Was The Economy Any
Better Under The Nazis?
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Unemployment under Hitler
7000000
6000000
5000000
4000000
Unemployment
3000000
2000000
1000000
0
1933
1935
1937
1939
How did unemployment fare under Hitler?
How do you think he managed to make such an
impact?
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How was the reduction in unemployment achieved?
Read the sources. What do they suggest about the ways
Hitler achieved a reduction in unemployment?
“Jews were excluded from the professions, including
teaching, medicine and the law…” Alan Bullock, 1976.
“There were about one million unemployed as compared
with … over two million at the end of 1928. How has Hitler
performed this miracle? He has put them into the army or
other kinds of forced service.” Germany Today, 1938.
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“Under the Nazis there had been much invisible
unemployment. The number of unemployed Jews is great,
but these are not counted as unemployed. Another source
of ‘invisible unemployment’ has been the … discharge … of
women whose husbands are employed, and of unmarried
men under 25 … Part-time workers are counted as fully
employed … The reintroduction of conscription has taken
hundreds of thousands of men off the labour market…” N
Taylor, 1936.
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The National Labour Service (RAD)
Hitler’s first job once he came to power was to set up the
National Labour Service (RAD) to provide the jobs he had
promised the German people.
This organization gave men jobs in public works schemes,
for example, building schools, hospitals and motorways and
digging drainage ditches.
Men in the RAD had to wear a uniform and live in work
camps. Their wages were only really pocket money, but
for thousands, this was an improvement of a life with no
work, at least they got free meals.
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The German Labour Front (DAF)
Within months of taking power, Hitler decided to abolish all
trade unions. In their place he set up the German Labour
Front which was run by Dr Robert Ley. It put in place a
number of rules:
bosses could no longer sack workers on the spot
workers could not leave a job without the government’s
permission
only government-run labour exchanges could arrange
new jobs
workers could no longer bargain for higher wages
strikes were made illegal
limitations on the hours a person could work were
abolished. Many Germans were working 60-72 hour
weeks by 1939.
Was the German Labour Front good or bad? Explain.
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Military service
Hitler wanted to make Germany strong and independent.
This meant that the army needed increasing in size and
strength. In March 1935, Hitler introduced compulsory
military service and set up an air force (the Luftwaffe).
Obviously, those doing military service did not count as
unemployed – this took 1,300,000 off the unemployment
registers.
The army grew from just 100,000 men in 1933 to 1,400,000
in 1939. These soldiers needed equipping, so 46 billion
marks were spent on weapons and equipment, providing
jobs for thousands of Germans.
What do you think of this method to reduce
unemployment?
Was it allowed under the Treaty of Versailles?
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Why was there a drop in unemployment?
Using the information below, write a couple of paragraphs
explaining how Hitler had such an impact on unemployment.
Decide which impact had the greatest effect and give
reasons.
Jews and many women were forced out of their jobs:
Jews were not German citizens and so had no rights.
Women were told their role was in the home, creating a
stronger Germany.
The RAD provided work for the unemployed on various
public road schemes, all funded by the government.
Compulsory military service began in March 1935. An
air force was set up and Germany began to be rearmed.
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Where did the money come from?
One of the reasons the German economy suffered so
badly during the 1920s and 30s was due to the fact that
the country imported large amounts of foodstuffs and
other items. In order to make Germany strong, Hitler
realised that there needed to be less reliance on foreign
imports.
In 1934 a ‘Battle for Production’ was launched to
increase production of grain. The drive was not very
successful, mainly because there was a lack of new
machinery and labour. Harvests were also poor.
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By 1936, Germany was forced to buy the raw materials for
rearmament, such as oil, lead and copper, on the open
market as Germany’s reserves had been used up.
German scientists were pressed into developing
substitutes for various goods which Germany was
importing, so that money could be saved. Soon rubber
and oil were being produced synthetically.
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The success of autarky
Autarky is self-sufficiency, and was something that
Germany was striving to achieve.
To achieve autarky, Hjalmar Schacht, the minister of
economics, introduced measures to regulate foreign trade,
including setting up protectionist tariffs.
Schacht also promoted private investment by introducing
laws to limit the amount of profit that could be taken out of
businesses in dividends. This helped encourage people to
reinvest profits into their business.
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Autarky was not a complete success. By 1938 Germany’s
trade deficit had risen to 432 million rentenmarks. One
reason was due to the fact that Hitler did not want to
squeeze the consumer too much. The Nazis had come to
power due to an economic recession, and so if basic
consumer goods were made unavailable, Nazism would
become unpopular.
Despite this, Hitler did succeed at reducing the volume of
imports, as can be seen on the next slide.
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Imports and Exports
100
80
60
Exports by volume
(1913 = 100)
40
20
Imports by volume
(1913 = 100)
0
1929
1931
1933
1935
1937
What do you notice about the pattern of imports and
exports?
If you want to reduce imports, why would exports also
have to be reduced?
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Had things improved under Nazism?
By 1936, the average factory worker was earning 35
rentenmarks a week. This was 10 times more than the dole
money that six million people had been receiving in 1932.
Write down whether you think the Nazis had improved the
economy.
Do you think the Nazi economic policy was geared
towards preparing Germany for war or improving the
standard of living? Explain.
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