Schacht’s Running of the German Economy In 1933 many problems faced Germany economically, the Nazi party’s main aims were to tackle the serious depression and sort out Germany’s rising unemployment. Germany has poor economic and social organization, Hitler wanted to sort this out so Germany’s economy was geared for War. Another problem was the need to balance deficit payments, the economy needed to recover to increase demand for consumer goods and too bring around re-armament through increased demand of raw materials. The World’s high value market was protectionist and made it hard to increase exports at the time. There was a very real danger of inflation as there was already a growing demand for more money and products. Protectionist trading meant that countries would only trade in there own currency, Germany did not have this foreign currency. Hitler’s priorities were to create more jobs, by starting programs of building homes and motorways for example in 1932, this work was paid for by the state. This all created another problem that I mentioned above, balance of trade deficit. Germany was exporting more than it was importing, in 1934 a new plan was launched that allowed the government strong powers in regulating imports and regulated foreign exchange. The man responsible for this ‘New Plan’ that helped overcomes the immediate trade problem. Schacht was the person whom Hitler put in charge of running the economy in 33, he was once the director of the National Bank in 1916, and in 1923 he was President of the Reich bank. After reading Mein Kampf, he saw Hitler was a savior, he generated funds for the Nazi party, and became as I mentioned economics minister in 1934. Tax concessions to the workers, meant more people wanted to work in these environment. Hitler opened up the unions to any members; this meant that the economy was stimulated by worker independence and confidence. Hitler extended a lot of public work schemes such as in 1932 the building of homes and motorways. As there were now subsidies for hiring more workers in the private sector, this opened up jobs as
In late 1923 and early 1924 the German economy seemed to experience a mild period of economic stabilisation and "prosperity". In November, the government issued a new currency and ensured that tight restrictions were imposed. The economy was further stimulated by loans principally from the USA. However despite all this there simultaneously, was increasing numbers of unemployed persons. A well cited example of this is the coal mining industry where the introduction of more efficient machinery meant that one in four miners lost their jobs. No doubt that increased unemployment meant that the German population grew increasingly discontent with the Weimar government and this is the beginnings of the swing towards more radical political voting. Hitler knew that he had to have attractive political policies in order to attract a greater pool of voters, looking for alternative parties, and he recognized a possible solution to this was to attract the attention of the farming and rural community. The Nazi Party took this opportunity quickly and campaigned hard to win over the votes of the farmers and rural workers by promising tax reductions, cheaper electricity and a promise to rebuild the farming industry. "The peasants, the Nazis said, were of true German blood and their life was the true German life. They had shamefully been neglected by the Weimar Republic." Hitler told the people of the land that under a Nazi Government, rural people would be the most important people in Germany. The rural Germans were on the brink of bankruptcy, constituting approximately 11 Billion marks by 1932. The Nazi's promise of a return to rural prosperity was too good for them to resist. Yet this adoption of the rural Germans also proved useful in another sense because it allowed the Nazi party to use the Jewish people as a scapegoat towards the problems faced by the rural Germans.
This investigation will address the research question, to what extent was Germany’s post-World War I economic depression a causal factor in Hitler’s rise to power from 1919 to 1934? With the Treaty of Versailles, the German government was required to pay 132 billion gold marks of war reparations, drastically worsened with the US Wall Street crash. This effectively crippled the German economy and created a desperate people. For this investigation, Hitler’s private life history and pre-military career will not be analyzed. His political rise will be examined from the perspective of economic and social factors. Several primary sources will be explored, including the Hitler’s Mein Kampf and Hitler’s 25-Point Program. In addition, tertiary sources covering Hitler’s non-personal life and rise to power will be studied.
