The Great Economic Depression (1929-1932) hit the German economy very badly. By 1932, industrial production was reduced to 40 per cent of the 1929 level. Workers lost their jobs or were paid reduced wages. The number of unemployed touched an unprecedented 6 million.Unemployed youths played cards or simply sat at street corners, or desperately queued up at the local employment exchange. In dearth of jobs, the youth took to criminal activities.There were deep anxieties and fears in people. The middle classes, especially salaried employees and pensioners, saw their savings diminish when the currency lost its value. Small businessmen, the self-employed and retailers suffered as their businesses got ruined. These sections of society were filled with the fear of being reduced to the ranks of the working class or worse still, the unemployed.The large mass of peasantry was badly affected by a sharp fall in agricultural prices and women, unable to fill their children's stomachs, were filled with a sense of deep despair.