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One of the main reasons for the Nazis' popularity was their promise to solve Germany's economic problems. This lesson examines the economic policies Hitler pursued after coming to power, including the drive to reduce unemployment, rearmament, and the impact on workers and different social groups. This is a key topic for the AQA GCSE History specification.
When Hitler came to power in January 1933, there were over 6 million unemployed Germans. Reducing unemployment was his top priority.
| Policy | Detail |
|---|---|
| National Labour Service (RAD) | All men aged 18–25 had to spend 6 months doing manual labour (building roads, planting forests, draining marshes); provided cheap labour and reduced unemployment figures |
| Public works programmes | The government invested heavily in building autobahns (motorways), hospitals, schools, and public buildings; these projects employed hundreds of thousands |
| Rearmament | From 1935 onwards, massive investment in weapons, tanks, ships, and aircraft; created millions of jobs in factories and the armed forces |
| Conscription | Reintroduced in March 1935; all men aged 18–25 were required to serve in the military; removed them from the unemployment figures |
| Invisible unemployment | Women, Jews, and political opponents were pushed out of the workforce and no longer counted as unemployed |
| Year | Registered Unemployed |
|---|---|
| January 1933 | 6.0 million |
| January 1934 | 3.8 million |
| January 1936 | 2.5 million |
| January 1938 | 1.0 million |
| 1939 | Virtually full employment (labour shortages in some sectors) |
Exam Tip: The fall in unemployment was real and impressive, but the figures were manipulated. Jews, women who left work, and those in the RAD or military were removed from the statistics. When evaluating Nazi economic success, always mention both the genuine achievements and the manipulation of statistics.
Rearmament was the driving force behind Germany's economic recovery. Hitler was preparing for war from the moment he took power.
| Date | Military Development |
|---|---|
| 1933 | Germany secretly began rearming, violating the Treaty of Versailles |
| 1935 | Hitler openly announced rearmament and the reintroduction of conscription |
| 1936 | The Four Year Plan (led by Hermann Göring) aimed to make Germany ready for war within four years; focused on producing synthetic substitutes for imported materials (rubber, oil, textiles) — a policy called autarky (self-sufficiency) |
| 1939 | Military spending accounted for nearly one-third of Germany's GDP |
Germany lacked key natural resources (oil, rubber, iron ore). The Nazis attempted to become self-sufficient (autark) by:
However, autarky was never fully achieved. Germany remained dependent on imports, which was one reason Hitler was so determined to conquer territory in Eastern Europe (Lebensraum).
When the Nazis banned trade unions in May 1933, they replaced them with the German Labour Front (DAF), led by Robert Ley.
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| Purpose | To control workers and prevent strikes; to ensure workers supported the regime |
| Membership | Compulsory for all workers; over 25 million members |
| Strikes | Banned; workers could not negotiate for better pay or conditions |
| Working hours | Increased from an average of 43 hours/week (1933) to 47 hours/week (1939) |
| Wages | Real wages (adjusted for inflation) were still below 1929 levels by 1938 |
The KdF was a programme designed to keep workers happy and loyal by providing leisure activities.
| KdF Activity | Detail |
|---|---|
| Holidays | Subsidised holidays — cruises to Norway, trips to the Alps; in practice, mainly enjoyed by the better-off |
| Sports and culture | Subsidised theatre, concerts, and sporting events |
| Volkswagen ("People's Car") | Workers paid 5 marks per week into a savings scheme to buy a car; by 1939, 336,000 workers had paid in, but not a single car was delivered — the factory switched to military production |
Exam Tip: The Volkswagen scheme is a great example of Nazi broken promises. It illustrates how the regime prioritised rearmament over consumer goods. Workers paid in but received nothing. Use this to evaluate whether workers truly benefited under the Nazis.
This programme aimed to improve working conditions by encouraging employers to provide:
The Nazis had a complex relationship with big business.
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| Support | Many industrialists supported the Nazis because they banned trade unions, destroyed the Communist Party, and provided massive military contracts |
| Profits | Companies like Krupp (steel), IG Farben (chemicals), and Volkswagen made enormous profits from rearmament |
| Control | The government increasingly directed what businesses produced and at what price; businesses had to follow the Four Year Plan |
| Forced labour | During the war, German companies used millions of forced labourers — prisoners of war, concentration camp inmates, and workers from occupied countries |
The Nazis claimed to value the German peasant farmer as the backbone of the Volksgemeinschaft.
| Policy | Detail |
|---|---|
| Reich Entailed Farm Law (1933) | Protected small and medium farms from being seized for debt; farms were passed down to the eldest son and could not be sold |
| Reich Food Estate | Controlled food production and prices; aimed to make Germany self-sufficient in food |
| Blood and soil (Blut und Boden) | Nazi ideology celebrated the rural farmer as the purest expression of the German race |
Question: Which was more important in Nazi economic policy: the reduction of unemployment, or preparation for war?
Model Level 4/5 paragraph:
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