The Nazi regime wasn’t just about territorial conquest—it aimed to radically reshape Europe’s economy. Hitler believed Germany needed to dominate resources to survive long-term. Economic conquest was the core motivation behind expansion eastward. “For Hitler, war was not an end in itself—it was an economic necessity.”

Hitler's Ambition was Economic, Not Just Military

World War I had shown Germany what an Allied blockade could do. Hitler feared a repeat. This obsession drove autarky (economic self-sufficiency), leading to aggressive policies like synthetic fuel production and occupation of resource-rich territories. “Germany’s wartime economy was haunted by the ghosts of 1914–1918.”

The Nazi Economy Was Built on Fear of Blockade

While early Nazi years saw reductions in unemployment, it was largely due to militarization, debt, and state intervention—not sustainable economic policy. Much of the “growth” masked a dangerously overleveraged economy. “Behind the propaganda of prosperity lay an economy on the verge of collapse.”

Nazi Economic Growth Was A Mirage

Germany’s economy was simply not built for a prolonged world war. It lacked raw materials, foreign exchange, and industrial depth. As the war dragged on, the system cracked under the weight of its own ambition. “The Third Reich went to war without the means to sustain it.”

The War Economy Was Never Sustainable

<ol><li>Hitler’s goals were economic at heart.</li><li>Fear of blockade shaped Nazi policy.</li><li>Civilian needs were sacrificed for arms.</li><li>Apparent growth masked deep instability.</li><li>The war economy was built to fail.</li><li>Victory in the East was essential.</li><li>Forced labor was an inefficient lifeline.</li><li>Speer’s effectiveness is overstated.</li><li>Genocide and economics were intertwined.</li><li>The Nazi regime collapsed under Allied economic superiority.</li></ol>

Recap

The Nazi regime diverted vast resources into military buildup at the expense of domestic needs. This made Germany look strong but left consumers struggling with shortages, rationing, and inflationary pressures long before the war began. “The guns-versus-butter dilemma was always resolved in favor of guns.”

Rearmament Came At The Expense of Civil Welfare

Speer was celebrated as the genius who prolonged the war with his economic management, but Tooze dismantles that myth. Production increased because of total war mobilization—not Speer’s brilliance. The Nazi system remained chaotic. “The Nazi economy didn’t function well—it functioned longer than expected.”

Albert Speer's Myth of Efficient

Operation Barbarossa wasn’t just ideological—it was about wheat, oil, and metals. Hitler believed Eastern conquest would solve Germany’s resource problem permanently. The failure to seize Soviet resources doomed the Nazi economic model. “The East was not optional—it was Hitler’s economic lifeline.”

Hitler's Economic Plan Hinged on The Soviet Union

As German men went to the front, Nazi planners relied on millions of enslaved civilians from occupied Europe to keep factories and farms running. This brutal system was inefficient, resisted at every turn, and further undermined the economy. “Forced labor was not just inhumane—it was economically fragile.”

Forced Labor Became An Economic Pillar

As the war turned and resources dwindled, Nazi leaders increasingly targeted Jews not only for ideological reasons but to seize their wealth and property to keep the economy afloat. The Holocaust became interwoven with economic desperation. “Extermination became a grotesque solution to material shortages.”

Economic Collapse Fueled Genocidal Policy

Germany underestimated Allied economic power—especially America’s. The Nazi regime believed in fast wars and quick victories. When that failed, its economy had no depth to compete with the Allies’ industrial and financial might. “The Nazis bet on a sprint and found themselves in a marathon they couldn’t win.”

Economic Miscalculation Led To Strategic Ruin

This is the untold story of how Hitler’s war machine rose—and collapsed—through economics.

"Masterful . . . [A] painstakingly researched, astonishingly erudite study…Tooze has added his name to the roll call of top-class scholars of Nazism." —Financial Times An extraordinary mythology has grown up around the Third Reich that hovers over political and moral debate even today. Adam Tooze's controversial book challenges the conventional economic interpretations of that period to explore how Hitler's surprisingly prescient vision--ultimately hindered by Germany's limited resources and his own racial ideology--was to create a German super-state to dominate Europe and compete with what he saw as America's overwhelming power in a soon-to- be globalized world. The Wages of Destruction is a chilling work of originality and tremendous scholarship that set off debate in Germany and will fundamentally change the way in which history views the Second World War.