Lesson 24: reduction in unemployment

• What was the Nazi Labour Service (RAD) set up for?

  To provide work for the unemployed
• When was the Nazi Labour Service established?

  In 1933
• What types of work did the RAD provide?

  Environmental, public works, and sports facilities
• How long did each male work in the RAD?

  6 months at a time
• Why was the RAD popular among participants?

  It was organized like the army with discipline
• What was the goal of building the Autobahns?

  To create 7,000 miles of new motorways
• How many people worked on the Autobahns by 1933?

  1.25 million
• How many kilometers of roads were completed by 1938?

  3,500 km
• What was one effect of the Autobahn projects on the economy?

  Big business boomed, aiding transport links
• What was one of Hitler's aims regarding the Treaty of Versailles?

  To overturn the Treaty of Versailles
• What was the limit on Germany's armed forces set by the Treaty of Versailles?

  100,000 men
• Who was put in charge of the Four Year Plan in 1935?

  Hermann Goering
• What did the reintroduction of military conscription mean for young German males?

  They had to serve in the armed forces
• How did army industry spending change from 1933 to 1939?

  Increased from 3.5 billion to 26 billion marks
• How many men were in the army by 1939?

  900,000 men
• Why are the unemployment statistics from Nazi Germany considered unreliable?

  They excluded various groups from counts
• Who were not counted in the unemployment figures?

  Women, Jews, and prisoners
• What happened to men in the Labour Service after 6 months?

  They were not counted in unemployment figures
• What was the status of women in the workforce during Nazi Germany?

  They were forced out of many jobs
• How did the Nazis manipulate unemployment statistics after 1935?

  Classified part-time workers as fully employed
• What impact did changing borders have on unemployment statistics?

  It obscured the true unemployment figures
• What was the situation of Jews in the workforce under Nazi rule?

  They were forced out of jobs and excluded
• How many men were in the armed forces by 1939 due to conscription?

  1.3 million men
• Why should we not trust the official Nazi unemployment figures?

  They were manipulated and excluded groups
• What are the hidden unemployed in Nazi Germany?

  • Men in the Labour Service not counted
  • Women forced out of jobs
  • Jews excluded from statistics
  • Prisoners and camp detainees
  • Soldiers due to conscription
• What were the factors that contributed to the reduction of unemployment in Nazi Germany?

  1. Nazi Labour Service (RAD)
  2. Building the Autobahns
  3. Rearmament and conscription