Benefits and drawbacks of economic changes

What did Hitler want to achieve?

Full employment of the German people, achieve autarky and make Germany strong again

What is autarky?

Self-sufficiency (when a country doesn’t need to import any goods from elsewhere in order to function)

Was Hitler successful?

No - Germany still needed some imports and many Germans were left unemployed (particularly those he didn’t include in his figures, such as women - many of whom were forced to leave in order for men to take over those roles - and Jews, who were banned from certain professions). However, Hitler did make Germany strong, a fact proven by the huge army he amassed and his four-year winning streak during WW2 - it took until 1943 for Germany to lose a single battle

What did Hitler do to increase employment?

He set up a number of schemes, programmes and organisations aimed to get Germans working again

How did business owners benefit from Nazi Germany?

Rearmament from 1937 encouraged the growth of big weapons and arms companies - managers of these factories saw their salaries rise by 50% between 1933 and 1939

How were small businesses impacted?

20% of small businesses closed as rules on opening and running these businesses was tightened

What was the experience of farmers under the Nazis?

Most benefited as they provided a large support group for the Nazis while they were running in government. Agricultural prices increased by 20% and agricultural wages also grew - more quickly than those in industry! Farming families had greater security as new laws prevented farms from being repossessed

What was the Hereditary Farm Law?

Introduced in 1933 to prevent farmers from selling their land to others - this was useful as it kept farms large and run by the same family for generations, but was unhelpful as it prevented a farmer from splitting his land between his children - the children who wouldn’t receive land often moved to the cities to find work