When the Great Depression hit, it didn’t only affect the United States. The Great Depression was economically felt in many nations across the globe. One example of a country that was hit hard was Germany. Germany already had a crippled economy as a result of WWI and the terms they had to agree to in the treaty of Versailles. This left most of Germany’s economy dependent on importing good from other counties. When those other countries (including the United States) produced less goods, Germany and it’s people suffered.
In the United States, the president at the start of the Great Depression was President Hoover. Because the president is either blamed or praised for everything that happens during their term (whether it is in their control or not), Hoover was blamed for not acting fast enough and letting the Great Depression happen. When he ran for re-election, he lost to FDR. FDR’s approach to fixing the depression, was to have the government take an active role in providing jobs for the average american. This combined with many more orders and bills were collectively called the “New Deal.” One act that was included in the “New Deal” was the emergency banking act. This was an act that allowed the federal government to loan enough money to larger banks. This combined with FDR urging people to put their savings back into banks, allowed the banks to be able to loan money to people again.
In 1933, a new German Chancellor was elected, Adolf Hitler. Hitler’s approach was slightly different. He also created jobs for the the people he was elected to serve, but a large portion of these jobs were making supplies for war. This gave the Nazi’s a portion of the military resources they needed to fight the future war (WWII). He also was strongly against the idea of capitalism. He argued that capitalism was the “enemy” and that it was somehow controlled by Jews, which he viewed as bad. Another tactic he used to reinforce all of his points was propaganda and a secret police force called the gestapo. The propaganda showed people that socialism was the way to go and that capitalism was a failed experiment. His secret police force squashed any resistance to his power by imprisoning them.
Overall, both styles of governing pulled their respective countries out of the depression. However, the effects and actions after regaining economic stability differed. While FDR remained president of the United States and continued to use the office of the presidency to the best of his ability, Hitler ended up invading neighboring European countries and attempting to gain more land by imposing a harsh rule and committing genocide.
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