The Relationship between Fascism and Economic Crisis in Twentieth Century Germany
Loading...
Authors
Peters, Earl
Issue Date
1991
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Germany has twice in the face of serious economic crises seen a dramatic rise in fascism, specifically National Socialism. Is this only a matter of coincidence, or is there
a relationship between fascist movements in Germany and economic crises in that country? In this work, there will be a description and analysis of the economic conditions in Germany during the two major economic crises in question. It is these conditions that are suspected to lie behind the growth of the fascist movement.
The first crisis, following World War I, was characterized
by dramatic swings in the business cycle, from extremely low
output levels to full production. The problem was especially
acute during a period of hyperinflation in the years between
1922 and 1924, and in the first years of the 1930's, as a
world wide depression began to affect Germany.
The second major economic crisis that I am considering
of importance is the period beginning with the collapse of
the Communist government of the German Democratic Republic in
1989 and continuing into the present. Despite massive
amounts of private and government aid, the reunification of
the two Germanies has left the economy of the former East
Germany in chaos as a planned economy is changed to market
economy essentially overnight. Wages, prices, and
productivity levels were vastly different, and the loss of
government subsidies left many east Germans in far worse
condition. West Germans are bitter about higher taxes and
the enormity of the bail-out. A brief summary of the
development and state of both German economies before
reunification makes the problems of reunification easier to
understand.
Description
iv, 70 p.
Citation
Publisher
License
U.S. copyright laws protect this material. Commercial use or distribution of this material is not permitted without prior written permission of the copyright holder.