234 Chapter 10
BusinessSchooladmits,“Theimageof NaziGermanyas an efficient,bureaucraticma-
chine... has beensupersededin historicalresearches.. .”^5
The writerswhoproclaimthe Nazis’ efficiencyoftengivelife to the misleadingasser-
tionthatthe ThirdReichachieveda low unemploymentrate.Germany’s unemployment
rate droppedfrom34 percentin January 1933 to a still-high14 percentin January1936.^6
Andthat 14 percentrate is understated.Universityof SydneyeconomichistorianStephen
Roberts,whoresidedin Germanyin thatperiod,elucidatesthat,backthen,the Nazis’
officialunemploymentstatisticsdid not countpersonswhomthe NaziStatetargetedfor
persecutionand officialdiscrimination.Theseparties“lost theirjobs” by Statedecreeand
were“cut off fromrelief;suchpersonsdo not appearin the officialfiguresof unemploy-
ment.The refugeesare ignored.” The ThirdReichactuallycheatedin otherwaysto have
it appearas thoughunemploymenthaddwindled.The Nazisconscriptedyoungadults,
forcingmostmenintothe army,and alsocoercingthemintovariouscivilianoccupations
throughthe ReichLaborService,whichundertooktaskssimilarto FDR’s CivilianConser-
vationCorps.By 1939the ThirdReichconscriptedlaborersto attendto jobswherethe
Statebelievedthereto be a shortageof neededworkers.^7 Otherpeoplewerehiredfor
public-worksprojectsnot on accountof theirqualificationsbut simplyto provideHitler
withan excuseto boastaboutthe highemploymentrate.^8 StephenRoberts,adds,“Halfa
millionwomenhavebeentakenoff the labourmarketin the last fouryearsby meansof
the marriageallowancepaidby the Governmentto enticethemaway.. .”^9 In actuality,
the Germaneconomybeganto recoverfromthe GreatDepressionbeforeHitlercameinto
power,^10 and,aftergainingdictatorialstatus,the Führerwreckedthe economyand sentit
backinto turmoil.
Ian Kershawslays—forevermore—the myththat the Deutschdespotwas competentat
assistingin the financialstandingof his Aryansubjects.“A summaryof priceandwage
levelspreparedfor Hitleron 4 September 1935 showedalmosthalf of the Germanwork-
forceearninggrosswagesof eighteenReichMarksor less per week.Thiswas substantial-
ly belowthe povertyline.The statisticsthenwenton to illustratethata familyof five—
includingthreechildrenof schoolage—existingon the lowwageof eventwenty-five
ReichMarksa weekearnedby a typicalurbanworkerand livingon an exceedinglyfrugal
dietcouldscarcelybe expectedto makeendsmeet.Wages,then,remainedat the 1932
level—substantiallylowerthanthe last pre-Depressionyearof 1928in the much-ma-
lignedWeimarRepublic.... Overalllivingcostswerehigherby 5.4 per cent.”^11 Richard
Grunbergeralsodescribesthe nightmarishregulations:the State“frozeall chainstoresat
theirexistingsize,forbadethe establishmentof newones,andprohibitedthemfrom
providingsuchservicesas shoe-repairing,barbering,bakingand catering.” Furthermore,
the regulations“combatedillicitcut-ratecompetition(Schwarzarbeiten).. ., by policeraids
on workshops.Unemployed‘blackworkers’ caughtin this wayweredebarred.The estab-
lishmentof all newshopsand artisanenterprisesrequiredofficialpermission,whichwas
madedependenton localneedandthe applicant’s professional,personalandpolitical
suitability.”^12
At the sametime,HitlercentrallyorganizedGermanindustryin a mannersimilarto
thatof FDR’s NationalIndustrialRecoveryAct.By July15, 1933,the NaziMinistryof
EconomicsenactedlawscompellingGermany’s largerbusinessfirmsto consolidateinto
cartels,eitherformingnewcartelsor joiningalready-establishedones.^13 Moreover,by
February27, 1934,thesecartelswere,accordingto WilliamShirer,“put underthe control
of the State.”^14 The cartelizationwasexacerbatedby steeplicensingruleswrittento make
the remainingsmallbusinesseslose theirbalance.Grunbergeradds,“From 1935 onwards
it becamecompulsoryfor everyonewantingto opena newartisanenterpriseto passthe
Master’s Examinationin his craft.Thisexamhadpreviouslybeenoptional.In 1931less
thana thirdof all practicingartisansheldmaster’s certificates—but after 1935 all younger