16 - Social Policies in Nazi Germany Flashcards
young people, women, workers and churches
What was the Volksgemeinschaft?
- only Aryans could be citizens
- no social classes, working for the good of the state
- social and cultural revolution
How does Volksgemeinschaft link to Nationalism?
- building a Nazi race based on race and struggle
- made some groups outsiders
- relaunches a new and improved Germany
What united people into the Volksgemeinschaft?
- racial ideology
- people’s community
Aims of Nazi Youth Policy
- indoctrinate from the age of 4 using youth movements and education to impose values
- scorned intellectual learning and placed importance on physical strength and obediance
National Socialist Teacher’s League
- expected to join if a teacher
- process of indoctrination easier
- 1936, 32% of teachers party members
- anyone disloyal was sacked
How was anti-intellectualism fulfilled in education?
- from 1933-39, students in higher education fell from 113,000 to 57,000
- in 1944, this rose again to 82,000 students with 49% being female
How was anti-semitism fulfilled in education?
- eugenics were taught in schools and universities
How was indifference to the weak fulfilled in education?
- by 1936, students were expected to do 2 hours of PE a day
How was nationalism fulfilled in education?
- Bernard Rust (education minister) said that individuals must be ready to sacrifice themselves for the state
How was militarism fulfilled in education?
- NAPOLAs set up for boys 10-18 to be future leaders
- 21 in 1938 and 39 by 1943
- 1937, Adolf Hitler Schools to rival NAPOLAs by Youth Leader Schirach and Robert Ley
- selected on physical appearance and leadership
How was obedience and discipline fulfilled in education?
- Law for the Restoration of the Civil Service April 1933
- 1200 teachers dismissed, 33% racial grounds, 56% political
- students to join the German Student’s League but 25% ignored
How was Hitler Worship fulfilled in education?
- November 1933, uni lecturers to sign declaration in support of Hitler
- new hires of universities had to attend a 6 week ideological and physical camp
- by 1937, 97% of teachers in NSTL
- by 1938, 2/3 of teachers had attended a month long training
How was the Hitler Youth created?
- 1926, but initially unsuccessful until 1933
- by 1936 Law for the Incorporation of German Youth made it equal to education in status and a monopoly on sports facilities also 1936
- most groups banned in 1933 but Catholic youths in 1936
- compulsory by 1939
What was the Nazi Ideology towards women?
- women to be producers of babies
- women to stay at home
- support family and traditional, rural society
What were eugenics?
Studies of genetic and racial purity, not scientific but presented to be
What was the Nazi slogan towards women?
Kinder, Kirche, Kitche (children, church, cooking)
Births - aims
Increase the number of pure German births
Births - measures 1933-39
- financial incentives such as loans that reduced by 1/4 per baby
- propaganda like Mother’s Cross
- higher taxes on childless children
- restricted information on contraception
What was the Mother’s Cross?
