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Germany Theme 3 > Nazi Germany economy 1933-45 > Flashcards

Nazi Germany economy 1933-45 Flashcards

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1
Q

What was Hitler’s end goal for the economy?

A

To serve the purposes of the Aryan race.

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2
Q

What were the goals of Nazi economic policy?

A

Reasonable standard of living, resources for rearmament, autarky, resources for major architectural products.

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3
Q

How did Hitler view the economy?

A

As a political tool to serve his vision.

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4
Q

What did Hitler not pay significant attention to?

A

Germany’s national debt.

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5
Q

How was Hitler’s economy run in general terms?

A

Capitalist policies and methods based up heavy central planning.

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6
Q

What was Hitler’s economic priority in 1933?

A

To create jobs and solve the unemployment crisis.

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7
Q

Who lead the German economy from 1933-36?

A

Hjalmar Schacht.

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8
Q

How did Schacht increase jobs and rearmament?

A

Increasing government spending.

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9
Q

How did the Nazis stimulate the economy?

A

Indirect stimulus like tax cuts, direct stimulus such as public works schemes.

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10
Q

How did the Nazis indirectly stimulate the economy?

A

Tax cuts in farming, small business and industry.

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11
Q

Who did the Nazis give grants to in 1933-36?

A

Businesses in debt, married couples, home owners.

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12
Q

What was the Reinhardt Program?

A

A public works scheme made in June 1933 to stimulate the economy.

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13
Q

How much did the Reinhardt Program commit to the economy?

A

1000 million Marks.

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14
Q

How much did the Nazis increase government spending on public works from 1932-33?

A

500 million reichmarks.

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15
Q

How many jobs did the Nazis create from 1933-34?

A

2.8 million.

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16
Q

What had unemployment fell to by 1936?

A

1.6 million.

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17
Q

How were Nazi job creation figures inflated?

A

Use of voluntary public works such as the RAD for young people.

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18
Q

Why was rearmament difficult for the Nazis from 1933-36?

A

Against the ToV and Germany already in large amounts of debt.

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19
Q

How did Schacht create armaments without suspicion and delaying payment?

A

The payment for rearmament through Mefo bills.

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20
Q

How much military spending was paid for through Mefo bills from 1933-39?

A

12 billion Marks.

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21
Q

What was building in the Nazi economy from 1933-36 through the stimulus?

A

A large trade deficit.

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22
Q

How did Hitler solve Germany’s trade deficit?

A

The New Plan from Schacht.

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23
Q

How did Schacht reduce the trade deficit?

A

By introducing import tarrifs on consumer goods.

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24
Q

How did Schacht deal with the fact Germany’s economy was not as strong as other developed countries?

A

Developing trade with developing nations especially in South America.