The conditions in Germany when Hitler came into power were that the Wiemar Republic was weak, they had a democracy and after president Heindenburg died the democracy was even weaker. There was hardly any money, before the Great Depression began. Aldof Hitler promised a better life for everyone in Germany, and with his persuasive speech managed to get what he wanted, power. The treaty of Versailles blamed Germany for the First World War. The Weimar politicians did not seem to have an end to the ongoing crisis so they gave Hitler a spot in politics, his speech soon enough brought him up the hierarchy and lead to his success. The support for the Nazi party was rising every day before the Communists, the Great Depression did much of Hitler’s
Hitler was superb at convincing people to believe everything he said. He promised the people a roast in every pot, security, and many more things. By promising the people security that meant that he would keep them all safe and that he can do a better job than anyone else. Adolf Hitler increased in support from bankers and industrialists. So, pretty much he had most of the people who had higher power on his side durning this time period. The the united States stock market crasedd in October 1929 unemployment in Germany quickly rose to over six million. This opened another window for Hitler to get more peoplewho thought that they had nothing and their life was over to side with him. President Hindenburg did not want for Hitler to become the chancellor so instead he appointed Von Pappen but, Adolf Hitler did not agree nor did the Nazi's. hitler eventually did become the chancellor on January 30th, 1933 Hitler then banned all political parties. In 1934 the president died and Adolf Hitler forced his way into power. Now that he was the president he can change anyhting that he wants.
Germany and its Economy Known as the "fair" capital, Germany lies in the center of Europe and in the center of the European home market. Approximately two thirds of the top international fairs take place in Germany. Germany is successful. A leader in world trade, Germany is the third largest economy in the world and the biggest market in Europe. It wasn't always this way though; European power struggles wounded the country in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century and left the country dominated by the victorious Allied powers of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945.
The 1940’s was a time of great conflict between the United States and Europe. This led to World War II, which began on June 14th, 1940 when German troops were sent to France to occupy Paris (Nash 500). Before the United States entered World War II many conflicts erupted throughout Europe such as the advancement of German troops into various countries (Nash 501-502). The main source of these conflicts was a man by the name of Adolf Hitler. Hitler was a power hungry man who had the drive to become a political leader (Nash 492). But, the ways by which he obtained leadership were repulsive. He struck fear into the eyes of those in which opposed his teaching and killed whoever stood in his way (Nash 493). Germany faced troubling times after World War I. Hitler looked at this as the perfect opportunity to rise to power. He turned a party that consisted of a small amount of workers into the National Socialist German Workers’ party, which later became known as the Nazi party. During the 1920s, Hitler performed many speeches in order to make the Nazi party better known. In his speeches he talked about eliminating the differences between the rich and poor in order to prevent divided social classes. This made his party strong, attractive, and it quickly gained many supporters (Nash 494). By August 1934, Hitler became the Dictator of Germany and began mass takeover of Europe and World War II began (Nash 495). It was at this point when he began mass takeover of Europe and World War II began (Nash 500). He sent Nazi troops to take over nearby land, which made neighboring countries nervous. One of these countries, Russia, made a non-aggression pact with Hitler as a way to try to protect their country. Even though H...
In the year 1929 their was a large depression in the country of Germany. This depression was made up of power struggle and economic distress. The people of Germany no longer trusted the democratic government that they once knew. This allowed Adolf Hitler, the great speaker that he was, to persuade the German people to bring him and his Nazi party into power. Adolf Hitler approached the German people speaking of nationalism which was very much needed after World War I. Not only did he need the...
