The German Economy under the Nazis How did the Nazis solve unemployment? Did the Nazis succeed in bringing Germany out

1. The German Economy under the NazisHow did the Nazis solve unemployment?Did the Nazis succeed in bringing Germany out of the Depression? Year 11

2. What Economic Problem faced the Nazis? • When Hitler came to power in 1933 the German economy was still suffering from the Great Depression caused by the Wall Street Crash (1929).

3. What did the Nazis’ economic policies do? 1935 - Conscription to the army for all men aged 18 – 25. Production (1933 – 1938) • Massive rise in production: Coal; Steel; Cars; Aircraft; Motorways built all over Germany • Some rise in production: Household goods (furniture); textiles; shoes. Government debt: 1933 – 12 billion Reichmarks 1939 – 40 billion Reichmarks Nazi Organisations: • German Labour Front (DAF) – protected workers’ rights and pay instead of unions, which had been banned in 1933. • Strength through Joy (KdF) – organised holidays & entertainment for workers e.g. cinema, theatre, cruises. • Beauty of Work (SdA) – provided better facilities for workers, e.g. canteens. • Volkswagen Scheme – affordable payment scheme for cars for workers, but none were ever actually delivered, instead Volkswagen produced military vehicles during WWII. • Imperial Labour Service (RAD) – ran work camps for young men doing six months’ compulsory labour service. • Imperial Herman Goering Works (RWHG)– became largest company in the Europe – steel, coal, machinery & synthetic fuel. • I G Farben – Huge chemical company: heavily funded by government, e.g. developed synthetic rubber (buna) and oil. • SS – ran concentration camps: increasingly used for slave labour.

4. How did they plan Germany’s Recovery? • 1933 - 36: President of the Reichsbank, Hjalmar Schacht launched a ‘New Plan’ for the economy – the government borrowed a huge amount of money, which it used to help businesses recover from the depression and pay for work schemes, conscription (1935) and rearmament. • 1936 - 40: Hitler’s right-hand man, Hermann Goering took over the running of the economy and launched his ‘Four Year Plan’ – this focused on making Germany self-sufficient (Germany making everything it needed as a country) and concentrated more on rearmament. • Goering: “Would you rather have butter or guns? Shall we bring in lard or iron ore? I tell you, guns make us powerful. Butter only makes us fat.”

5. What had the Nazis achieved? By 1939: • The Nazis had dealt with one of the worst problems of the depression, e.g. unemployment. • Germany was criss-crossed by motorways, had a large army and the weapons it needed to wage war. • BUT the depression was not over – Germany was deep in debt again, wages stayed low and consumer goods were still in short supply compared to weapons. • Many Germans could feel they were better off under the Nazis, but Nazi economic plans increasingly relied on slave labour. • Invading smaller neighbouring countries (Austria (1938), Czechoslovakia & Poland (1939)) would give the Nazis the economic resources to improve the economy further and strengthen people’s pride in Germany.