Life For Workers In Nazi Germany Flashcards
German Labour front
Adolf Hitler feared that trade unions, which were so disruptive before his take over would interfere with his plan.
• So he outlawed them.
• Striking for better pay and working conditions was also made illegal.
Trade Unions were replaced by the Deutsche Arbeitsfront, the German Labour Front and led by Dr Robert Ley.
• Workers were promised they would be looked after better than before.
• By 1935, all workers (20 million people) were members.
HOWEVER
Workers were no longer able to negotiate pay and working conditions and were punished if they disrupted production levels.
Strength through joy
Nazis wanted to make sure their workers were happy. So they created Kraft durch Freude (KdF), Strength Through Joy.
• Established in November 1933 it aimed to improve workers’ free time.
• Workers Picnics Cheap cinema tickets
• Cheap theatre tickets Sporting activities. • Holidays.
• Some workers were rewarded with Mediterranean cruises
• A huge holiday camp was built with 10,000 family rooms at Prora on the Baltic Sea for
some Sun, Sport and Propaganda
• The scheme was designed to make workers feel valued.
• The biggest scheme was the savings scheme to buy a car, a Volkswagen (People’s Car)
• Workers paid 5 marks per week until they had amassed 750 marks. HOWEVER
• No one ever received the car. The factory was changed to making arms in 1938.
• Prora was never opened. WW2 started before it was finished.
Beauty of labour
Schonheit der Arbeit, The Beauty of Labour was a section of the DAF to encourage workers to be proud of what they were doing.
• It was essentially propaganda, but it did some good in improving working conditions.
• They would install better lighting
• Reduce noise in factories
• Build washing facilities
• Heavy drinking was discouraged and Alcoholics were sent to concentration camps.
• They were also the first government to realise smoking caused cancer, so it was
discouraged.
• Women were regularly sent for breast cancer screening.
• HOWEVER some factories expected workers to make the improvements themselves
and did not pay for them.
Describe two ways the Nazis tried to improve the workers lives
One way the Nazi Party tried to change the lives of workers was through the Strength Through Joy program. They tried to give workers more enjoyment outside of their jobs so they would become more productive. Workers were able to enjoy cheap cinema and theatre tickets . They even offered workers the chance to save for a Volkswagen car and go on holidays. [3]
2. Another way the Nazi Party tried to improve the lives of workers was through the Beauty of Labour program. The Nazi Party tried to encourage workers to be proud of the work they were doing and improved workers conditions to boost morale . They installed better lighting in factories, reduced noise and installed shower facilities.
