THE WAGES OF DESTRUCTION: THE MAKING AND BREAKING OF THE NAZI ECONOMY/ADAM TOOZE

Abstract

When can a country go to war, if ever? Tooze does not answer this question in general. He focuses on the economy of pre-war Germany and the years to follow under Nazi rule. A tour de force in political economy with a focus on one case study, it is worth consulting.
Tooze demonstrates that, despite stereotypes and the frequent hype about the sophisticated and nearly unbeatable Nazi war machine, Germany was far from ready to go to war. As a matter of fact, it was not – and it was unlikely to be ever in such a position, given the then international balance of power and global economic tendencies. Economists, politicians and military leaders within Germany argued before the time that it was more than a risk to go to war – doing so bordered on folly.
Tooze deploys a meticulous analysis of the state of the German economy since the end of the First World War, the Weimar Republic and the perceived impressive rise of the German economy under the Nazis. Archival research is splendid, candid and exhaustive.