9D Life in Nazi Germany (1933-45) Flashcards
Why were women so important to Hitler and what was Nazi policy initially like towards them?
Why were women so important to Hitler?
1) Increase German population -> more military -> achieve lebensraum
2) Inrease Artyans - women could give him master race (racial)
3) Women would raise future Germans (traditional) when men are at war
Initial nazi polocies towards women:
Marriage and Family (wanted women to have children, emphasised their role as a mother):
- Hitler promoted the 3 Ks: kinder kirche küche (children, kitchen, church)(model homemaker)
- The Law for the Encouragement of Marriage gave newlywed couples a loan of 1,000 marks. They could keep 250 marks for each child they had.
- A ‘Lebensborn’ home (1935) was where women could visit with the aim of becoming pregnant by one of Hitler’s ‘racially pure’ SS soldiers. 8000 children were born from this.
Employment (Didn’t want them to work as wanted women to be mothers and also create jobs for men:
- Female lawyers, judges and teachers were sacked
- Discrimination against female applicants was encouraged
- The introduction of the Law for the Reduction of Unemployment gave women financial incentives to stay at home
This imapcted women as they were forced out of the proffersion sector towards the domestic sphere and were stripped of their civil liberties. They no longer had social freedoms and independance and were reliant on men.
What were latter Nazi policies (war time) towards women?
Latter Nazi polocies towards women:
Marriage and Family:
- Women were expected to have children during WWII
- If Germany went to war, then the losses at the battlefront needed to be replaced. There had to be enough members of the ‘master race’ to occupy defeated territories.
- In December 1938 women were encouraged to have children through the Motherhood Cross. It awarded a bronze medal for 4 children, silver for 6 and gold for 8 or more
Employment:
- By 1937, German industry began to run out of workings due to conscription. The Nazis therefore made it compulsory for women to work a ‘duty year’ where they would work for a year on farms or industry.
- When war broke out in 1939, women were allowed to join the German armed forces as auxiliaries such as nurses, secretaries, and even camp guards. By the end of the war, nearly 500,000 women had served in the army.
How did Nazi policies towards women change and how were they the same?
1) The same as he consistently wants them to give birth to increase the population.
2) He also wants them to consistently produce aryan childrne
1) However the values of women cahgnes as he wanted them to be wives and have a traditional family but the lebesnborn home encouraged pregnacies outside of marriage.
2) Previosuly women werer force out of the proffessional sector however after the war brokeout, it was obligatory for wome to work a ‘duty year’. women could also get jobs in the army.
Why was the youth so important to Hitler and what role did youth groups play?
Why was the youth so important to Hitler?
- They were the future soldiers and mothers of Germany
- They were impressionable and vulnerable and therefore easier to influecne and manipulate them to create a loyal Nazi base for the future
- Become informers for Gestapo - snitch on thier parents
Youth Groups:
- When the Nazis came to power in 1933, Hitler banned all other groups (e.g. the Cub Scouts).
- From ages 10 boys would be in the German Young People and then move on to the Hitler Youth
- Boys were taught how to keep fit, and how to clean a rifle and keep it in good condition.
- Girls would join the League of German Maidens. They were taught sewing, cooking, and other domestic tasks.
- Members would march in parades and take part in leisure opportunities: they spent a lot of time on activities like camping, athletics, hiking and firing guns
- In 1936, a Law for the Incorporation of German Youth gave the Hitler Youth equal status to home and school. By this time it had 6 million members although 1 million children never joined.
- Employers would check if applicants had been a part of the Hitler Youth
In the lead up to and during WWII the Hitler Youth focussed more on drills
What Impact did this have on Children?
- Prepares children to contribute to Nazi society and normalies extreme Nazi views from youth. Prepares boys to become solders and girls to become mothers.
- Promotes loyalty - exciting and fun for young people. Sense of belomnging. A part of a larger purpose helps to give good connotations to the Nazi regime
However:
- Overtime it became more boring (preparing for war)
- Membership fluctuated
What was the role of schools and education in the Nazi regime?
Schools / education
- The curriculum was altered to reflect Nazi ideology and priorities:
1) History - lessons included a course on the rise of the Nazi Party.
2) Biology - lessons were used to teach Nazi racial theories of evolution in eugenics.
3) Race study and ideology - this became a new subject, dealing with the Aryan ideas and anti-Semitism.
- To ensure that teachers would deliver the curriculum the Nazis outlined, it was compulsory for teachers to be Nazi Party members.
- Napolas: National Political Institutes of Education were set up. 35 of these were set up by the SS and German army to train future officers. 6,000 students attended these.
- Adolf Hitler Schools: 12 of these were set up and run by the Hitler Youth and the SS to find future SS leaders.
- The Reichsshule Feldafing was a single school created by the Nazi leaders to prepare the very best students for the highest Nazi positions.
What impact did this have on children?
