Authoritarian and Single Party States: Hitler: Economics

After World War II the German economy lay in shambles.

Unemployment peaked at 6 million during the final days of the Weimar Republic – near enough 33% of the nation’s working population.

After World War One the Treaty of Versailles was damaging to Germany and its economy. The Nazis took advantage of these difficulties to gain support.

This paper considers how advances in political and economic theory help to better understand the problems of Weimar and Versailles.

Hitler had outlined his ideas in Mein Kampf, from 1933 the implementation of these ideas affected many aspects of life in Germany. How did Nazi economic, social and racial policy affect life in Germany?

The Nazis entered government in 1933 with a set of outcomes that they wanted to achieve through economics, but not a clear policy to achieve this. The outcomes they wanted to achieve were economic stability, an end to unemployment, and Autarky .

These images come from the official bimonthly Nazi Party periodical on economic matters.

Series of links exploring Hitler's Foreign Policy, rearmament, etc.

The Hitler regime’s economic policy, involved “large scale borrowing for public expenditures, and at first this was principally for civilian work -- railroads, canals and the Autobahnen [highway network]. The result was a far more effective attack on unemployment than in any other industrial country.”

Hitler had outlined his ideas in Mein Kampf, from 1933 the implementation of these ideas affected many aspects of life in Germany.