Abstract
Nazi propaganda promised that economic and social need would be
quickly overcome. In the foreseeable future, the German national
community would be able to live in harmony, solidarity, and prosperity.
In addition to massive job-creation measures, the Nazi government also
initiated a series of immediate socio-political measures to fight the
consequences of unemployment and poverty. These included the social
welfare services provided by the National Socialist People’s Welfare
Organization [NS-Volkswohlfahrt or
NSV] and the fundraising activities of the Winter Relief Organization
[Winterhilfswerk or WHW]. Here, we
see a man selling lots for the NSDAP’s lottery, which was part of the
Nazi propaganda strategy. Although the economic upswing the following
year was officially presented as the result of National Socialist
economic policy, it was in fact a consequence of the shift to a
state-directed armaments economy.