What if the Weimar Republic, after the Great Depression and before Hitler becomes Chancellor, began to implement rearmament programs, construction projects such as the Autobahn and other economic and industrial programs similar to those implemented by Hitler in our timeline? Would this strengthen the Weimar government's relationship with the German people and prevent it from collapsing?
The Weimar Republic institutes Hitler's economic policies
- Thread starter A Piece of History
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You mean the Brüning goverment (or any substitue) would go for "keynesianism" instead of "austerity" politics ?
BTW, this was exactly what happened after the "Young"- and "Dawes"-plans. it's also in Germany called the "roaring twenties". A seemingly recovering economy fanned by (massive) public debt - unfortunatly not invested into infrastructure and industrial goods.
As it was "rendered" as one of the reasons for germanys deer situation during the Great Depression, the Weimar Goverment took the opposite way : austerity (already started before Brüning took over).
On the Pros :
As an example, how international politics meddled with such attepmts might be seen the case of the intended german-austrian customs-union in connection with the austrian-german bank-crisis of 1931.
BTW, this was exactly what happened after the "Young"- and "Dawes"-plans. it's also in Germany called the "roaring twenties". A seemingly recovering economy fanned by (massive) public debt - unfortunatly not invested into infrastructure and industrial goods.
As it was "rendered" as one of the reasons for germanys deer situation during the Great Depression, the Weimar Goverment took the opposite way : austerity (already started before Brüning took over).
On the Pros :
- YES, it would have improved the goverments position - esp- against the commies as well as the nazis - if they would have been able to significantly reduce unemployment (by 2-3 millions), what would also reduce the poverty fears of the middle-class, who lived of the paiyd workers.
- where to get the money for ? Germany was bound by law, national as well as international to the gold standard (beside some other heavy restrictions on its economical and financial souvereignity), for reparational reasons as well as ... economical theorist reasons.
- Brüning thought he "needs" a suffering Germany to "convince" the Entente powers, that the reparations and their regulations have to be ended. Something much more difficult, if the outside would see a seemingly recovering german economy
As an example, how international politics meddled with such attepmts might be seen the case of the intended german-austrian customs-union in connection with the austrian-german bank-crisis of 1931.
The only reason Germany didn't go broke by 1940 OTL was Anschluss. Unless Brüning is looting the national treasuries of Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and France, the German economy will collapse spectacularly in a double-dip depression. Sadly, even a modern economist would have trouble fixing 1931 Germany's economy thanks to its precarious international position.
If Germany could get away with some maneuvers regarding currency that would be like 30 years ahead of it's time, I could see a more prosperous Germany than Hitler's 1940 Germany. But otherwise it's hard to beat. Of course, it's fairly easy to beat Hitler's 1945 Germany in terms of prosperity. Just don't reduce Germany to a pile of rubble.
If Germany could get away with some maneuvers regarding currency that would be like 30 years ahead of it's time, I could see a more prosperous Germany than Hitler's 1940 Germany. But otherwise it's hard to beat. Of course, it's fairly easy to beat Hitler's 1945 Germany in terms of prosperity. Just don't reduce Germany to a pile of rubble.
Obergruppenführer Smith
Banned
As Wages of Destruction shows, the entire thing was a show with little economic improvement.
To be honest : dunno why everybody "hypes" this book.
- tententious (if not falsifying) vocabulary in a lot of places
- taking only arguments supporting his claims, ignoring other arguments
- using numbers wrongly (to support his claims)
- giving crappy statistical tables, often very "rounded" numbers only
(esp. the last two points I was extremly dissapointed about, giving his former works on statistical surveys during the Weimar republic and later)
For "information" i.e. "Nazism 1919-1945, Volume 2 State, Economy and Society" is a much better read IMO.
