How well did Adolf Hitler and his staff actually fix the German economy before WWII? Were most Germans well off?

by [deleted]
nate077

I don't know that I can give you a complete answer, but I hope these sources will prove helpful to you.

The [German] Economy 1933-1939 http://mrcox.edublogs.org/files/2008/01/williamson-economy.pdf

War and Economy in the Third Reich, R.J. Overy, 1995

Labour in the Third Reich 1933-1939, T.W. Mason http://www.jstor.org/stable/649805

My simple understanding of the Nazi economy is as such:

In general, Adolf Hitler considered the economy to be secondary to political and military concerns. As such, he is quoted as saying the future of Germany was one which “depends exclusively and alone on rebuilding the armed forces.” Consequently, under the Nazi's rearmament program military spending grew to exceed 10% of GDP. However, this spending did little to expand the economy and was funded with promissory notes under the Mefo bills scheme. Additionally, what success the Nazi's had in reducing unemployment came mostly by fudging the numbers. Some of their first major schemes in this direction were 'voluntary' labor programs which served to remove many young men from the labor market, thereby artificially reducing unemployment. During this time the Nazi's also passed laws which reduced the length of the work week in the hope that more people would be employed. Finally, despite the major deficit that resulted from their rearmament scheme, the Nazi's were able to fund their government through the seizure of Jewish property, the psuedo-nationalization of major industries, and major increases in corporate tax rates. As for labor, it was suffering due to the suppression of unions and stagnating wages. Whats more, the massive government spending which marked the 1933-1939 era was totally unsustainable. In 1939, without major intervention the German economy was cruising for a bruising. Wars of conquest managed to keep it afloat through the seizure of gold, foreign exchange, industry and slave laborers in conquered countries. However, that was not sustainable either. Who can forget the state [of] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fotothek_df_ps_0000010_Blick_vom_Rathausturm.jpg) [the German economy] (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1994-041-07%2C_Dresden%2C_zerst%C3%B6rtes_Stadtzentrum.jpg) in 1945.