Employment and living standards

• What was the main purpose of Hitler's public works programme?

  To reduce unemployment
• What significant event did Hitler's public works programme include building for in 1936?

  The Olympic stadium
• How many men did Hitler's public works programme employ?

  80,000 men
• What was the primary driver of economic growth in Germany between 1933 and 1938?

  Rearmament
• When was rearmament publicly announced in Germany?

  1935
• What did rearmament involve?

  Manufacturing arms and increasing the army
• How much was spent on producing tanks, aircraft, and ships in 1933?

  3.5 billion marks
• How much was spent on producing tanks, aircraft, and ships in 1939?

  26 billion marks
• What was the term used to describe employment not included in official statistics?

  Invisible employment
• How many men were in the army by 1939?

  1.4 million
• What happened to Jews who were sacked from their jobs?

  They had to give their jobs to non-Jews
• What were women encouraged to do regarding their jobs?

  Give up their jobs to men
• What did the Labour Front (DAF) set?

  Wages
• Whose wishes did the Labour Front (DAF) nearly always follow?

  Employers
• What was the name of the scheme that gave workers rewards for their work?

  Strength through Joy (KdF)
• What types of rewards did the Strength through Joy (KdF) scheme offer?

  Theatre trips, picnics, and cheap holidays
• What was the main purpose of the Strength through Joy (KdF) scheme?

  To support and thank the Führer
• Who was in charge of the Strength through Joy (KdF) scheme?

  Dr Robert Ley
• What was one popular scheme under the Strength through Joy (KdF)?

  Volkswagen - the people's car
• How could Germans pay for the Volkswagen under the Strength through Joy (KdF) scheme?

  In instalments
• When did car factories have to turn their attention to manufacturing arms?

  1939
• What happened to many Germans who had paid for the Volkswagen in instalments by 1939?

  They lost their money
• What was autarky?


  policy or goal where a country aims to be completely self-sufficient

  In 1937, Göring introduced import controls and farm subsidies, but th policy failed
• why did autarky fail in Nazi Germany?


  By WWII, Germany still imported 20% of its food and 33% of raw materials
• How did big businesses benefit under the Nazis by 1937?

  Monopolies controlled over 70% of production. Rearmament boosted profits, and industrial managers’ wages rose by 50% (1933–1939)
• What happened to small businesses under Nazi rule?

  Tighter regulations made it harder to operate small businesses, causing around 20% of them to close
• How did farmers benefit under the Nazis?

  Agricultural prices rose by 20% by 1937, and farm wages grew faster than industrial wages. Farmers gained more job and land security
• What was the Hereditary Farm Law of 1933?

  It protected farms from being repossessed, ensuring security for farming families—but also stopped them from selling their land
• What was the downside of Nazi farming policies?

  Farmers couldn’t sell their land due to the Hereditary Farm Law, keeping them tied to their farms regardless of circumstance
• What was the KdF (strength through joy)?

  organisation set up by the German Labour Front to replace trade unions
• What did the KdF try to improve, how?

  improve leisure time - by sponsoring a wide range of leisure and cultural trips, e.g

  concerts, theatre trips, museum tours, sporting events