{"id":31314,"date":"2026-05-02T09:48:46","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T09:48:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/?page_id=31314"},"modified":"2026-05-07T10:55:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T10:55:27","slug":"hjalmar-schacht","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/european-history\/nazi-germany\/hjalmar-schacht\/","title":{"rendered":"Hjalmar Schacht"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hjalmar Schacht served as President of the Reichsbank until 1939 and following this he was a Minister without Portfolio until 1943. Schacht had been in a position of power prior to the Nazi Party gaining control of Germany<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hjalmar Schacht in the Weimar Republic<\/h2>\n

Prior to the Nazi regime Schacht had worked his way through the ranks of the German banking system. He was appointed to manage banking in the early days of the Weimar Republic and was one of the economists in charge of dealing with the Hyperinflation Crisis<\/a> that shook the German economy in 1923.<\/p>\n

Such was Schacht\u2019s ability, he was involved as a German delegate in the negotiations for both the Dawes Plan<\/a> (1924) and the short lived Young Plan (1929).<\/p>\n

\n
\"Hjalmar
Hjalmar Schacht. Via Wikimedia<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Harzburg Front<\/h3>\n<\/figure>\n

After resigning as President of the Reichsbank, Schacht, along with other leading economists, helped to form the Harzburg Front. This was a right wing coalition who were willing to work with the Nazi Party in order to undo some of the \u2018wrongs\u2019 that the Weimar Government were implementing: the Young Plan was critisised for the levels of reparation payment that Germany agreed to pay.<\/p>\n

Hjalmar Schacht during Nazi Rule<\/h2>\n

When Hitler became Chancellor<\/a> he turned to Schacht and appointed him as President of the Reichsbank in March, 1933. Schacht also was given the role of Minister of Economics.<\/p>\n

Schacht worked quickly to make adjustments to the German economy. He struck favourable deals with other counties. He also utilised his knowledge to encourage a competitive market place and established an Organisation of Industry. This Organisation of Industry was a combination of former workers organisations, employers and chambers of commerce. This enabled the government to implement policies quickly and quite efficiently.<\/p>\n

Minister for Economics<\/h3>\n

In 1935, Schacht was given the job of preparing the economy for war. This gave him an enormous amount of power. His remit now, was to engage in rearmament as well as strengthening Germany\u2019s economic and Industrial base.<\/p>\n

Schacht\u2019s role from 1935, to his resignation from this position in 1937, included overseeing the Public Works programmes that were essential to reducing Unemployment, kickstarting the rearmament programme and building up a strong base of provately run enterprises. Following his resignation as Minister for Economics, Schacht remained on the Cabinet.<\/p>\n

President of the Reichsbank<\/h3>\n

Schacht was reappointed to the Presidency of the Reichsbank in 1938 and in January 1939 he began negotiations with Britain over the migration of German Jews. It was a plan tied to increased exports and would see Jewish wealth reallocated \u2013 between the Jewish migrants and Germany. The plan never materialised as Schacht was dismissed from this position, though not from the Cabinet.<\/p>\n

Following Schacht\u2019s removal from both the positions of Minister of Economics and as President of the Reichsbank he continued to play a role in government. However he was disllusioned with policies and critical of the level of investment in rearmament: Schacht believed that the German economy could not withstand a prolongued conflict.<\/p>\n

Following the Staffenbourg Bomb plot, Schacht was arrested. He remained in captivity until the end of the war. He was found to be complicit in the German preparations for war but the actions that he had taken himself were not deemed to be criminal. After some legal wranglings, Schacht was granted freedom in 1950. After this he reentered the financial world. Schacht died in 1970.<\/p>\n

Was Schacht an effective economist?<\/h4>\n

His record is quite impressive. He played a large part in stabilising the economy in 1923 and a more substantial role in its management from 1933 onwards. He was able to juggle the different elements of the economy and German Industry made good progress as a result of his policies. However, he was a little too cautious in his methods for the liking of senior Nazi officials. They wanted higher levels of investment in Rearmament.<\/p>\n

Management of the Four Year Plans was transferred to Hermann Goering<\/a> following Schacht\u2019s resignation from that position.<\/p>\n

\n

Germany 1919 \u2013 1945 Links<\/h2>\n

The Second Reich<\/h3>\n

Unification of Germany<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Political systems within the Second Reich<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0German Society during the Second Reich<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Collapse of the Second Reich<\/a><\/p>\n

Weimar Republic<\/h3>\n

Interim Government<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Founding of the Weimar Republic<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Impact of the First World War on Germany<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0The Treaty of Versailles and its impact on Germany<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Weimar Constitution<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a01919-1923: Years of Crisis?<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Spartacist Uprising<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Kapp Putsch<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Reparations<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Hyperinflation in Germany, 1923<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a01924-1928: A Golden Era?<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a01925 Presidential Election<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Gustav Stresemann<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0German Foreign Relations 1919-1932<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Germany in the Great Depression<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Failings of the Weimar Republic<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Dada Movement<\/a><\/p>\n

Rise of the Nazi Party<\/h3>\n

The Munich Putsch<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Did the Economic Crisis of 1923 help the Nazi\u2019s?<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Origins of the Nazi Party<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Rise of the Nazi Party<\/a><\/p>\n

Nazi Germany<\/h3>\n

Totalitarian Regime in Nazi Germany<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0How did Hitler consolidate power?<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Mein Kampf<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Nazi methods of control<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Opposition to the Nazi Regime<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Organisation of the Nazi Party<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Fuhrerprinzip<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Kristallnacht<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Youth and Education<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Goering and the 2nd 4 Year Plan<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Anti-Jewish Boycott, 1933<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Nazi Anti-Semitism<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0DAF (The German Labour Front)<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Propaganda in Germany 1919-39<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Economic Policy of the Nazi Party<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Kreisau Circle<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0The Confessing Church<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Catholic Church<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Edelweiss Pirates<\/a><\/p>\n

Biographies<\/h3>\n

Ludwig Beck<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Dietrich Bonhoeffer<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Bishop Clemens von Galen<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Carl Goerdeler<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Robert Ley<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Helmuth von Moltke<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Martin Niemoller<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Erwin Rommel<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Hjalmar Schacht<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Sophie Scholl<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Albert Speer<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Claus von Stauffenberg<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Fritz Todt<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hjalmar Schacht served as President of the Reichsbank until 1939 and following this he was a Minister without Portfolio until 1943. Schacht had been in a position of power prior to the Nazi Party gaining control of Germany. Hjalmar Schacht in the Weimar Republic Prior to the Nazi regime Schacht had worked his way through… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":789,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"off","neve_meta_content_width":100,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-31314","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31314"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31314\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}