Knowledge test Flashcards
What was introduced during Kaiserreich to restrict role of women?
National civil code legalised lower status of women, with husbands having ownership and authority of children/property/wealth
Why did the Kaiserreich want to limit womens opportunities?
-Kaiserreich thought they were too fragile to play important roles in society, therefore banned from voting, education and politics
What was deemed different about womens work and what did this mean for them?
- Womens work considered unskilled, worked in worse conditions and with less pay compared to men
- Perception that women work increased infant mortality and worsened family lives
What potentially positive things were introduced for women during Kaiserreich and how was it limited?
Welfare provisions included 6 weeks maternity leave and 11 working day
-no women to work in mining and longer Saturday lunch times to encourage domestic work
Whilst these were potential benefits for women, it was only to reinforce gender stereotypes in work
What big divide was obvious between women after WW1?
-clear divide between urban women and rural women, the positives for urban women was not enough to deem a complete improvement in the lives of all women
which women in Weimar saw most negative affects with evidence?
- Rural women very much remained in traditional roles, expected to stop working once married
- had the lower paid jobs still and a lower status than men
Which period saw the biggest improvement for women and why?
Weimar saw the liberalisation of women in its 12 years with women becoming independent and taking on more prosperous opporunities
what % of weimar and Länder governments did women make up and how did this compare to GB?
-Women made up 9.6% of weimar and 6.1% of Länder parliaments, compared to GB where only 2% of MPs were women
What was radically different for women under weimar compared to before in terms of their position in society?
-Weimar moved away from previous civil code and ensured women were given equal employment opportunities and status, as well as education and pay
what could women do in Weimar which they couldnt do before?
Women over 20 could vote
Why did the pre conception of women marriage fade after the war?
-Pre-conception of marriage for young women wasn’t viable after 2 million men were lost in the way, which helped empower them
how did the war help the position of women?
-women worked in industries like chemicals and engineering for the first time to help the war effort
Why was Nazi Germany negative for some women?
weimar women
- Nazis wanted women to conform to a traditional peasantry ‘blood and soil’ lifestyle which discouraged them from industrial work
- a lifestyle which Reverte weimar women back to imperial germany
What was encouraged for women in Nazi Germany and how?
Women of child birthing age given amenities and the mothers cross for having a certain amount of children
How did employment of women change under Nazi Germany including education roles?
- only 10% of university places reserved for women and females teachers fell by 15% between 1933-35
- only 900,000 of the 3 million women workers were utilised in 1943
What was banned under the Nazis which negatively affected women having children?
Abortion
What positives were there for some working women during the Nazis? ie the war
-During the war women made up 60% of the work force in industrial occupations and in 1943 3 million women were conscripted to work (only 900,000 used)
What benefits did rural women get under the nazis
- women of child birthing age provided with 25800 litres of milk, 1500 grocery packages and 172 sets of baby clothes
- mothers cross awarded for women having multiple children
- rural women benefited from improved sanitation, an expansion of health offices and racial and genetic care under the NSV
What % of doctors, headteachers and university lecturers did women make up in west Germany?
-women made up only 4% of doctors, 20% of headteachers and 5% of university lecturers
How did the new benefits system after WW2 discriminated against women?
-Benefits after WW2 discriminated against women as they were based off of life earnings, of which women had very little to claim because of the enforced gender roles of the Nazis
How much of the workforce did women make up in West Germany and how did this compare to weimar?
-by 1980 women made up only 39% of the work force despite the economic boom, only 2% more than weimar germany
How equal were men and women both in law and in reality in West Germany?
-in law women were the most equal to men that they had been but in reality they were still grossly under-represented and in many ways still determined by their husbands success
How did university enrolment of women change In the west?
-made up 38% of students by 1980 and by early 1980s the number of women admitted to university matched that of men
What inspired women in the west to improve their position in society?
-feminist movements in America empowered similar women in Germany, campaigning for greater opportunities and equality
What legal improvements were women granted in the west?