The Collapse of Weimar and the Rise of Hitler In 1919, a defeated Germany was forced to abandon government under the Kaiser, who had fled to Belgium and adopt the Weimar, a democratic but flawed system. Soon after Hitler and the Nazi Party appeared, and years later the Weimar Republic fell. What accounted for the fall of the Weimar? My essay will prove that there was not a single reason,
Adolf Hitler came to power on February 28, 1933 (Rossel). He rose to power using inflammatory speeches and inspiring hope for the defeated Germans. He constructed a system to empower the German people and allow them to thrive in the period after the Great Depression (Noakes). Using keen acumen and decisive moves, he was able to turn Germany into a war machine bent on the creation of an Aryan utopian society, at the cost of all inferior races, especially the Jews ("The Period between 1933 and 1939"). At this time Germany was a defeated country. They had recently had numerous humiliating defeats in WWI, and the Germans no longer had the pride they once had celebrated (Laurita). Augmented by the fact that the Great Depression had ravaged the country and left many in a state of penury and impoverished, the Germans were desperate. As well, Germany was currently a country without any source of stability without a generally supported constitution. When Hitler promised a utopian society filled with hope and where the Germans would be exalted as the superior race, the Germans listened and obeyed his every word (Noakes). Hitler fed on the desperation and hopelessness of these German people to make a society driven by fear; this state of pity allowed Hitler to convince the Germans that he could provide a better future.
due to a couple of reasons. The most important one was the fact he was
Severe economic problems arose in Germany essentially due to the punitive provisions of the Treaty of Versailles. “The German government began to print money to pay its bills.” (McKay, 872). In order to make up for the massive debt and reparations connected to the Treaty of Versailles, the government started to print loads of money. The influx of money across Germany due to newly printed bills caused prices to rise. Money became rather worthless with an abundance of it, which hurt many people’s incomes. Hyperinflation soon occurred, which put the economy in a weak position and further contributed to the downfall of the Weimar Republic.
Richard Bessel’s article stresses the political structure of Weimar Germany as the cause of its failure. Its structure was flawed in numerous ways, all of which contributed to its inevitable failure. First of all, the problems within Germany due to the First World War were massive. This caused economic, political and social problems which first had to be dealt with by the new Weimar government. The loss of the war had left Germany with huge reparations to pay, and massive destruction to repair. In order to gain the capital needed to finance efforts to rebuild, and repay the Allies, the economy had to be brought back to its prewar levels. This was not an easy task.
In 1920 Germany’s economy began to fail. After WWI, Germany was being blamed for everything that went wrong in the war. The Treaty of Versailles stated that Germany’s army was restricted to 100,000 men, they were to pay 132 billion in damages from the war, and they could have no air force. Germany was in a depression. Hitler became the hero; he promised the German people financial stability and his promise came true. Germany was finally out of their depression and working great, thanks to Adolf Hitler. Hitler was loved by many, he had saved Germany, and he was greatly admired by Germans nationwide. However, many events lead up to him becoming a villain, and basically ruining the world in the 1930’s.
Another key factor that played a role in Hitlers rise to power was after World War one as the treaty of Versailles took away Germanys colonies and forced them to pay 33billion dollars, to Britain and France. This debt in return completely bankrupted Germany and economically enslaved the people of Germany. Unemployment and inflation at the time was out of control. Ther German currency lost so much value that people were struggling to buy a simple loaf of bread. The reason the great depression helped Hitler was because he promised the people of Germany that he would rebuild Germany to its former self. He promised jobs which mainly came through the army, this in affect helped Hitler realise one of his other promises which was to take Revenge on those who left Germany crippled after the war. This made him and the Nazis wildly popular in Germany during the 1930s. In just a few short years,...
Hyper- inflation in Germany 1923 was that of a huge blow to their economy and moreover, to their self-esteem. The value of the German mark became next to nothing, and people ended up having to trolley wheel-barrows full of money just to buy a loaf of bread. There are several causes for this happening in the first place, Germany had no goods to trade with the first place and they weren’t exactly on good terms with other countries to be in a position to do so. Then there was the severe impact of the treaty of Versailles that was “happily bestowed” upon them after the First World War. The French invasion of the Ruhr caused an uproar in the German government and it didn’t help in terms of Germany’s economy either. These were just a few main causes of the hyper-inflation in Germany, however, to find out what really happened what the real truth is we would have to accept the fact that real answer lies with inputs from all of these causes as they all played a part.