The German Home Front

Abstract

In 1936 Hitler inaugurated the Four Year Plan, directed by Göring, to make the German economy self-sufficient in key resources. To many outsiders, this was a‘guns not butter’ policy of preparing Germany for war at the expense of civilian needs. Certainly, Hitler sought the militarisation of the German people for the Darwinian struggle that he saw as central to life. On the other hand, he was concerned to maintain popular support for the Nazi Party and acutely aware that the First World War had ended with a collapse of the German home front. Consequently, Germany entered the Second World War with an economy that was not fully mobilised for war, nor was there planning for a long-term struggle. Hitler was determined that he would achieve his radical re-shaping of Europe by war, but expected that the racial superiority of Germany would bring swift victory. The states which were brought under Germany’s sway rectified its shortages in many key materials. Germany was self-sufficient only in coal and needed to import 85 per cent of its oil and 80 per cent of its iron. Trade agreements and then direct occupation provided food, nickel, textiles, copper, bauxite, iron ore from Hungary, Bulgaria, Greece and the USSR, and most importantly oil from Romania.