managing war production well?

Answer 1

The various bodies responsively did not co-ordinate effectively.

Question 2

Who was Minister for Armaments and Munitions from February 1940?

Answer 2

Fritz Todt

Question 3

Who replaced Todt as Armaments Minister in 1942?

Answer 3

Albert Speer

Question 4

When and how were Speer’s powers extended?

Answer 4

In September 1943 - he was given responsibility for industry and raw materials as Minister for Armaments and Production.

Question 5

What did Speer do to improve industrial production?

Answer 5

• Deployed production lines and encouraged the standardisation of armaments. He established an Armaments Commission to oversee this.
• Excluded the military from economic planning.

Question 6

What changed did the Central Planning Board make?

Answer 6

• Closed small factories and concentrated production in large ones.
• Standardised factory machinery enabling mass production.

Question 7

Why was the economy overstretched during the war?

Answer 7

• The State remained chaotic (some Gauleiters and SS acted against economic efficiency)
• There was a heavy reliance on underfed slave labourers who were much less productive than German workers.
• Allied bombing reduced the capacity of German economy to expand.
• Women were not fully mobilised.

Question 8

What was the productivity of a slave labourer?

Answer 8

60-80% less than a German worker

Question 9

What did Hitler issue in December 1939?

Answer 9

A series of war economy decrees which outlined his plans for every possible aspect of war production.

Question 10

What was war production like between 1942-44?

Answer 10

It trebled.

Question 11

What happened to the economy after Speer was put in charge in 1942?

Answer 11

Significant improvement - Ammunition production increased by 97% and munitions productivity per worker increased by 60%.

Question 12

How did Speer increase the labour force?

Answer 12

By recruiting women, using concentration camp prisoners for labour and preventing conscription of skilled workers.

Question 13

What did Speer’s Central Planning Board co-ordinate?

Answer 13

Economic organisation

Question 14

Were women fully mobilised during WW2?

Answer 14

No

Question 15

How did Allied bonding damage the economy?

Answer 15

It reduced the capacity of the economy to expand. It destroyed industries and communications.

Question 16

What statistics prove Germany’s rearmament was slow and inefficient?

Answer 16

• In 1941, Britain produced twice as many aircraft as Germany.
• German production levels always remained lower than those of the USA and USSR.

Question 17

Why did the State remain chaotic during the war?

Answer 17

Some Gauleiters and the SS acted against economic efficiency.

Question 18

What were there shortages of during the war?

Answer 18

Raw materials such as coal and oil - this held the German economy back as ersatz goods did not compensate for this.