did anyone benefit

• Industrial workers:

  • Nazi public works programmes did create some employment.
  • However, some workers had very poor pay and conditions on these schemes and some workers had to participate in “voluntary” schemes to access benefits.
  • Rearmament created more jobs
  • Real wages grew slowly
  • Working hours were longer (average 47 hours by 1938)
  • There were no trades unions
  • Consumer goods were scarce and expensive – and some foods hard to obtain
  • Incentives through KdF (Strength Through Joy) did little to offset this hardship, but were popular.
• Farmers:

  Despite their extravagant promises to small farmers, the Nazis did little to help them. Agriculture remained unprofitable.

  Price controls limited farmers’ profits

  Some debts were written off and the Reich Entailed Farm Law meant family farms had to remain family businesses. This made it hard for small farmers to get credit / expand which ultimately reduced efficiency.

  Many labourers left the villages to obtain better paid work in the towns and cities
• Small Businesses:

  Like small farmers, small business leaders had voted for the Nazis in large numbers.

  Despite their promises, little was actually done for this cohort.

  New department stores were blocked and the expansion of existing ones outlawed but existing outlets still competed against smaller businesses and impacted their viability.

  Many craftsmen continued to earn less than factory workers
• Big Businesses:

  The rearmament programme proved hugely profitable for larger businesses

  Some business leaders saw their income more than double in the period 1933-1939. Many managers saw salaries rise by 70%.

  Trade Unions were disbanded and Communism crushed. This was considered desirable by many captains of industry.

  There were some negative outcomes for this group; price controls limited profits and government directed some business activity- including what should be produced and how raw materials should be allocated
• Conclusion – did “Aryan” Germans benefit from Nazi Rule?

  The Mittelstand did not see a return for their loyalty

  Workers -> but pay stagnated, conditions worsened and only the KdF offered some benefits in a regime

  Big business gained more from the Nazi regime than most other groups

  Young people experienced more interference by the state in their leisure time and were indoctrinated at school and play. Some young people rejected the new values, but appear to have been in the minority.

  Women lost the freedoms of the 1920s. Only labour shortages prevented more dismissals.
• Some benefited, others didn't