The Four Year Plan, incl The Role Of Goring 1936-39

Question 1

What was the Four-year plan

Answer 1

Hitler’s memorandum of August 1936 outlined his vision of a German economy ready for war within four years

Question 2

What was the four year plans economy based around and why

Answer 2

The needs of war to avoid prob of WW1 when G Econ unable to cope with a lengthy war

Question 3

When did Schacht resign as Minister of Economics and who was he replaced by?

Answer 3

Nov 1937 and replaced by less competent Walther Funk

Question 4

WHO was the leader of the four-year plan

Answer 4

Goring, who had no economic expertise

Question 5

What were the main aims of the four year plan? (4)

Answer 5

• autarky
• increase agricultural production
• regulation imports and exports
• maintain high employment and retrain some sectors workforce

Question 6

When did Rearmament start trumping even food production?

Answer 6

By 1939

Question 7

Goring wanted autarky in what especially

Answer 7

Raw materials esp metals, oil and rubber

Question 8

What helped maintain high employment levels

Answer 8

Conscription and development of large-scale war industrues

Question 9

How did Goebbels also try to grow his own personal wealth and influence

Answer 9

Took almost total control over allocation of investment, raw materials and labour
Established ‘Reichswerke Hermann Goring’ which became the largest industrial enterprise in Europe by 1939

Question 10

What kind of background did Goring have?

Answer 10

A former fighter pilot, military pilot

Question 11

What did Goring say about ‘Guns vs Butter’?

Answer 11

“Guns will make us powerful. Butter will only make us fat.”

Question 12

How was there a massive expansion of the armaments industry?

Answer 12

Those businesses which cooperated with the plan benefitted from significant govt investment and contracts eg. Krupps

Question 13

New areas of weapons production developed eg.

Answer 13

Explosives productions expanded greatly

Question 14

Through what years was 2/3 investment poured into war industries?

Answer 14

1936-39

Question 15

By 1939, how much of the workforce was employed in rearmament activities?

Answer 15

40-50%

Question 16

By 1939, how many men were removed from the unemployment register by conscription?

Answer 16

1 million

Question 17

How many were unemployed by 1939?

Answer 17

300 000

Question 18

Jobs provided in state-run orgs like

Answer 18

SS and Gestapo

Question 19

Women encouraged to stay at home BUT

Answer 19

W demand rapid rearmament Nazis review this policy

Question 20

By 1937 women required to do a ——

Answer 20

Duty year in factories

Question 21

By what year were women required to do a duty year in factories?

Answer 21

1937

Question 22

In what areas was autarky achieved?

Answer 22

Production of grain, potatoes and sugar

Question 23

How did chemicals company IG Farben thrive (stat about profits)

Answer 23

1935 71 million RM profit
VS
1939 240 million RM profit

Question 24

Luxury goods such as what became more available

Answer 24

Radios and cars

Question 25

How did workers lives improve?

Answer 25

Had more housing opps and stable rents | More leisure opps thru orgs such as the KdF (Strength thru Joy)

Question 26

How did farmers lives improve under the four year plan?

Answer 26

Secure on land | Due to Reich Entailed Farm Law got easy credit and high prices

Question 27

How did big businesses gain from workers in the 4 year plan

Answer 27

Lack of strike activity | Higher control over workers

Question 28

What did the Reich entailed Farm Law do for farmers

Answer 28

Got easy credit and high prices

Question 29

How was unemp reduction achieved artificially or at a cost? (4)

Answer 29

- women and Jews not on unemp register - machines not used in public works schemes - jobs created artificially in party and national bureaucracy - workers lost much freedoms

Question 30

What did workers have to join instead of trade unions?

Answer 30

DAF (German Labour Front)

Question 31

What was the DAF like?

Answer 31

It controlled pay levels and working hours which were considerably higher and even had power to punish workers

Question 32

Why did small businesses struggle?

Answer 32

Govt focused on large war-related industry?

Question 33

Why were big businessmen unhappy?

Answer 33

Frustrated and growing govt control

Question 34

What businessman in particular become frustrated at growing govt control?

Answer 34

Fritz Thyssen

Question 35

Farmers also resent govt interference esp from what?

Answer 35

Reich Food Estate

Question 36

What groups were frustrated by growing govt control? (2)

Answer 36

Big businessmen and farmers

Question 37

——- didn’t reach levels desired by Hitler and armed forces

Answer 37

Arms production

Question 38

German factories fell short on targets for

Answer 38

Oil and rubber

Question 39

Despite intense war Econ. G still not possess war Econ by

Answer 39

1939

Question 40

How was the G Econ not ready for war by 1939

Answer 40

Shortage of manpower, materials and capital crucial as well as artificial exchange rates and price controls

Question 41

Contended that Hitler surprised by outbreak of Total War and not planned to go to war until

Answer 41

1943

Question 42

1930s, how much raw materials still had to be imported/

Answer 42

30%

Question 43

Reichswerke Herman Goring still had to ———- right before war

Answer 43

Import iron ore from Sweden

Question 44

By 1939, synthetic oil production only —— planned levels

Answer 44

45%

Question 45

How was ersatz time-consuming and expensive

Answer 45

6 tonnes of coal needed to produce 1 tonne ersatz oil

Question 46

What was the balance of payments deficit by 1938

Answer 46

432 billion marks

Question 47

By 1939, how much was the govt spending on G military

Answer 47

Over 25 billion marks

Question 48

By 1939, how much was spent on armaments production

Answer 48

17% GDP

Question 49

When was the balance of pay,ents deficit 432 billion marks

Answer 49

1938

Question 50

When was 17% GDP being spent on the military?

Answer 50

By 1939

Question 51

What was a consequence of food production suffering?

Answer 51

Nutritional crisis 1939

Question 52

How did German Econ growth compare to Europe in 1930s

Answer 52

Not exceed average across Europe between wars

Question 53

How was the four-year plan ineffective?

Answer 53

It was a vast bureaucratic apparatus characterized by inefficiencies and internal rivalries