War and Economy in the Third Reich
R. J. Overy
Abstract
This book examines the nature of the German economy in the 1930s and during World War II. When Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933 he had two aims for the economy: a rapid recovery from the depths of the Great Slump and the creation of a vast economic foundation for Germany's renewed bid for world power. He wanted to turn Germany into a military superpower in the 1940s. These eleven chapters explore the tension between Hitler's vision of an armed economy and the reality of German economic and social life. The book argues that the German economy was much less crisis-ridden in 1939 than its enemi ... More
This book examines the nature of the German economy in the 1930s and during World War II. When Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933 he had two aims for the economy: a rapid recovery from the depths of the Great Slump and the creation of a vast economic foundation for Germany's renewed bid for world power. He wanted to turn Germany into a military superpower in the 1940s. These eleven chapters explore the tension between Hitler's vision of an armed economy and the reality of German economic and social life. The book argues that the German economy was much less crisis-ridden in 1939 than its enemies supposed, and that Hitler, far from limiting his war effort, tried to mobilise the economy for ‘total war’ from 1939 onwards. Only the poor organisation of the Nazi state and the interference of the military prevented higher levels of military output. Many of these chapters challenge the accepted view of the Third Reich. The book reflects on the issues they raise, and the ways in which the subject is changing.
Keywords:
Germany,
economy,
1930s,
World War II,
Adolf Hitler,
Nazi state,
Third Reich,
social life,
military
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 1994 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780198202905 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: October 2011 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198202905.001.0001 |
