Four Year Plan The Four Year Plan was a series of economic reforms created by the Nazi Party . The main aim of the Four Year Plan was to prepare Germany for self - sufficiency in four years ( 1936 - 1940 ) . The Four Year Plan sought to reduce unemployment ; increase synthetic fibre production ; undertake public works projects under the direction of Fritz Todt ; increase automobile production ; initiate numerous building and architectural projects ; and further develop the Autobahn system . The plan also emphasized building up the nation ' s military defenses , disregarding the restrictions imposed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles after the German defeat in World War I . Global reaction . The rearmament was in direct violation of the strict terms set by the Allies of World War I at the Treaty of Versailles . The German army was to be restricted to 100 , 000 men , there was to be no conscription , no tanks or heavy artillery and no general staff . The German navy was restricted to 15 , 000 men and no submarines while the fleet was limited to six battleships ( of less than 10 , 000 tonnes ) , six cruisers and 12 destroyers . Germany was not permitted an air force . Finally , Germany was explicitly required to retain all enlisted men for 12 years and all officers for 25 years , so that only a limited number of men would have military training . Following a tour of the German countryside in 1936 , former British Prime Minister Lloyd George had the following to say about the breach of the Treaty he had helped to formulate : " " That Germany is rearming cannot be denied . After all the victors in the Great War except England disregarded their own disarmament pledges , the Führer abrogated the agreement which bound his own country , thus following the example of the nations who were responsible for the Versailles Treaty . It is today a commonly admitted part of Hitler ' s policy to develop an army strong enough to resist any attack , regardless of from which side it may come . I believe that he has already reached this point of inviolability . " " In a September 1936 speech before the Labour Front , Hitler explained the plan ' s focus , and drew a comparison between the resources at Germany ' s disposal and those accessible to the " incapable " Bolsheviks . The American press immediately interpreted this speech as Hitler ' s call for war with the Soviet Union and addressed it to the public as such . However , Hitler ' s proclamation actually suggested that , because of Germany ' s undersupplied position , a great task was set ahead for the country to " " develop a form of life which [ was ] higher than that existing in [ the ] Bolshevist paradise of Soviet Russia . " " Methods . The Four Year Plan favoured both the protection of agriculture and the promotion of economic independence . Hermann Göring was put in charge of the Four Year Plan on October 18 , 1936 and given extraordinary powers for an extraordinary situation . In short , Göring had complete control over the economy including the private sector , especially after the Minister of Economics , Hjalmar Schacht , began to lose favour with Hitler because of his opposition to growing military expenditures . During the following years , Germany began building refineries , aluminium plants , and factories for the development of synthetic materials . The Four Year Plan technically expired in 1940 , but the " Office of the Four Year Plan " ( considered a cabinet - level agency ) had grown to such a power - base that the Four Year Plan was extended indefinitely . Indeed , many of the Four Year Plan ' s goals relating to economic production were accomplished between 1941 and 1944 .