The Nazi’s, initially became very wealthy because they stole so much, however this was only sustainable if they had been able to win the war and of course we all know they lost the war and generally most of this wealth. What happened to a lot of this stolen wealth after the war, however, is for another discussion.
On the other hand, The United States, was the main financial beneficiary of the war, from a fiscal perspective, because they became the first country that had a federal government that worked in partnership with big industry to mobilise the huge building programme of tanks, ships, guns and other arnaments and equipment, that was to create an industrial powerhouse, well into the next three decades.
President Roosevelt recognized that private business could not find all the capital required for the expansion of the plants, owned by the private sector, nor take the risk that the end of the war would leave them with no orders and excess capacity. So the federal government, through the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, advanced the necessary money to expand the factories, often leasing them to industry. The government developed new sources of supply for raw materials and created quick mass transportation. The government also went into the business of producing synthetic rubber and aluminium, as well as other emerging industries, and helped stimulate new technologies.
Roosevelt’s government were also quick in developing the plans of conversion to turn many plants making one item into a plant making a totally different item, so for instance B24’s were made at Ford Plants and Chrysler and Packard converted to Tanks and Aircraft engines.
Also, it would be believed now that a command wartime economy was created, however, there was a remarkable entrepreneurial spirit in sharp contrast to the situation in Germany or in socialist, centrally planned economies. Roosevelt brought in dozens of top business executives as "dollar-a-year" men to help run the government commissions so that businesses didn't feel the government was simply telling them what to do. He allowed business to realize profits. He used government to create markets and to help business set up new plants and equipment, which business often leased and later bought cheaply after the war.
My own view is that it is this entrepreneurial culture, that was create in the United states, that tends to be forgotten now, however it created and amazingly vibrant and energetic business community and culture, that really led the United States to become a superpower after the war.
It was also amazing how President Roosevelt instigated his fireside chats and this has always fascinated me because it is largely forgotten now, what a huge innovator he was as a communicator, using the radio to engage with the United States populace. He had initially started this during the early 1930’s during the depression and the subsequent New Deal that was to help the United States start to work itself out of the depression, however he held over 30 of these on a national scale and during the war years was able to communicate his plans and motivate the people of the United States to buy into the war effort and I am fascinated by the honesty by which he did this.
Also not only did this really assist the war effort, such as developing the war bond programme that as so influential in financing the war effort, but this also kept President Roosevelt’s popularity high right through the war to the time of his death.
Now by wars end the United States had not only one the war with the allies but had also created this huge industrial base, that had become a first in history and had cemented the countries Superpower status. The war had been funded by War Bonds and Taxes and Citizens bought $185.7+ billion worth of bonds at 75% face value, set to mature in 30 to 40 years with an estimated 4% profit for each person. Even children bought war stamps to contribute the few pennies they could afford.
War Bond posters:
Factories built, roughly 13 million guns, howitzers, rifles, and carbines combined, as well as 100,000 tanks, 300,000 aircraft, and manufactured more than 40 billion rounds of ammunition. Ten battle ships, 27 aircraft carriers, and 200 submarines were also built at this time as well. The financial burden was enormous, but patriotic purchases of war bonds had a significant impact on payment of these costs.
Of course, the United States had created a lot of debt by wars end, but also a huge GDP, however it must be said that World War Two was the first time that United States citizens had, had tax payments taken directly from their paychecks and it is this Victory Tax combined with War Bonds that assured it’s wealth into the 1950’s. Also The United States had created the Lend-lease act that was instrumental in lending or leasing over 50 billion dollars of equipment and material to the allied nations.
By 1948, the United States was also instrumental in developing the Marshall Plan that funded the reconstruction of 18 nations of Europe, who received $13 billion in food, machinery and other goods.
So not only did the United States create this hugely powerful industrial base to build the arnament’s and equipment to fight the war, but was also able to reduce overall unemployment that was still running at 25% at the start if the war, but was also reduced significantly to around 10% within months of the war starting. Not only were the benefits huge for the workforce but this also led to women joining the workforce in a significant way for the first time in the countries history to fill the job places of the men who were fighting overseas and generally it could be said that the war had so many benefits from a financial perspective that the United States became extremely wealthy country right up until the early 1970’s and that is another story!
There are some excellent books on this subject that I had read and it is a fascinating story as we tend to focus on the war fighting and the death and misery caused by the war, but it also created such change in business and technology:
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