For all the reams that have been written on the terrible conflict on WWII, surely the most significant event of the 20th century, the macroeconomic perspective is often overlooked. Learn how economic issues ultimately shaped the political and military strategies of the major combatants. We consider essential questions like: how did Germany manage to rebuild their economy and their military in the 1930s whilst the rest of the world suffered through the Great Depression? How did America transition from a tiny military/industrial complex to become the “Arsenal of Democracy” in a few short years? Was Britain as unprepared for war in 1939 as is often thought? And how did the Soviet Union manage to outproduce Germany in the midst of invasion?
- Tooze, Adam. The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy, 2025
- Broadberry & Harrison, The Economics of the Second World War: 75 Years On, 2020
- David Edgerton, Britain’s War Machine: Weapons, Resources and Experts in the Second World War, 2011
- Mark Harrison, The Economics of WW2: 6 Great Powers in International Comparison, 1998
- A.J.Baime, The Arsenal of Democracy: FDR, Detroit and an Epic Quest to Arm an America at War, 2014
- An overview of the economics of WWII - Overview of key economic factors in the war. Centrality of oil. Discussion of population, territory and GDP, plus the determinants of mobilisation
- Germany: guns, butter and economic miracles - Discussion of prewar economic ‘miracle’, including financial strategies to circumvent embargoes. Wartime economic policies, “total war” and the constant challenge of food and fuel
- Japan: guns before rice - Discussion of Japanese attempts to resolve dearth of strategic resources. Wartime policies, affect of US submarine war on shipping
- Italy: Doomed to lose - Survey of the poor state of Italian economy and military at start of WWII, exacerbated by almost 20 years of Fascist prewar economic mismanagement
- Britain: victory at all costs - Mobilisation and stockpiling. “Steel vs flesh”. Winning the war, losing the peace
- Soviet Union: the defeated victor - Discussion of relevant pre-war Soviet economic policy, especially industrialisation and urbanization. Impact of Ribbontrop pact. Mobilisation of potential, relocation of western factories. Impact on civilian sector. Long-run cost of the war
- USA: from ploughshares to swords - The production miracle. Lend-lease. Financing the war. Long term consequences
- Summary and parallels with present day
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
- Identfy the key economic facts affecting the major powers in WWII
- Understand the role that economic factors had on the major powers’ conduct of that war
