Employment and living standards

What did Nazi policies do to unemployment

Reduced unemployment, however here is a debate about the standard of living during this period

What was hitler determined to do

Reduce unemployment

Unemployment in 1932

6 million

Employment in 1938

More or less had been removed

4 Nazi policies to reduce unemployment

Job-creation schemes

The Reich Labour Service (RAD)

Invisible unemployment

Rearmament

How much was spend on job creation schemes in 1933

18.4 billion marks, rising to 37.1 billion by 1938

Example of a job creation scheme

A massive road building programme to create autobahns.

How were autobahns beneficial

Improved the efficiency of German industry by allowing goods to cross the country more quickly and enabled the swift transportation of German troops

What was the Reich Labour Service

A scheme to provide young men with manual labour jobs

What was the case with the Reich labour service in 1935

From 1935, it was compulsory for men aged 18-25 to serve 6 months

What did workers do

Lived in camps

Wore uniforms

Received very low pay

Worked in terrible conditions

Carried out military drill aswell as work

What does invisible unemployment mean

Unemployed people not included in the official unemployment figures

Reasons for invisible unemployment

• Jews dismissed from their jobs. From 1933, many Jews were forced out of their jobs, including lawyers and doctors

• Female doctors, civil servants and teachers dismissed

• Women who had given up work to get married

• Unmarried men under 25 pushed into RAD schemes

• Opponents of regime held in concentration camps

What was rearmament

Building up of the German armed forces

When did rearmament really start

1936

By 1939, how much was spent on rearmament

26 billion marks, on things such as manufacturing weapons and other heavy industry grew, like iron

When did conscription start

1935

What does this mean

From 1935, all men aged 18-35 had to do 2 years service

Size of army in 1933 and in 1939

100,000 in 1933

1,400,000 in 1939

Germans were better off in 1933-39 because

• more or less full employment

• The KdF tried to improve the leisure time of German workers through leisure and culture trips

• “Beauty of labour” tried to improve working conditions

What is KdF

Strength Through Joy

What is Strength through joy

An organisation set up by the German labour front to try to improve the leisure time of German workers

How did strength through joy improve standard of living

Organised leisure and culture trips. These included concerts, theatre trips, sporting events and holidays

What is Beauty of Labour

A department of the “Strength through joy” that tried to improve working conditions

How did Beauty of Labour improve working conditions

Building of canteens, swimming pools and sports facilities. Installed better workplace lighting and improved noise levels

Why were Germans worse off

Lack of freedom

Volkswagen swindle

Invisible unemployment

How did Germans have a lack of freedom

German workers lost their rights under the Nazis. In 1933, trade unions were banned and replaced by the German labour front. Tthe Labour Front didn’t permit workers to negotiate for better pay or reduced hours of work. Strikes were banned

What was the Volkswagen swindle

The idea to encourage people to put money aside every week to buy a Volkswagen was a con trick. By 1939, not a single customer had taken delivery of a car. None of the money was refunded