The 1929 Great Depression in the States had a global impact, and most prominently on Germany. Such were the conditions that enabled Hitler to rise to power - Germany was struggling so much there was no real leader at that time, and there was a struggle for that role. In the times of the Great Depression, the Nazi
How far were the consequences of the German inflation disastrous for Germany in 1923? (30 marks) The impact of hyperinflation was huge and caused havoc all across Germany. It has been claimed that the worst consequence of the inflation was the damage done to the German middle class. Inflation occurred as a result of a number of events including passive resistance, Germany’s debts from war reparations forcing Germany to continue to borrow more and more money. Germany was bankrupted after WW1 and robbed of its ability to feed itself and pay war reparations without printing money.
The Tariff placed high taxes on imports leading to a decline in international trade. The United States held many loans with European countries that began to default. Reduction in international market spending in the US, coupled with the high tariffs placed on foreign countries led to unemployment abroad and foreign countries were forced to impose their own tariffs on other countries (Kelly, n.d.). The Great Depression was perhaps most devastating to the individual and family. The Depression was recorded to have decreased the marriage rate which helped lead to a decline in the birth rate.
The crisis also caused a decline in exports and productions as the demand for exports collapsed and the world trade slumped for Germany. This also concluded in huge unemployment and lowering wages. The result of the German industry was they could no longer pay it’s way. Without over sea’s loads and with its export trade falling bankruptcies increased dramatically. This couldn’t have come at a better time for the Nazi’s as because of this crisis the decline in support of the Weimar Republic decreased with the lack of confidence and underlying economic problems within Germany, he
Christopher Pavlat Econ- 305 11170-02 Professor Velázquez Causes of the 1929 Stock Market Crash Few economic crises match that of October 24, 1929. On that day America faced the worst stock market crash in its entire existence. Over the following month the stock market fell from its peak and spiraled toward the ground in flames. The booming New Era of the “Roaring Twenties” had seen America embrace a sense of prosperity and vast economic expansion. Consumption skyrocketed as Americans relished in the heyday of western capitalism.
The Wall Street Crash in 1929 was important in getting the Nazi’s into power because the crisis was catastrophic in Germany as it caused unemployment to increase to 3 million. Nearly everyone was affected by the unemployment. Since most of the unemployed were men, they could see no way to provide for their families. As the German democratic government was beginning to unravel as they were struggling to control the economy. This made people give up hope on the democracy as it was not working and caused people to resort to extremist groups which made the Nazis seem like they were the solution to the problem.
Wages in the industrial sector were not keeping up with huge increase in manufacture and profits. Stocks lost a huge amount of money in a single day. Investors who had borrowed money to buy stocks were particularly hard hit, as were the banks that had lent the money (Canadian History 1201). Therefore the stock market crash was a very big event that caused The Great Depression. There were many factors that caused the Great Depression.
Goebbels, their propaganda chief, was the man who brought Hitler into power from 1929 to 1933. All of this made the Nazis a huge force to reckon with come the beginning of the Second World War. The Great Depression was perhaps the biggest thing that helped the Nazis achieve power so rapidly. Hitler found Germany in a time of desperation and they needed hope. The Nazis injected that hope into Germany and chose a few victims to put the blame on so the people would have someone to blame for the catastrophes of what has happened.
How far do the levels of unemployment in the Weimar Republic explain the rise of the Nazis to power? One explanation of Hitler’s rise to power is to be found by analysing the relationship between unemployment in Germany and the votes received by the Nazi Party and as will be explained, there is a big relationship between them. In May 1924, the economic crisis in the Weimar Republic was at its height. Hyperinflation was rampant and unemployment stood at 2 million (13.5%), its peak for the period,. In this context the Nazis fought their first election and achieved a very creditable 32 seats in the Reichstag (6.7% of the total).
We inevitably saw the classical model challenged. John Maynard Keynes ideas caused a shift which saw the Keynesian model come into place in the late 1930s. For many economists, it was the Great Depression that helped the confirmation of Keynes’s ideas. For example, a sudden decrease in aggregate demand was thought that caused the macroeconomic problems. This caused a ‘Recessionary gap’ where a fall in aggregate demand took an economy from above its potential output to below its potential output.