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Demystifying the German "Armament Miracle" During World War II. New Insights from the Annual Audits of German Aircraft Producers

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  • Budrass, Lutz
  • Scherner, Jonas
  • Streb, Jochen

Abstract

Armament minister Albert Speer is usually credited with causing the boom in German armament production after 1941. This paper uses the annual audit reports of the Deutsche Revisions- und Treuhand AG for seven firms which together represented about 50 % of the German aircraft producers. We question the received view by showing that in the German aircraft industry the crucial changes that triggered the upswing in aircraft production already occurred before World War II. The government decided in 1938 that aircraft producers had to concentrate on a few different types, and in 1937 that cost-plus contracts were replaced with fixed price contracts. What followed was not a sudden production miracle but a continuous development which was fuelled first by learning bydoing and then by the ongoing growth of the capital and labor endowment.

Suggested Citation

  • Budrass, Lutz & Scherner, Jonas & Streb, Jochen, 2005. "Demystifying the German "Armament Miracle" During World War II. New Insights from the Annual Audits of German Aircraft Producers," Center Discussion Papers 28473, Yale University, Economic Growth Center.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:yaleeg:28473
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.28473
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Naomi R. Lamoreaux & Daniel M. G. Raff & Peter Temin, 1999. "Learning by Doing in Markets, Firms, and Countries," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number lamo99-1.
    2. Streb Jochen, 2003. "Das Scheitern der staatlichen Preisregulierung in der nationalsozialistischen Bauwirtschaft'," Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftsgeschichte / Economic History Yearbook, De Gruyter, vol. 44(1), pages 27-48, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Blazek, David & Sickles, Robin C., 2010. "The impact of knowledge accumulation and geographical spillovers on productivity and efficiency: The case of U. S. shipbuilding during WWII," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 1484-1497, November.

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