Nazi Economic Thought and Rhetoric During the Weimar Republic: Capitalism and its Discontents

Abstract

At the heart of Nazism was a radical economic vision and rhetoric that provided the Nazis with an authenticity and legitimacy in their struggle to succeed the free-market capitalist economic system – this was crucial to their successful mass mobilisation and to becoming an acceptable party of government. While many of these views had deep historical and ideological roots in German society, they only became mainstream during the world economic depression. By then the Nazis' uncompromising political-economic demand that Germany could only prosper when overthrowing the Versailles peace order, looking after its national interests and doing things the German way had transformed from fringe view to mainstream consensus. At a time when capitalism's future and Germany's place in it looked bleak, many regarded the Nazis' economic vision entailing state control, autarky coupled with Grossraumwirtschaft and withdrawal from international cooperation in favour of nationalist policies as the most promising economic programme. Meanwhile Nazi rhetoric had become an integral part of a powerful anti-capitalist Zeitgeist, an ‘anti-system’ rallying cry that questioned the core principles of capitalism. Its proponents condemned its selfishness, materialism and unfairness, and instead demanded that the common good had to be protected from individual greed.