Prices and wages in the Third Reich

Discussions on every day life in the Weimar Republic, pre-anschluss Austria, Third Reich and the occupied territories. Hosted by Vikki.
Post Reply
Gilles de Rais
Member
Posts: 83
Joined: 23 Jul 2009, 19:29

Prices and wages in the Third Reich

#1

Post by Gilles de Rais » 24 Jul 2018, 20:51

What were the wages like for common people in Nazi Germany and how much could they buy with them? What were the prices of some basic goods and how they changed during the years? For instance, what was the salary of the government clerk, doctor, teacher or metal worker? How much it took to buy bread, milk, eat in a restaurant, buy a car, pay a rent and similar things?

All informations and details are welcome.

User avatar
Helmut0815
Member
Posts: 919
Joined: 19 Sep 2010, 14:13
Location: Lower Saxony, Germany

Re: Prices and wages in the Third Reich

#2

Post by Helmut0815 » 25 Jul 2018, 16:32

Average monthly wages for blue and white collar workers in the Third Reich:

1933 - 132 RM
1934 - 134 RM
1935 - 142 RM
1936 - 150 RM
1937 - 155 RM
1938 - 163 RM
1939 - 175 RM
1940 - 180 RM
1941 - 191 RM
1942 - 192 RM
1943 - 194 RM
1944 - 191 RM

Goverment employees and teachers earned approx. 10% better.

The prices were stable and didn't change much, from 1933 to 1937 the price for a loaf of bread was 0.33 RM, from 1938 to 1945 0.37 RM.
The price for 1 litre of milk in the twelve years of the Third Reich was 0.23 RM, half a litre of beer was 0.39 RM.

The price for a Miele 98ccm moped was 335 RM. A simple small car like the Opel Kadett was 1,795 RM in 1938, unaffordable for a normal worker. The price for the VW Beetle ("KdF-Wagen") was proposed 999 RM but no one was ever delivered to the customers.

best regards



Helmut


GregSingh
Member
Posts: 3877
Joined: 21 Jun 2012, 02:11
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Prices and wages in the Third Reich

#3

Post by GregSingh » 26 Jul 2018, 02:22

I assume these monthly wages were before tax ?

Base price for Mercedes-Benz 170V Cabriolet seemed to be 4750 RM in September 1939...
K.H.Frank buying a car in Sep 1939

Availability of products (even those on coupons with set price) was more of the issue (particularly in 1944/45).

Gilles de Rais
Member
Posts: 83
Joined: 23 Jul 2009, 19:29

Re: Prices and wages in the Third Reich

#4

Post by Gilles de Rais » 26 Jul 2018, 21:32

Helmut0815 wrote:
25 Jul 2018, 16:32
Average monthly wages for blue and white collar workers in the Third Reich:

1933 - 132 RM
1934 - 134 RM
1935 - 142 RM
1936 - 150 RM
1937 - 155 RM
1938 - 163 RM
1939 - 175 RM
1940 - 180 RM
1941 - 191 RM
1942 - 192 RM
1943 - 194 RM
1944 - 191 RM

Goverment employees and teachers earned approx. 10% better.

The prices were stable and didn't change much, from 1933 to 1937 the price for a loaf of bread was 0.33 RM, from 1938 to 1945 0.37 RM.
The price for 1 litre of milk in the twelve years of the Third Reich was 0.23 RM, half a litre of beer was 0.39 RM.

The price for a Miele 98ccm moped was 335 RM. A simple small car like the Opel Kadett was 1,795 RM in 1938, unaffordable for a normal worker. The price for the VW Beetle ("KdF-Wagen") was proposed 999 RM but no one was ever delivered to the customers.

best regards



Helmut
Helmut,

thank you for very useful and good information. That's precisely what I needed. Could you perhaps share the source you used? I would like to research it further.

