Four year plan
(Redirected from Four-year plan)
Categories: Nazi Germany | Anti-Semitism | History of Germany
The Four Year Plan was a program put forth by the Nazi Party in order to prepare Germany for war.
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Goals
Along with tinkering with the economic policy, Hitler also planned the rearmament of Germany beyond the limits set by Allies in the Treaty of Versailles.
The German army was to be restricted to 100,000 men, there was to be no conscription, no tanks or heavy artillery and no general staff. The German navy was restricted to 15,000 men and no submarines while the fleet was limited to six battleships (of less than 10,000 tonnes), six cruisers and 12 destroyers. Germany was not permitted an air force. Finally, Germany was explicitly required to retain all enlisted men for 12 years and all officers for 25 years, so that only a limited number of men would have military training.
The Plan in action
Hitler also wanted to improve the economy enough to survive the war. The Four Year Plan favored both the protection of agriculture and economic independence. To achieve these, Germany needed to put forth an aggressive expansionist policy in order to reduce reliance on raw materials. Hermann Goering was put in charge of the Four Year Plan on October 18, 1936 and was given extraordinary powers for an extraordinary situation. In short, Goering had complete control over the economy including the private sector. Prior to Goering, Hjalmar Schacht had encouraged exports and the cutting of expenditure on rearmament. Adolf Hitler had therefore grown impatient and appointed Goering instead. During the following years, Germany began building refineries, aluminum plants, and factories for the development of synthetic-materials. During the war, occupied territories were exploited by Germany and millions were deported to forced labor camps.
The four year plan technically expired in 1940, but the "Office of the Four Year Plan" (considered a cabinet level agency) had grown to such a power base that the Four year plan was extended indefinitly. Indeed, much of the four year plan's goals were accomplished between 1941 and 1944.
Other programs
The Four Year Plan included a public works project, which was headed by Fritz Todt and called for motorization and the autobahns. The project’s achievements did rival Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal both in size and scope. Another source of inspiration was the USSR’s Five Year Plan, which provided many ideas as the plan itself was just ending by the time the German equivalent began.
External links
- Extract From a Memorandum by Hitler on the Tasks of the Four-Year Plan, 1936
- Four-Year Plan and Execution order
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