DO NOW: Is it possible to make….

• Petrol from coal?

• Artificial wool from
wood pulp?
• Make-up from flour?
• Coffee from acorns?
 DRIVING QUESTION: Did Hitler
make Germany self-sufficient?
Lesson Objectives
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE SELF-
Outline ways in which SUFFICIENT?
Germany became self- - needing no outside help in satisfying
sufficient. one's basic needs, especially with
Evaluate Hitler’s success in regard to the production of food.
making Germany HOW DOES IT APPLY TO NAZI GERMANY?
economically self-sufficient. - When a country operates without
Assess whether the Nazis external assistance or international trade.
helped German famers.
Context
• One of Hitler’s aims was to make Germany a powerful nation,
respected throughout the world.
• He felt the country had been humiliated at the end of the First World
War, with land losses and reduction in the armed forces.
• Hitler knew that to get this land back he would need to start
rearming.
• He knew this could only be done if the Nazis controlled the economy
and directed factories and businesses.
The Economy under Schacht

As soon as Hitler came to power in 1933 he appointed the

respected banker, Hjalmar Schacht, as Minister of Economics.
Schacht realised that Hitler’s plans to build more weapons would
cost a lot of money and need a lot of raw material, such as iron,
steel, rubber and wood. 

But Germany didn’t have all these goods so the had to be bought
from other countries, which could be very expensive. So Schacht
signed deals with countries in south America and south-east
Europe to supply Germany with raw materials in return for
German-made goods. 

For a short time, things went well- weapons production increased

and unemployment fell. But Germany was still dependent on raw
materials from foreign countries and the changes were happening
far too slowly for the impatient Hitler. So Schacht was sacked and
replaced by one of Hitler’s oldest and most loyal colleagues,
Hermann Goering. 
The Economy under Goering

In 1936, Goering introduced a scheme, called the Four Year Plan, to

get Germany ready for war. The main priority was to increase
military production, so the Nazis ordered huge amounts of
weapons, equipment and uniforms.

This created jobs in steel factories, textile mills and shipbuilding

yards. Very high production targets were set (and achieved) in
industries like steel and explosives production. However, targets
were not met in other key industries, like oil production.

Indeed, despite the huge amounts of extra goods and material

produced under the Four Year plan, Germany was still not ready for
the long war it would become involved in from 1939. Also,
Germany still needed raw materials from abroad, so Goering
attempted to make Germany self-sufficient.
A Self-sufficient Nation

The Nazis hoped to make

Germany self-sufficient.
This meant that they
wanted to stop trading with
other countries an rely
entirely on their own
resources. If Germany was
unable to find particular
goods or resources, they For example. German Scientists found ways to make
would find alternatives to petrol from coal, artificial wool and cotton from pulped
wood, make-up from flour and coffee from acorns.
the things it needed, or Goering said in a speech “Would you rather have butter
develop artificial or guns? Shall we bring in lard, or iron? I tell you, guns
substitutes. make us powerful. Butter only makes us fat.”
Did the Nazis help the farmers?
Farmers had bee important supporters of the Nazis. Around 30% of the
population were involved in agriculture and forestry. In the late 1920s, farmers
were unhappy that they were suffering when other people were doing well.
These farmers turned to Hitler because he promised to improve their lives.

He also needed the farmers to produce more if the country was to become self-
sufficient. Now in power, Hitler tried to reward farmers and save them from the
worst effects of the depression. He cut the taxes that farmers had to pay and
guaranteed that they could not be thrown off their land if they got themselves
into debt.

However, some Nazi policies annoyed farmers. Laws were introduced that
stopped farmers dividing up their land and giving a part to each of their
children. This was an attempt to keep the farms large and under control of the
same family for years to come. Some farmers resented this, especially as some
of the children who were no longer allowed to inherit land left the farms to look
for jobs in cities. However other farmers welcomed the idea as it meant that
their farm was secure for generations.
1. Who was Hjalmar Schacht?
2. What materials were needed for Hitler’s plans?
3. Why did he make deals with other countries in South America and south-east Europe?
4. Explain one positive and one negative effect.
5. Who was Schacht replaced with?
6. Describe Goering’s Four Year Plan in your own words.

OR answer the following:

A. What was the main priority?

B. How did this create jobs?
C. In which industries were targets met and not met?
D. Why did Goering try to make Germany self-sufficient?

7. Describe what self-sufficiency would mean to Germany.

8. What would they do if they didn’t have any particular goods or resources? Give examples.
9. Why were farmers important to the Nazis?
10. Explain how the Nazis’ policies pleased some farmers but not others.
Practice Question

In what ways was Hitler’s economic policy based on preparing Germany for war? Explain your
answer (8markS)

(Try to suggest the ways in which the targets and aims of the Four Year Plan would help during
wartime)
• Answers might include:
- The focus was on the increased production of weaponry and the materials associated with it (oil,
steel, etc)
- Move towards self- sufficiency could mean that the Nazis knew that they did not have to rely on
imports from future enemies – or across seas that may become theatres of war.

• What changed and what caused the changes: You have to explain how a particular group of
people experienced changes due to the events or government decisions. What were the
causes of the changes and what were the results.
• Name 2-3 changes, causes, consequences then write some facts about each
• 10 mins on an 8 mark question
Plenary: The final 10
Make sure you are online and contributing in the final 10 minutes of your online
lesson by completing some of the following tasks:
GIF Wars ASK Points
Miss SVA’s 3 ASK points today are
Post a GIF in the Teams chat linked to some new learning from today’s lesson. going to:
Remember to include a caption. ASK points will be awarded for the 1.
smartest/funniest efforts. Previous examples: 2.
3.

The cat that medieval German’s in 1923 be like ‘dis will

1 DAY
people blamed for the Black buy me one loaf of bread’
Death

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