Self-Sufficiency (Autarky)

Hitler believed that a key reason why Germany lost WWI was because her ecomomy was too reliant on foreign goods which were cut off by the British naval blockade. He was therefore determined to make the economy more self-sufficient to make Germany stronger. The New Plan was introduced by finance minister Schacht who was appointed in August 1934. It restricted imports and encouraged Germans to use local substitutes. The plan succeeded in cutting imports but debt increased. The debt was funded by issuing MEFO bills (a type of bond) but this scheme was essentially fraudulent. Schacht resigned in 1937 as he believed that Germany couldn't afford to re-arm so quickly. Goering then introduced a Four Year Plan.

Unemployment

A key Nazi promise was to reduce unemployment. The official unemployment figures were dramatically reduced from 6 million in 1932 to 0.4 million in 1939. This was achieved by:

Sacking women and Jews.
The Labour Service (RAD) - young Germans were forced to volunteer for 6 months
Re-armament - millions of Germans were employed in the army or in the munitions factories

However, the only new jobs that were created were as a result of re-arming which was funded by debt so this apparent miracle was not sustainable and it was only achieved at the expense of women and Jews.

Standards of Living

Living standards improved for many during the 1930s although part of this was due to the gradual recovery of world trade following the Great Depression. Workers who had previously been unemployed were now better off. Those in the RAD, however, were only paid pocket money. Many industrialists made huge profts from rearmament. Trade Unions were banned in 1933 and all workers had to join the Nazi controlled DAF. This, and the Beauty of Labour scheme both pretended to look after workers' interests but did little to help them so workers had fewer rights.

GCSE Germany 1890 - 1945 AQA

The Nazis and the Economy