Extinctionof the SocialDarwinismCanard 237Thishelpsexplainmuchof the Nazis’ ineptitude.The steelindustrialistFritzThyssen,
whowasonceamongthe NaziParty’s mostavidsupportersin the businesscommunity,
fledthe countryat the onsetof WorldWarTwo,realizing,“The Naziregimehas ruined
Germanindustry.”^34
We mustlikewisedispensewiththe myththatat leastBenitoMussolini’s fascism
“madethe trainsrun on time.” Recallfromchapter7 our quotationof the passagesfrom
Ida Tarbell’s 1939memoirthatgushaboutMussolinigettingthe wholenationbackto
productivework.BritishhistorianDenisMackSmithexposeswhatreallyhappened.
Italy’s rail systemhadfallenintodisrepairthroughoutWorldWarOne.Throughoutthe
1920sthe countryoversawa rebuildingof its trainsystem,but this rebuildingbeganprior
to Mussolini’s 1922coup.Moreover,whenItalianswhohadlivedunderIl Duce’s rule
wereintervieweddecadeslater,theydistinctlyrememberthe trainsconsistentlyrunning
late.^35
Additionally,a notemustbe madeaboutthe Nazis’ State-managedbreedingfacilities
wherewomenwerekeptfor eugenicistpurposes.Far frombeingpinnaclesof efficiency,
thesefacilitieswerepoorlymanaged.As a consequence,theirinfantmortalityratewas
twicethat of the generalpopulationwherepeoplestill bredas theychose.^36
SomeGermannewspapersacknowledgedthatthe ThirdReich’s pricecontrolsinsti-
gatedthe misallocationof resources.The NaziState’s controlof the economyresultedin
retailstoresbeingloadeddownwitha surplusof goodsthatconsumersdid not want,
while,conversely,therewereshortagesof goodsthatconsumersgreatlydesired.On July
27, 1939,Das SchwarzeKorpsreportedthat the Statewas “Throttlingthe RetailTrade.”^37
ThatsameyearsomeGermanmerchantsgainedthe gumptionto defytheseedicts
openly.Thesemerchants,reportsRichardGrunberger,“circumventedthe pricefreezeby
offeringlower-qualitygoodsat the prescribedcharge,or coupledthe non-profitablesale
of essentialswiththe advantageousone of nonessentialitems—andthusfell foulof the
law.”^38
“However,” GeorgeL. Mosseadds,“punishmentfor violationsof the price-control
regulationswasinstantaneousandsevere,as the butchers’ guildin Bockum-Höve (a
smalltownnearHammin Westphalia)discovered.Suchunitedresistanceis a measureof
desperationof a wholesectionof the retailtrade,comingas it did at a timewhenthe
ThirdReichwasalreadysix yearsold and its terrorand culturalcontrolin full swing.”^39
As one example,Grunbergerdiscloses,“A fruitwholesalerwasfined10,000marksfor
couplingtransactions,withtheSchwarzesKorpsclamorouslydemandingthat he be ‘short-
enedby a head’ if the offenseshouldrecur.” Thus,the Nazigovernment’s threatto
destroynoncompliantbusinesses“wasnot an emptyone.By 1939the 350,000supernu-
meraryenterprises—as estimatedin 1936—hadbeenreducedby roughlyone half” as a
consequenceof the governmentshuttingdownthe offenders.^40
Thebutchersandothermerchantstriedto circumventthe regulationsthroughother
methods.Theyprintedtwodifferentpriceson the tag of everyitem.“On oneside,”
reportedthe January11, 1939,FrankfurterZeitung, the tags“carrythe correctprice,and on
the othersidethe illegalhigherprice.” Duringinspectionsby Naziofficials,the merchants
“simplyturnthe tagsaround.. .” Hencethe inspectorswouldcatchsightof nothingbut
the legallyapprovedprice,no onebeingthe wiser.Thenewspaperthereforerecom-
mendedto officials,“.. .Specialcareshouldbe takenin the examinationof billsand
bookkeepingmethodsgenerally.”^41 Sometimes,reportsGrunberger,the merchantsvio-
latedthe law againsttheirownintentions,beingunableto adhereto so manyedictsat
once.Theseretailers“circumventedpriceregulationsquiteinvoluntarilysincetheywere
hardput to it to orientatethemselvesamidsta welterof complicateddirectivesand
constantvariationsin the qualityof the goodssuppliedto them.”^42