Key Issue 5 - Nazi Economic, Social and Racial Policy Flashcards
What happened in the years 1933-1939?
- Nazis introduces policies that reflected their own beliefs about the role of various groups in Germany
- women reverted to their traditional family role
- the young were indoctrinated into Nazi ideas
- the economy was reorganised to prepare Germany for war and eliminate unemployment
- Jews were persecuted
What aspects of everyday life did the Nazis control?
- religion
- education
- family
- working people
What was the National Labour Service Corps (RAD)?
This was a scheme to provide young men with manual labour jobs.
Who worked in RAD?
From 1935 it was compulsory for all men aged 18-25 to serve in the RAD for six months. In 1938, the RAD was extended to women.
How much Hitler spend on job creation schemes in:
a) 1933
b) 1938
a) 18 billion
b) 37 billion
What did the Nazis construct?
- motorways
- hospitals
- schools
- houses
Who was included in “invisible unemployment”?
- Jews
- unmarried men under 25 who were pushed into National Labour Service schemes
- women dismissed from their jobs or who gave up work to get married
- opponents of the Nazi regime held in concentration camps
In 1938, how many people were said to be unemployed?
35,000 male workers
What was rearmament?
Hitler building up the armed forces
How did Hitler build up the armed forces?
- reintroduced conscription
- expanded heavy industry
- produced tanks, aircrafts and ships
Give three statistics about rearmament.
- the army grew from 100,000 in 1933 to 1,400,000 in 1939
- in the years 1933-1939, chemical and coal usage doubled and oil, iron and steel usage trebled
- in 1933, 3.5 billion marks were spent on rearmament; this increased to 26 billion marks by 1939
What was the German Labour Front (DAF)?
The Nazis banned all trade unions on 2nd May 1933 and the DAF was set up to replace it.
How many members did the DAF have?
22 million members in 1939
State three aspects of the DAF.
- included employers and workers
- all strikes were banned
- wages were decided by the Labour Front
- workers were given relatively high wages, job security and social and leisure programmes
- workers received work books which recorded their employment history
- in theory DAF membership was voluntary, but it was harder to get jobs without being a member
What was the Volkswagen scheme?
In 1938, the German Labour Front organised the Volkswagen (people’s car) scheme, giving workers an opportunity to subscribe five marks a week to buy their own car.
What happened with the Volkswagen scheme?
By the end of 1938, more than 150,000 people had ordered a car and they were told to expect delivery in 1940. This was a swindle. Not a single customer took delivery of a car because production was shifted to military vehicles in 1939. None of the money that had been contributed was refunded.
What was Strength through Joy (KdF)?
This was an organisation set up by the German Labour Front to replace trade unions. The KdF tried to improve the leisure time of German workers by sponsoring a wide range of leisure and cultural trips.
What progress was made by German women in the 1920s?
- by 1933, one tenth of the members of the Reichstag were female
- women who worked in civil service earned the same as men
- by 1933 there were 100,000 female teachers and 3000 female doctors
- socially, they had a lot more freedom,
What was the Nazi’s ideal woman?
- didn’t wear makeup
- was blonde, heavy hipped and athletic
- wore flat shoes and a full skirt
- did not smoke
- did not work
- did all the household duties
- took no interest in politics
What were Nazis worried about in terms of families?
The decline in the birth rate
How did Nazis manipulate marriage and family?
- a massive propaganda campaign was launched to promote motherhood
- in 1933, families were provided with a loan of 1000 marks and for every child the family were allowed to keep 250 marks
- in 1938, the Nazis changed the divorce law so couples could divorce if it wasn’t possible for them to have children
What was Lebensborn?
Specifically chosen unmarried women could “donate a baby to the Fuhrer” by becoming pregnant with the child of a “racially pure” SS man.
How did the Nazis manipulate women in work?
Instead of going to work, women were asked to stick to the three Ks - Kinder, Kuche and Kirche (children, kitchen and church.) Female doctors, civil servants and teachers were forced to leave their jobs. Schoolgirls were discouraged from going on to higher education.
Why did the Nazis reverse their women in work policies?
Germany was rearming and men were joining the army, so the Nazis needed more women to go out to work. A compulsory “duty year” was introduced to all women, which wasn’t a paid job.
