Over 6 million Germans were out of work when Hitler to power

• He also promised to improve living standards by creating jobs and increasing wages.
• Germany was suffering from hyperinflation (1923) which led to high unemployment rates.
• • promised the voters ‘work and bread’ if he became their leader
• • As soon as the Nazis took control of Germany they set up a number of schemes, programmes and organisations that aimed to get Germans back to work. 
• German Labour Front (Deutsche Arbeitsfront or DAF) replaced trade unions. It promised to protect the rights of workers. It ran two schemes 
• • Beauty of Labour which aimed to improve the working environment by installing better lighting, safety equipment, new wash rooms, low cost canteens and sports facilities
• • Strength Through Joy (Kraft durch Freude or KDF) aimed to reward workers by offering cheap holidays, trips to the theatre and tickets to football matches if workers met their targets. Two huge cruise ships were built to take the hardest workers on luxury cruises at bargain prices. They also had a scheme to save for Hitler’s Peoples car – the Volkswagen. Over 7 million people took part in sports matches organised by the KDF. 
• • National Labour Service (RAD) – All men between 18 and 25 has to spend six month in the RAD. They planted forests, mended hedges and dug drainage ditches on farms. Men in the RAD has to wear uniforms and life in camps, but they were given free meals. Their lives were very much control and were only paid a little pocket money. But at least it was a job – unemployment figures began to drop rapidly.
• • Public Work Schemes – In June 1933, the Nazis ordered the creation of a new network of autobahns (motorways) to link Germany’s major towns and cities. This gave work to nearly 100,000 people and improved infrastructure. At the same time, a huge number of new schools and hospitals were built again giving work to more people.
• Hitler was determined to rearm Germany again so he ordered the building of new tanks, battleships, fighter planes and guns. Thousands of jobs were created and huge government contracts made factory owners and bosses of large businesses a fortune
• Hitler introduced conscription into the armed forces (compulsory). From 1935, all males between 18-25 were forced to join the armed forces for at least 2 years. Within 5 years the army had grown from 100,000 to 1.4 million – even more jobs! 
• Unemployment in Germany

  January 1933 6 million

  January 1934 3.3 million

  January 1935 2.9 million

  January 1936 2.5 million

  January 1937 1.8 million

  January 1938 1.0 million

  January 1939 302,000
• • Women who gave up work to have a family did not count in the official figures.
  • Part- time workers were counted as full-time.
  • The Nazis actually created jobs by sacking people. 
  • Many Jews were forced out of their jobs and were replaced by unemployed non-Jews. The Nazis then didn’t count these newly-unemployed Jews in their figures.
• In Weimer Germany, there were lots of political parties (around 30, in fact). However, parties rarely ever got a majority in Weimer Germany, so they formed coalition government. A Chancellor was then chosen for the coalition. But coalition governments often disagreed with each other, and very little done. 
• As usual a coalition government was formed under a new Chancellor Heinrich Bruning, a Centre Party politician. He soon became unpopular as he reduced unemployment pay and raised taxes. However, in the election the Nazis became the second largest party in the Reichstag.
• The Stormtroopers (SA), Hitler’s private army, helped him at this time too.
• The Stormtroopers beat up the Communists and disrupted their meeting, making it hard for them to campaign freely.
• Other political groups had their own version of the SA too.
• The Reichbanner supported both the Social Democratic Party and the Centre Party, and regularly clashed with the Nazis and the Communists.
• In 1932 alone, there were dozens of bomb plots, streets fights and murders as different groups fought.
• To many people, the chaos and violence on the streets and the unstable governments proved that the Weimar government was failing.
• Hitler demanded the Chancellor’s job after more success in 1932 but Hindenburg thought the Nazis were too disruptive and violent limiting Hitler’s control.
• • Some argued that democracy had already failed because one man, Hindenburg was using his emergency decrees to make decisions without the elected Reichstag. This was problematic for Hitler who couldn’t have a role to play in decision making. 
• Hitler becomes Chancellor in January 1933. Hindenburg next appointed his old friend, General Schleicher to be Chancellor. Yet again he had no support. Hindenburg had little choice but to appoint Hitler as Chancellor. He tried to limit Hitler’s power by appointing von Papen as vice Chancellor and restricted the Nazis in his cabinet to two. 
• • In October 1929, the Wall Street Crash signaled the start of a worldwide economic depression. Many American banks closed down, while others demanded repayment of the loans they had given to Germany since 1924. Companies in Germany therefore closed down. Workers lost their jobs and by early 1932 there were 6 million German people unemployed. 
• • Support began to grow for the Nazis. In 1928 the Nazi Party held only 12 seats in the Reichstag. By 1932 they held 230 seats. 
• • blamed the policies of the Weimar Republic and the Jews for the depression. He said the Nazi Party was Germany’s last hope
• • Working and middle classes most affected due to a loss of savings in the bank
  • Poverty
  • Mass unemployment and the government cannot afford to pay out any unemployment benefits. Young people are made redundant first.
  • American loans are called in further worsening the crisis
  • Cannot trade abroad as everyone is suffering 
  • Government appears weak and helpless and disagreement about what to do
  • People turn to more extremist parties such as the Nazis
• Threats to Weimar Republic: reparation payments, ruhr crisis, Munich beer hall putsch , hyperinflation, spartacists, kapp putsch , passive resistance , flu epidemic, starvation.
• Communist group, called the Spartacists, led by Rosa Luxemburg and Carl Liebknecht attempted to begin a revolution and take control of the Government’s newspaper headquarters and telegraph bureau in Berlin. The rising was crushed with the help of the army (Freikorps) and the leaders were arrested and murdered
• The Kapp Putsch (political)

  Doctor Wolfgang Kapp led a right- wing attempt to seize Berlin in March 1920. The army refused to act against Kapp’s supporters who were often ex-soldiers and the Government fled from the city. Kapp set himself up as Head of a new Government. He wanted to recover land taken away from Germany by the Versailles Treaty. Kapp was defeated by the people of Berlin. Workers organised a General Strike. With no gas, water, electricity, trains or buses running, Kapp fled to Sweden.
• In 1921, The Germans paid the first installment of the reparations to the Allies (132 million gold marks).
• In 1922, the Germans announced they could not afford to pay for the next three years.
• The French invaded the Ruhr, Germany’s industrial region, on 9 January 1923.
• 60,000 French and Belgian soldiers took control of every mine, factory, steelworks and railway in the region.
• The German army could not retaliate, so the people offered 'passive resistance' instead.
• The French responded by expelling 150,000 people from the region when they refused to take orders, and shooting 132 Germans.
• The French eventually withdrew after the intervention of Stresemann.