Chapter 3+4 Flashcards
Q5. The Nazis were successful in their economic goals, do you agree?
They made is seem as if unemployment was reduced by manipulating the statistics by sacking women and minorities. 100,000 female teachers and 3,000 female doctors all lost their jobs
Autarky was not achieved. By 1939 Germany was still importing over 1/3 of its natural resources essential to its economy, the Nazis printed 12 billion bills Mefo bills which caused inflation
Thus to conclude the Nazis economic policies were ultimately unsuccessful
Q5. The lives of the workers improved significantly under the Nazis, do you agree?
Incomes and working conditions improved slowly. By 1939 employer income had improved by 130% percent and real wages had rose by 20%
Ordinary worker wages didn’t increase until 1938, no one received their Volkswagen car, unionising and strikes were banned
Conclusion the lives of the workers appeared better but in reality became worse
Q4. How could the Nazis see their economic policies as successful?
Firstly they reduced unemployment by helping Germany get ready for war. Unemployment was reduced to 29% by 1933 and then 1% in 1939
Secondly the rebuilding of the army led to 100,000 new jobs and by 1939 that number had increased to 1.4 billion
Thirdly they reduced the number of strikes and worked unions by outlawing them entirely
Lastly workers were happy as kdf (strength through joy) gave them better free time and offered incentives. Cinema tickets were cheapened, worker picnics were established, a broad range of sporting activities were arranged, many cheap holidays and trips abroad were organised
Q2. Describe 2 ways the lives of women changed
They were mostly kicked out from the workforce. 100,000 female teachers and 3,000 female doctors were laid off and women associations were closed down
Nazis offered loans and incentives to encourage pregnancies. They also used
the phrase ‘Kinder, Kuche & Kirk’ which translated means ‘Children, Cooking &
Church’ in order to exaggerate the woman’s role as house wife
Q4. How did the Nazis change the role of women
Firstly they made women have to go back to their traditional role of housewife (Children, Kitchen, Church/Kinder, Küche, Kirche)
Secondly they made women have to look a certain way eg hair in plaits or buns, no slimming as it may effect the ability to bear children and no make up
Thirdly they encourage them to have more (Aryan) children through propaganda and loans given for marriage and childbirth. The awarding of the Honour Cross (Mother’s Cross) at
various levels for producing children (gold = 8). This was
awarded on the date of Hitler’s mother’s birthday. Benefit lower taxis & state Benefits
Lastly they removed women from the work force through more propaganda and incentives/loans. The Law to reduce unemployment offered Marriage loans of 600 to 1000 marks to give up work which was not paid back if she had four children. This was paid for by a Batchelor Tax
Q5. The Nazis policies of women succeeded do you agree?
They managed to remove most women from the workforce, decision making roles and educational system. 100,000 female teachers and 3,000 female doctors were all sacked/“encouraged” to leave. After 1933 they could not be appointed to civil service positions. In 1936 they were banned from becoming judges
The birth and marriage rates did not rise to the Nazis expectations nor did the abortion rates fall. The attempt of the Lebensborn program to force Aryan people into having children was a failure as it crashed with the Nazi idea of family. Between 1933 and 1939 the number of women in the workforce increased from 11.6 million to 14.6 million due to the conscription of men to fight
In conclusion while they were successful in some of their policies they did not achieve them at the level they had wanted and ultimately failed
Q2. Describe two ways the Nazis encouraged Women to have more babies?
Firstly the law to reduce unemployment gave marriage loans to newlyweds on the grounds
that the wife would not work outside the home and that neither of the couple were Jewish in 1933. The loan was interest free and to be repaid over a period of eight and a quarter year but for each child born to couples taking part in the programme, the amount to be repaid was
reduced by 25%. By 1937 700 000 married couples had received a loan and so there is no doubt as to the popularity of this policy. This policy in encouraging marriage and helping
younger couples get married would it was hoped lead to an increase in the population
A second way also involved propaganda. Mother’s day was changed to Hitler’s mothers birthday which became a national holiday and family allowances were set up to help families on low incomes. The status of mothers was raised dramatically by a series of successful propaganda campaigns an example of this being the Honor Cross in 1939. Where women with four children or more were not only celebrated but benefited from lower taxation levels & increased state benefits. Thus encouraging bigger families
