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Year 11
Edexcel

Employment in Nazi Germany

I can describe Nazi policies regarding employment.

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New
New
Year 11
Edexcel

Employment in Nazi Germany

I can describe Nazi policies regarding employment.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

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These resources were created for remote use during the pandemic and are not designed for classroom teaching.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Nazi unemployment policies supported Hitler’s goal of building a militarised, self-sufficient empire through conquest.
  2. The Nazis reduced unemployment through RAD, public works and military rearmament from 1933 to 1939.
  3. The autobahns were feats of modern engineering, used by Nazi propaganda as powerful symbols of progress.
  4. Rearmament reshaped the economy, employing millions and preparing Germany for future war.
  5. The Nazis created 'invisible unemployment' by manipulating employment laws and statistics.

Keywords

  • Autarky - economic independence, not needing to trade with other countries

  • Reich Labour Service (RAD) - a compulsory work programme for young men involving manual labour and military-style discipline

  • Rearmament - the process of supplying yourself with new weapons, especially in order to become a strong military power again

  • Conscription - the act or process of forcing people by law to join the armed services

Common misconception

The Nazis completely solved unemployment and revived the economy.

While official unemployment figures dropped dramatically, some of this was due to manipulated statistics and forced labour schemes.


To help you plan your year 11 history lesson on: Employment in Nazi Germany, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Newspaper analysis task: Give pupils a 1930s Nazi newspaper with images of autobahn workers and ask them to annotate it for propaganda techniques and missing truths.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Why did Hitler believe children were important to Nazi Germany?

because they were likely to resist Nazi ideology
Correct answer: because they were seen as vital to the future of the Third Reich
because they would vote for the Nazi Party

Q2.
The Nazi policy of ‘Kinder, Küche, Kirche’ emphasised the roles of women in Children, Kitchen and .

Correct Answer: Church

Q3.
Girls were trained for domestic roles and motherhood in the League of German .

Correct Answer: Girls, Maidens

Q4.
What was expected of teachers in Nazi Germany?

Correct answer: to join the Nazi Teachers’ League and promote loyalty to Hitler
to remain neutral and avoid political topics in the classroom
to resist changes to the curriculum and protect academic freedom
to teach traditional academic content without interference

Q5.
How did Nazi ideas reshape biology lessons in schools?

Lessons focused on plant reproduction and animal life.
Correct answer: Lessons reinforced Aryan superiority.
Students studied only anatomy and physiology.

Q6.
How were maths lessons used to support the Third Reich?

by encouraging students to design anti-war propaganda
by focusing only on arithmetic and geometry
Correct answer: by setting calculations that reflected Nazi beliefs

Assessment exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What broader goal did Nazi unemployment policies help to achieve?

to build a democratic and peaceful nation
Correct answer: to build a militarised and self-sufficient empire based on autarky
to encourage trade with Britain and France
to increase German tourism and cultural exchange

Q2.
Match each term to its correct definition.

Correct Answer:autobahn,high-speed motorways

high-speed motorways

Correct Answer:RAD,compulsory manual labour programme for young men

compulsory manual labour programme for young men

Correct Answer:rearmament,rebuilding military strength

rebuilding military strength

Q3.
By 1939, official unemployment in Germany had fallen to fewer than people.

Correct Answer: 300000, 300 000, 300,000, Three hundred thousand

Q4.
What was one way rearmament helped to reduce unemployment in Nazi Germany?

by allowing workers to take longer holidays
by encouraging factories to hire foreign labour
Correct answer: by requiring factories to produce weapons, which needed more workers

Q5.
Which of the following best explains why the Nazis used RAD and work schemes beyond just job creation?

Correct answer: to instil discipline and prepare men for military service
to provide free housing and employment benefits
to teach Germans how to cook traditional dishes

Q6.
Why were Nazi unemployment statistics misleading?

They didn’t count people who emigrated.
Correct answer: They excluded certain groups.
They included unemployed people twice.
They only counted factory workers.
Correct answer: They counted forced labour as employment.

Additional material

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