Germany Booklet 8: (Nazi) Aspects of life 1933-1945 Flashcards
What was the Nazi view of women?
They wanted women to perform the ‘traditional’ role of home maker and child bearer in an attempt to arrest concerns about the declining birth rate (kinder, kuche, Kirche)
What was the ideal Nazi woman? (physically)
Blonde hair, blue eyes, Broad hips for child bearing yet athletic, flat shows, full skirt, clothes made from home-produced substitues
What were the three main aims of the Nazis in regards to women?
To increase the birth rate of healthy, Aryan children
To encourage marriage in preference to employment
To get women to accept Nazi ideas of beauty and employment
What are three examples of Nazi policies used to increase the birth rate of healthy, Aryan children?
Published advice on assortative mating to help women choose the right partner to ensure the best outcomes for the race.
Used financial incentives to try and get women to have children (increasing family allowances, restricting contraception, maternity benefit and increasing anti-abortion laws.)
The Lebensborn programme - provided female sexual partners for ss officers - afforded free maternity care and absolute privacy for the mistresses who became pregnant.
What are three examples of Nazi policies used to encourage marriage in preference to employment?
Reich bride schools taught ironing, interior design, gardening, ss uniform care, child caerw
Hitler believed that men should marry ‘stupid women’ as they would be less likely to get involved in their husband’s life and work.
The law for the encouragement of marriage - passed in July 1933 - provided a RM 1000 loan for all newly married couples; a quarter of the ban was written off after the birth of the first child
What are two examples of Nazi policies to get women to accept Nazi ideas of beauty and behaviour?
The bureau for beauty released beauty advice for women including, advice on how to use hair products to heighten blondness and advice on how to achieve perfect features through the use of cosmetics.
Salons were set ip to provide beauty treatments - they remained open until 1943, despite the scarcity of resources during the war
How were women used by the Nazis as colonisers?
groups of women were employed to clean, clear and redecorate polish farms so German families could move in
women were sne tot the new territories as teachers and nurses to nurture the German population
The Nazis hoped to discourage sexual relationships between german men and polish women by ensuring that large numbers of German women took part in the settlement of Poland
How did Nazi policies towards women change in the late 1930s?
More women were allowed into the workforce, with female employment increasing from 5.7 million in 1937 to 7.1 million in 1939 and increased from 31% to 33% of the workforce.
In 1937 a law was passed which meant unmarried women had to do a ‘duty year’, involving work in factories or farms
Why did Nazi policies towards women change in the late 1930s?
The Nazi work force was so severely lacking that in order for rearmament to continue, they had to increase the number of women workers.
How did Nazi policies towards women change in the war years?
In 1939, unmarried women under 25 were ordered to complete agricultural labour and in 1943, conscription was introduced for women aged 17-45 although there were many exemptions.
Why did Nazi policy towards women change in the war years?
The severe amount of casualties suffered by the Nazis meant that they need3d the remaining men as soldiers, and eventually they needed to conscript women too.
What changed for women in terms of family during the war years?
Many families disrupted as soldiers spent a long time away from home, or as women and children were evacuated.
women who were known to be unfaithful could be sent to concentration camps for up to a year as it was thought that the troops would be demoralised if their wives were cheating on them.
As the SS did not deal with domestic abuse, many women reported their abusive husbands for political crimes, getting them arrested.
What were the main ethnic minorities of the Nazi era?
Jews Poles & Danes Gypsies Mixed-race Russians Slavs Black people
What were the other minority groups of the Nazi era (not ethnic)?
disabled
Homosexual
asocial (e.g. prostitutes and alcoholics)
Religious minorities (Jehovah’s Witness)
What were the Nazi racial ideas?
They wanted a racially pure Germany and those that didn’t fit into that ‘Aryan’ image should be eliminated from German society. They thought that the Aryans should rule above others and this was influenced by social darwinism.
They thought that a race which wasn’t expanding was doomed - focus on conquest
When was the key turning point in the persecution of minorities?
1939 - beginning of mass extermination and all persecution became much more violent.
What is a possible reason that the Nazis got away with the persecution of minorities?
They played into public opinion of many of the groups, such as gypsies and the persecution was gradual, so the people didn’t know it was going to be mass extermination
How many Jews were killed by the Nazis?
6 million
How many soviet prisoners of war were killed by the Nazis?
2.8 million
How many gypsies were killed by the Nazis?
500,000
How many people were forcibly sterilised by the Nazis?
400,000
How many disabled people were killed by the Nazis?
250,000
How many homosexuals were sent to camps by the Nazis?
15,000
How many Jehovah’s witnesses were sent to camps by the Nazis?
10,000
What were the Einsatzgruppen? what did they do?
SS death squads, they worked with the local police, rounding up jews across the occupied territories and shooting them - resulted in 700,000 deaths in 1941
What was the wannsee conference?
January 1942 - the conference which established the final solution - plan to transport ‘sub-humans’ from across Europe to death camps where they would be exterminated - system was designed to destroy Europe’s population of 11 million Jews.
