Nazi Economic Policy Nazis in Power Part 1: Consent and Popularity

Last day in class, we looked at election results – in 1933, it was clear that the Nazi Party had a great deal of support. WHY? million votes

The Nazi Party received a great deal of support for doing the things Weimar had failed to. This included 1.Getting people into work 2.Restoring law and order 3.Defending the country

Unemployment Fell rapidly under the Nazis. Why? Forced people to work – e.g. DAF = German Labour Front forced unemployed men into jobs building roads, bridges etc at low wages. Nazis created jobs e.g. built 1,500 miles of Autobahn (motorway), 340,000 houses, after 1935 built planes, ships, tanks during rearmament 1935 announced re-arming, expanded army to 500,000 then 1 million, this cut unemployment. BY 1936 unemployment had fallen to 1 million. Forced some people out of jobs – e.g. Jews, married women etc – and gave them to German men.

. Members of the DAF building an Autobahn

Analysis - Unemployment Even Germans who did not vote for the Nazis were grateful to them for real jobs and wages after the misery of the Weimar years and Depression BY 1936 unemployment had fallen to 1 million Getting people into employment & DAF made the Nazis look good and made them more popular with the people

KDF = Strength Through Joy Organisation The German worker had a job but wages were low and hours of work gradually became longer. There was little to buy in the shops and few luxuries. To avoid worker discontent, the Nazis introduced the Strength Through Joy movement = KDF.

. The KDF had several schemes to keep German workers happy: Paid holidaysPaid holidays = holiday camps for loyal workers, subsidised cruises. Other activities = concerts and football game tickets. “Peoples car” = Volkswagen Beetle. Nazis persuade many Germans people to save 5 marks a month for a new car. This made them very popular. Few Germans got this car due to the war but it made many loyal to the government.

. The ‘Peoples Cars’ in Berlin

Analysis: KDF Even though wages were lower and people were working longer hours – people still supported the Nazis because of incentives through programmes like the KDF KDF was a new approach to rewarding loyal and hardworking Germans and the paid holidays were very popular – increased support of Nazis therefore they accepted the less desirable aspects of Nazi ruleThe German people were grateful to the Nazis for work, wages and restoring their pride – therefore they accepted the less desirable aspects of Nazi rule

Nazis in Power Essay Plan we will now add today’s information on to the plan for this essay Economy KU: A: KU A: Consent/Popularity