Chapter 3 Life for workers in Nazi Germany
Chapter 4 Life for women and the family in Nazi Germany
Chapter 5 Life for young people in Nazi Germany
Chapter 6 Life for the Jewish community and minorities in Nazi Germany
Chapter 7 Germany at war
life for the jewish community and minorities in na
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Life for workers in Nazi Germany
Nazi attempts to reduce unemployment: Hitler used a variety of methods to try to create
jobs for the six million Germans unemployed in 1933.
- Public works and National Labour Service (RAD) , conscription, rearmament, autarky,
PUBLIC WORKS AND THE NATIONAL LABOUR SERVICE (RAD)
- RAD used unemployed men between the ages of 18 and 25 to build government-funded
motorways, hospitals, schools and other public buildings and to work as groundskeepers.
o The men spent six months in camps, wore uniforms and received a small amount of pay to
send back to their families.
o RAD was beneficial to the Nazis because it provided them with cheap labour, reduced the
numbers on the unemployment register, led to a network of motorways which could be
used for the mobilisation of the army during the war and kept young people occupied.
CONSCRIPTION
o From 1935 onwards, young men between the ages of 18 and 25
were conscripted into the army for two years. The army increased from 0.4 million in
1935 to 1.4 million in 1939.
REARMAMENT
o Rearmament was responsible for the bulk of economic growth between 1933 and
1938.
o Millions of jobs were created in factories producing new weapons.
- The impact of Nazi actions on the lives of workers
There were some positive results for a number of groups in society:
1. The number of unemployed dropped from six million in 1933 to an actual labour
shortage by 1939. Wages for most workers eventually improved slightly.
2. Big businesses were the main winners – Rearmament boosted profits of big
weapons companies, and managers of the major industrial companies saw their
incomes rise by 50 per cent between 1933 and 1939.
3. Some farmers benefitted – By 1937, agricultural prices had increased by 20 per cent.
Agricultural wages rose more quickly than those in industry.
However, there was also problems. Nazi policies had different effects on different
groups.
o Initially less women were employed and it tended to be mainly in manual jobs or low
paid agricultural work. Women were not allowed in the professions. Single women
were expected to confine themselves to jobs in caring, e.g. nursing.
o Workers lost their right to negotiate their wages and improvements in their working
conditions.
o They could not change their job without permission. The maximum working hours
per week increased from 60 to 72.
o Living conditions in National Labour Service (RAD) camps were poor.
- The effectiveness of Nazi actions by 1939
Overall, the economic results of Hitler’s policies were mixed.
At first glance it appears the Nazis were very successful:
o By 1939 there was virtually no official unemployment in Germany.
, o Germany had a modern motorway network and new public buildings and it had
rearmed its military.
Although Hitler appeared to have solved unemployment and made Germany look
prosperous, there were serious problems in the economy.
o Germany had rearmed in breadth but not in depth; it
had great variety of armaments but limited numbers
of each type.
o There was a serious shortage of agricultural workers
because of the drift of poverty-stricken peasants to
the towns.
Nazi attempts to change the lives of workers:
- The German Labour Front (DAF), Strength Through Joy (KDF),
Beauty of Labour (SdA), prices and wages
Hitler wanted to control the workers because: 1. He wanted to ensure their loyalty and
obedience to his regime; and 2. He needed to ensure their productivity increased.
To achieve this, the Nazis set up three groups:
1. The German Labour Front (DAF)
o This was the Nazi organisation that replaced trade unions, which were banned in
May 1933 because they could interfere with Hitler’s plans. It was run by Dr Robert
Ley.
o Workers could not strike, bargain for wages or leave their jobs without permission.
o The DAF nearly always followed the wishes of employers, rather than employees.
2. Strength Through Joy (KdF)
o Its aims were to make workers support Hitler by offering them rewards and to keep
them occupied outside the workplace with organised leisure activities. It was run by
Dr Ley.
o Activities and rewards included: evening classes, theatre trips and picnics.
3. Beauty of Labour (SdA)
o The role of this organisation was to help Germans see that work was good and that
everyone who could work should do so.
o It also encouraged factory owners to improve conditions for workers, for example
better lighting and washing facilities.
- The impact of Nazi actions on the lives of workers
Despite the loss of freedom, life improved in Germany for some ordinary people:
o 60,000 new houses were built.
o There was full employment.
However, not everyone benefitted
o People’s diets became less healthy and monotonous.
o Workers had lost the right to negotiate wages, to strike and to change jobs freely.
The Councils of Trust did little to increase mutual trust in factories between
employees and employers.
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