Germany KT4 Flashcards
what was the Nazi ideal woman
- to have a natural appearance with long hair tied back and no make up
- to wear traditional clothes
- to be fair-haired and blue eyed (Aryan)
- to be sturdily built for child bearing
- to be a non-drinker and non-smoker
- to marry and have children
- the believe in the Nazi idea of the three k’s - kinder, kuche and kirche (children, kitchen and church)
- to stay at home and not go to work or university
this is a large contrast to how women lived their lives during the days of the Weimar republic
how successful was the policy that women should not work, especially those who were married. Many professional women lost their jobs and were replaced by men
during 1933-36 the number of employed married women fell
how successful was the policy that women should get married
The marriage law of 1933 initiated the use of vouchers (marriage loans) to newly married couples if the
women agreed to stop working
the number of marriages increased but it’s not clear if this was due to Nazi policy or to other reasons such as a stronger economy
how successful was the policy that women should have at least four children
couples were let off one-quarter of their marriage loan repayments for each child they had
the birth rate did increase but this may have been because the economy was improving rather than because of Nazi policies. Few women had more than two children
how successful was the policy of the German Woman’s Enterprise
The German Women’s Enterprise gave women medals for having children and ran classes and radio programme on home-based matters
the German Women’s Enterprise has 6 million members which suggests that many women welcomed Nazi policies
what were women banned from in 1936 and what happened in 1937
they were banned from being lawyers and the Nazi’s did their best to stop them from following other professions but a shortage after 1937 meant more women had to go back to work
what did the Nazi’s not want women to have
too much freedom
what did the League of German Maidens do
they spread the Nazi idea that it was an honour to produce large families for Germany. Nazis gave awards to women for doing this and encouraged women to marry by offering financial aid to married couples
they were the female branch of the Hitler youth aimed at girls aged between 14 and 18
girls were trained in domestic skills like sewing and cooking and sometimes they took part in physical activities like camping and hiking which gave girls new opportunities that were normally reserved for boys
what were the Hitler youth
founded in 1926
boys aged 14 and over were recruited to the movement
It became compulsory in 1936 and lasted until 1945
boys wore military style uniforms and took part in physical exercise preparing for war
high-achieving boys might be sent to Hitler schools to be trained as loyal Nazi leaders
they also went on camping trips and held sports competitions.
some of those who took part said the organisation was fun made them feel valued and encouraged a sense of responsibility
after 1936 children were obliged to join the Hitler youth and all other youth organisations were banned. However towards the end of the 1930’s attendance decreased as activities adopted an increasingly military focus
how did Nazi’s want children to be brought up
- to be proud Germans who supported a strong, independent Germany
- girls to be strong and healthy in order to be strong wives and fertile mothers
- boys to be strong and healthy in order to work for the German economy and fight in the German forces
- to be loyal supporters of the Nazi party and to believe in Nazi policies - preparing children for their future roles as adults
- regard Hitler as a father figure
how did Nazi’s control teachers
- it was compulsory for teachers to be Nazi party members
- those who didn’t teach Nazi ideas were dismissed
- teachers’ camps taught them how to use Nazi ideas in their teaching
- nearly all the teachers joined the Nazi teachers league
- teachers were forced to attend courses to learn about Nazi ideas
what was taught in the Nazi curriculum
boys;
- science
- military skills
girls:
- domestic skills
both:
- 15% of time was spent on PE to ensure a heathy and strong population
- German
- history
- geography
- maths
- race studies
- Nazi eugenics
*race studies involved learning how to classify racial groups and about the superiority of the Aryan race and eugenics is the science of using controlled breeding to attempt to produce the perfect human being
what was the ultimate aim of the Nazi education policy
to prepare girls to be good wives and mothers
to create loyal Nazis
to glorify Germany and the Nazi party
to turn boys into strong soldiers who would fight for Germany
to teach Nazi beliefs about race
to put across key Nazi ideas
why did Hitler want to get people working
- the unemployed were politically dangerous because if they were poor and hungry they might turn to other political parties for help
- the unemployed were believed by the Nazis to be a burden on society and a waste of valuable resources
what was the national labour service (RAD)
this was started by the Weimar government and continued by the Nazis
- from July 1935 it was compulsory for all men aged 18-25 to serve for six months on this scheme
- they worked on job creation schemes and other public works such as draining marshes
- many hated RAD because the pay was low, the hours long and the work boring
what were job creation schemes
the Nazi’s reduced unemployment by putting money into large projects. These benefitted the economy and reduced unemployment.