A reward for women with multiple children
4-5 Bronze
6-7 Silver
8+ Gold
Births - measures 1939-45
Lebensborn programme introduced, 11,000 born from it
Births - effects and overall
- BR rose from 33-39 then declined
- increase could be due to the economic recovery
- BR did not reach Weimar levels
- eugenics reduced potential
Marriage - aims
Increase the number of suitable marriages
Marriage - measures 1933-39
- 1933, 600 RM loan if married and unemployed
- 1937 extended to working women
- Oct 1935, Blood Protection Law, marriage to black people, Jewish people and gypsies banned
- 1938 Marriage Law extended grounds of divorce
Marriage - measures 1939 - 45
- 1941 couples living together before marriage sent to concentration camps
Marriage - effects and overall
- 1932: 516,000 marriages
- 1934: 740,000 marriages
- could be due to economic success
Welfare - aims
Develop healthy Germans
Welfare - measures 1933-39
- NSV (National Socialist Welfare Organisation) central by 1933
- expansions of health offices, medicine and racial care
Welfare - measures 1939-45
- improved childcare facilities particularly for working mothers
Welfare - effects and overall
- infant mortality dropped from 7.7% in 1933 to 6.6% in 1936
- NSV ran by women, improved welfare
Education - aims
Prepare women for their proper role and restrict opportunity
Education - measures 1933-39
- female university enrolment 10%
Education - measures 1939-45
- restriction dropped
Education - effects and overall
- WW2, number of women at uni increase
- demand for workers and soldiers grew
Employment - aims
reduce female employment
Employment - measures 1933-39
- 1933 women in civil jobs and medical service dismissed
- 1936 banned from being lawyers and judges
Employment - measures 1939-45
- 1939 compulsory agricultural labour service for women under 25
- women only told to join war effort in 1942 (17-45 year olds)
Employment- effects and overall
- number of women in employment rose throughout war
- 1943, Speer proposes to conscript women but told no by Hitler as it would reduce morale
- main impact on professionals
Public Life - aims
Incorporate women into Volksgemeinschaft
Public Life - measures 1933-39
- no female Nazis in Reichstag
- 2 women’s organisations : DFW, German Women’s league, coordinate into Nazi views
Public life - measures 1939-45
- support for war effort, ex. donations for Russian Front
Public Life - effects and overall
- increased female participation in Nazi bodies
- excluded from decision making
What were the complications of merging the churches?
- Nazis wanted Fuhrer as the centre, would go against God
- religion was deep-rooted in some communities and people could be resistant to changes
- division of faith, 58% protestant and 32% catholic
- Catholic Church part of a wider, universal movement led by Pope
Why would the Nazis respect the churches?
- similar moralistic views of family and marriage
- to control, would need to initially embrace
- recognition of the church support
What were the activities of the Hitler Youth?
- swearing personal allegiance to the Fuhrer
- ‘live faithfully, fight bravely and die fighting’
- singing Nazi songs, reading political pamphlets
- camping trips and hiking, military drill
How did the Nazis control the Protestant Church?
- supported the church, 2/3 of the Prussian synod was wearing the nazi uniform in 1933
- ludwig miller elected in 1933, but 100 pastors broke away to form the confessional church 1934
- required pastors to take an oath to Hitler, 2 arrested
How was the Hitler Youth successful?
- outlet to teenage rebellions
- membership from almost 60,000 in Jan 1933 to over 2 million by December
- camping and sport attractive to boys who had grown up without another system
- many would join against their anti Nazi parent wishes
How was the HJ unsuccessful?
- by late 1930s, attendance to parades slipped as people resented the bureaucratic nature
What was the BDM?
The female equivalent to HJ, compulsory in 1939
- taught to be healthy mothers and wives
- dancing, gymnastics, cooking and sewing
- annual summer camps with sport and indoctrination
How was the BDM successful?
- brought together from a variety of backgrounds
- increasingly more time outside of the home
How was the BDM unsuccessful?
- compulsory land/domestic service for women under 25 that was very unpopular
What did the KdF aim to do?
- organise workers free time through the DAF
- encourage people to see themselves as part of the Volksgemeinschaft
- social equality encouraged as no class system in activities
- break down regional divides
What was the SdA?
Beauty of Labour
- bettered working conditions for the people
- wanted people to work harder
- workplace sports facilities and hot meals
- by 1938, 34000 workplaces had improved
BUT - workers largely had to bear the brunt of improvements, ex. painting factory themselves with no extra pay
What was Prora?
- a Nazi holiday resort constructed from 1936-39
- 8 blocks holding 20,000 workers a week
- was never realised, completely uninhabited
How did the nazis control the catholic church?
- concordat 1933, Vatican recognised the regime and would not interfere, vice versa
- centre party dissolved
How did the nazis attempt to weaken the Protestant church?
- Gauleiters engaged in anti church activities, abandoned as not successful
- in Bavaria Grus gott was said instead of heil hitler
How did the Nazis attempt to weaken the Catholic Church?
- 1936, church groups abandoned and Hitler youth compulsory
- 200 priests accused of sexual activity and put on trial
- only 5% of children in church schools by 1937
How did the Nazis try to replace the churches?
Reich church was created in 1933
