Aspects Of Life 1945-89 Flashcards
What was the role of women after the war?
-more physical manual labour jobs
-more equality
-rebuilding of Germany had fallen to women
What is the difference between equality in weimar and FRG?
Weimar = equality of men and women was based on ‘equality in principle.’
FRG = equality of men and women was stated ‘unconditionally’ that men and women were equal
Evidence of progress for women after war
-women gained better access to apprenticeships and higher education but by the 1980s women still made up less than 45% of university students
-abortion was legalised and funded by the state in the first phase of pregnancy from 1977, but was more restricted than in most European countries
-law passed in 1977 that granted a woman equal rights in marriage e.g a woman could work outside the hoe and file for a divorce without her husband’s permission. The divorce rate rose sharply with ‘no guilt’ divorces
Evidence of little progress in the lives of women after war
-only about 4.4% of women were members of a political party. In 1972 women made up less than 6% of Bundestag members (by 1987 just over 15%)
-by 1989, tax breaks and benefits encouraged mothers to stay at home with young children. Only 50% of married women with a child under 15 living at home worked, and half of these women worked part time.
-women still dominated caregiving roles such as health and education but were poorly represented in high status occupations such as judges or senior civil servants. Late 1980s = only 5% of university professors were women
What was Niemeyer’s argument about women’s progress in the FRG?
Basic law had declared me and women as equal but the return of men from war meant that there was still significant inequality. 1950s promoted traditional gender roles
What were the main ways women’s lives improved
-1980s = emergence of the Green Party = women found more widespread opportunities for involvement
-emergence of feminist movements = US academic Betty Friedan
-1977 = no-guilt law passed which granted divorces for marriages that had broken down
-increase in women employment = 44.4% in 1950 - 50% by 1970
What were the main ways women’s lives did not improve?
-successive governments favoured a male-dominated family structure with men working as breadwinners and wives staying at home
-women employment in 1970s = 75% in hospitals, 4% physicians
-expected to be homemakers
Were women’s lives more similar to Nazi or Weimar times?
More similar to nazis as they enforced tradition
What were guest workers?
People who would fulfil a contract for a given period of time and then return home to be filled by others = number of guest workers would rotate.
What types of people arrived in the FRG after war and how many were there?
Refugees = over 3.5 million from east germany 1945-61
Guest workers= by 1964, 33% employed in coal and steel industries, 25% in construction (1950s-60s-70s-80s)
Asylum seekers = relatively small number from countries such as Poland and Sri Lanka due to civil turmoil there (1970s-80s)
Examples of worsening conditions for ethnic minorities and guest workers
-1974, newly arrived wives and families not allowed to work
-1973-76, german workers suffer 15% likelihood of redundancy, foreign workers 41%
-1978, reports show that 70% of children of guest workers failed abitur
Examples of improvements for the experiences of ethnic minorities and guest workers
-1955, treaty signed with italy = 100,000 migrant workers in one year into Germany
-1964, Foreigners’ law passed setting minimal standards for social welfare and accommodation for foreign workers
-1979, ban on wives and families working removed. Government office set up to help guest workers
Evidence that the lives of ethnic minorities did improve
-migrants now make up 20% of german population
-guest workers received good compensation and in order to support their families, workers lived modestly
-for many, temporary employment became permanent stay
Evidence that the lives of ethnic minorities did not improve
-guest workers took on jobs in construction, mining, heavy industry and auto industry
-poverty and unemployment were driving forces for the move to germany
What was the state of German education in 1945?
-limited access to education for poorer families
-all stages of education had been seriously disrupted by war (school buildings + attendance)
-nazis had imposed centralised system of education and a curriculum dominated by physical education and nationalist ideology
-at the end of the war, children were mentally and physically fragile
-food shortages
-many schools were still church based
What was the priority of the allied powers in terms of education?
To remove all nazi influences over education
What were the 2 possible ways of changing German education?
- Altering the structure of the German system
- Trying to fix hat system with what were seen as liberal or western values
What were the 2 main barriers to effective educational reform?
German conservatism : german families were very reluctant to change their well established system of selective schooling and resisted attempts to impose structural changes. There was resistance to any significant university reform
Fragmentation : each allied power attempted to impose their ideas in their own zones, with little coordination between them. Americans tried to introduce a non-selective high school system, although they gave up in 1948 and the french introduced classes on political philosophy. Responsibility for education was passed on o the Lander continuing great regional diversity
What were the 4 problems with the german education under the allies 1945-49?
- Staffing : shortages of teachers or teachers with nazi views
- Resources : lack of textbooks and books with nazi ideas and views
- Introduction of moral values
- Improving access to education
