Did The German People Benefit From Nazi Rule In The Period 1933-39?
Hitler and the Nazis came to power in January 1933. Their policies turned Germany into a Nazi police state between 1933-39. Many Germans benefited from Nazi rule but at a heavy price. In addition different people were affected in different ways – for some German, for example the Jews, life became intolerable.
When Germany came to power in 1933, Germany was still in the economic depression, which had begun in 1929. It was Nazi promises to end the Depression that won them so much support. Hitler was now expected to put these promises into practice. The control of economic policy was the responsibility of Dr. Schacht, who was the Minister of Economy form 1934 to 1937. His “New Plan” for Germany had clear aims: to reduce unemployment, to build up the armaments industry and make Germany self-sufficient.
In 1933 five million Germans were still unemployed and it was essential that the Nazis find them jobs. The National Labour Service was immediately set up, for young men aged between 18 and 25 years. The jobs included digging ditches and planting forests and they had to wear uniforms and live in camps. Instead of wages they were given pocket money. These schemes were then extended to ambitious public works programmes organised by the German Labour Front. New motorways, called autobahns, were built, as were public buildings. These schemes created thousands of jobs. However, the greatest fall in unemployment was brought about by rearmament. In 1935 Hitler ignored the Treaty of Versailles and started rearming Germany. He then introduced conscription. Between 1935 and 1938 the army alone increased by over one million men. To support this rearmament, an armaments industry grew up to make weapons and equipment needed, this also provides thousands of jobs. There were other ways the Nazis reduced the number of unemployed: women were forced out of work to look after homes and their families; Jews were dismissed form the jobs but they were not recorded as unemployed; and more and more people were being sent to labour camps and concentration camps and were also not recorded as unemployed. In Germany unemployment fell and by 1939 the Nazis were even declaring that there was a shortage of labour.
