Economy During Nazi Germany

Social Studies Work:
Analysis of Nazi Germany economic policies:
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Economical Background:
… Previous to the economic reforms of the Nazi party, Germany had overcome a period of financial crisis due to the historical events of the beginnings of the XXth century. First of all, the defeat in the First World War had earnedGermany a huge external debt that they were forced to pay in the treaty of Versailles. By the other hand, the “Black Thursday” of 1929 made the United States to recall all the loans it had given Germany, which meant even more arrears for the European country. It was evident by that time that an economic reform was necessary to solve the crisis, and Hitler was in time to take this chance.
The Pre-War Economy (1933-1939):
… Right after the crisis of 1929, the public image of Hitler was drastically changed among the German population. In 1928 he was considered to be a fool for predicting the crisis, but now many thought that if he was smart enough to oversee the depression he was also capable to solve it. As more people fell in the unemployment the Nazi party earned more followers. It was theperfect time for using oratory to improve the Nazi party’s control over masses, since people were desperate for an economic relief.
* Employment Policies:
… The great Depression had increased the unemployment in Germany over the 30% making redundancy a major issue in the Nazi party project. So, by June of 1933 the "Reinhardt Program" was introduced with the objective of improving Germanconstruction Industry. By reducing taxes and augmenting government’s investment in public infrastructure, this policy was able to increase employment in construction from 600 thousand to over 2 million. By 1935, the party started a new conscription in order to prepare militarily for the expansion schemes of Hitler. By 1939, Hitler had recruited over a million people for the army and in order to equipand supply all of them it was necessary the establishment of new industries in weaponry, clothes and food. Similarly, the government created the Reichsarbeitsdienst (National Labor Service) in order to reduce unemployment. This institution would hire both, men and women on labors such as irrigating fields, digging ditches, repairing damaged roads and even military operations especially after thestart of the war.
Other policies made also unemployment to drop without taking real action. Women were no longer included in statistics, including those related to redundancy. Furthermore, Jews lost their citizenship in 1935 and eventually were replaced by other Germans in the jobs they had. For those who were unemployed, the government offered two possible options: involving in the nationallabor service or be classified as a “workshy” and be forced to move to a concentration camp. With such measures in development, the unemployment fell drastically (from over six million in 1933 to less than one million in 1939), going sometimes against the free will of the people. Nonetheless, those who were against these policies were unable to do anything against them, for fear to punishment andorganizations such as the Gestapo.
* Tax and Wage policies:
… In 1933, the government froze the salary payment and authorized the Labour Front to decide the wages and the compulsory deductions made for income tax. In order to make the salary freeze effective, the labor front created work-books that registered the record of the employers, these work-books prevented that those who didn’t meet thepolicies could employ. In 1936, the prices of products as well as the wages were already restricted under the penalty of being sent to concentration camps. The government’s control was also settled over the private ownership: the exaggeration of Gargantuan tax rates prevented self-financing of private companies. Although the largest corporations in Germany didn’t have to pay most of the taxes,...