{"id":812,"date":"2017-10-11T18:59:47","date_gmt":"2017-10-11T18:59:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/?page_id=812"},"modified":"2026-05-07T10:33:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T10:33:40","slug":"economy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/european-history\/nazi-germany\/economy\/","title":{"rendered":"Economic Policy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nazi Economic Policy<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Please note: this is very a basic overview.<\/p>\n

Aims of Nazi economic policy:<\/h3>\n

There were several overriding aims of economic policy. These were: to reduce unemployment, increase productivity and to ensure that the currency was safe. More specific Nazi aims include, but are not restricted to:<\/p>\n

\u2022 To enable Germany to be ready to go to war
\n\u2022 Reduce to a minimum the amount of goods needing to be imported.
\n\u2022 Maintain a reasonable standard of living and rate of pay for Germans.<\/p>\n

\"Nazi<\/p>\n

Policy in practice:<\/h3>\n

\u2022 Increased the size of the armed forces.
\n\u2022 Began rearmament programme (air force, naval constructions and investment in weapons such as Panzer tanks).
\n\u2022 Continuation and expansion of the autobahn (motorway) building programme.
\n\u2022 Forced focus on manufactured goods.
\n\u2022 Selective importation policy. Buy from cheap, third world countries and pay \u2018in kind\u2019.<\/p>\n

The economy was initially placed under the control of Hjalmar Schacht<\/a>. He was replaced by Herman Goering who introduced the 4 year plans<\/a>. The German Labour Front which oversaw many of the projects was led by Robert Ley<\/a>. During the Second World War the economy was put on a war footing. Albert Speer<\/a> was responsible for war production which included much control over Germany’s war economy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Other policies that have economic implications:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Lebensraum (living space) and the (re)-creation of a greater Germany.<\/p>\n

The Ruhr valley and the Rhineland were reoccupied by German troops<\/a>. This meant that industry was once more under German (Nazi) control. Anschluss (merger with Austria) leads to greater availability of raw materials. Cessation (taking) of parts of Czechoslovakia provides further raw materials. Later the invasion of Poland would provide cheap labour, raw materials and space in which to expand the economic markets.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Anti-Semitism<\/a> (anti-jewish policies). Resulted in large amounts of revenue and resources being reassigned to the state. Also unemployed Jews would no longer be classed as being \u2018unemployed\u2019.<\/p>\n

Tackling unemployment: some methods<\/h3>\n

\u2022 Armed forces expanded.
\n\u2022 Militarisation programme leads to jobs in manufacturing.
\n\u2022 Public works such as the Autobahns<\/a> required lots of workers.<\/p>\n

Was Hitler successful?<\/h3>\n

\u2022 Unemployment fell to approximately half a million by the outbreak of war.
\n\u2022 Currency was stable and investment rose.
\n\u2022 Infra structure was in place to enable economic expansion.
\n\u2022 Manufacturing base was established and functioning relatively effectively.<\/p>\n

BUT<\/em><\/h4>\n

\u2022 Rates of pay were no higher in 1939 than they had been in 1928. (Remember that they had slumped though)
\n\u2022 Hours worked rose and workers rights were diminished.
\n\u2022 Few luxury items available, consumer goods also a rarity.<\/p>\n

Other factors<\/h3>\n

\u2022 Payment of reparations ended, this enabled investment in Germany.
\n\u2022 German recovery from the wall street crash is comparable to that of other countries, the world wide economy improved at a similar rate to that of Germany: so outside factors may have influenced growth.<\/p>\n

Things to revise and remember:<\/h3>\n

1933. Initial policy. Cautious moves towards rearmament
\n1934. Four Year Plan
\nInvestment in military increases 1936-1939. See this page for more depth on the German economy in the period 1936-39<\/a>.
\nAnti-Semitism, Jewish property confiscated and redistributed following Kristallnacht.<\/p>\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

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

Nazi Economic Policy Please note: this is very a basic overview. Aims of Nazi economic policy: There were several overriding aims of economic policy. These were: to reduce unemployment, increase productivity and to ensure that the currency was safe. More specific Nazi aims include, but are not restricted to: \u2022 To enable Germany to be… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5455,"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-812","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t