nazi policies for employment and living standards

• service regarding employment in 1935

  reich labour service 1935

  provided young men with manual labour

  all men (18-25) to serve in corps for 6 months

  they lived in camps, with uniform, low pay and had military drill
• what was invisible unemployment

  jews dismissed from jobs

  unmarried men under 25 in national labour

  women dismissed from jobs

  nazi opponents in concentration camps

  keep down unemployment figures so did not include these numbers
• job creation schemes

  hitler invested 37.1b marks into these schemes

  introduced massive road building programme with over 125,000 men involved for 7,000km worth of motorways
• rearment


  to build up the armed forces to prepare for war

  introduction of conscription 1935

  thousands of young men into military service

  army increased from 100,000 (1933) to 1,400,000 (1939)

  heavy industry expanded to meet needs of rearment

  coal and chemicals doubled in years 1933-39

  oil, iron and steel trebled

  billions pent producing tanks, aircraft and ships

  1933 - 3.5b marks spent on rearment

  1939 - increased to 26b marks by 1939
• autarky

  self-sufficient
• reasons for nazi policies on reducing unemployment

  hitler promised he would reduce and remove unemployment created by great depression

  rearment greatly reduced unemployment
• organisation set up to improve living standards

  kraft durch freude (strength through joy)

  set up by daf

  increased leisure time of german workers by sponsoring trips

  provided at a low cost

  ordinary workers could access wealthy trips

  by 1938 - over 10 million took kdf holidays
• department set up in kdf

  beauty of labour

  to try improve working conditions

  organised building of canteens, pods, sports facilities and better lighting in workspaces
• scheme regarding improving living standards 1938

  volkswagen scheme

  daf organised

  'volkswagen' - workers

  opportunity to subscribe 5 marks a week to a fund to acquire a car
• changes to wages

  average weekly wages

  1932 - 86 marks

  1938 - 109 marks
• policies on food consumption

  food = target of nazi propaganda

  women were informed on what food to buy and how to cook healthy and cheap meals

  eintopf = (1 pot dish comprising meat and veg) encouraged 'meal of sacrifice for the nation'
• reasons for changes to living standards


  nazis realised that compulsion itself could not guarantee complete obedience to the government

  schemes introduced to win over workers and make them feel a part of the people's community (volksgemeinschaft)
• downsides of the changes to living standards

  lack of freedom - german workers lost their rights under nazis (banning of trade unions)

  reich labour service - compulsory for all men 18-25

  kdf - caused resentment

  volkswagen swindle - con trick

  cost of living - increased during 1930s - basic groceries except fish = more expensive in 1939 than 1933

  hours of work - average working hours in industry increased from 42.9 p/week (1933) to 47 (1939)
• reasons for failure of changes to living standards

  not all workers benefited (women were denied employment opportunities)

  removal of basic rights

  increased cost of living

  daf did not permit workers to negotiate for better pay or less hours of work

  strikes were banned

  food items = short supply as it was government decision to reduce agricultural production = keep up prices to benefit farmers