Did the Third Reich Experience An Economic Miracle?
Although the economic situation undoubtedly improved in general during the Third Reich, to call this an economic miracle is a drastic overstatement. The German economy made a huge recovery under Nazi rule but this can not be completely credited to Hitler and it must be noted that the economic situation in Germany was beginning to improve before the Nazis came to power.
However, when Hitler came to power in 1933, he did inherit a difficult situation. The Great Depression had destroyed the previous regime and 50,000 businesses had gone bankrupt. Whether or not the country was in great crisis is debatable but it was certainly in desperate need of dramatic changes in the economy. Although there were some signs of the beginning of an economic recovery, this was by no means inevitable, and Richard Overy argues that 8 million people were still unemployed and the economy was still in poor shape.
Hitler was keen to avoid economic experimentation and simply aimed to consolidate and improve Weimar policies. He continued and enlarged Work Creation programmes from Weimar and this reduced unemployment as well as providing other benefits for workers. By 1936 the average wage was 35 marks per week, ten times more than the dole money which 6 million had been receiving in 1932. The 1933 Enabling Act meant that Hitler had no formal constraints on his power so he was able to extend and more vigorously enforce the schemes from the Weimar government.
Although the economic situation undoubtedly improved in general during the Third Reich, to call this an economic miracle is a drastic overstatement. The German economy made a huge recovery under Nazi rule but this can not be completely credited to Hitler and it must be noted that the economic situation in Germany was beginning to improve before the Nazis came to power.
However, when Hitler came to power in 1933, he did inherit a difficult situation. The Great Depression had destroyed the previous regime and 50,000 businesses had gone bankrupt. Whether or not the country was in great crisis is debatable but it was certainly in desperate need of dramatic changes in the economy. Although there were some signs of the beginning of an economic recovery, this was by no means inevitable, and Richard Overy argues that 8 million people were still unemployed and the economy was still in poor shape.
Hitler was keen to avoid economic experimentation and simply aimed to consolidate and improve Weimar policies. He continued and enlarged Work Creation programmes from Weimar and this reduced unemployment as well as providing other benefits for workers. By 1936 the average wage was 35 marks per week, ten times more than the dole money which 6 million had been receiving in 1932. The 1933 Enabling Act meant that Hitler had no formal constraints on his power so he was able to extend and more vigorously enforce the schemes from the Weimar government.