-granted complete marriage equality for the 1st time, and women could also seek employment and divorce without husband permission
What aspects of the Kaiserreich meant land owners retained some of their power?
- Bismarck’s constitution meant junkers in the Bundesrat could veto legislation
- chancellor was chosen by the king who was often a junker
How did Junkers challenge the rising lower classes/ SPD in Kaiserreich?
-they challenged the rise of the SPD and working classes by forming an alliance with the national liberals (DVP)
What was significant about the junkers alliance with the middle classes?
-the alliance with the middle classes owed to their slow decline because they had to make big compromises with ‘big business’ that saw government policy favour the industrialists over the junkers
Why was Germany’s economy shifting away from the land owning elites?
-industrialisation saw the loss of control over agrarian Germany as it shifted towards mAnufacturing, further undermining the power of the junkers as the upper middle classes became more important
Why was Germany’s shifting political system bad for the junkers?
- the changes being made to Germany towards a federal republic meant junkers had to work harder to retain the power that they had enjoyed in Prussia
- becoming more democratic and rise of lower classes
What aspect of the war saw Junkers retain their position in society?
-silent dictatorship saw Germany controlled in war time by two junkers, strong enough to render the kaiser useless as he was not called upon to direct the war
How did Eberts response to revolution help the junkers?
-Eberts response to revolution meant that the power of the junkers was kept up, eg the Ebert Groener pact meant the leadership of the army was not reformed and Von Seeckt remained as commander in chief of the army for 6 years
What other aspect of weimar showed a lack of decline of the junkers?
- the judiciary was unreformed under Weimar, allowing the junkers to remain in charge of prosecution and could be biased towards the right wing eg Hitler V Fechenbach
What did Prince max do which prompted some decline in the junkers position?
abolished the 3 class voting system
What event did Hitler carry out to appease the Junkers in the short term and why did he have to?
- Hitler managed to manipulate the junkers throughout nazi Germany to stop any early challenges from them against his power; also Hindenburg was a Junker so Hitler needed to support them until his death
- the night of the long knives where the SA were purged by the SS gained the support of military leadership, as the SA were previously getting too reckless and powerful under Roehm
what was the turning point of the Junkers social position?
Hindenburgs death 2nd August
What changes did Hitler make to politicians and the army to reduce power of junkers?
-powerful junkers eg Von Paper was removed from the cabinet, and Junkers Blomberg and Fritsch were replaced by Hitler as head of the armed forces after they opposed his foreign policy
What did hitler use as an excuse to remove ties to imperial Germany, what did he do and how did it affect junkers?
-After Stauffenberg attempted to kill Hitler, 5000 people were killed by Hitler, with many being Junkers that Hitler wanted to kill to remove links to imperial Germany
By what point did the Junkers importance end and why?
- the split of east and west Germany completed the decline as most junker land was in the east when it split
- Junkers in the east saw their land split up and redistributed, and by 1952 Junkers had effectively been ended
Why was peasantry lifestyle upheld in Bismarck era?
-the peasantry lifestyle was only upheld by the Junkers who’s income relied on peasants, however the junkers saw a similar decline too and found It increasingly difficult to stay relevant
What benefits and drawbacks did peasants see under Kaiserreich and why?
- increasingly industrialised society saw industries like chemicals and electronics boom relative to agriculture which saw a loss in importance
- Junkers attempted to uphold the peasantry importance because they relied on their work on their land for income
- Tariffs introduced by Bismarck (led to NL split) stopped the import of cheap grain from Russia and USA which helped peasants to some exte
What factors saw a decline in peasantry during WW1 and Weimar
- Agricultural production saw a dip due to the loss of people on the front line, and fertilisers and fuel were prioritised for the war effort
- major food shortages during the war ie turnip winter and 35% of pigs killed to save grain
- increasing competitiveness of European farmers and better techniques saw German produce fall in its valu
