The Economy of the Third Reich

The second session of Pavel Usanov’s new course in 2026 in Tbilisi — join us on Sunday!

The meeting will focus on the economy of the Third Reich, which existed in Germany from 1933 to 1945.

Is it true that Hitler came to power with the support of big business? If so, why did businessmen finance him? Did workers support him? How did Hitler’s party win the 1932 elections? Was there economic growth in the Third Reich? What happened to inflation, unemployment, and household incomes? What are the “bag economy” and the “ersatz economy”?

These and many other questions will be addressed in detail at Sunday’s lecture.

You will also learn whether postwar reparations influenced Hitler’s rise to power and why hyperinflation emerged in the Weimar Republic; how the Great Depression affected Germany and how Hitler’s economic policy differed in 1933–1936 compared to later periods; what happened to the economy during World War II; and how the new authorities of West Germany rebuilt the economy after the war.

The session is part of the course “The Economics of Dictatorship,” which examines well-known examples of dictatorships and how their economies functioned.

Pavel Usanov (@usanovpv) is an economist, PhD in Economics, member of the Presidium of the Ayn Rand Foundation, and founder and director of the Friedrich von Hayek Institute of Economics and Law. Come meet the author of the popular YouTube channel “Pavel Usanov” and four books.