Schacht was replaced in 1937 by Hermann Goering. Goering introduced the 4-year plan whose aim was to make Germany self-sufficient to fight a war within 4 years. Under Goering imports were slashed. Wages and prices were controlled--under penalty of being sent to a concentration camp. While the state intervention into the economy almost led to full employment during the 1930s, real wages dropped by roughly 25%. Government financing came to the investment process, which the proportion of private securities issued falling from over half in 1933-1934 to 10% in 1935-1938.
Another goal was to expand the 100,000-strong German army into a force of millions under the 4-Year Plan. The war came and although the 4-Year Plan technically expired in 1940, Hermann Goering had built up a power base that effectively controlled all German economic and production matters.
This collection is based on these economic publications:
- Monatliche Nachweise-ber den Auswartigen Handel Deutschlands (January 1933-June 1939)
- Der Aussenhandel Deutschlands Monatliche Nachweise (July 1939)
- Sondernachweis der Aussenhandel Deutschlands (August 1939-1944) - is particularly important as it provides a thorough breakdown of German foreign trade by commodity, volume and value on a monthly basis. The December issue of each year gives a final listing of annual figures.