Hitler believed that the American economy, while formidable, would not be an obstacle as it was in a peace-time state, he believed it would be years before the Americans were able to re-tool and field an effective force. This was not the case. Overy contends that the socio-economic planning experience gained by the U.S. government during Roosevelt's New Deal was important to the re-tooling. He also cites an American "can-do ethos" as a spiritual driving force behind the re-tooling. Finally, the very fact of the Great Depression had left the American economy in a position where it had a lot of room to grow. The German economy, by contrast, was already operating at full employment levels by the time of the war's start. The final factor Overy cites is the success of Allied air power. Allied bombing campaigns in Europe were effective in stifling German war-production and also in demoralizing the German populace. The success of Allied air operations behind German lines also forced the...
While in America factories chugged along un-molested, in Europe the Germans were forced to de-centralize production and spend vast resources on improbable projects for safeguarding factories.Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
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