‘Germany underwent an economic miracle in the years 1933 - 1939’. How far do you agree?

Nazi propaganda would regularly trumpet the economic rebirth of Germany with images of happy, productive German workers. This was designed to reinforce the idea that Hitler had led Germany out of the depression and had restored it to the economic powerhouse that it was prior to WW1. Superficially the economic statistics support that conclusion but dig a little deeper and one realises that the economic miracle Goebbels liked to propagandise was far from the miracle his propaganda suggested. Unable to achieve economic independence along with heavily rigged unemployment figures and unsustainable debt levels all suggest that the Nazis, once again, were fooling the public.

As Hitler came to power in January 1933 there were 6 million Germans, or 30% of the workforce, unemployed. By the outbreak of war in September 1939 the number out of work was down to just 100,000 which by almost any standard is an impressive result. Hitler was true to his word and poured huge amount of government money into the economy with massive infrastructure projects that built houses, bridges, railways, hospitals and perhaps most famously the autobahn road network. These not only employed people to build them, they had a signficant multiplier effect as industry grew up around them to both supply them and benefit from them. Cement and steel was needed in vast numbers to fulfill the projects and then when completed, the new transport infrastructure in particular acted to stimulate the economy as finished goods and raw materials could now be moved around the country more quickly ...............

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