THE ECONOMIC POLICIES OF THE NAZI REGIME, 1933-45

WHAT WERE THE AIMS OF NAZI ECONOMIC POLICY ?: the Nazis aimed to reduce unemployment from its 6 million level in 1933, build up the German armaments industry enabling the expansion of her armed forces, and make Germany economically self sufficient ( Autarky ).

THE POLICIES OF SCHACHT: Hitler appointed Dr Hjalmar Schacht, a respected international financier who had played a leading role in the creation of the new German economy in 1933, as President of the Reichbank in 1933 and Minister of the Economy in 1934.Schacht was not a Nazi but his proven economic skills earned him the respect of the regime. He devised the New Plan which limited imports and promoted trade agreements who could supply the raw materials that German industry needed. For instance, Hungary exchanged butter, vegetable oil and raw materials for industrial products. The government was dictating the economic priorities of the nation. Unemployment was reduced by work creation projects such as autobahns. Conscription into the armed forces from 1935 onwards and the removal of Jews, Nazi opponents and women from certain jobs also helped to alleviate the unemployment problem. 2 million Germans found jobs within a year of Hitler becoming Chancellor. By 1935 Hitler was preparing for war and wanted to speed up the process of rearmament. Schacht told Hitler that Germany could not afford this and he resigned in 1937.

THE POLICIES OF GOERING: Schacht’s replacement was Goering, who was already President of the Reichstag and head of the Lutwaffe. His Four Year Plan aimed to prepare Germany for war in 4 years; Germany was to become self sufficient in key commodities like oil, rubber and steel, and there was to be an increase in agricultural production. Therefore the German economy was to become a ‘wehrwirtschaft’ ( defence economy ). Thus, German industry began to produce synthetic oil, rubber, petrol etc.

THE POLICIES OF ALBERT SPEER: Speer took charge of the German war economy as Minister of Armaments in 1942. He advocated a policy of ‘industrial self responsibility’ in which the controls previously placed upon business were relaxed. In their place was established a central planning board. It had a number of committees, each representing a vital sector of the economy. In this way Speer maintained overall control of the war economy, whilst allowing the industrialists a considerable degree of freedom.

HOW SUCCESSFUL WERE THE NAZIS’ ECONOMIC POLICIES ?: the New Plan certainly enabled the German economy to recover from the ravages of the Depression ( unemployment had fallen to 500 000 by 1938 from a peak of 6 million…) and rearm. However, other economies were also beginning to recover by the mid 1930’s. The Four Year Plan expanded the production of key materials like aluminium but failed to make Germany self sufficient and by 1939, Germany still depended on foreign imports for a third of its raw materials. The only way for Germany to be self sufficient was to embark on foreign conquests. Industrial production did increase ( by 105% from 1933-38 ) compared with the worst years of the Depression but this was not necessarily transferred into higher living standards for workers. Since 1933 economic growth had been essentially directed to the needs of war, not civilian consumption. For workers this was the era of ‘ersatz’ and workers were forbidden to change jobs without permission and severely punished for absenteeism. It was huge corporations like I G Farben that benefited most from Nazi economic policies, rather than ordinary Germans. It was not until the defeat at Stalingrad in the winter of 1942-3 that full economic mobilisation for ‘total war’ began in earnest. Despite the image of German order and efficiency, British economic mobilisation for war was much quicker, 1939-41. In actual fact, especially under Goring, rival agencies were often competing for priority. Speer did much to increase war-time production, which reached its highest levels in 1944, but this of course was not enough to reverse the declining military situation.