Kredite für den Wiederaufbau

This article investigates the Reich Economic Aid ("\(\it Reichswirtschaftshilfe\)") which offered state-guaranteed bank loans to companies in Alsace, Lorraine and the Saar region from 1940 onwards. Following the French defeat, these companies suffered from a lack of capital. This lack was caused by the evacuations of the border region at the beginning of the Second World War and war destruction. First, the article examines the political and legal conditions of the \(\it Reichswirtschaftshilfe\) in the \(\it Altreich\) and the annexed regions. This contribution then focuses on Alsace and Lorraine. It is examined how the loans granted in Strasbourg and Metz reflected German economic policies pursued in annexed territories, ranging from material reconstruction to ideological reorganization of the local economies