Also, I would like to point out that buying a car might not be that unaffordable for an average working-class family. If we take into account that the average wage for worker in 1939 was 175 RM, that means that a family where both spouses were employed (and we should rememer that Germany had a high percentage of working woman, despite Nazi policies) could potentially earn around 350 RM a month. Since this is the average wage, even higher earnings might be possible for skilled workers or those working in highly paid jobs. Presuming that couple has no children and no associated expenses, they might save at least 50 RM a month. On a yearly basis that would translate into 600 RM, so they could buy Opel Kadett after three years. And during those three years they would be using only about 15% of their total earnings to cover the costs of car. In terms of both time and money involved, that's not that much, even by today's standards. Many people today give greater percentage of their earnings to cover the costs of buying a car.

User avatar
Annelie
Member
Posts: 5053
Joined: 12 Mar 2002, 03:45
Location: North America

Re: Prices and wages in the Third Reich

#5

Post by Annelie » 26 Jul 2018, 22:28

thought I would share what 1939 cars on the road looked like.
volkswagen-propaganda-parade-in-berlin-1939-c46470.jpg
volkswagen-propaganda-parade-in-berlin-1939-c46470.jpg (78.78 KiB) Viewed 7802 times
last one obviously not 1939.
Attachments
Bild 47.jpg

Gilles de Rais
Member
Posts: 83
Joined: 23 Jul 2009, 19:29

Re: Prices and wages in the Third Reich

#6

Post by Gilles de Rais » 27 Jul 2018, 00:25

What were the prices of transport in the Third Reich? Cost of train tickets, public buses and etc? I recently took a trip from Munich to Prague by train, so it would be really interesting to know how much would I need to pay in the Third Reich.

GregSingh
Member
Posts: 3877
Joined: 21 Jun 2012, 02:11
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Prices and wages in the Third Reich

#7

Post by GregSingh » 27 Jul 2018, 01:00

I recently took a trip from Munich to Prague by train, so it would be really interesting to know how much would I need to pay in the Third Reich.
In 1939 you could not just travel there, you needed a permit to enter Protektorate.
According to price tables, passenger train, one way up to 430km cost 37.6 / 25.0 / 17.2 RM for 1/2/3 class.
5 / 5 / 2.5 RM surcharge for an express train.

Travel was not cheap. You needed to travel in groups organized by KdF to pay close to nothing and only once a year I think.
All before the war of course.
Also, I would like to point out that buying a car might not be that unaffordable for an average working-class family.
Your scenario was very uncommon. Women usually did not work much before the war (mostly part time and on low paying jobs) and families had children. Also I think wages after tax were generally closer to 100 RM per month, than to 150 RM or even 175 RM.

Gilles de Rais
Member
Posts: 83
Joined: 23 Jul 2009, 19:29

Re: Prices and wages in the Third Reich

#8

Post by Gilles de Rais » 27 Jul 2018, 01:29

Actually, statistics show that woman had high employment rates in 1933, though they decreased later. And young families probably didn't have children immediately. The scenario is hypothetical, but not so unrealistic. Of course, for better paid workers.

Concerning the wages, I think they are usually put in neto amounts and not in bruto ones.

Br. James
Member
Posts: 897
Joined: 27 May 2013, 21:45
Location: Baltimore

Re: Prices and wages in the Third Reich

#9

Post by Br. James » 27 Jul 2018, 17:07

Annelie's photo post from yesterday (above) showing a street scene with a line of KdF wagens traveling down a city street is very interesting...I thought that the KdF wagen was never provided to the workers who paid for their cars by salary deductions over the years or to the general public at showrooms. This photo must have been an advertising or promotional piece...?!

Br. James

GregSingh
Member
Posts: 3877
Joined: 21 Jun 2012, 02:11
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Prices and wages in the Third Reich

#10

Post by GregSingh » 28 Jul 2018, 07:34

This photo must have been an advertising or promotional piece...?!
Photo's caption: volkswagen-propaganda-parade-in-berlin

Germany's statistical office published fortnightly bulletin which among other interesting stuff had a monthly prices of up to 20 basic food items in 40 biggest cities. Also 1939 mid-September issue had detailed wages/salaries data for 1936-1938.
All in German, but if you are interested in something in particular I can attach some scans.

