Rearmament 1936-1939

Question 1

what were Hermann Gorings objectives for the four year plan?

Answer 1

• increase in agricultural production
• the re training of key sections of the labour force
• government regulation of imports and exports to satisfy strategic priorities
• self- sufficiency in raw materials such as oil, rubber and metals – if necessary by the development of synthetic substitutes.

Question 2

why was Goring put in charge of a new economic organisation, the Office of the Four-Year Plan?

Answer 2

Hitler became impatient with Schacht

Question 3

when was Goring put in charge of a new economic organisation, the Office of the Four-Year Plan?

Answer 3

4th September 1936
and became the primary economic figure in Germany.

Question 4

what was the rearmament policy of autarky?

Answer 4

Germany had to be made as self-sufficient as possible in food and industrial production to avoid the threat of a blockade

Question 5

what inspired the policy of autarky?

Answer 5

• the blockade of 1914-1918 had damaged Germany’s war effort
  -the League of Nations’ efforts to impose sanctions on Italy, for their invasion of Abyssinia (modern day Ethiopia).
• wanted to rely on domestic production of vital war materials or, where this was not possible, to secure them in Eastern or south-eastern Europe, safe from interference from other powers.

Question 6

under Goring how much money was dedicated to rearmament, showing the power he had over the economy?

Answer 6

6.4 billion marks were invested by state authorities and private companies in gigantic industrial venues.

Question 7

when did became Hitler become Supreme Commander of the Armed forces?

Answer 7

February 1938

Question 8

why did Hitler become became Supreme Commander of the Armed forces?

Answer 8

to bring both economic and military policy much more firmly under his control.

Question 9

By 1939 what proportion of the German workforce was working towards rearmament?

Answer 9

over a quarter of Germany’s industrial workforce was working on orders from the Armed Forces, apart
from all those workers that were busy building new chemical plants and aluminium works - which were seen as complimentary to the weapon industries.

Question 10

how was Gorings four year plan successful?

Answer 10

• In 1938, the German economy was almost 40% larger than it had been in 1928
• 1938-39 the military budget took up 52% of state spending, and 17% of the national product. In 1913, during the pre-war arms race, the German government spent only 24% of a much smaller budget on defence.

Question 11

how was Gorings four year plan unsuccessful?

Answer 11

• consumer expenditure per head grew by only 4% over the same period, and exports declined by 57%.
• ## Most of the capital projects could not be completed before 1942, and large arms programme followed on from their completion.