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The Economy of Nazi Germany

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There were many aspects of Nazi economic policies that improved the lives of German people between 1933 and 1945. Some historians would argue that the Nazi's economic policies were effective and efficient and improved quality of life, while others would argue they cut corners and used cheap and brutal methods which had a negative effect on the lives of German people at the time. However, debatably the Nazi's devised clever economic strategies which were exactly what Germany and the German people needed after the great depression. Firstly, one key factor that improved the lives of German people was, when the Nazi's came into power they introduced several schemes to tackle the economic situation and unemployment caused by The Great Depression and the terms of The Treaty of Versailles. The German Labour front (DAF) was a measure put in by the Nazis to control workers and employment, this meant that all trade unions were abolished and strikes were made illegal. Furthermore, the government controlled when a worker could leave a job and when or where they would move; this meant that bosses could no longer sack a worker on the spot or change their wages. This allowed the Nazi's to lower unemployment rates and ensure production needs were met as shown in source 98 and source 4 (page 129). However the statistics shown in source 98 did not include women or Jews and therefore made unemployment figures seem as though they had lowered drastically, this was great propaganda for the Nazis and gained them the support and trust of many Germans even though it was illegitimate. Another scheme established by the Nazis was the Reich Labour Service (RAD), this was a public work scheme for those who could not find work, and reduced unemployment further. However this was unpopular because it was hard manual labour and even with meals and accommodation included it was poorly paid as shown in source 9 (page 125). These men worked building autobahns and railways to transport the increasing amount of produce and raw materials

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