Economic Recovery and Rearmament: Nazi Economic Policy (NEP)

Germans in 1933 felt a vote for the Nazi Party was worth it, particularly 6 million who were unemployed at the time
By 1933, the worst of the Depression was over, yet the Nazis acted with commitment to solve some major problems
The economist Dr Hjalmar Schacht organised the German economy to fund a huge programme to create jobs
- Schacht encouraged government loans for industrialists to modernise their factories
- He organised bilateral trade agreements between Germany and South American countries
- These agreements were aimed at receiving raw materials in order to help Germany become an autarky (self-sufficient country)
The National Labour Service sent men on public works projects (e.g. building networks of motorways, or autobahnen)
Railways were extended or built from scratch, while there was also major programmes to build houses
Other measures brought increasing prosperity - One of Hitler's most cherished plans was rearmament
- 1935 - He introduced conscription for the German army
- 1936 - He announced a Four-Year Plan, under Goering's control, to prepare the German economy for war
Conscription reduced unemployment
The needs for weapons, equipment and uniforms created jobs in coal mines, steel and textile mills
Germany began constructing its world-class air force (Luftwaffe)
These measures boosted Hitler's popularity because they boosted national pride
German's finally felt their country was emerging from the embarrassment of the Treaty of Versailles and First World War