Changes in Society, 1924-29 Flashcards
Describe Improvements in Employment
-Unemployment was a problem in the early years of the Republic. In 1924, over 4% of the total possible workforce was unemployed.
-In 1926, 2 million Germans were unemployed, by 1928, this fell to 1.3 million. Help for the unemployed also improved such as the Unemployment Insurance Act of 1927
-It charged 16,400,000 workers 3% of their wages and in return provided an average of 60 marks per week in unemployment and sickness benefits if they fell out of work.
-Though the length of the working week fell from 50 hours in 1925 to 46 hours in 1927, real wages rose by 25% from 1925 to 1928.
Describe Improvements in Housing
-By 1923, there was a shortage of 1 million homes in Germany.
-In 1925, a 15% rent tax was introduced to fund building association.
-From 1925 to 1929, private companies built 37,000 new homes while the new building associations built 64,000 homes.
-One association alone, GEHAC, built almost 10,000 new homes in Berlin.
There was still a housing shortage but it had eased by 1928.
Describe Improvements for Veterans and in Education
-Under the 1920 Reich Pension Law, pensions were paid throughout the 1920s to 750,000 war veterans, 400,000 war widows and 200,000 parents of dead servicemen.
-The number of students in higher education before the First World War was 70,000. By 1928, this had increased to 110,000.
Explain Whether There Were Improvements in Living Standards
-Living standards suffered as a result of the economic problems between 1918 and 1923.
-However, there were gradual social improvements after 1924, many of these were funded by the Weimar Republic.
-Improvements in social conditions in the Weimar Republic were fragile. Employment remained insecure and the loss of savings during the inflation of 1923 still caused hardship.
-Also, not everyone was pleased by the social improvements.
-Big business resented their loss of power and profit and the lower middle class saw their position threatened by a system which seemed to favour the working class.
Explain why Women Were Given the Vote
-The Social Democrats, who came to power in 1918, believed in giving women the right to vote. Many others agreed.
-Women had worked hard for the war effort, so there were strong arguments for rewarding them by treating them equally with men.
-As a result, in November 1918, in the first week of the new Republic, the government gave women the vote and the right to stand for elections.
-In the Weimar elections, the turnout of women voters was 90%. By 1932, 112 women had been elected to the Reichstag. in 1932, almost 10% of members were female.
Describe the Rights Given to Women
-Article 109 of the new constitution strengthened the rights of women. It stated that:
-Women had equal rights to men.
-Marriage was an equal partnership, with equal rights on both sides.
-Women should be able to enter all professions on an equal basis with men.
Describe the Number of Women at Work
-During the First World War, with so many men involved in the fighting, more women went into paid work.
-By 1918, 75% of women were in work, often doing jobs previously performed only be men.
-In some ways, under the Weimar Republic, the lives of women returned to the way they had been pre-war.
-By 1925, only 36% of women were in work-about the same as pre-war levels.
Describe the Treatment of Women in the Workplace
-Despite Article 109, women were not treated equally in the workplace.
-In jobs where women and men did the same work, women were paid, on average, 33% less than men.
-Women were normally expected to give up work once they married.
-Few women entered high-status professions. By 1933, there were only 36 female judges in Germany.
Describe the Progress for Women
-The booming retail and service sectors produced plenty of part time jobs in shops and offices.
-In some more liberal professions, like education and medicine, women made progress.
-The number of female doctors rose from 2,500 to about 5,000 between 1925 and 1932.
Describe the Opposition to Women at Work
-The limited changes which did take place stirred up some negative feelings.
-In industry, trade unions were strong and male-dominated.
-They opposed women workers and equal pay and conditions for those women that did work.
-They were especially hostile to ‘double earners’ (married women bringing a second wage into the home).
Describe the Background and Behaviour of ‘New Women’
-For some women, especially young, unmarried working women living in cities, where there were job opportunities, the 1920s brought greater financial independence.
-Growing up during the war, they were also used to greater social independence. In turn, ‘new women’ bought more clothes and went out more, sometimes unaccompanied.
-They expressed their independence by their behaviour. They wore short hair, more make-up, more jewellery and more revealing clothing. They also smoke and drank more.
-Some seemed less interested in marriage and families and took advantage of liberal sexual attitudes which had developed during the war.
Describe Attitudes Towards Changes for Women in Leisure
-Images of ‘new women’ became common in adverts and films but were not popular with all Germans.
-Many Germans, both men and women, believed that the growing equality and independence of women threatened to change traditional aspects of society, such as motherhood and family.
-The birth rate was falling: in 1913, there were 128 live births each year per 1,000 women. By 1925, this had fallen to 80. Many felt that Germany needed women to be mothers.
-The divorce rate was rising: in 1913, there were 27 divorces each year per 100,000 people. By the 1920s, this had risen to 60. Many felt that Germany needed women to be wives.
Describe Attitudes Towards Changes for Women in the Weimar Republic
-Some women felt liberated by new opportunities and freedoms; however, other women found the expectation that they should change a scary or daunting challenge.
-Some men accepted changing roles for women, while others thought that the changes were inappropriate.
-There were some men who even thought that these ‘new women’ threatened the role of men in society.
-Conservatives and traditionalists in society complained loudly that women should concentrate on being mothers and wives- not challenge the male dominated society.
-Some people blamed the economic instability in Germany in the 1920s on women upsetting the labour market.
Describe the Causes of Cultural and Artistic Change
-The restrictions of the old imperial regime of the Kaiser had been thrown off.
-The new Weimar constitution enshrined new freedoms- such as freedom of speech- in law.
-Economic recovery after 1924 created wealth to finance the Arts.
Describe the Cultural and Artistic Changes
-New Objectivism: the idea that the Arts should not show a romantic view of the world, but should show life as it really is, including poverty and squalor.
-Modernism: the idea that the Arts should not always hark back to the past, but should, instead, embrace the future and see beauty in cities, industry and technology.
-Expressionism: the idea that the Arts should reflect the thoughts and feelings of the artist rather than being limited to showing things exactly as they really look.
