The impact of the Depression of 1929 and the appeal of Nazism and communism Flashcards
(48 cards)
What had Germany’s economic recover been financed by ?
American loans
What happened after the WSC ?
American banks demanded immediate repayment of loans
How much did German exports decline by 1929-32 ?
fell by 58% of its 1928 level
How did the WSC effect Britain ?
decline in industrial production between 1929-32 was 11%
Why was the German Banking system plunged into a crisis ?
customers withdrew money and outstanding loans were not repayed
Unemployment in Germany by 1932?
about a third of Germans were unemployed
By Jan 1933 what was the number of unemployed ?
about 8 million
How was farming hit by the depression ?
exports of produce declined and sales of food fell as Germans had less money to spend
When were the amounts of benefits being paid being considered to be limited ?
by 1930
What towns were hit harder by the Depression ?
ones that depended on a single industry
What rose as poverty did ?
diseases linked to poor nutrition and living conditions
suicide rate
malnutrition among children
tent cities/shanty towns on city edges
What happened when the youth were unemployed ?
gangs of young men congregated in public spaces, youth involvement in crime increased, they were also drawn into extremist groups
What kind of offences committed by the youth grew during the Depression ?
- theft
- offences against state
- assault
Who did the Hitler Youth and SA appeal to ?
unemployed youth as it offered food, uniform, shelter and excitement of street battles
What were the governments priorities when it came to unemployment ?
keep control over expenditure on unemployment benefits and to lessen the damaging effects of unemployment on the young
What were 2 schemes the government created to get the youth off the streets ?
- emergency labour schemes
- volunteer labour schemes
What did emergency labour schemes entail ?
unemployed youths required to take a unskilled manual labour earning below minimum wage
What did the emergency labour schemes cause ?
unpopular
strikes for higher wages in Oct 1930 and June 1932
What did the volunteer labour schemes entail ?
young employed being sent away from cities to residential work camps for periods of six months
didn’t offer any actual training
When did female employment increase ?
during depression years
What was a right wing campaign to stop married women being in work ?
‘double earners’ campaign
When did the ‘double earners’ campaign have some success ?
in May 1932 a law was passed allowing married civil servants to be dismissed but only if they were economically secure
after passed reich postal service dismissed about 1000 married women
How did the Depression strain the political system ?
- collapse of Müller’s ‘grand coalition’ in March 1930
- allowed extremist parties to gain support
- intensified political violence
What split the ‘Grand Coalition’ ?
state budget was in serious deficit
