Der Fuehrer - Hitler's Rise to Power (1944) - Heiden

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY 663manual workers. The employers' associations in the province of WestPrussia declared that their members would, in disregard of pettymisgivings, 'undertake new installations beyond what was economicallynecessary at the time.'There is no doubt that greater emphasis was laid on production goodsthan on consumers' goods; greater emphasis on machines, farm tools,industrial semi-manufactures, than on articles going direcdy intoconsumption, such as clothing, furniture, etc. The index of employmentfor the production goods industries rose in 1932-34 — on the basis of thelevel of 1936 as evaluated at 100 — from 48.8 to 782, or approximately60 per cent; that for the consumers' goods industry only from 78.5 to942, or exacdy 20 per cent; and this more rapid tempo in productiongoods continued in the succeeding years. Before Hitler came to power,relatively more had been produced for direct consumption, while nowgreater stress was laid on increased production of capital plant,machines, factories, and farm tools.Nevertheless, in Germany the greatest, most concentrated effort at reemployment,that embracing the largest single group of workers, wasmade by an industry chiefly satisfying private needs. In the first years ofNational Socialism, no industry so increased its employment figures asconstruction and the related building material industry. Between 1932and 1935, the index of employment in the construction industry rosefrom 192 to 70; in the building material industry, from 41 to 83.1; in theformer an increase of over 350 per cent, in the latter of more than 200per cent. Roughly 2,600,000 workers were involved (building trades,1933 — 2,020,000, building material industry, 615,000). Theconstruction of motor highways, with its employment of 30,000 to70,000 workers, did not have a major effect on these figures. The mainfactor was that in 1932, 141,265 new dwellings were built, and in 1934,283,995, or more than twice as many. Larger dwelling complexes thanbefore were constructed, big buildings with more individual apartments;the statistical expression of this is that the number of buildings risesmore slowly than the number of dwellings. At the same time the numberof the new 'non-dwelling' constructions decreased, from 54,200 in 1932to 52,600 in 1934.