In this study of Germany’s international cartel agreements there will be some shortcomings in the textual materials during certain periods of time covered in this report. This is due both to public apathy in respect to cartels, and the reluctance of firms to publicize their cartel arrangements. In addition to this the main emphasis of this report will stree to ramifications of Germany’s cartel upon the United States in the decade preceding World War II. This does not detract from the equally important effects Germany’s cartel operations had upon other nations, but is indicative of the dearth of material available to this writer on cartel agreements abroad. Through this shortcoming is unfortunate in respect to other nations, it is appropriate that emphasis be focused upon the United States because of its position of leadership, industrially speaking, during the era covered in this report. This report will first examine the word cartel in order to give the reader an insight as to the definition of this term. This is necessary since there is some disagreement as to the precise meaning of the term. Attention will be centered on the various types of cartels, both of the domestic and international varieties found in Germany during the period under consideration. Though the intent of this report is the exploration of Germany’s international cartel effects, the inclusion of that nation’s domestic cartels is warranted by their relationship and similarities. From this point the report will proceed to give a brief historical sketch of the development of cartels to the present day, with special attention being given to the growth of German cartels. Included in this analysis will be the philosophical and legal basis for their growth. The role played by cartels in the rise of Hitler to power and their relationship with National Socialism will be scrutinized and evaluated. Attention will then be given to specific case histories of international cartel relationships between German and foreign firms.

Rural society during the German National Socialist movement has been overlooked by most historians. Instead the urban elements are stressed. I have chosen to study the impact of National Socialism upon peasant families.Three major limitations exist for this project. First, only the peasant family itself is reviewed. Second, this project is concerned only with the years from 1925 through 1339. Third, this project limits its review to only that territory comprising Germany after World War I. This was done to allow for a more equal comparison of agricultural statistics.The construction of this project remains simple. Three major chapters exist. Chapter One reviews the Republic: its politics, economy, and the problems of the peasant family. The remaining chapters then review these problems as they were resolved by the National Socialists. Chapter Two reviews the family itself: family size, health, inheritance, and social status. Chapter Three reviews farm-management: production, mechanization, labor, and prosperity. Both chapters are divided into two parts: part one reviews the new policies; part two reviews the impact.The findings of this project were different than expected. I had expected to find minimum improvement in the condition of peasant families. Instead, I discovered that, in general, these policies failed in their objectives. The reasons for these failures differed. But much of the blame rests in faults of the laws themselves. Final results, however, were mixed. Farm-management improved slightly, but the family itself witnessed reduced health. The average family was not destitute, but neither did it prosper. / Department of History

The term Europe was omnipresent in the Third Reich during the Second World War. An abundance of primary sources attests to the German interest in a new European order. Nevertheless, historiography is in disagreement on the Europeanness of this New Order and on its actual relevance for National Socialist policies. This study argues that these differing appraisals are the result of a mistaken understanding of the National Socialist New Order. National Socialist Germany did not pursue a single, stable, and clear-cut notion of Europe-to-be, but constantly kept negotiating its war aims and the future of Europe under the heading New Order. By means of a discourse-analytical approach, this thesis reconstructs this New Order and shows that its defining dimensions were long-standing and well-established knowledge and belief systems: the idea of European economic cooperation and völkisch beliefs. Depending on the military situation and the scope of the German sphere of influence, the discursive weight of these interpretive frames varied during the war. Nevertheless, they produced temporarily stable visions of Europe-to-be. Contrasted with this development, an analysis of German policies clearly demonstrates that the New Order discourse did matter. A hermeneutical approach which draws on discourse-analytical concepts of power relations makes clear that the New Order discourse was powerful. It defined the permissible ways of thinking and speaking about the future of Europe and it endowed the activities of German occupation authorities and private companies with meaning. Thus, this study and its innovative perspective shed new light on the New Order and broaden our understanding of National Socialist wartime policies. Its findings suggest that the National Socialist Europe must not be dismissed as anti-European. National Socialist Germany discursively constructed and realised its own ideals of Europe-to-be. This völkisch and economic reorganisation not only guided the policies of German occupation policies and informed the actions of private businesses, but it also fits well into the German tradition of European thinking.

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