Roosevelt vs. Hitler: Economic Policies

This history essay examines the contrasting economic policies implemented by Adolf Hitler in Germany and Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States during periods of national hardship. It explores how both leaders addressed unemployment, revived their economies, and prioritized foreign security. While their approaches differed significantly, both sought to stabilize their nations after devastating economic downturns. The essay highlights key similarities and differences in their strategies, ultimately emphasizing the complexity of leadership in times of crisis.

Running head: HISTORY ESSAY
COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN FRANKLIN AND HITLER’S POLICIES
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Author note

1HISTORY ESSAY
Both the leaders, Adolf Hitler and Franklin D. Roosevelt supported their fellow citizens,
when the situations were not favorable for them and the entire country. The USA was suffering
from drastic stock market disaster and the country lost all the values it had. The taxes had been
elevated and the farmer was unable to sell his products in the market. USA was unable to resume
its trade with other countries as “the means of exchange are frozen in the currents of trade”:
Franklin D. Roosevelt. People lost their savings of years and people were unable to pay the
higher tax. On the other hand, Germany was suffering from different issues at the time of Adolf
Hitler’s era. The entire country was suffering from depression as after the First World War.
Further, the fund aid provided by the USA government was stopped and as Hitler said: “Millions
of the industrial proletariat are unemployed and starving”.
Hitler dealt with unemployment by taking away some freedom from the employers.
Employers were unable to reduce their labour force and labour saving machinery implementation
was banned when he came to power. “Compulsory labor-service and the back-to-the-land policy
are two of the basic principles of this program” as per his speech given on February 1, 1933
(Zimmerman, 2012). On the other hand, Franklin believed that “Our greatest primary task is to
put people to work” and hence, he focused on creating jobs by the government itself.
Franklin revived the American economy by changing the gold standard of the American
population. He said “Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of
achievement” and asked the population to change their gold coins with dollars in bank. This way
they were able to print more dollars to revive the economy (Burns, 2012). Hitler used different
promotional skills to promote employment, however was against of experimenting with
currency. Hitler maintained agriculture and foreign security properly as preservation of the
farmer was one of his biggest priority. On the other hand, Franklin also applied “efforts to raise

2HISTORY ESSAY
the values of agricultural products” and was able to do that successfully. Foreign security was
determined with the good neighbor policy and franklin extended the diplomatic relation with the
Soviet Union. Germany also focused on foreign security and extended the number of army to
secure their borders.
Finally it can be said that, It is very challenging to lead a nation years after of destruction,
disorder and devastating economic downfalls. a few of the people have the ability to assure
development after such condition and two of the all-time greatest leaders were Adolf Hitler of
Germany and Franklin Delano Roosevelt of the United States of America. The former was the
epitome of cruelty and evil in his regime whereas the population of the USA loved the other.
However, the common ground was their determination and hard work to revive their countries.

3HISTORY ESSAY
References
Burns, J. M. (2012). Roosevelt: The Soldier of Freedom (1940–1945). Open Road Media.
https://books.google.co.in/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=aBpwfZiDG6IC&oi=fnd&pg=PT19&dq=comparison+adolf+hitler+and+
franklin+d+roosevelt+policy&ots=Jo8-_ELtn1&sig=sp3Jfuy7eCLWBiAcFaX1R-
pE8Lg#v=onepage&q&f=false
Zimmerman, A. (2012). Nazi Empire: German Colonialism and Imperialism from Bismarck to
Hitler. German Studies Review, 35(3), 660-662.