germany economic bits

what other economies was Germany not able to outstrip?

it was never able to reach thee economic output of Britain and the US. 

what new technologies was Germany the world leader in?

electricity and chemicals.

what was german growth also fuelled by?

cartelisation - economic crisis in the 20 years after 1874 caused companies to merge, reducing competition and allowing for more stable employment.

what did cartelisation lead to in Germany?

the concentration of heavy industry in the hands of several massive cartels by the 1890s - like the Rhenish-Westfalian Coal Syndicate and the Steelworks Association. the lack of competition in german industry encouraged the investment from german banks, expanding production and trade.

how much did the german industry increase by from 1890 to 1910?

it was 50 million in 1890 and 60 million in 1910. 

what did the large population in germany lead to?

it provided an expanding workforce, and a huge domestic market that sustained the growth of Germany’s industries.

how else did the german population benefit the expansion of the workforce?

it was relatively young, which aided the expansion of the workforce.

what raw materials did Germany have reserves in?

iron ore, coalfields and considerable reserves of potassium salts and coal tar for the chemical industry. 

where did Germany have raw materials?

iron ore in Alsace Lorraine, huge coalfields in the Ruhr area.

what was Germany’s fast pace of growth enhanced by?

Chancellor Caprivi’s commercial treaties

what were Chancellor Caprivi’s commercial treaties?

these treaties lowered tariffs in imports from these European countries on cattle, timber, rye and wheat. in return, these countries guaranteed Germany a market for their exports for at least 12 years.

who signed Chancellor Caprivi’s commercial treaties?

they were signed between numerous countries between 1890 and 1894, including Italy, Austria Hungary, Russia, Belgium, Switzerland and Romania. 

how successful was the German commercial agreements?

the commercial agreements significantly enhanced the German export market, making Germany the biggest industrial nation in Europe by 1900.

how much did the value of German export increase by?

between 1872 and 1914, the value of German export increased by around £365 million, its share of world trade trailing only slightly behind Britain’s.

by 1914, how much of Europe’s steel and coal did Germany produce?

it produced two-thirds of Europe’s steel, mined more than half of Europe’s coal.

how much more electrical energy did Germany produce than Britain, France and Italy combined?

20% more electrical energy

what’s currency was German’s almost as strong as?

its currency was nearly as strong as the British pound.

what did Germany industry lack?

key aspects required for modern warfare like cotton, rubber and petroleum and special metals like copper and tin. 

who was the director of the AEG?

Walter Rathenau

what did Walther Rathenau help to establish?

the Raw War materials, which reorganised the German war industry to ensure that Germany had sufficient raw materials to wage war.

what breakthroughs did scientists have that benefited them in wartime?

producing synthetic materials to replace those key elements they were unable to import. they also discovered how to manufacture nitrates from air using a new process - a considerable achievement that allowed Germany to produce sufficient nitrates for explosives, despite being cut off from Chile which had been its main supplier. 

what was the Central Purchasing Company?

set up in 1916, it organised German imports from neutral countries and attempted to maintain some elements of German trade despite the war.

what was the Imperial Grain Office?

it controlled food rationing and supplies.

what was the Auxiliary Service Act?

it directed the labour of men between the ages of 17 and 60, although it excluded the industrial mobilisation of women and children. 

what was the Supreme War Office?

it was given substantial control over German industry and labour - one of its key roles was deciding which workers in which industries would be exempt from military conscription.

what successes did the Supreme War Office have?

iron and steel as well as munitions production, although Germany still continued to suffer from serious problems in coal and transport supplies.

at the end of the war, what challenges did the Weimar Republic face?

• their debt was more than 140 million marks and the currency had lost considerable value: German citizens.

• they also lost access to the Saarland and the Upper Silesia in the Treaty of Versaille

• the imposition of reparations in 1921 demanded a payment of 2 billion marks a year

what was government finances based on?

the belief that Germany would win the war and force the Allies to pay off the German war debt. they lost, and the value of the German mark fell after the war. 

when did the inflation become hyperinflation?

in 1923 as French and Belgian armies occupied the German Ruhr due to their belief that Germany wasn’t pay war reparations correctly. the German government advised the workers to go on strike and the Ruhr industry came to a stop. however, to pay the striking workers, the government printed more money which made the currency worthless.

by the end of 1923, one US dollar was worth how many marks?

4.2 trillion German marks. this caused chaos, as many German’s life savings were now worthless.

when did the crisis end?

the government called off the Ruhr strike and introduced a new German currency - the Rentenmark. 

what lasting effect did hyperinflation have on the German population?

the social problems, the destruction of middle-class savings and the lack of trust in the German government and the banks would have a lasting effect that would play some part in the even greater economic issues faced in the early 1930s.

what drove a resurgence of German industrial production? 

the renewal of the German economy under the Rentenmark and massive investment from US financial institutions 

by 1927, what state was the German economy in?

it had reached pre-war levels, and between 1925-1929 GNP grew significantly

what did German industrial bosses do that significantly boosted production?

they travelled to the US to observe new organisations of production, particularly the use of assembly lines. the introduction of these new techniques allowed them to boost production without expanding their workforce.

in the Ruhr, how much did the workforce decline by while production increased?

the workforce declined by 33%, yet production increased by 18%

why was the German industry hit hardest by the Wall Street Crash?

the high rates of industrialisation meant that the German economy was hit harder than its neighbours.

what did the Nazis focus German industry on?

public work schemes, self-sufficiency and rearmament. 

by 1934, what happened to unemployment?

unemployment had halved

by 1939, what was there in regards to the labour industry?

there was a labour shortage in German industry

what was a key aspect of Germany’s industrial rejuvenation?

road construction and the growth of the American car industry

what did the Four Year Plan focus on?

it focused German industry on the armaments production

by 1938, how much of government expenditure focused on rearmament alone?

44%

what were the consequences of the preparation for war?

an increased investment in ensuring Germany was self-sufficient, and industry made greater efforts to produce synthetic forms of rubber, petrol and oils

how was the German economy largely distorted in the preparation for war?

distorted towards large-scale industries like steel and coal production and the subsequent decline of consumer-based manufacturing

what did the Germans do with the millions of slave labourers from the lands Germany invaded and occupied?

they put them to work in munitions production and farming.

what hampered the production of armaments within Germany?

inefficiency and infighting within the Nazi economic sector, with production only rising after it was reorganised under the Central Planning Board