Autarky Vs Rearmament

352 Words2 Pages
The ultimate goal of the Nazi State in regards to the economy was to achieve autarky. According to Hitler, the German nation must be able to sustain itself, as well as be able to defend itself. These two principles, autarky and rearmament, rely on each other and are thus inseparable. To reach autarky, the economy would have to be turned into a war economy in the short-term, and lebensraum would be required in the long-term. The process by which autarky was pursued defined the economic policies of the NSDAP. The first and most important step in reaching autarky was the process of rearmament. The NSDAP would achieve rearmament in two stages; first with the implementation of the New Plan in 1934 under Hjalmar Schacht; and then with the implementation