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25
What did the New Plan allow?
Economic growth, balance of trade, continued rearmaments.
26
What was the result of the focus on rearmament in the economy?
Living standards fell in the 1930s.
27
Why was there a crisis in 1934-35?
Poor harvests lead to Darre demanding food imports. Schacht refused in order to focus on rearmaments. 'Guns vs Butter debate.
28
How did Hitler respond to the agricultural crisis in 1934?
Short term: allowed food imports. Long term: created a command economy.
29
What did Germany's long term economic goals revolve around?
The addition of Lebensraum into the German nation.
30
How did Hitler balance the goals of rearmament and living standards from 1936-39?
Creation of the Four Year Plan Organisation.
31
What was the target of the Four Year Plan?
Ensuring that the German army was war ready in four years, and the economy had achieved self sufficiency.
32
Why was there conflict in the German economy between 1936-39?
Schacht's import controls and trade with South America vs. FYPO increased military expenditure and self sufficiency.
33
How did the FYP change the economic direction of Germany?
Gave economic control to leading Nazis and was a departure from conventional economics.
34
What did the FYP do to change the economy?
Expanded government control, created targets and could nationalise underperforming industry.
35
Which goods did Germany become self sufficient in due to the FYP?
Potatoes, sugar and bread.
36
How much did the FYP increase coal production by?
60 million tonnes by 1938.
37
How much steel did the military demand by 1937? How much was the economy able to deliver?
Only half of the 750,000 tonnes of steel a month required for rearmament.
38
How much of the artificial oil did Germany produce by 1939?
Only 20% of target.
39
Why was the FYP unable to produce the required amount of oil?
Labour shortages in major industries reduced coal production to develop the artificial oil.
40
Why did the FYP fail to create new airplanes at a higher rate?
Goering refused to use production lines and relied on traditional methods.
41
When did the army estimate they would be ready for war as a result of the failure of the FYP?
1943
42
Why was the economy on the brink of another inflation crisis by 1939?
Massive spending on rearmaments increased prices without increasing producer goods.
43
What shows that living standards dropped in Nazi Germany?
Meat, eggs, beer consumption dropped.
44
How did workers lose power in Nazi Germany?
They were unable to bargain due to the destruction of the unions.
45
Who was in charge of industrial disputes in Nazi Germany?
The Ministry of Labour's appointed officials.
46
Why did Hitler wish to restrict the organisation of Labour.
To prevent strikes from harming the progress of rearmament; to prevent organised labour from acting as an opposition group to the regime.
47
What did the average working week rise to in 1933-37?
From 43 hours to 47 hours.
48
What did the average wage fall by from 1932-1939?
2-3%.
49
When was the DAF established?
May 1933.
50
Who was Richard Muchow?
An early leader of the DAF on the left of the Nazi movement
51
What happened to Nazis who wished to see the DAF genuinely represent worker's rights?
They were largely purged during the Night of the Long Knives.
52
What was the main organ through which the Nazis attempted to win working class support within the regime?
Strength Through Joy movement.
53
What did the STJ program do?
Subsided sports, subsidised opera/theatre, subsidised holidays and hiking trips.
54
How many holidays was the STJ movement providing by 1937?
1.2 million.
55
How much did women's employment in the workplace increase by from 1933-39?
11 million to 15 million.
56
How were women's wages compared to men?
On average women were paid around half that of men for the same work. Stories common of women forced into prostitution to supplement income.
57
How did industrialists benefit from Nazi economic policy?
The destruction of the trade unions allowed them to keep wages low and working hours long.
58
How did rearmament benefit big business?
Firms gained a lot from government contracts for munitions, uniforms, etc.
59
How many employees did IG Farben have in 1939 as a result of their close cooperation with the Nazis?
200000
60
Why did United Steelworks reject the FYP and Goering?
The insistence they mine unprofitable iron ore to make steel.
61
How did small businesses benefit under the Nazis?
Destruction of the labour movement and full employment.
62
How were small businesses harmed under the Nazis?
High textile imports harmed business; large government contracts were given to big firms.
63
How many farmers were in Germany in the 1930s?
30% of the workforce.
64
How did farmers benefit from Nazi economic policy?
Food price reforms, Reich Farm Law prevented family farms from being bought out by large estates.
65
How were farmers harmed by Nazi policy?
Reich Food Estate took cuts on profits, Reich Farm Law prevented banks from giving loans to farmers.
66
Why was agriculture not a priority for the Nazis?
Short term munitions were more important, long term Lebensraum would solve the issue.
67
How did the Nazi economy become more efficient after 1942?
The introduction of Total War and the influence of Albert Speer.
68
How did Nazi polycratic government hurt the war economy?
Many overlapping economic organisations: FYPO, Nazi Economics department, Economics Ministry, Todt Organisation, SS Labour camps.
69
How did infighting within the Nazi government harm the war economy?
Goering opposed by many business leaders, senior army leaders fought over munitions.
70
What were Goering's main roles in Nazi government?
Head of Luftwaffe, head of the FYPO, field marshal, minister for Prussia.
71
How did Nazi economic plans harm the war economy?
They were unrealistic.
72
What did Hitler target the size of the Luftwaffe to reach?
21,000 on the eve of war. Aircraft inefficiencies and weak economy meant only 5,000 were made.
73
How did occupied territory not help fulfil Nazi economic targets?
Extracting resources from the occupied land was difficult due to a lack of skilled labour.
74
Why did Germany struggle to raise funds for armaments post 1939?
They were already heavily indebted and banks refused to lend to them.
75
Which areas of policy distracted from the Nazi war economy?
Final solution was very expensive, propaganda ministry was very expensive.
76
Why was German armaments harmed by research?
German weaponry was constantly updated and R&D cost a lot, so less weapons were produced.
77
Why did Hitler's projects harm the war effort?
Weapons such as the V1 and V2 rockets were not capable of winning the war for Germany.
78
Why did the German economy not stop producing non-essential items?
Hitler wished to keep citizen morale high and so did not want a ban on items such as cosmetics.
79
Why was food an issue during the war?
Large labour shortages, currency shortages harmed imports, foreign labour directed towards munitions.
80
When was Speer appointed to head of the Todt Organisation?
1942
81
What did Speer achieve from Hitler in 1942?
Supreme economic authority to rationalise the German war economy.
82
How did Speer coordinate the economy?
Through a central planning board.
83
How did Speer modernise production?
Use of productions lines.
84
How did Speer protect skilled workers?
Prevented skilled labourers from conscription to ease the shortage of labour.
85
How did Speer increase the workforce?
Encouraged the employment of women.
86
How did Speer utilise the concentration camps?
Increase reliance of them to produce weaponry for free.
87
How much did wartime production increase from 1942-44?
3x
88
How much did ammunition production increase as a result of Speer?
97% increase.
89
How much did tank production increase by as a result of Speer?
25% increase.
90
How much did munitions productivity increase by 1944?
0.6
91
How much did economic production decline by 1944-45?
0.6

Germany Theme 3 (3 decks)

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