The Great Depression began on October 29, 1929, known as "Black Thursday", when the Wall Street stock market crashed. From 1929 to 1933, over 11,000 American banks failed, 13 million people lost their jobs, and national production was cut in half. Some European economies still recovering from World War I were hit even harder by the Depression. By 1933, when the Depression reached its lowest point, Germany and the United States were among the hardest hit. That year, Hitler became the chancellor of Germany and Roosevelt became the president of the United States, each elected with the hope that their leadership would help improve the struggling economic conditions.