1. What were the main aims of Nazi economic policy?
Nazi Economic Policy: Aims; Policies; Success?; How far did German people benefit?
What were the main aims of Nazi economic policy?

2. What were the main aims of Nazi economic policy?
1. Reduce unemployment (as he had promised)
2. Help German farmers and workers (as he had promised)
3. From 1936, prepare the economy for war through the Four Year Plan

3. 1923 Hyperinflation crisis
unemployment
imports
Ruhr
1933
economic
1923 Hyperinflation crisis
export
economy
Wall Street Crash
raw materials
foreign
Great Depression
rearm
0:19
0:20
0:21
0:17
0:15
0:16
0:18
0:27
0:26
0:14
0:25
0:24
0:23
0:22
0:07
0:03
0:04
0:02
0:01
1:00
End
0:05
0:06
0:11
0:12
0:10
0:09
0:28
0:08
0:13
0:33
0:51
0:52
0:50
0:49
0:47
0:48
0:53
0:54
0:59
1:00
0:58
0:57
0:55
0:56
0:29
0:46
0:35
0:36
0:34
0:32
0:30
0:31
0:45
0:37
0:43
0:44
0:38
0:42
0:41
0:39
0:40
Lebensraum 3

4. How the Nazis reduced unemployment (worcesterjonny)
How the Nazis reduced unemployment (worcesterjonny)
The Four Year Plan (worcesterjonny)
Take notes
How did Hitler reduce unemployment?

5. Policies: how did the Nazis reduce unemployment?
1. Public works schemes – from 1933
2. Encouraging women to leave jobs – from 1933
3. Forcing Jews out of jobs – from 1933
4. Conscription – from 1935
5. Rearmament – from 1936
Invisible unemployment

6. Minister of the Economy – Dr. Hjalmar Schacht
Became Minister 1934
Loyal supporter of Hitler and a brilliant financial expert….
Trusted by German business and foreign leaders and bankers.
Devised THE NEW PLAN.

7. The New Plan Imports were limited…
Government spending – was channelled into a wide range of industries
Unemployment – was tackled through:
work creation projects;
compulsory Labour Service;
Conscription; &
discrimination against Jews and Women

8. The National Labour Service
From 1935 for men 18-25…
Various jobs – e.g. digging ditches, planting forests.
Given pocket money rather than wages
Jobs later extended by to include motorways, hospitals, schools…
… created thousands of jobs

9. Rearmament 1935 – Hitler ignored ToV and started to rearm Germany.
He then introduced conscription. The army increased by over 1 million men between 1935 & 1938
The armaments industry grew, generating thousands of jobs.

10. German Labour Front
Run by Dr Robert Ley… controlled the workers in a number of ways
Trade Unions abolished
Strikes made illegal
No limit on workers hours/week
Not possible for workers to leave a job without permission from the Front

11. Strength Through Joy – provided workers with incentives like cheap sports and theatres tickets and cut-price holidays.
Many workers paid into a scheme to buy a cheap “People’s Car” – The VW Beetle – but no-one got one because of WW2 starting
Beauty of Labour – was a scheme to improve factory conditions – e.g. better canteens & washrooms

12. Which solution would have been most favoured by the Nazis and which one by the people?

13. Success???
Yes – unemployment reduced to under 1m by and Hitler was able to rearm..
Hitler was lucky (again!!!) – his recovery was helped by the world economic recovery at this time…
But… Schacht warned that Hitler was rearming too quickly…
… he said the German economy was not ready…
… in 1937 he resigned… later he ended up in a concentration camp…
… he was replaced by Herman Goering.

14. Goering was a leading Nazi and head of the Luftwaffe…
He had fought in WWI, and was utterly loyal to Hitler…
BUT he was no expert in economics….

15. The Four Year Plan was intended to get Germany ready for war in 4 years.
The aim was for Germany was to be self-sufficient in materials needed for war such as oil, rubber, and steel – this policy was known as “Autarky”
The plan involved tighter controls on imports, exports, labour (including forced labour) and prices…
But by 1939 Germany was only ready for a short war… not the long war that WW2 ended up becoming.

16. Questions
Why would Hitler want Sources 41 and 42 (p. 172) to be published?
Read Source 40 (p. 171). What did Albert Speer want and why did he fail?
Use your knowledge of Hitler’s policies to explain source 43 (p. 173).

17. Homework next term – 2 tables: how did workers benefit (for and against) how did peasants benefit (for and against) Alt if needed: 4 year plan video Also: were people better off worksheet