No, the policies were actually harmful to Germany's economy. Many Jews were highly educated citizens and business owners that contributed to the economy by running shops, working in larger businesses, teaching, and otherwise contributing to the nation's economic health. By forbidding them to do all these things, Hitler deprived Germany of their talents and contributions. Excluding these people from the economy had absolutely no benefit at all, rather it took skills and resources out of the marketplace that had been being used effectively in the time before Hitler came to power. The Holocaust itself was also a huge waste of resources, with tens of thousands of soldiers, staff, cooks, builders, and other people assigned to tasks that had no benefit to the country. Each pound of concrete used to build the camps, each train car used to transport the prisoners, each mile of railroad laid to and from the camps was a resource that could have been used for something useful rather than on a project that contributed absolutely nothing to the world. And later in the war, Germany faced a severe labor shortage in their industries and while many prisoners were used as slave labor, it was a far less effective system than by allowing them their freedom to participate freely, which would have increased their labor productivity. I just want to be absolutely and completely clear, any and everything connected to the Holocaust was a horror that is a black stain on the history of humanity, but I tried my best to just describe the economic aspect here for you.

Thanks for your informative reply. It's often difficult to approach these kinds of questions because it seems to undermine the true horrors that occurred. But it clear, and as you said, it's a black stain on humanity.

I generally agree with the broad answer by -originalname-

which highlights the enormous economic costs of the Holocaust... which runs the gamut from the enormous loss of Jewish talent and expertise to the ridiculous expense (and waste) in building the infrastructure of mass imprisonment and mass murder.

I'd add two vignettes to illustrate this: first, the SS actually paid train-fare to the German National Railway for each Jewish deportee that was "relocated" east (first to the ghettos, later to death camps like Treblinka or Auschwitz). This, in fact, is one of several ways that historians have estimated the scale of human losses in the Holocaust, once the Germans stopped keeping accurate records. (only one of a number of ways, however.) Think about that for a minute, though: in wartime, with resources so scarce, the SS was paying out large sums of cash to the Reichsbahn to facilitate mass murder. Another element that highlights the insanity: trains to Auschwitz received track priority over munitions trains and troop transports to the Eastern Front. So the Wehrmacht's ability to supply and reinforce its units engaged in bitter fighting against the Red Army was delayed and disrupted by the perceived 'need' to transport civilians to murder-centers.

However, in a broader sense, I would add a very different wrinkle to your question. What do you mean by "economy"?

Just a few years ago, the independent historian Gotz Aly published Hitler's Beneficiaries: Plunder, Racial War, and the Nazi Welfare State, which argued, among other things, that the wealth plundered from Jews (both within Germany and in occupied countries beyond Germany's borders) was not only immense--and the theft and plunder certainly was immense--but was one of the ways that the Nazi regime maintained the consent and even cooperation of the German people.

The war should have 'cost' Germans, forcing them to make sacrifices; but, Aly argued, the plundering of Jewish property from the Aryanization campaign (forcing Jews to sell businesses) in the mid- and late 1930s, and the levies against Jews who were seeking to emigrate/escape, and later (after 1939) the plunder of Jewish wealth in occupied territory all paid into the coffers of the German state.

And the Nazi state then farmed this wealth back out to German citizens in social programs, like payments to couples who had children, free clothing and subsidized food, cash payments to Wehrmacht soldiers, and on and on.

Aly estimates that goods, stocks and bonds, real estate, gold and savings accounts stolen from murdered Jews accounted for about 5 percent of the Third Reich’s operational revenues...which is an enormous portion.

There is a huge debate around this question in German history--some have challenged Aly's figures. I'm unfortunately not well-versed enough in this debate to sum up where it currently stands, however.

Perhaps another historian out there could help with this?

Wow guys, fantastic discussion. Thanks for your replies, I think it's also important to consider the difference between how much was gained on those taxes and how much was spent in persecution of the Jews and perhaps the construction of the means of execution. Was the revenue from the taxes on the Jewish greater than the costs of production for concentration camps, anti-Semitic propaganda, etc.?

Another question: Often in fascist or chauvinistic political movements there is a large theme of keeping materials and jobs homegrown. For instance, Trump calling for more American steel on our buildings and whatnot. Did Hitler call for German steel and other resources for his proposals (perhaps the railroads built to concentration camps or even the coal used in the ovens)? and to follow up: did he deliver on these calls??