<P> In Japan, official government policy was deflationary and the opposite of Keynesian spending . Consequently, the government launched a nationwide campaign to induce households to reduce their consumption, focusing attention on spending by housewives . </P> <P> In Germany, the government tried to reshape private household consumption under the Four - Year Plan of 1936 to achieve German economic self - sufficiency . The Nazi women's organizations, other propaganda agencies and the authorities all attempted to shape such consumption as economic self - sufficiency was needed to prepare for and to sustain the coming war . The organizations, propaganda agencies and authorities employed slogans that called up traditional values of thrift and healthy living . However, these efforts were only partly successful in changing the behavior of housewives . </P> <P> The common view among economic historians is that the Great Depression ended with the advent of World War II . Many economists believe that government spending on the war caused or at least accelerated recovery from the Great Depression, though some consider that it did not play a very large role in the recovery . It did help in reducing unemployment . </P> <P> The rearmament policies leading up to World War II helped stimulate the economies of Europe in 1937--39 . By 1937, unemployment in Britain had fallen to 1.5 million . The mobilization of manpower following the outbreak of war in 1939 ended unemployment . </P>

Who was president when the great depression started