the wartime economy + work of speer Flashcards
What did Hitler issue on 3rd September 1939?
A Decree for the Conversion of the Whole German Economy onto a War Footing.
When did the German economy reach a state of full mobilisation?
Despite the decree in 1939, it did not reach it until 1942.
What was the impact of the German economy not being fully mobilised until 1942?
That in the years 1939-41, the German armed forces suffered from shortages of weapons and equipment.
Did the supply problems hamper Germany in the early stages of war?
No, since the campaigns against Poland, Norway, Holland, Belgium and France all achieved quick successes through highly effective use of Blitzkrieg tactics.
When did supply issues start to affect the German forces?
By 1941, the forces became stretched with the war in the Mediterranean and the start of Operation Barbarossa, hindering the German war effort.
Why had there been supply issues for Germany early on?
Despite them having been placed on a war footing since 1936, Hitler had not anticipated that war would begin in 1939. He believed Britain and France would accept their invasion of Poland, just like they’d done over Czechoslovakia and Austria, and that war would not begin until Operation Barbarossa in 1941.
How did outbreak of war disrupt German economic plans? [2]
- Economic and military planning had been based on his assumptions, with Luftwaffe expansion due to be completed in 1942 and build up of the navy in 1944-45.
- 4 Year Plan concentrated on increasing iron and steel production, investing in machine tools and developing artificial alternatives to oil and rubber, all to improve German productive potential. Outbreak of war in 1939 disrupted these plans.
How did German armaments production suffer from structural weaknesses? [3]
- Different branches of armed forces demanded highly specialised equipment of high quality, requiring highly skilled labourers + was expensive
- Mass production of standardised weapons would have been cheaper and capable of producing quantities required but many German firms were not set up in this way
- Military designed and order many different versions of the same weapons, making standardisation almost impossible to achieve
What did the proportion of labour force in armaments production increase to between September 1939 and January 1941? How effective was this?
From 21% to 55%, but supply of weapons grew very slowly.
What were the issues with Goering being in charge of the Four Year Plan? [3]
- Lacked the technical and economical knowledge needed to do his job effectively
- Very poor relations with military leaders + leaders of large companies + banks
- War economy needed greater centralised coordination but he was incapable of providing this
How were Goering’s failings masked in 1939 and 1940?
By the successes of the German armed forces in battle, but by 1941 weaknesses of the 4 year plan and his management became increasingly apparent.
How did Albert Speer describe Goering’s years in charge?
An era of incompetence, arrogance and egotism.
What did Hitler do when he recognised the need for more rationalisation (making efficient) of industrial production in summer 1941?
He did not do anything, despite there being underlying problems of lack of central control and interference of military in civilian production.
What did Armaments Minister Fritz Todt complain to Hitler about in 1941? What did Hitler do in response?
The shortage of vital equipment and supplies in the Russian campaign.
Hitler ignored him.
Who replaced Fritz Todt as Armaments Minister when he died in a plane crash in February 1942?
Albert Speer.
What was the difference between Albert Speer and Fritz Todt?
Speer had received Hitler’s support, Todt had not.
What power was Speer given immediately?
Full executive powers to establish a Central Planning Agency, coordinating and controlling the whole production process without interference from the military and with full cooperation of private companies.
What were Speer’s directives for the rationalisation of the production of armaments? [4]
- Central coordination of allocation of labour, equipment and materials to armaments factories
- Concentration of production in fewer factories and on a narrower range of standardised products
- Greater use of mass production techniques
- More shift working to keep factories operating 24 hours a day
What were Speer’s production innovations described as?
A production miracle.
What did German aircraft increase by between 1941-43?
200%.
What did tank production increase by between 1941-43?
250%.
Where was production of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 (one of Germany’s main fighter aircrafts) concentrated to? What did production increase to?
Just 3 factories instead of the 7 previous used.
Despite reduction in factory space, production increased from 180 per month to 1000 per month, due to radicalisation of methods.
