Nazi Economic Policy

Policy was about recovery then rearmament 

Economic aims:

• tackle problems of depression
• restore Germany to full employment - women & Jews didn't count. Work e.g autobahns or army
• rebuild Germany's military and prepare for future war - Wehwirtsohaf
• greater self sufficiency - autarky - didn't work (used substitutes)
• win support of Mittelstand ( middle class)
• corporativist government

so they didn't lose money buying foreign goods

• depression destroyed Weimar Republic
• Germany short of essential raw materials
• Lacked foreign currency to pay for imports
• slump in world trade
• 1932, 6 million Germans unemployed 

• Hitler expanded public works scheme in 1932 - espcially building homes and motorways*
• stimulated private economy, providing jobs for priavate firms
• private firms*
• * linked together, e.g to build homes they needed material to work with from private firms
• tax concession and special grants e.g newlyweds
• subsidies for hiring more workers in private sectors
• some groups no longer eligible for unemployment relief e.g agricultural workers
• Reich Labour Service ( RAD) and conscription took unemployed men off the offical register (extended to women in 1939)
• armed services gew from 100,000 (1933) to 1,400,000 (1939)

• appointed as President of Reichsbank, March 1933 then became Economics Minister in August 1934
• his appointment reassured financiers
• used deficit financing e.g mefo bills (was a credit note used on rearmament by deyaling real payment)
• suspended debt repayments , Balance of Trade Deficit. Redressed with New Plan 1934
• Bilateral trade agreements e.g the Balkan states where products and raw materials were bartered rather than bought or sold
• increased economic influence over regions e.g Austria, Balkans and Czechoslovakia