- Education served to indoctrinate young poeple. Wants beleif in Nazi ideology and normalises it as children attended school every day
- It was widespread as every child was impacted unlike Hitler youth
- Special Schools identiedi children who could contribute to Nazi society beyond ordinary children
- Incentivised being strongyl nazi and drove competition to increas Nazi loyalty.
How were Germans impacted by Nazi economic policies?
What would Nazi economic policy need to achieve to be considered successful?
Reduce unemploy,ent, reduce inflation, imrpove living standards, popular, short term or long term solution, imrpove working conditions.
Hitler appoitned Dr Hjalmar Schahct as his economic minister.
Public work programmes:
- The National Labour Service (RAD) was set up. RAD used unemployed men between the ages of 18 and 25 to build government-funded:
- Hospitals and schools
- Public buildings such as the 1936 Olympic Stadium and the Reich Chancellery in Berlin
- A new network of autobahns (motorways). The construction of 7,000 kms of autobahns created work for 80,000 men.
- RAD became compulsory for men in 1935. It favoured manual labour over the use of machines. It was organised like an army- workers lived in camps, wore uniforms, and did military drills. Men received very low pay.
Rearmament:
- Conscription was introduced in 1935. All males 18-25 had to join the armed forces for at least 2 years.
- The army grew from 100,000 to 1,400,000 within just 5 years.
- In 1936, Hitler demanded rapid rearmament to prepare Germany for war
- He ordered the building of new tanks, battleships, fighter planes and guns.
- In 1933, 3.5 billion marks was spent on producing tanks, aircraft and ships, and by 1939 the figure was 26 billion marks.
- Industrial production doubled between 1933-1939
Invisible unemployment:
- The Nazis used a variety of methods to reduce the number of people recorded as unemployed- they made some unemployment ‘invisible’.
- Women who gave up work to have a family did not count in the official figures.
- Part time workers were counted as full time.
- Many Jews lost their jobs, for example, and were replaced by unemployed non-Jews.
- Unemployed Jews were not counted in unemployment figures.
How successful were these policies?
- The public work programmes were successful to a significant extent as they created many jobs for workers whcih in turn reduced unemployment. Additionally, creating this new infastrcutre benefite the wider population in Germany. However. this solution to unemployment was only temporary as they disbanded after projects finished. Poor working conditions as well
- Rearmament was successful to a substantial extent because it employed millions and also a wide range of workers such as engineers, factory workers and oweners. IT also improved quality of life due to increased national pride and security, therefore higher patriotism. Bolstered hitler popularity as he fulfilled his promises
- Invisible uneqmploymnet had limited success. Therer is an increase in jobs for people who Hitler wnated employed (white workers). Unemployment is manipulated, no new jobs created. Furthermore, the solution is short term as impacts will become evident soon.
What were the workers reward schemes?
Why did the Nazis target the workers?
- Before 1933 the Nazis had lacked support amongst the workers, who tended to vote for the communists or the Social Democratic Party. The needs of German rearmament made it important that workers were productive and controlled.
Workers’ reward schemes:
Strength through Joy (KDF):
- This scheme organised leisure activities to encourage hard work.
- It gave them cheap theatre and cinema tickets, trips and sports events if workers met their targets.
- However, some of the holidays, such as cruises around Italy or skiing in Switzerland, were still too expensive for most working-class Germans.
The Volkswagen Scheme:
- Workers saved 5 marks a week in a state scheme to buy a Volkswagen - the ‘People’s car’
- In 1939, all car production was halted due to the war
- No workers ever received a car and the money was never refunded
Beauty of Labour (SDA):
- This scheme tried to improve the working conditions in factories.
- It introduced features not seen before in many workplaces such as washing facilities and low-cost canteens.
- It also installed better lighting and safety equipment.
All workers had to join the DAF (General Labour Front). This organisation kept strict control of workers.
What was Autarky?
Autarky:
In 1936, when Hitler demanded more rapid rearmament, Goering was named Head of the Four Year Plan. His aim was to create a war economy and make Germany self-sufficient (autarky).
To create the war economy, under the Four Year Plan, Goering increased the production of raw materials, such as iron ore, oil and explosives, for rearmament.
Autarky meant self-sufficiency. This meant that they wanted to stop trading with other countries (imports mostly) and rely entirely on their own resources. If Germany was unable to find particular goods or resources, they would find alternatives to the things it needed, or develop artificial substitutes. Under the Four Year Plan, Goering encouraged industries to switch from making consumer goods to making synthetic materials such as rubber. This would give them materials to produce artificial substitutes. For example, German scientists found ways to make petrol from coal, artificial wool, and cotton from pulped wood, make up from flour, and coffee from acorns. However, the emphasis on German goods meant that, in some cases, the available products were inferior in quality (low standard of living) . Also, due to the emphasis on German products, there was less availability of food in shops leading to shopkeepers charging more because of the demand. Moreover, by the outbreak of World War Two Germany was still importing 20% of its food and 33% of its raw materials.
How was it successful?
