The Nazi Economy at war 1939-1945

THREE STAGES

• 1) 1933-1936 • Schacht – ‘economic

recovery’

• 2) 1936-1939• Goring – ‘Four Year

Plan’

• 3) 1939-1945• The Nazi Economy at

war

1939 - War• Economic needs during

war?

• 1) Meet military demands – organisation of labour and production of armaments

• 2) Ensure that the German population is stable, a satisfactory level of consumption. ‘Guns and Butter’

• Focus – were the Nazis successful at meeting these demands between 1939-1945?

Blitzkrieg 1939-1941• Some believe that there was only a partial economic

mobilisation until 1942/3 but others dispute this and say the Nazis went well beyond the demands of Blitzkrieg and a limited war

• Initial victories gave the impression that the economy had not been stretched by war – however this was far from the truth

• War decrees announced by Hitler in Dec 1939 attempted to outline every aspect of war production e.g. submarines and aircraft. Led to military expenditure doubling between 1939 and 1941

• Rationing introduced, German labour force mobilised for war. By 1941 55% of workforce involved in war related work – 20% decline in civilian consumption

• How successful was economic mobilisation?• Use table 2.5 and the text – highlight how successful

mobilisation was (Layton table 2.5 p.44 and limitations of mobilisation p.44/5)

Total War 1941-1945• By end of 1941, Germany at war with

Britain, the USSR and the USA• December 1941 ‘Rationalisation Decree’

reform of economy to eliminate waste of labour and materials

• Feb 1942 – appointment of Albert Speer as Minister of Armaments

• April 1942 – Central Planning Board – Speer as director of Central Planning was able to maintain overall control of the war economy

• Introduced – employing more women in arms factories, making effective use of concentration camp prisoners as workers, prevent skilled workers being lost to conscription.

• How successful was he? (Layton p.46/7)

Total War 1941-1945• Hitler had been confident of victory

against the Soviet Union and believed gaining access to its raw materials and fertile farmlands would solve the problems of the German economy

• When the German advance was halted in Dec 1941, he realised Germany had to prepare for a long struggle – early 1942 he took the first steps toward implementing a total war strategy

• Appointed Albert Speer who succeeded in raising the production levels of vital weapons and equipment

1945 - COLLAPSE• Policy of ‘scorched earth’

and the destruction of all industry as the Allies crossed the borders of Germany in early 1945 resisted by Speer

• Jan 1945 German economy in a state of collapse – partly due to the impact of allied bombing

• 1944 the Allied campaign reduced the production of essential war materials by 40%

plenary

• Read through the revision hand out and highlight any key facts/figures you could add to your arguments for/against the Nazis meeting the economic demands of total war

• Complete the ‘prioritisation’ activity at the top of the second part of the

sheet