Summary 8 - A summary of Nazi social policies

Question 1

A 1951 survey showed that nearly what percentage of the West German population viewed the years 1933-1939 as a positive experience?

Answer 1

Nearly 50%

Question 2

Why did many Germans view the years 1933-1939 positively?

Answer 2

Full employment, leisure opportunities through the KdF, and political stability contrasted well to the chaos of the Depression years.

Question 3

Give some limitations of Nazi social policies?

Answer 3

• Improvements came at the cost of liberty and civil rights
• Living Standards did not improve for the majority (in contrast to propaganda messages) e.g. the Mittlestand and farmers (key to Nazis votes in 1932) saw little improvement.

Question 4

Who benefitted significantly from Nazi social policies?

Answer 4

Big businesses did well.

Question 5

Which key Nazi concept was never fully achieved by Nazi social policies between 1933 and 1939?

Answer 5

Volksgemeinshaft was never fully achieved.

Question 6

How did Nazi social policies help them to consolidate their power?

Answer 6

The Nazis did consolidate their rule by closing down political debate and providing many Germans with enough material benefits to win their acceptance.