What did the Allies do between 1942 and May 1943?
The British and Americans carried out a sustained bombing offensive against Germany’s industrial capacity and civilian morale. However, gains in production were still achieved by Speer between 1943 and 1944.
How did the bombing have an impact on production? [3]
Supply lines were damaged, factories had to be dispersed, and worker morale was affected.
What were the calculations of the Ministry of Armaments in January 1945 of losses in production from the bombings? [3]
- 35% fewer tanks
- 31% fewer aircraft
- 42% fewer lorries
What did the intense bombing campaign of January to May 1945 do to production?
This time it caused an actual reduction in amount of armaments produced.
What did the outbreak of war mean for production?
It meant that there was increase in men conscripted, but there needed to be an increase in production of armaments.
With a limited supply of male labour, these demands could only be achieve by using the available labour force and foreign labour.
How was the labour force for armaments increased early in the war?
Large numbers of non-essential workers were released for military service, and there was a reduction of workers employed in consumer goods and consequent rise of those in munitions.
When was the full-scale conscription of labour into essential war work implemented?
It had not been implemented in the first 2 years of the war, until 1941.
What brought the labour supply issue to a head in December 1941?
The German reverse outside of Moscow.
How had there been opposition to efforts to take labour away from civilian work to concentrate on armaments production?
There’d been opposition from local Gauleiters who were anxious to keep employment within their own areas.
Why did Hitler add to the problem of shortage of labour?
He was opposed to the increased use of women in industry, and so the shortage of labour posed a serious threat to plans to increase production of vital war materials.
What did the defeat at Stalingrad in January 1943 mean for the mobilisation of labour?
It led to more drastic measures to increase labour supply to take place.
Even before defeat, January 13th 1943 Hitler issued Decree for the Comprehensive Deployment of Men and Women for Reich Defence Tasks.
What did the Decree for the Comprehensive Deployment of Men and Women for Reich Defence Tasks do?
Established a small committee to oversee mobilisation of labour for the war effort.
Men aged 16-65 and women aged 17-45 had to register for work with their local labour office. Small businesses that were not essential for war effort were closed and employees transferred to more essential work.
What rigorous ‘comb-through’ exercise was conducted in relation to mobilisation of the labour force?
One to identify men who could be released from employment to military service and conscription of labour began to become a reality.
Where were foreign workers mainly recruited from between June 1940 and spring 1942? When did this change?
From occupied countries in western Europe.
After invasion of the USSR, there was a dramatic increase in numbers of prisoners of war, and in October 1941 Hitler agreed Russian prisoners of war could be used as slave labour.
How many foreign workers were employed in Germany by December 1941?
Some 4 million.
What did Hitler establish in March 1942?
The Plenipotentiary General for Labour Allocation to organise centralised control over procurement and allocation of foreign labour.
Who headed the Plenipotentiary General for Labour Allocation?
Fritz Sauckel, a Gauleiter who used ruthless force to increase the number of foreign workers.
How many workers had Sauckel succeeded in rounding up from 1942 to 1945?
He transported 2.8 million workers to Germany from eastern Europe. Millions of prisoners of war were also forced to work in Germany.
How many foreign workers were there in Germany by 1944?
7 million.
How many foreign workers were there in occupied countries doing work for Germany by 1944?
7 million.
What were conditions like for foreign workers?
They were harsh; wages were low, living conditions harsh and discipline severe.
What was the difference in wages between volunteer ‘guest workers’ from western Europe and forced labourers from the east?
Workers from the west were given the same wages and conditions as German workers, but forced labourers in the east were paid about half the amount.
Who else was used as slave labour during the war?
Prisoners of war and concentration camp inmates, without any payment and on starvation rations.
Which large German corporations used foreign forced labour during the war years? [3]
- Thyssen
- Krupp
- I.G. Farben
What is the estimated proportion of the German labour force taken up by foreign labourers by 1944?
Made up 1/4.
