The Extent to Which the Nazis Achieved an Economic Miracle in Germany between 1933-1939

The Extent to Which the Nazis Achieved an Economic Miracle in Germany between 1933-1939

Prior to Hitler being appointed Führer of Germany in 1933, the

economic climate had been one of instability given the effects of the

1930 Economic Depression. There is no doubt that the Nazis did improve

the economy, but the extent to which it was a miracle will be examined

in detail throughout this essay. Another important factor to consider

in this study is whether the economic situation had begun to improve

under the Weimar Republic or whether the Nazis were alone solely

responsible for the revival.

In January 1933 Germany had all the features of a depressed economy.

Foreign trade had declined, industrial production, and with it

national income, had fallen by 40% and there was mass unemployment,

with a third of the working population unemployed. Added to this,

wages and real income had fallen with inevitable consequences for

those who produced consumer goods. Only by the second quarter of

1933 did it become clear that a more general improvement was taking

place. By the end of that year the index of industrial production

(1928=100) stood at 66, seven points higher than in 1932, and

unemployment fell by over two million between March 1933 and March

1934. By the end of 1935, GNP in real terms had reached the level of

1928. This led to growing support for the Nazi party who, using force

and terror, were keen to cement their position as GermanyÂ’s main

political party. Evans and Jenkins’ ‘Years of Weimar and the Third

Reich’ claims that ‘Hitler wanted the continuation of pre-1932 modest

attempts at the control of inflation and expansion of...

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...g had increased from 12

billion Reich marks in 1928 to over 30 billion in 1939.

· From 1933 to 1939, the Nazi government always spent more than it

earned so that by 1939, government debt stood at over 40 billion

Reichsmarks.

· Annual food consumption in 1937 had fallen for wheat bread, meat,

bacon, milk, eggs, fish vegetables, sugar, tropical fruit and beer

compared to the 1927 figures. The only increase was in rye bread,

cheese and potatoes.

· Real earnings in 1938 were all but the same as the 1928 figure.

(Real earnings are wages adjusted to allow for inflation).

The real wage value increased over the 8-year period to 200% of its

1929 value. The value stood at

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