construction projects:
- 7000km of autobahns (motorways) connecting up the country
- public buildings
- sports facilities e.g the stadium for the Berlin Olympics in 1936
what was rearmament
another way that the Nazis provided jobs was through building up their stockpile of arms even though the treaty of Versailles had stipulated limits on this. this provided many jobs
what was invisible unemployment
official figures showed that unemployment had dropped from 4.8 million in 1933 to 0.3 in 1939 - an amazing achievement. But this did not take into account ‘invisible unemployment’
- Jews being forced out of jobs
- women being dismissed or leaving their jobs
- unmarried men under 25 doing National Labour Service
- opponents of the regime who were sent to concentration camps
what was the German Labour Front
The Deutsche Arbeitfront (DAF) replaced trade unions. Workers had to be members and it ran several schemes
what was strength through joy
(KdF)
this aimed to increase productivity by making workers happy. It provided low-cost or free activities like concerts or holidays for hard-workers
what was the beauty of labour
(SdA)
this aimed to improve conditions by reducing noise in workplaces, providing canteens and even building swimming pools. however workers had to help construct these in their spare time so it wasn’t very popular
what was the Volkswagen peoples car
One of the KdF’s (strength through joy) schemes was to promote car ownership. Hitler asked Porsche to design a family car and the VW beetle was the result. workers paid 5 marks a week towards buying a car but by 1939 no-one had paid in enough so the money went towards rearmament
had the standard of living improved by 1939?
better off:
- more jobs with most men in work
- average wages rose by 20% compared to 1933
- KdF provided leisure activities and holidays and SdA improved working conditions
- car ownership increased three-fold
worse off:
- invisible unemployment meant many were still unemployed
- the cost of food rose by an equivalent amount so this cancelled out the wage rise
- with the banning of trade unions workers had few rights and worked longer hours (43 hours in 933 and 49 hours in 1939)
- only high earners could afford cars. Low earners had to spend money on essentials
how did the Aryan race grow
‘race farms’ were set up where Aryan men and women met to have Aryan children. The SS were central to the Nazi master race, as they only recruited Aryans and were only allowed to marry Aryan women.
how did the Nazi racial hierarchy work
top:
Aryans - the master race
Other white western Europeans - Seen as fellow humans but lower than Aryans
Eastern Europeans - Slavs seen as sub human
Black people and Gypsies - both seem as sub human and work shy (lazy)
Jews - Seen as lowest of sub human races and blamed for Germany’s problems
bottom;
Untermenchen
inferior people or sub human
term used by the Nazi’s to describe Slavs, gypsies, black people and Jews
- in 1935 the Nuremberg laws banned Aryans from marrying gypsies, black people or Jews
- mixed-race children were sterilised
- after 1933 many gypsies were arrested and sent to concentration camps. From 1938 all gypsies had to be registered and were banned from travelling. In 1939 they were told they would be deported
- Slavs were reminded continually they didn’t fit the Aryan ideal but were persecuted less than other groups
how were homosexuals treat
sent to prison or concentration camps and subjected to medical experiments to correct their ‘disorder’ after laws against homosexuality were strengthened
how were mentally handicapped people treat
sterilised after a new law, the prevention of hereditarily diseased offspring was introduced in 1933
mentally and physically handicapped babies were killed
how were vagrants treat
they were seen as work shy and put in concentration camps
what was the Jewish boycott
In 1933 the SA organised a one-day boycott of Jewish shops. They painted a yellow star on doors and discouraged people from going inside
what were the Nuremberg laws
1935
a new set of laws were passed to make it easier to persecute Jews
The Reich law on Citizenship:
- Only those of German blood can be citizens
- Jews must become subjects not citizens
- Jews cannot vote, have a German passport or work for the government
- Jews must wear a yellow star shaped patch sewn on clothes for ease of identification
The Reich law for the protection of German Blood and Honour:
- no Jew must marry a German citizen
- no Jew is allowed to have sexual relations with a German citizen
what was Kristallnacht
the night of the broke glass 1938
7th November - A 17 year-old Polish Jew entered the German embassy in Paris and shot a German
8th November - Goebbels used the event to stir up resentment against Jews by attacking homes and synagogues in Hanover
9th November - Goebbels and Hitler decided to increase the violence to a nationwide attack
10th November - Groups of uniformed and non-uniformed gangs ran amok amongst Jewish communities destroying and burning homes, shops, businesses and synagogues.
100 Jews were killed
814 shops were destroyed
171 homes were destroyed
191 synagogues were destroyed
Goebbels blamed the Jews for starting the trouble on Kristallnacht and ordered them to pay damages. Jews were fined 1 billion marks
