... but from 1936 onwards guns were the priority. Hitler came to power after the worst of the Depression. The 1929 Wall Street Crash affected German industry resulting in recession. Six million became unemployed where the employed suffered due to reduced hours and low earnings. Consumer demand fell, as a result of which there was a decline in small shops. Businesses and banks were heavily bankrupt and the Middle class had to rely on soup kitchens as welfare favoured factory workers. In addition they could not purchase overseas-the depressed economy had all the effects of a social catastrophe! To remedy the situation, Chancellor Bruning (1929-32) had introduced a series of deflationary measures, which were intended to promote early recovery even at the expense of accelerating short-term economic decline. There is evidence that his policies were beginning to work: unemployment was already on the downturn and Hitler was able to claim ...

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