NAZI ECONOMIC POLICY

1) Economy brought under state control 1933-

39

A) NAZI PROMISES AND THE FULFILMENT

* The needs of small farmers and smaller urban traders ( middle-

class) to be understood→

In 1933

• All peasant debts were suspended

• High tariffs on foreign food

• Establishment of the Reich Food Estate

• Introduction of the Reich Entailed Farm Law ( gave security for

the Aryan farmers/ 7.5.-10 hectares farms)

• The Law for the Protection of Retail Trade; no new department

stores

ESTABLISHMENT OF WEHRWIRTHSCHAFT- A DEFENCE

ECONOMY

• The aim was to create self-suffciency ( modern

large scale farms to be introduced)

• Rearmament with the help of the BIG

BUSINESSMEN (cartels, monopolies)

• In 1933 40 % of German economy under

monopolies´rule

• In 1937 70 % ( e.g. Krupp, Farben)

C) THE COMPROMISE

Hitler had to please both the people and make

Germany ready for war→ introduction of ” GUNS

AND BUTTER”-policy

- Germany could not invest so heavily on the

rearmament because they had to maintain

reasonable standards of living

2) WAS THERE AN ECONOMIC RECOVERY IN 1933 -1939?

H. Schacht´s programme introduced in 1933→ to

reduce unemployment, to stimulate the economy, to

ease the payments problem

GET FAMILIAR WITH THE PROGRAMME ON PP.

94-95 AND TRY TO JUSTIFY THE CLAIM: ”Schacht´s

programme was a success”

WAS GERMANY READY FOR WAR IN 1939?

4-year Plan introduced in 1936 / Göring

- self-sufficiency

- production of substitutes, synthetic materials,

artificial rubber

- chemical industry to be encouraged

-steelworks, heavy industry

-regulations of controling foreign exchange, targets

for private industry

It was a success to some extent

A growth in output in all areas, but overall targets were

not met

By 1939 1 /3 of German raw materials still imported,

shortage of foreign exchange to buy necessary goods

Tim Mason; German economy on a verge of a collapse in

1939→ made Germany to start the war ( the conflict

between ” Guns and Butter)

HISTORIANS VIEWS

R. Overy; The caused the ecnomic crisis

A.J.P. Taylor: Hitler had to keep up consumer

production, he was not for rearmament and for war

B. Klein: Germany was ready for a short war

SPEER´S PROGRAMME, 1942→