Economics and the Third Reich

A detailed Summary of Economics and the Third Reich

"He had restored to Germany her self-respect, and recreated orderliness out of the chaos and distress that had followed her defeat in 1918." Sir Neville Henderson, Failure of a Mission, 1940.

There is no doubt, that if the Third Reich had ended in 1939, then Adolf Hitler would have been viewed as one of the greatest economic leaders ever to come to power. Hitler succeeded in minimising unemployment, creating mass labour projects that benefited Germany, restoring German agriculture, working with Big Business, and overall, restoring the strong economy that had previously belonged to Germany; one that had been seriously affected after the Versailles Peace Treaty and the Great Depression. This economic recovery could only come about as a result of the totalitarian regime led by Hitler.

Hitler came into power in 1932; inheriting an economy that had been ravaged by the effects of World War 1 and the subsequent peace treaty at Versailles. After Versailles, Germany suffered mass unemployment, had to de-militarise and was left bearing the load of the First World War. Unemployment in 1932 had reached record highs for that region- 5 575 000. Germany's Gross National Product at that same time was also at a low of 38 billion Reichsmarks (H

Speer, A, 1975, "Inside the Third Reich", Cardinal, London, Great Britain.

Hitler also brought into practice, pre-conceived labout operations from the previous government. An emphasis was placed on the building of public works, the most significant of which was the 3000 kilometers of Autobahns that joined the country from the east to west. Whether or not Hitler was planning a war at that stage is debateable, but these autobahns would ensure speedy travel in the future from one side of Germany to another. He also had the ability to cleverly use propaganda and promote strong themes of nationalism to encourage 'his' workers in these labour projects. By using public works, Hitler succeeded in both reducing unemployment and creating many works that would help promote the Nazi party. Hitler also spent vast amounts of money promoting business in Germany. By spending money on business, employers could hire more people, who in turn produced more goods useful to Germany.

indsley et al: 255). By 1938, unemployment had been reduced to 429 000, and by 1939 a labour shortage had arisen. As well as this the GNP had been increased to 130 billion Reichsmarks (all figures quoted from Hindlsey et al: 255; and Mason: 150). This dramatic shift in figures can be directly attributed to Hitler: his organisational skills and his marvellous ability to unify the German people through his party-orchestrated propaganda and fiery speeches inciting German nationalism.

Finally, employment was further reduced by various other measures taken by Hitler, which included The German Labour Service and forced conscription in 1935. The German Labour service required all males over the age of 18 to take part in 6 months of labour. The "German Labour Front," also, essentially replaced the unions that had been abolished by Hitler previously. It was also responsible for educating the workers on accepting their role "in the New Germany." (Mason: 151). Hitler embraced the theme of unity among his workers and organised them int

Some common words found in the essay are:
Reichsmarks Hindsley, Versailles Germany, Reichsbank Schacht, Germany Mason, People's Car, Adolf Hitler, Hjalmar Schacht, Food Estate, Farm Laws, Third Reich, third reich, german labour, peace treaty, versailles peace treaty, economic leaders, hitler succeeded, unemployment creating, germany hitler, labour projects, germany 1918-1945, german labour service, et al 255, restoring german agriculture, adolf hitler,

Approximate Word count = 1348
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History