A War Economy and its Impact on Germany, 1939-42 (OCR GCSE History B (Schools History Project)): Revision Note

Summary

The start of the Second World War led to enormous changes for the German economy and people. Every aspect of life in Germany was dedicated to winning the war. The Nazi regime was prepared to fight an extended conflict against several enemies.

These changes did not cause an immediate increase in the number of weapons and vehicles needed. The employment of Albert Speer as the Minister of Armaments and War Production changed this. Germany's factories were soon producing more armaments than ever before. This also led more women to enter the factories despite the Nazi belief that they should be at home raising families.

The dramatic increase in the production of armaments was even more remarkable due to the extended aerial bombing campaign that Britain launched against Germany, which targeted the factories.

Why did Germany create a war economy?

• When war broke out in 1939, the German economy had been set up to support short conflicts

• The war against France and Britain had the potential to drag on for many years

  • As a result, Hitler announced in December 1939 that Germany would become a war economy

  • This meant that all industries would be focused on helping Germany win the war

• By 1941, 55 per cent of German workers were doing war-related work

• By 1941, 47 per cent of all goods produced in German factories were for the military

  • This was an enormous increase from the 23 per cent of 1939

Albert Speer

• The Nazi government spent significant amounts of money changing to a war economy

• Initially, this failed to increase the production of weapons and vehicles as much as needed

  • Orders were being placed by the Wehrmacht (German Army), the Kriegsmarine (German Navy), and the Luftwaffe (German Air Force), with nobody in overall control or coordinating the economy

• In February 1942, Albert Speer was appointed as Minister of Armaments and War Production

  • Speer was Hitler's favourite architect and was highly trusted

  • He created the Central Planning Board

    • He encouraged industrialists to join his team, whilst excluding people from the military

Why was the war economy successful in the early years of the war?

Speer's Reforms

NOTE: Please insert the Speer reforms mindmap here

• Speer also gave individual factories more independence

  • They were able to manufacture their goods as they saw fit

  • This led to a significant increase in production

How did the war economy affect women?

• When the Nazis came to power in 1933, they aimed to get women to leave the workplace and become mothers and homemakers

• The change to the war economy led to major disagreements about this

  • Speer and others saw women as being vital to the war effort but others wanted women to remain at home

• This led to a compromise

  • Women were not conscripted to work in factories and on farms, as in countries such as Britain

• Women under 25 had to work in the Labour Service for six months

  • Women were also encouraged to enter the factories to make weapons

  • The number of women employed in factories doubled between 1939 and 1941 to 1.5 million

What effect did bombing have on the economy?

• Britain's RAF began a bombing campaign against Germany in the spring of 1940

  • By the summer of 1940, there were bombing raids on Berlin and other cities several nights a week

• The raids aimed to disrupt industrial production

  • This was to prevent Germany from producing as many tanks, planes, weapons, etc

• The raids caused:

  • A fuel shortage as oil plants were attacked

  • Difficulties moving materials around Germany, as roads and railways were damaged

  • Homelessness as workers had their homes destroyed

• The bombing raids were not very accurate

• The disruption caused was not as great as Britain had hoped

  • Production of weapons and vehicles actually increased in Germany until 1944

  • By then, Britain and America had almost complete control of the skies over Germany

    • They launched enormous raids both day and night

  • Bombing raids made a large contribution to Nazi Germany's defeat