Secondary Source Research: The New Deal & National Socialism

Through my research and looking for articles that delved into the Great Depression and the subsequent New Deal, I found an article examining the policies and effects of the New Deal and National Socialism (Nazism) in the Great Depression Era. The argument by the author attempts to compare the responses of Germany and the United States to the Depression, and the differences and similarities between the two. I find the argument interesting as the author attempts to argue these similarities and differences in the policies themselves, and not in the motives behind the policy makers.

The author effectively does just that, and picks apart the different policies of the lawmakers, with the Germans focusing more on larger works programs in order to create jobs and the Americans focusing on implementing relief for the destitute. While the two governments had their larger areas of focus, they both combined the two to deal with poverty and mass unemployment. It’s striking how extremely similar some parts of the relief efforts were, yet were being orchestrated by governments with completely different mindsets, ideals, and conclusions. Economically, they seem to be near identical.

This article will likely be very very helpful in my thesis as I hope to examine ethics and morality in tandem with the large scale paradigm shifts brought on by industrialization and the events of industrialization, like the Great Depression. The article is excellent for my research as it compares and contrasts two near identical government relief systems, but marks the differences in governing styles and implementation of the relief systems.

Garraty, John A. The New Deal, National Socialism, and the Great Depression. 4th ed. Vol. 78. N.p.: Oxford U Press, 1973. The American Historical Review. JSTOR. Web. 8 Mar. 2017.