decars1-4, Exercise 2: HAFRABA

Model answer (check the details):

Why it did not build in the Weimar years: the plan needed very large funds. The Weimar state and the regions had little money, especially after the hyperinflation and the depression that began in 1929. Railway interests and many officials doubted that a large new road system was needed, and car ownership was low, so the political case for a road only for cars was weak. HAFRABA was an association that could plan and lobby but could not itself build.

What happened afterwards: after the Nazi takeover in 1933 the government took up the idea of a motorway network and the planning, and a state organisation was set up to carry it out (Chapter 5). The role of HAFRABA's earlier work in that programme is debated, and some of its people were sidelined.

Careful statement: HAFRABA's plans before 1933 were a precedent for the later network, so "the Nazis invented the Autobahn" is not supported, while "the Nazis built it on a large scale" is a separate claim that Chapter 5 examines.