How Did Ley's Economic Conditions Affect The Economy In The Late 1930s

The situation in 1930’s was pretty obvious. Obnoxiously high unemployment figures. Germany relied heavily on overseas trade; especially on American investment, which collapsed with the Wallstreet crash that followed thereafter. Prior to this, Hitler had already predicted the economic downfall and relied on a group of advisors, some of whom were non-Nazis, to form policy in line with his broad goals. . One of these advisors was Hjalmar Schacht, a former member of the German Democratic Party ,who had been president of the Reichsbank during the late 1920s. Another important figure was Robert Ley, who was put in charge of the German Labour Front which co-ordinated Germany’s workforce. Together these men implemented economic reforms which achieved impressive results, at least on the surface.

In July 1934 the government formed the Reichsarbeitsdienst (the RAD, or ‘National Labour Service’). The RAD attacked unemployment by directing out -of -job Germans into vast worker teams. RAD workers were given an armband, a shovel and a bicycle, and sent to wherever public works, construction, clearance or agricultural labour were needed. One

They lost their right to strike for better pay and conditions. Wages actually fell.People who refused to work were imprisoned in concentration camps. Wages and conditions on the RAD schemes were very poor. Working hours rose with a small increment in wages. Men in RAD were given work in welfare schemes, had to wear uniforms, lived in camps wherein provided with free meals and pocket money (instead of wages) .

“Strength through Joy “ was the Nazi propaganda of giving a false image of workers being given cheaper holidays and subsidized entertainment’ to incentivize them to work harder . Theatre visits, foreign trips, sports facilities etc were included. . In 1937 Hitler established Volkswagen, a state-sponsored company to produce cheap cars for German