- For a high school academic guidance plan, see 4-year plan
In the high school setting, a 4-year plan is typically the focal point of a student's academic guidance. A 4-year plan is a worksheet that outlines the classes a student will take during their 4 years of high school, and its creation is usually a joint effort between the student and guidance...
.
The
Four Year Plan was a series of economic reforms created by the Nazi Party. The Four Year Plan sought to Reduce Unemployment; increase synthetic fibre production; undertake
public worksPublic works are the construction or engineering projects carried out by the state on behalf of the community.-Overview:The notion of internal improvements or public works is a concept in economics and politics...
projects under the direction of
Fritz TodtFritz Todt was a German engineer and senior Nazi figure, the founder of Organisation Todt. He died in a plane crash during World War II.- Life :Todt was born in Pforzheim, to a father who owned a small factory...
; increased automobile production; initiate numerous building and architectural projects; and further develop the
AutobahnAutobahn is the German word for a major high-speed road restricted to motor vehicles capable of driving at least 60 km/h and having full control of access, similar to a motorway or freeway in English-speaking countries.In most countries, it usually refers to the German autobahn specifically...
system.
- For a high school academic guidance plan, see 4-year plan
In the high school setting, a 4-year plan is typically the focal point of a student's academic guidance. A 4-year plan is a worksheet that outlines the classes a student will take during their 4 years of high school, and its creation is usually a joint effort between the student and guidance...
.
The
Four Year Plan was a series of economic reforms created by the Nazi Party. The Four Year Plan sought to Reduce Unemployment; increase synthetic fibre production; undertake
public worksPublic works are the construction or engineering projects carried out by the state on behalf of the community.-Overview:The notion of internal improvements or public works is a concept in economics and politics...
projects under the direction of
Fritz TodtFritz Todt was a German engineer and senior Nazi figure, the founder of Organisation Todt. He died in a plane crash during World War II.- Life :Todt was born in Pforzheim, to a father who owned a small factory...
; increased automobile production; initiate numerous building and architectural projects; and further develop the
AutobahnAutobahn is the German word for a major high-speed road restricted to motor vehicles capable of driving at least 60 km/h and having full control of access, similar to a motorway or freeway in English-speaking countries.In most countries, it usually refers to the German autobahn specifically...
system. The plan also emphasized building up the nation's military defenses, in direct violation of the terms set by the
Allies of World War IThe Entente powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The key members of the Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire. New Zealand, Belgium, Serbia, Canada, Australia, Italy, Romania and the United States were also drawn into the war...
at the
Treaty of VersaillesThe Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
, which stated:
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.
Global reaction
However, following a tour of the German countryside in 1936, former
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
Prime MinisterA prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. The position is usually held by, but need not always be held by, a politician. In many systems, the prime minister selects and can dismiss other members of the cabinet, and...
Lloyd GeorgeDavid Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British statesman and the only Welsh Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; he is also the only one to have spoken English as a second language, Welsh having been his first.During a long tenure of office, mainly as Chancellor of the...
had the following to say about the breach of the Treaty he had helped to formulate:
"That Germany is rearming cannot be denied. After all the victors in the Great War except England disregarded their own disarmament pledges, the Führer abrogated the agreement which bound his own country, thus following the example of the nations who were responsible for the Versailles Treaty. It is today a commonly admitted part of Hitler's policy to develop an army strong enough to resist any attack, regardless of from which side it may come. I believe that he has already reached this point of inviolability."
In a September 1936 speech before the Labour Front, Hitler explained the plan's focus, and drew a comparison between the resources at Germany's disposal and those accessible to the "incapable" Bolsheviks. The American press immediately interpreted this speech as Hitler's call for war with the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
and addressed it to the public as such. However, Hitler's proclamation actually suggested that, because of Germany's undersupplied position, a great task was set ahead for the country to
"develop a form of life which [was] higher than that existing in [the] Bolshevist paradise of Soviet Russia."
Methods
The Four Year Plan favoured both the protection of
agricultureAgriculture is the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of human civilization, with the husbandry of domesticated animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more densely populated and...
and
economic independenceAutarky is the quality of being self-sufficient. Usually the term is applied to political states or their economic policies. Autarky exists whenever an entity can survive or continue its activities without external assistance. Autarky is not necessarily economic. For example, a military autarky...
.
Hermann GöringHermann Wilhelm Göring was a German politician, military leader and a leading member of the Nazi Party. Among many offices, he was Hitler's designated successor and commander of the Luftwaffe...
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, especially after the Minister of Economics,
Hjalmar SchachtDr. Horace Greeley Hjalmar Schacht was the Currency Commissioner and President of the Reichsbank under the Weimar Republic, and President of the Reichsbank between 1933 and 1939...
, began to lose favour with Hitler because of his opposition to growing military expenditures. During the following years, Germany began building
refineriesA refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value.-Types of refineries:Different types of refineries are as follows:...
,
aluminiumAluminium or aluminum is a silvery white and ductile member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al; its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
plants, and factories for the development of synthetic-materials. 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 indefinitely. Indeed, much of the Four Year Plan's goals relating to economic production were accomplished between 1941 and 1944.
Influence and imitation
The project’s achievements outperformed
Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt , the only U.S. President elected to more than two terms, was a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
’s
New DealThe New Deal was the name that United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave to his complex package of economic programs 1933-36 with the goals of what historians call the 3 Rs, of giving Relief to the unemployed and badly hurt farmers, Reform of business and financial practices, and promoting...
both in size and scope. The
USSRThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
’s Second Five Year Plan, provided several ideas borrowed by the Nazi regime, especially in the area of militarization. The Soviet Plan was reaching its conclusion just as the German equivalent was beginning.
External links