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Germany and West Germany 1918-89 > The Economy and Living Standards (1933-39) > Flashcards

The Economy and Living Standards (1933-39) Flashcards

1
Q

List 4 problems the German economy had when the Nazis came to power.

A
  • Germany was short of essential raw materials
  • There wasn’t enough foreign currency to pay for many imports
  • Exports were hit by a slump in global trade
  • Almost 6 million Germans were unemployed
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2
Q

List 4 aims Hitler had for the economy, and explain them.

A
  • To have a good standard of living to guarantee public support
  • To provide materials necessary for rearmament
  • To move towards autarky so that the economy would not be so vulnerable during war
  • To make enough resources for the major architectural projects to remake Germany
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3
Q

List 3 reasons why Germany’s economy had been recovering even before the Nazis had come to power.

A
  • Brüning had reparations cancelled
  • He had also set up public work schemes
  • The economy was naturally recovering from the Depression
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4
Q

In what 2 ways did the government deal with the Depression?

A
  • Indirect stimuli
  • Direct stimuli
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5
Q

Give 2 indirect actions the Nazis used to improve the economy.

A
  • Tax cuts in farming, small businesses and heavy industry (so more workers could be employed/ goods could be bought)
  • Grants for business (to pay debts, buy new machinery and employ more workers), newlyweds (to spend on furniture) and homeowners (to pay for house improvement, repairs or domestic servants)
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6
Q

Give a direct action the Nazis used to improve the economy.

A
  • Expanding public work schemes
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7
Q

What 2 other things did the Nazis do to deal with the issue of unemployment?

A
  • They changed who counted as unemployed
  • There was conscription for all 18 to 25 year old men from 1935
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8
Q

Give figures on unemployment in 1934 and 1936.

A
  • 2.7 million
  • 1.6 million
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9
Q

Give 3 details on how the Nazis changed which groups could count as unemployed.

A
  • Married women (who either left or were sacked) did not count in the statistics
  • Jews were not allowed to work in public service
  • The RAD (Youth Service) took the young off the unemployment register (400,000 in 1934)
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10
Q

Give 2 details about the RAD.

A
  • It provided the youth with manual labour to do
  • They paid less than unemployment pay, gave them basic food and workers stayed in labour camps
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11
Q

Who was in charge of the economy in 1933, and when had they been appointed to their post?

A
  • Hjalmar Schacht
  • He was reappointed as President of the Reichsbank in March 1933
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12
Q

List 2 advantages that the reappointment of Schacht had.

A
  • It reassured economic elites
  • He was a very able economist, as he had been the one who had dealt with the hyperinflation crisis
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13
Q

What were 3 measures Schacht took to improve the economy?

A
  • He used deficit financing
  • He suspended debt repayments
  • He made sure to prevent inflation
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14
Q

What 2 things did Schacht do to prevent inflation?

A
  • He put government controls on wages and prices
  • He used Mefo bills to increase public spending
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15
Q

What were Mefo bills?

A
  • Credit notes issued by the Reichsbank to companies servicing the government
  • The idea was that companies would be able to claim their money, with interest, in 5 years
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16
Q

Give 2 huge advantages the use of Mefo bills had for the Nazis.

A
  • It financed half of their rearmament programme from 1933 to 1938
  • It kept rearmament secret
17
Q

What problem did the revival of the economy cause by 1934? List 4 reasons why.

A
  • A balance of trade crisis
  • The increase in jobs meant more Germans had money to spend, which they tended to buy foreign goods with
  • At the same time, employing Germans to work on public work schemes didn’t produce additional goods to be exported
  • Rearmament required the import of even more raw materials, which would lead to a bigger trade deficit
  • Due to the large number of imports, gold and foreign currency reserves were running low
18
Q

What was the name of Schacht’s plan to deal with this issue?

A
  • The New Plan
19
Q

What were 2 aspects of the New Plan?

A
  • Imports had to be approved by the government
  • Schacht made a series of bilateral trade agreements with many of the Balkan states that provided Germany with the raw materials needed for rearmament
20
Q

What led to the creation of the Four Year Plan? Give 3 details.

A
  • In 1935, due to a poor harvest, it was necessary to import food
  • However, Schacht wanted to keep imports and borrowing as low as possible as he believed the economy was distorted enough due to rearmament
  • He also wanted to slow the increase in arms expenditure
  • Rationing was considered, but as this would be very unpopular, it was abandoned (expect for the rationing of butter in 1935)
21
Q

When was the Office of the Four Year Plan created, why, and who was put in charge of it?

A
  • 1936
  • Hitler put Göring in charge, as he was getting impatient with Schacht’s caution, and wanted to create a command economy
22
Q

List 2 aims of the Four Year Plan.

A
  • To make the German army ready for war in approximately 4 years
  • For the German economy to reach autarky
23
Q

When did Hitler expect war to break out?

A
  • 1942-3
24
Q

How did Germany plan to reach autarky? Give 2 ways.

A
  • By increasing its own production of key materials (whether this was for rearmament or food)
  • Developing ersatz (substitute) products, such as Buna (artificial rubber)
25
Q

What 3 things did Göring do as head of the Office of the Four Year Plan? What did this cause?

A
  • Set priorities for industry
  • Issued production targets
  • He could nationalise companies that did not reach the production targets
  • This meant that his work cut across other economic ministries
26
Q

How did Göring and Schacht’s policies conflict with each other, and what effect did this have?

A
  • Schacht wanted to control imports while Göring wanted to increase military expenditure
  • Schacht resigned
27
Q

How successful was Germany at reaching autarky? Give 4 details.

A
  • It took 6 tonnes of coal to produce 1 tonne of oil for military transport
  • Germany still relied on foreign imports for one-third of its raw materials
  • Germany became self-sufficient in bread, sugar and potatoes
  • Making Buna was more expensive than importing rubber
28
Q

What issue did the amount of government spending on rearmament cause in 1939?

A
  • There was almost another inflation crisis
29
Q

What was the NSV and when was it set up?

A
  • The Nazis’ social welfare programme
  • 1933
30
Q

What was the aim of the NSV?

A
  • To create a healthy nation rather than to look after individuals
31
Q

Give 3 examples of the NSV’s work.

A
  • By 1938 they ran 10,800 crèches
  • It was also responsible for housing
  • From 1933 it ran a yearly Winter Aid programme
32
Q

How did the numbers of female workers under the Nazis change?

A
  • 11.4 million in 1933 to 14.8 million in 1939
33
Q

How did the Nazis make use of female workers?

A
  • They used them to take jobs such as clerical work, as this would free men to work in munitions factories
34
Q

Describe 2 aspects of life for female workers.

A
  • Their wages were half of men’s on average
  • This forced many women into sex work
35
Q

What were 3 reasons why the professional middle-class supported the Nazis?

A
  • They had lost their savings in the 1923 hyperinflation crisis
  • Brüning had reduced the size of the civil service
  • Jewish academics and professionals were excluded, which opened up more positions for them
36
Q

In what 2 ways did the industrialists benefit from the Nazis being in power?

A
  • The destruction of trade unions and the creation of the DAF allowed big companies to keep wages low and increase hours
  • Companies benefitted from military contracts

Germany and West Germany 1918-89 (18 decks)

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