Employment and Living Standards

Reducing unemployment served several Nazi aims. It could win support for the dictatorship and weaken the appeal of political opponents such as the Communists. It also increased production and helped prepare Germany for war. Employment policy was therefore about both economic recovery and political control.

Labour service and public works

The National Labour Service (RAD) organised work on public projects, including road repairs, tree planting and drainage schemes. From 1935, six months’ service became compulsory for young men aged 18–25. This took young men out of unemployment and provided labour for projects intended to improve Germany’s infrastructure.

RAD service was not equivalent to freely choosing a well-paid job. Pay was poor, conditions were tough and men wore uniforms. It combined work with discipline and helped prepare young men for military service.

The Nazis also spent money on public works: roads, bridges, buildings and sports facilities, including the stadium for the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Government-funded construction employed workers directly and created demand for building materials.

The best-known projects were the autobahns, Germany’s motorways. Hitler publicly launched the motorway-building programme in September 1933. By 1938, around 3,500 kilometres had been completed. These projects provided jobs, improved transport and gave Nazi propaganda a highly visible symbol of supposed national progress.

Rearmament created military and industrial jobs

Rearmament meant expanding Germany’s armed forces and producing the equipment they needed. It was particularly important in reducing unemployment because it created work in two connected ways.

First, the armed forces recruited more men. The Treaty of Versailles had limited the German army to 100,000 soldiers, but Hitler introduced conscription, or compulsory military service, in 1935. By 1939, around 1.4 million men were serving in the armed forces.

Second, a larger military needed weapons, aircraft, vehicles and other supplies. Government orders created factory jobs and increased demand for materials such as steel. Employment in aircraft construction rose from about 4,000 people in 1933 to 72,000 in 1935.

These were genuine increases in employment, but they linked economic recovery closely to preparations for war rather than simply producing more consumer goods for households.

Why the unemployment figures need care

Official unemployment figures fell dramatically, from about 4.8 million in 1933 to 300,000 in 1939. Public works and rearmament explain an important part of this fall. However, the figures did not show the whole picture.

Invisible unemployment occurred when people without jobs disappeared from the statistics. Women were encouraged or pressured to leave paid employment, making jobs available for men; women who left the labour market were not represented as unemployed workers. Jewish people dismissed from employment were also excluded from the figures. Their exclusion did not mean that their need for work had disappeared.

Labour service and conscription also reduced recorded unemployment by placing men in compulsory service. This needs distinguishing from invisible unemployment: soldiers were genuinely serving in the armed forces, but their removal from unemployment did not demonstrate an equivalent expansion of ordinary civilian jobs.

The overall judgement is therefore two-sided. Unemployment really did fall, but official figures exaggerated how far the regime had solved unemployment for everyone.

The Labour Front: employment without independent rights

Having a job is only one part of a person’s standard of living. Pay, prices, working hours, conditions and leisure also matter.

In May 1933, the Nazis abolished independent trade unions. These organisations had represented workers in negotiations over pay and conditions. They were replaced by the German Labour Front (DAF), a Nazi-controlled organisation that controlled wages and working conditions rather than independently defending workers’ interests.

Workers lost the right to strike and could no longer negotiate collectively through independent unions. This helped the regime prevent disruption to production, but left workers with less power to challenge poor pay or conditions. The DAF also offered benefits through programmes intended to make workers more content and loyal.

Strength Through Joy: leisure and promised rewards

Strength Through Joy (KdF) was established in 1933 within the DAF. It offered cheap holidays, trips, theatre tickets, sporting activities and other leisure opportunities. These could provide real enjoyment and make activities accessible to workers who might otherwise struggle to afford them.

The programme also served a political purpose. By organising leisure and presenting benefits as gifts from the regime, the Nazis hoped to reduce dissatisfaction and strengthen workers’ loyalty.

One famous scheme promised an affordable Volkswagen, meaning ‘people’s car’. Workers paid five marks a week into a savings scheme towards receiving a car. However, the savers did not receive their promised Volkswagens: production was redirected towards military needs. The scheme shows the difference between a promised improvement and a benefit workers actually obtained.

Beauty of Labour: better workplaces, extra unpaid work

Beauty of Labour aimed to improve the working environment. Improvements included toilets, showers, changing rooms and canteens, as well as better lighting and ventilation. Such facilities could make workplaces cleaner and more comfortable and help increase productivity.

However, workers were often expected to build or decorate the facilities themselves, outside normal working hours and without extra pay. A better workplace could therefore come at the cost of additional unpaid labour.

Were workers better off by 1939?

For someone who had previously been unemployed, obtaining regular work could be a major improvement. Some skilled workers, especially in armaments industries, also earned more. Leisure opportunities and improved workplace facilities brought benefits to many workers.

Nevertheless, higher earnings did not automatically mean a higher standard of living. The average working week increased from about 43 hours in 1933 to 49 hours in 1939. A larger weekly wage could reflect longer hours rather than better hourly pay.

Prices mattered too. Food prices had risen by about 20% by 1939. Real wages describe what earnings can actually buy: if prices rise faster than a worker’s pay, purchasing power falls. Poorly paid and unskilled workers were less able to absorb higher food costs than better-paid skilled workers.

Nazi policies therefore brought more employment and some material benefits, but also longer hours, fewer rights and unequal gains. The fall in unemployment was substantial; an improvement in living standards was much less uniform.