- Found ways to produce goods without trade by using artifical substances
- Technological leap
How was it unsuccesful?
- Decline in quality of goods which also become more expensive
- Didn’t achieve autarky by the start of WWII
How were farmers impacted by Nazi policy?
Why were farmers so important to the Nazis? ‘Blood and soil’
They had been a a loyal support base for the Nazis and so they needed to be rewarded to keep them on their good side. Hitler wants to protect German agricultre as they are base of aryan race. Also produce food for Lebensraum and achieve Autarky
**Reich Food Estate: **
- This set up central boards to buy agricultural produce from the farmer and distribute it to markets across Germany.
- Introduced under Richard Darre
- Gave farmers guarranteed customers and allowed prices to be controlled and dictated by Nazis and also control who is a part of the market (aryans)
**Reich Entailed Farm Law: **
- Banks could not seize the land of farmers if they could not pay loans or mortgages.
- This gave farmers financial security
- Only the eldest child inherited the farm
- This caused other children to move away from agriculture and instead to the city causing rural depopulation of 3%
How were big businesses and the middle class impacted by Nazi policy?
Middle class:
- Liked the way Nazis borught order to Germany
- Less consumer goods reducing the quality of life of many
- Those who owned small businesses such as engineering firms did well form governemnt orders as rearmament spending grew.
- However if you produced consumer goods or ran a small shop you struggled.
- Small busniness suffered from large department stores taking business from them.
Large businesses:
- Despite Hitler’s promises, large department stores contintued to profit
- Banned unions which boosted profits for big businesses as they didn’t have to worry about strikes
- Companies such as chemical giant IG Farben gained government contracts for explosives and fertilisers.
- Companies such as mercedes and Volkswagen benefited from the slave labour camps
What was ‘National Community’?
National Community: Volksgemeinschaft
The Nazi’s wanted all Germans to see themselves as part of a national community - the Volksgemeinschaft. They wanted workers / farmers / business owners to see themselves as German citizens first. Their first loyalty would not be to their social group but to Germany and Hitler. Hitler’s policies towards each group were designed to help win loyalty.
How did Germany change from before and after invading the USSR?
Lead up to WWII and first 2 years of the War:
- Lots of propaganda: people recievers; der sturmer; speakers in the streets; Hitler’s speeches.
- Morale is high as Germany are winning the war so propaganda isn’t fully necessary. Supplies of luxury goods flowed into Germany from captured territories.
- Autarky, rearmament, Germany had 950,000 men by 1939.
1941 - Hitler invades the USSR:
- Propaganda shifted towards war effort and sacrifice.
- Germany donated 1.5 million coats to hlep the German army in Russia
- By 1944 production of aircrafts and tanks trebeled compared to 1942
- By 1944 around 7 million foregin workers had been brought in from countires Germany had conquered. Women were allowed to join workforce
- Civillians had to cut back on heating, work longer hours and recylce their rubbish
- Postal services were suspended from 1942
- All entertainment was closed apart from cinemas for propaganda
What was the impact of WWII on Germany?
R - Rationing:
- German diet became monotonous from day 1 of WWII where diet consisted of predominatly bread, potatoes and preserves
- Meat imports from the US halted leading to meat shortages
- Food entitlements (rations) were quickly allocated based on the importance of individuals to the war effort: ‘normal consumers’, ‘heavy workers’ ‘very heavy workers’.
- Food consumpertion per person fell 25% by 1941
- Jewish people who were hit worse as their food entitlements were set at below that of the Aryans.
- Eventually, meat rations dropped from 750 grams per week in 1939 to 250 grams per week in 1945.
A - Area bombing:
- In August 1942, the Birtish adoped a policy of area bombing which was an all out assault on civillian and military infastructure. This had the intention of crippling German industry and morale of civillians
- Under Arthur ‘Bomber’ Harris the British began an all out assault.
- The bombing escalated from 1942-1945, culminated in the bombing of Dresden in February 1945, which killed between 35,000 and 150,000 people in 2 days.
- 61 German cities were attacked;
- 3.6 million homes were destroyed;
- 7.5 million people were made homeless;
- 300,000 – 400,000 Germans were killed in the raids;
- 800,000 people were wounded.
- However Nazi propaganda attempted to downplay area bombing in an attempt to rpeserve morale
R - Refugees:
- British area bombing targeted at the industrial Ruhr region, created thousands of refugees as whole cities were flattened or burnt down.
- Then, by July 1944 the German allies were in retreat from the Soviet Union’s Red Army.
- Millions of refugees living in Poland, East Prussia and Czechoslovakia folded into Germany.
- In total, 11 million ethnic Germans were either refugees or had been expelled from the countries surrounding Germany in the East
The end of the war:
- 3.5 million German civillians had died and food supplies were dwindling by 1945
- Refugees were fleeing the advancing Russian armies in the east
- Hitler, Goebells and other Nazi leaders were either captured or committed suicide.
- Germany surrendered and the war was over.
