Self sufficiency in Nazi Germany

What is autarky?

Self sufficiency

Who became the Minister of Economics?

Schacht

What did Schacht realise?

That Hitler’s rearmament plans would be costly and required lots of raw materials

What raw materials were needed for rearmament?

Iron, steel, rubber and wood

What did Schacht do to ensure that Germany had a plentiful supply of raw materials?

He signed deals with South American and south-east European countries to supply raw materials in exchange for German goods

Why did Hitler sack Schacht?

He wasn’t happy with the slow changes and Germany’s dependency on raw materials from other countries - despite an increase in weapons productions and falling unemployment rates

Who replaced Schacht?

Goering

What did Goering do?

He introduced the four year plan to get Germany ready for war

What was Goering’s priority in getting Germany ready for war?

Military production

What did the Nazis do as part of the four year plan?

Huge amounts of weapons, equipment and uniforms were produced - this created jobs in steel factories, textile mills and shipbuilding yards

Which industries exceeded targets?

Steel and explosives production

Which industry struggled to meet demand?

Oil

What percentage of imports did Germany have at the start of WW2?

20%

How did Germans find substitutes for cotton?

They used pulped wood instead

How did Germans find substitutes for makeup?

They used flour

How did Germans find substitutes for coffee?

They used acorns

How was the freedom of the people reduced?

In order to meet targets, the government took control of prices, wages, profits and imports (reducing the influence of big businesses on the country), and farmers were given quotas to fulfil

How did Jews suffer?

Many small businesses owned by Jews were closed in order to help German small businesses to flourish

How did the Nazis help farmers?

They gave them help in paying off loans