User avatar
Helmut0815
Member
Posts: 919
Joined: 19 Sep 2010, 14:13
Location: Lower Saxony, Germany

Re: Prices and wages in the Third Reich

#11

Post by Helmut0815 » 28 Jul 2018, 12:35

Gilles de Rais wrote:
26 Jul 2018, 21:32
Also, I would like to point out that buying a car might not be that unaffordable for an average working-class family. If we take into account that the average wage for worker in 1939 was 175 RM, that means that a family where both spouses were employed (and we should rememer that Germany had a high percentage of working woman, despite Nazi policies) could potentially earn around 350 RM a month. Since this is the average wage, even higher earnings might be possible for skilled workers or those working in highly paid jobs. Presuming that couple has no children and no associated expenses, they might save at least 50 RM a month.
As said before that scenario is quite unrealistic, they were almost no DINKS in Third Reich.

This is a typical scenario[1]:

A master craftsman from Berlin earned 200 RM per month minus 30 RM for taxes, insurances and membership fees for DAF etc.
The rent for his accommodation in a Berlin working class district was 65 RM. One of the family's rooms was rented to a lodger for 25 RM.
The daily subsistence allowance for his two children and his old parents was 2 RM. The costs for public transport were 10 RM per month.
The lunch consisted mainly of potatoes with vegetables like cucumber and radish; Fish, meat and eggs were sundays dishes. The family's "dinner" was bread with cheap so called "Volkswurst". Butter was an unknown luxury good and was replaced with margarine. Even for small purchases like a fishing rod or a simple photo camera money had to been put aside for weeks or months. Sometimes the father could make some extra Reichsmarks with moonlighting.

[1]Klaus-Jörg Ruhl, Brauner Alltag 1933 -1939 in Deutschland, Droste Verlag Düsseldorf, 1981, p. 90


best regards


Helmut

Gilles de Rais
Member
Posts: 83
Joined: 23 Jul 2009, 19:29

Re: Prices and wages in the Third Reich

#12

Post by Gilles de Rais » 29 Jul 2018, 20:37

Helmut,

thank you very much on helpful data and text. However, I think we are basically arguing over nothing. The scenario is not unrealistic, which even your text confirms. Yes, life was difficult for an average working class family then, but it's not simple even now. What your quote confirms, however, is that even in such circumstances families could put aside some extra money for buying things which were not necessary for bare survival. If family could buy a photo camera, after weeks or months of saving, then it probably could also buy a car after some hard saving for three years. Remember, it would take them only 50 RM a month to achieve that, and the family in your example made half of that only through renting of room. And the mother of children is not even mentioned in terms of financial contribution. It might not be the ideal scenario, but saying that a man who earns 200 RM a month can't buy a car which costs 1795 RM after some saving is like saying that a worker in today's Germany can't buy a car worth 36 000 euros with a salary of 4000 euros. If you do some basic math, you would see that the relation between the average salaries and prices in Germany didn't change much at least in this example.

Gilles de Rais
Member
Posts: 83
Joined: 23 Jul 2009, 19:29

Re: Prices and wages in the Third Reich

#13

Post by Gilles de Rais » 29 Jul 2018, 20:44

GregSingh wrote:
28 Jul 2018, 07:34
This photo must have been an advertising or promotional piece...?!
Photo's caption: volkswagen-propaganda-parade-in-berlin

Germany's statistical office published fortnightly bulletin which among other interesting stuff had a monthly prices of up to 20 basic food items in 40 biggest cities. Also 1939 mid-September issue had detailed wages/salaries data for 1936-1938.
All in German, but if you are interested in something in particular I can attach some scans.
20 basic food items sound very interesting. I would be very grateful for the scans.

GregSingh
Member
Posts: 3877
Joined: 21 Jun 2012, 02:11
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Prices and wages in the Third Reich

#14

Post by GregSingh » 30 Jul 2018, 02:26

Mid June 1939
Last two columns is coal.
Anschluss happened more than a year ago, but prices in Austria were still higher...

Click to load in higher resolution!
14 Juni 1939.jpg

Post Reply

Return to “Life in the Third Reich & Weimar Republic”