Section C: employment and living standards

What was the RAD and when was it set up?

Reich Labour Service, set up in 1933 to provide work for the unemployed.

What work did the RAD carry out?

Repaired roads, planted trees, drained marshes, and carried out military drills/parades.

Why was the RAD unpopular?

Low pay and compulsory membership from 1935.

How many members did the RAD have by 1935?

422,000.

What public works projects did the Nazis use to reduce unemployment?

Autobahns, bridges, and public buildings.

How many workers were building autobahns by 1935?

125,000.

How much of the planned autobahn network had been completed by 1938?

3,500 km of 7,000 km.

How did autobahns help Germany?

Improved communications and boosted construction.

How did rearmament reduce unemployment?

Created jobs producing weapons and military equipment.

How much did armaments spending increase from 1933–39?

3.5 billion marks to 26 billion marks.

What happened to employment in aircraft construction?

Rose from 4,000 workers (1933) to 72,000 (1935).

How did conscription reduce unemployment?

Men joined the armed forces instead of being unemployed.

How many men were in the armed forces by 1939?

1.36 million (900,000 in the army).

What was invisible unemployment?

People removed from unemployment statistics to make figures appear lower.

Which groups were excluded from unemployment figures?

Women, Jews, Labour Service workers, concentration camp prisoners, and some part-time workers.

How many people were removed from unemployment figures through invisible unemployment?

About 1.5 million.

How successful were Nazi employment policies?

Unemployment fell from over 5 million (1933) to 302,000 (1939).

Why should Nazi unemployment figures be treated with caution?

Statistics were manipulated and many jobs depended on government spending.

What happened to wages between 1933 and 1939?

Wages rose by 20%, but food prices rose by 20% too, so real wages did not increase.

What evidence suggests living standards improved?

Car ownership trebled and shop sales increased by 45%.

What happened to the average working week under the Nazis?

Increased from 43 hours (1933) to 49 hours (1939).

What was the DAF and what did it do?

German Labour Front; replaced trade unions, controlled workers and employers, and removed workers' right to negotiate pay and conditions.

What were the KDF and SDA?

KDF (Strength Through Joy) provided leisure activities and holidays; SDA (Beauty of Labour) improved workplace facilities such as toilets, showers, and changing rooms.