Blood Money: Inside The Nazi EconomySeason 1, Episode 1 - A World War On Credit

As soon as he came to power in 1933, Hitler wanted to go to war. Warfare was central to Nazi ideology; the strong had to crush the weak. To go to war, he needed weapons and an army, but Germany had neither. A far cry from the fake images of prosperity, years of adversity had worn the country down. The Nazis launched themselves into an extraordinary operation of financial manipulation and managed to revive the economy by producing enormous quantities of weapons. That was the Nazi economic miracle of the 1935-1936 period - an overheated economy that needed a war to continue its mad race. In 1939, Hitler embarked on a war financed on credit, enormous credit using spoliation and upcoming appropriation as collateral.

Blood Money: Inside The Nazi Economy was broadcast on SBS ONE at Saturday 8 July 2023, 07:33.