Economic problems
- 1933 unemployment in millions due to Great Depression
- Large programme of public works
- National Labour Service → no one could be unemployed
- Autobahns, cars, rearmament → motorways helped in the war
- Unemployment from 5.6m to 1.6m in 1933 to 1936
- Rearmament
- Wanted to be ready for war in 1940
- Autarky → self sufficient
Foreign policy
- Rhineland
- 1936 – against Locarno and TOV, Hitler reoccupied the area, because…
- Secure borders against France, protect Ruhr (many natural resources for war)
- Distract attention from economic problems caused by rearmament (domestically)
- Rhineland was “German Territory”
- 1936 – against Locarno and TOV, Hitler reoccupied the area, because…
- Anschluss
- How: Since 1934 – tried to destabilize the government
- The Austrian Nazis supported Hitler
- “We will regard Austria as a German State”
- By 1938 → Nazi members were given roles in Government
- The Austrian Nazis supported Hitler
- How: Since 1934 – tried to destabilize the government
- March 1938 – Nazis march into Austria, becoming part of Germany
- Germany added seven million people and an army of 100,000 to its Reich.
- Steel, iron, foreign reserves
- Sudeten crisis (Feb – Oct 1938)
- Multi-racial state, 3m GM in Czech area of Sudeten
- Rich in natural resources
- Hitler declares that Sud. should be independent, alarms UK. Chamberlain + Hitler sign declaration of friendship (to have diplomacy to resolve conflict)
- Germany added seven million people and an army of 100,000 to its Reich.
- Meeting between FN, IT, GB and GM WITHOUT the Czechs → allowed GM Sudetenland earlier
- International borders committee for Polish/Hungarian areas
- THEN Hitler backstabs and wants MORE Polish + Hungarian areas → and Czech didn’t want
- Richest industrial sites and strong border (coal, rearmament factory)
IB Wisdom 