Life For Aryan Women In Nazi Germany Flashcards
What were the two Nazi aims for aryan women?
Housework and family
What is volksgemeinschaft?
Creating a perfect Aryan community
What was eugenics?
Fake science promoting survival of the fittest and selective breeding
What is social Darwinism?
Survival of the fittest
What does Kinder, Küche, Kirche mean?
Children, cooking, church
How did Nazis use the law to achieve their aims for Aryan women?
Women were sacked from jobs or “encouraged” to leave
In 1933, women couldn’t work in the civil service and in 1936, women were forbade to be judges.
How did Nazis use incentives to achieve their aims for Aryan women?
The Law to Reduce Unemployment (1933) offered a 600 mark marriage loan to employed women who married and left work. The debt was reduced by a quarter for every child.
In 1935 women were given welfare allowances, paid for by increased taxes on the childless
After 1938, on Mothering Sunday or Hitler’s mother’s birthday, women were given an honour cross. Bronze for four, silver for six and gold for eight.
Lebensborn (lifesource) homes were places where unmarried women were encouraged to live post 1935 where SS men could impregnate them.
Contraception and abortion became harder to find and childless couples were encouraged to divorce.
How did Nazis use sterilisation and imprisonment to achieve their aims for Aryan women?
The Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring (1933) sent people to concentration camps, or euthanised or sterilised people with physical and mental disabilities, women who couldn’t bear children or had had extra- or pre-marital sex. They could also have been sent to a concentration camp if they had neglected children on housework and had refused ‘re-education’
What did the Nazi Women’s League do?
Ran cookery and childcare classes for brides and schoolgirls
Collected scrap metal for the war effort
Encouraged Aryan ideals of appearance
What was the Nazi Women’s League’s Magazine called?
Frauen Warte
How many members did the Nazi Women’s League have in 1938?
2 million
Did the Nazis succeed in keeping women out of the workplace?
No - Nazis didn’t consistently keep women out of the workplace. They had to return, especially due to autarky for their Duty Year (1937)
What was the Duty Year?
In 1937 women had to return to the workplace
Did the Nazis succeed in increasing birthrate?
Birthrate grew but not to the same extent as the 1920s. Germans weren’t motivated to have large families just to gain financial benefits.
Did the Nazis succeed in increasing marriage?
Fewer women wanted to marry because they didn’t want to risk sterilisation. Once this threat was removed, more marriages took place.
