Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
The impact of War 1939-1945 (the mobilisation of the labour force…
The impact of War 1939-1945
The wartime economy and the work of Speer
3rd September 1939, Hitler issued: Decree for the Conversion of the Whole German Economy onto a War Footing
German economy didn't reach state of full mobilisation until 1942
result: 1939-41, Germany's armed forces suffered from shortages of weapons and equipment
supply problems didn't affect Germany in early stages of war due to method of Blitzkrieg
but by 1941, German forces became stretched with war in the Mediterranean + start of
Operation Barbarossa
, supply problems started to hinder German war effort
reasons for these problems
Hitler didn't anticipate war to begin in 1939
thought Britain and France would accept German invasion of Poland
thought war wouldn't begin until launch of Operation Barbarossa 1941
economic and military planning had been based on these assumptions e.g.
Luftwaffe expansion
(expansion of air force) due to be completed 1942, and build up navy completion in 1942
4 year plan in early years focused on productive potential before issuing the full scale production of armaments
structural weaknesses
different branches of armed forces demanded highly specialised equipment of very high level quality
production of many different types of weapons was expensive and required highly skilled labour
mass production of standardised weapons would have been cheaper and more capable of producing quantities of equipment required
the military designed and ordered many different versions of the same weapons, making standardisation almost impossible to achieve
Political problem
Goring
, in charge of of Four Year Plan, lacked technical and economic knowledge to do job well
had poor relations with military leaders and leaders of large companies and banks
his failures were hidden by success of German armed forces 1939-40, but weaknesses soon became apparent by 1941
Albert Speer
appointed Armaments Minister in 1942
was given full executive powers to establish a Central Planning Agency and was able, with Hitler's support, to coordinate and control the whole production process without interference from the military and with full cooperation of private companies
Rationalisation of production
central coordination of the allocation of labour. equipment and materials to armaments factories
the concentration of production in fewer factories and on a narrower range of standardised products
greater use of mass production techniques
more shift working to keep factories operating 24 hours a day
the production miracle
1941-1943 German aircraft production increased 200%, tank production rose 250%
despite the reduction in factory space, rationalised production methods meant that the production of this aircraft increased from 180 per month to 1000 per month
the impact of bombing
1942-45, British and Americans bombed Germany's industrial capacity and civilian morale
impact on production, supply lines were damaged, factories dispersed, workers morale affected
resulted in 35% fewer tanks, 31% fewer aircraft
intense bombing of May 1945 caused actual reduction in amount of armaments being produced
the mobilisation of the labour force
outbreak of war= increase in no. of men conscripted into armed forces
need to increase production of armaments
large numbers of non-essential workers were released for military service
reduction of workers employed in consumer goods industries with a consequent rise in numbers employed in munitions
Opposition from Gauleiters
efforts to take labour away from civilian war to concentrate on armaments production had been frustrate by opposition from local Gauleiters
anxious to keep employment within own areas
shortage of labour due to Hitler's opposition of female employment so relied on foreign labour
prisoners of war